Retro Review N3 Destiny of Kings By Stephen Bourne For Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition And Your Old School Campaigns

"When Treason Walks the Land...

Trouble stirs in Dunador! The King lies dead of a wound received during a hunting expedition. His brother, Lord Edrin, challenges the rightful Crown Prince, a half-trained young man named Edmund, for possession of the throne while Edmund travels on a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Nevron. Forces throughout the kingdom vie for control of the realm. Can the player characters find the Crown Prince and protect him from the treacherous forces at large in Dunador?"
Given the almost Hamlet style of sword and sorcery politics N3 Destiny of Kings isn't the first choice that leaps to mind. But there are reasons why this Advanced Dungeons and Dragons module is a perfect fit besides cross compatible old school systems. Stephen Bourne wrote this module back in '86 and we were well on our way towards far more villina corporate D&D back then. N3 out of the 'N' series is one of the best of the bunch, this is a module I've had some experience with as both a player and DM. This is the third in the novice series and one of the better adventures for PC's on the one through fourth levels, that being said this is an adventure for the more experienced players. Basically this adventure takes the PC's out of the dungeon and places them into the back end of a royal plot of assassination and intrigue with monsters.

GRAB IT HERE

 This module can be thought of as one part hamlet, two parts AD&D, and a whole ton of intrigue revolving around plot.  The PC's must find the prince of Dunador and return him home safely. Elements of investigation and detective work with a light smattering of wilderness adventure make this a solid AD&D module but it can be easily customized to suit a sword and sorcery campaign such as Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Marvel Conan from the Seventies has a tradition of using King Conan for a great deal of its plots and political maneuverings. We saw this in the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties. By using this as a base Destiny of Kings can easily be back slotted into any number of game campaigns. The maps alone are worth the price of entry.  Given the plot this module could be placed right within the central parts of Hyperborea.

 Given the Byzantine structure of politics in Dark Albion and Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Destiny of Kings has some very dark points behind it that can easily be adapted into the frame work of a Shakespearean adventure. It has an excellent castle ambush within its frame work. It is however like many Eighties adventures from the late Eighties heavy on plot. Not that this has ever stopped me at all from gutting using and folding its systems to suit my needs. This module gets the PC's out of the dungeon into the back end of deep court politics and  it's crappy to prepare, and not a very good story, unless you spice it up. Once this is done then the module shines through. I've taken Destiny of Kings routed out its back plot and transported it into Romanian and Russian setting where it worked as advertised. Given the backstabbing, murdering, poisoning, and other political frame work that surrounds Hyperborean politics, Destiny is a good mirror to use when creating a structure for your royal families in AS&SH.  There are several reasons why this toybox should be used for working through old school campaigns. One this is believe it or not a good primer and introduction  for 1st AD&D edition domain play to PC's and the importance of dealing with royals throughout a sword and sorcery campaign.  Because of the investigation and dealing with wilderness outside of the dungeon the central heart of this module is one part Arthurian mini campaign and two parts Hamlet style adventure in the heart of the royal politic.
"King Halfred of Dunador has died in a mysterious accident. As the heir has disappeared, the wicked Lord Edrin intends to seize the throne. Hollend, head of the Royal Council, asks the player characters to seek out the missing Prince. The characters must contend with scheming Dukes, raiders and corpses as they trace the pilgrimage the Prince took before the King's death. They must uncover and rectify ignoble deeds, bringing traitors to justice" Basically plots within pulpy plots. Which brings this image to mind.

Not only are your PC's in the middle of all of royal political intrigue their center stage and in Destiny of Kings the protection that a domain offers is made really evident because of a party's numbers game. The PC's as they raise in levels suddenly becomes a far more creditable threat and a danger to other minor royals around them.  Thus Destiny of Kings can actually serve as a stepping stone within a sword and sorcery campaign as a leg up onto the road of domain play. This makes this a module that can be used for an Adventurer, Conqueror, King style of play within an old school gaming system or retroclone rpg.

 Here's a bit from Wiki on the contents;  "N3 Destiny of Kings was published by TSR in 1986, as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder.^[1] The module was written by Stephen Bourne, with cover art by Keith Parkinson and interior art by James Roslof.^[3] 
The module includes a fold-out cover including a color area map.^{[2]"   Because of the fact that its not that well known the module is easily available on ebay and other outlets and can pack a punch to surprise players. Spoilers ahead so consider yourselves warned. Here's a quick wiki overview " In Destiny of Kings, an assassin kills the King of Andevar, and the King's brother seizes power. A loyal retainer hires the player characters to find the missing prince, who is held by agents of the usurper. They are charged with bringing him back to claim the throne.The module includes descriptions of a citadel, a castle, an abbey and an inn."  This is not a well known module and its one that can be sprung on players, it is in my mind in line with some of the material of Marvel  Conan style play by default but with a bit of work can work with other old school systems.} 

Commentary On N3 Destiny of Kings By Stephen Bourne For Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition

"The kingdom of Dunador is in trouble. Since the king, Halfred of Dunthrane, was killed in a hunting accident, the land has hovered on the brink of civil war. Crown Prince Edmund, at 18 only half-trained and quite unprepared to assume the throne, has yet to be crowned. Currently he is on a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Nevron in the province of Andevar. While the uncrowned king is far from home, anarchy reigns in Dunador."



So while I've been revamping & updating some of the articles on this blog. I stumbled upon some of my notes on Stephen Bourne's N3 Destiny of Kings. This is an unusual module in any number of ways but it bares some looking into. I'm reminded of Graham Staplehurst review from  White Dwarf #80 in which he called N3 Destiny of Kings; ""a well-planned adventure for a medium-sized, low-level AD&D party”. He considered the adventure particularly appropriate for an inexperienced or novice party, as very experienced players "may find it a little sparse on the intrigue and cloak-and-dagger side". Staplehurst found a few bugs in the text, although he felt the module was well introduced, with useful aids such as a glossary of names and places and a plot synopsis. He felt that the random encounters were overpowered, and noted a walled town of "ludicrous design, containing a jousting field just 130' long". He concluded the review by describing the module as, "Overall, a well-thought out adventure that shouldn't be too hard to slot into an existing campaign, and would make a very good introduction for new players."

Could  N3 Destiny of Kings adventure formula & plot line be taken apart & applied to Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea?! Yes in spades, the party must find  the prince of Dunador & return him to his kingdom. Along the way the characters must contend with scheming Dukes, raiders and corpses as they trace the pilgrimage the Prince took before the King's death! If Dunador was in Hyperborea then it probably going to be in near or in Vikland. The whole adventure plot of the adventurers uncovering  & rectify ignoble deeds, bringing traitors to justice & saving a kingdom from disaster relates to the membrane of royals outta of the capital city of Hyperborea becoming unstable. This has echoes across the political ether of the setting. There's all kinds of unrest happening in various AS&SH adventures. Add to this the growing of the Cult of Reptile God on the Lizard Coast & it up points to the powers behind the thrones of Hyperborea becoming dangerously  restless.



The whole of  N3 Destiny of Kings  smacks of a proto Keltic or Viking style political upheaval. Or it could be the equivalent of  the start of a King Arthur style tale. The echoes of this art present within Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne stories:

• Beast of Averoigne, The (1933)
• Colossus of Ylourgne, The (1933)
• Disinterment of Venus, The (1934)
• Enchantress of Sylaire, The (1941)
• End of the Story, The (1930)
• Holiness of Azédarc, The (1933)
• Maker of Gargoyles, The (1932)
• Mandrakes, The (1933)
• Mother of Toads (1934)
• Rendezvous in Averoigne, A (1931)
• Satyr, The (1931) [Variant Conclusion to "The Satyr"]

There maybe far more going on here then the PC's realize. The powers at play maybe doing far more then the party realizes as the Druid councils & cabals get in on the act of king making. The royal houses might just see the opportunity to go to war over the fact that the prince is missing. 

If this is a faux Arthur style political play here then its a very dangerous move. Dunador is not tied to any one AD&D campaign world. So the kingdom of  Dunador could have much more influence over the politics of the capital of Hyperborea  then was at first seen. This is going to be a prime opportunity to have the PC's ingrain themselves into the upper ranks of Hyperborean social life. The PC's are going to have their hands full with the political intrigue that the module visits on them. 
The fact is that this is not a run of the mill module is the very thing that is going to draw your player's in & hook them. The module makes excellent use of the political machine to draw the party into the deeper parts of  N3 Destiny of Kings. I've said it before and I'll say it again, classic modules are classic for a reason.  In this case its the whole package that works on many levels is not just the adventure  base of N3 Destiny of Kings. I highly recommend N3 Destiny of Kings for both the experienced dungeon master & the novice players. The destiny of Dunador is now in your party's hands! 

Retooling & OSR Campaign Expansion With N3 Destiny of Kings By Stephen Bourne For Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition And Your Old School Campaigns

When Treason Walks the Land... 

Trouble stirs in Dunador! The King lies dead of a wound received during a hunting expedition. His brother, Lord Edrin, challenges the rightful Crown Prince, a half-trained young man named Edmund, for possession of the throne while Edmund travels on a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Nevron. Forces throughout the kingdom vie for control of the realm. Can the player characters find the Crown Prince and protect him from the treacherous forces at large in Dunador?
Given the almost Hamlet style of sword and sorcery politics N3 Destiny of Kings isn't the first choice that leaps to mind. But there are reasons why this Advanced Dungeons and Dragons module is a perfect fit besides cross compatible old school systems. Stephen Bourne wrote this module back in '86 and we were well on our way towards far more villina corporate D&D back then. N3 out of the 'N' series is one of the best of the bunch, this is a module I've had some experience with as both a player and DM. This is the third in the novice series and one of the better adventures for PC's on the one through fourth levels, that being said this is an adventure for the more experienced players. Basically this adventure takes the PC's out of the dungeon and places them into the back end of a royal plot of assassination and intrigue with monsters. 

 This module can be thought of as one part hamlet, two parts AD&D, and a whole ton of intrigue revolving around plot.  The PC's must find the prince of Dunador and return him home safely. Elements of investigation and detective work with a light smattering of wilderness adventure make this a solid AD&D module but it can be easily customized to suit a sword and sorcery campaign such as Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Marvel Conan from the Seventies has a tradition of using King Conan for a great deal of its plots and political maneuverings. We saw this in the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties. By using this as a base Destiny of Kings can easily be back slotted into any number of game campaigns. The maps alone are worth the price of entry.  Given the plot this module could be placed right within the central parts of Hyperborea.

 Given the Byzantine structure of politics in Dark Albion and Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Destiny of Kings has some very dark points behind it that can easily be adapted into the frame work of a Shakespearean adventure. It has an excellent castle ambush within its frame work. It is however like many Eighties adventures from the late Eighties heavy on plot. Not that this has ever stopped me at all from gutting using and folding its systems to suit my needs. This module gets the PC's out of the dungeon into the back end of deep court politics and  it's crappy to prepare, and not a very good story, unless you spice it up. Once this is done then the module shines through. I've taken Destiny of Kings routed out its back plot and transported it into Romanian and Russian setting where it worked as advertised. Given the backstabbing, murdering, poisoning, and other political frame work that surrounds Hyperborean politics, Destiny is a good mirror to use when creating a structure for your royal families in AS&SH.  There are several reasons why this toybox should be used for working through old school campaigns. One this is believe it or not a good primer and introduction  for 1st AD&D edition domain play to PC's and the importance of dealing with royals throughout a sword and sorcery campaign.  Because of the investigation and dealing with wilderness outside of the dungeon the central heart of this module is one part Arthurian mini campaign and two parts Hamlet style adventure in the heart of the royal politic.
"King Halfred of Dunador has died in a mysterious accident. As the heir has disappeared, the wicked Lord Edrin intends to seize the throne. Hollend, head of the Royal Council, asks the player characters to seek out the missing Prince. The characters must contend with scheming Dukes, raiders and corpses as they trace the pilgrimage the Prince took before the King's death. They must uncover and rectify ignoble deeds, bringing traitors to justice" Basically plots within pulpy plots. Which brings this image to mind.

Not only are your PC's in the middle of all of royal political intrigue their center stage and in Destiny of Kings the protection that a domain offers is made really evident because of a party's numbers game. The PC's as they raise in levels suddenly becomes a far more creditable threat and a danger to other minor royals around them.  Thus Destiny of Kings can actually serve as a stepping stone within a sword and sorcery campaign as a leg up onto the road of domain play. This makes this a module that can be used for an Adventurer, Conqueror, King style of play within an old school gaming system or retroclone rpg.

 Here's a bit from Wiki on the contents;  "N3 Destiny of Kings was published by TSR in 1986, as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder.^[1] The module was written by Stephen Bourne, with cover art by Keith Parkinson and interior art by James Roslof.^[3] The module includes a fold-out cover including a color area map.^{[2]"   Because of the fact that its not that well known the module is easily available on ebay and other outlets and can pack a punch to surprise players. Spoilers ahead so consider yourselves warned. Here's a quick wiki overview " In Destiny of Kings, an assassin kills the King of Andevar, and the King's brother seizes power. A loyal retainer hires the player characters to find the missing prince, who is held by agents of the usurper. They are charged with bringing him back to claim the throne.The module includes descriptions of a citadel, a castle, an abbey and an inn."  This is not a well known module and its one that can be sprung on players, it is in my mind in line with some of the material of Marvel  Conan style play by default but with a bit of work can work with other old school systems.} 

The kingdom of Dunador could well be a vassal kingdom of the dismal City-State of Khromarium. The pseudo European veneer of the N series means that this module is the perfect set up for a Keltic kingdom within the bounds of AS&SH. Given this its easy to mix & match Clark Ashton Smith story elements & cycles within the game campaign. 

AS&SH art by Del Teigeler and Glynn Seal

 

Assassination, political unrest, & terror are excellent motivators within a Sword & Sorcery adventure this is something that N3 Destiny of Kings has in spades. Now yesterday I spoke about Adventure Retooling With N2: The Forest Oracle By Carl Smith. About the fact that perhaps the region of 'the Downs' might harbor an entrance to Underborea AS&SH's underworld. Given the political aspect of N3 its perhaps very advantageous to get the knights, cataphracts , & paladins of the kingdom of Dunador upon the side of the PC's. 

 It takes a skilled hand to run N3 Destiny of Kings & a good set of players with PC's who are going to be ready for the deep end of the campaign. But as we shall see there's more happening here then mere politics & intrigue. 

Review & OSR Commentary On N3 Destiny of Kings (1e) (1986) By Stephen Bourne For Your Old School Campaigns

"When Treason Walks the Land...

Trouble stirs in Dunador! The King lies dead of a wound received during a hunting expedition. His brother, Lord Edrin, challenges the rightful Crown Prince, a half-trained young man named Edmund, for possession of the throne while Edmund travels on a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Nevron. Forces throughout the kingdom vie for control of the realm. Can the player characters find the Crown Prince and protect him from the treacherous forces at large in Dunador?"

The N series of modules for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons runs from the sublime N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God by Doug Niles to the horridly bad N2 The Forrest Oracle which will be getting a good hacking blog entry soon. Instead today I want to talk about N3 Destiny of Kings by Stephen Bourne. N3 Destiny of Kings is a bit of a change up from the usual dungeon crawl for a low level party.


This module has a bit of everything including the fact that it could be easily slotted into the blank edges on the map of a middle tier kingdom. The review of the module in White Dwarf number #80 by
Graham Staplehurst sums up N3 Destiny of Kings quite nicely; "Graham Staplehurst reviewed N3 Destiny of Kings for White Dwarf #80, calling it "a well-planned adventure for a medium-sized, low-level AD&D party”. He considered the adventure particularly appropriate for an inexperienced or novice party, as very experienced players "may find it a little sparse on the intrigue and cloak-and-dagger side". Staplehurst found a few bugs in the text, although he felt the module was well introduced, with useful aids such as a glossary of names and places and a plot synopsis."
The very generic nature  of the adventure setting of the module N3 Destiny of Kings allows for a much richer & somewhat different adventure experience because Destiny of Kings doesn't have a dungeon. Instead the plot is woven around the events of  the PC's embroiled in the adventure  plot. "The party  must find the prince of Dunador and return him home safely. Elements of investigation and intrigue thus find their way into the game."  So I already see the emails saying what this is bland & boring module because there isn't any dungeon crawling. Well in fact the party of adventurers is going to find themselves in the thick of a royal plot involving the affairs of the prince of Dunador! But where the Hell is Dunador? Wherever you want it to be! 

The whole of N3 Destiny of Kings is great excuse to get a mid level adventuring party into the  affairs of royals. In fact the whole adventure could be used as a perfect excuse to have the player's PC's to the edges of an empire where Dunador is located perhaps near the edges of a Holy Roman Empire setting.


Yes N3 is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition title adventure but with almost no effort it could be used for B/X Dungeons & Dragons with little effort. The whole royals affair angle of N3 Destiny of Kings could be the perfect excuse to get the PC's involved in the business of royals & their issues with cloak & dagger affairs. On the whole N3 Destiny of Kings might seem unremarkable but its got a lot to offer the DM whose players are getting sick of the same old dungeon crawl routine. Go down into the dungeon, slay monsters, grab treasures, & gain XP. Here the goal is to keep the prince alive & out wit the forces of darkness on the whole it doesn't sound exciting but placed as a side adventure N3 Destiny of Kings can be a wholly fun adventure romp. It makes a great campaign jump off point & there are certain aspects of N3 that can be twisted to create some very deep seated long game aspects.
Dungeons & Dragons clipart white box #9

N3 Destiny of Kings can be used to help flesh out Dunador as an entire kingdom or place waiting for the PC's to go up in levels allowing them to take the midlevel kingdom waiting for their steady hand to take it over. There's also the promise of N3 where the kingdom of Dunador is the perfect PC base to launch the player's careers as mercenaries or sell swords within the campaign. There is enough in N3 Destiny of Kings to see that the PC's are going to want to be the ones calling the shots within the kingdom soon or later. All in all N3 Destiny of Kings needs some work to fit into an old school campaign but its a solid start for an old school adventure!

Retro Review N3 Destiny of Kings By Stephen Bourne For Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition And Your Old School Campaigns

When Treason Walks the Land...

Trouble stirs in Dunador! The King lies dead of a wound received during a hunting expedition. His brother, Lord Edrin, challenges the rightful Crown Prince, a half-trained young man named Edmund, for possession of the throne while Edmund travels on a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Nevron. Forces throughout the kingdom vie for control of the realm. Can the player characters find the Crown Prince and protect him from the treacherous forces at large in Dunador?
Given the almost Hamlet style of sword and sorcery politics N3 Destiny of Kings isn't the first choice that leaps to mind. But there are reasons why this Advanced Dungeons and Dragons module is a perfect fit besides cross compatible old school systems. Stephen Bourne wrote this module back in '86 and we were well on our way towards far more villina corporate D&D back then. N3 out of the 'N' series is one of the best of the bunch, this is a module I've had some experience with as both a player and DM. This is the third in the novice series and one of the better adventures for PC's on the one through fourth levels, that being said this is an adventure for the more experienced players. Basically this adventure takes the PC's out of the dungeon and places them into the back end of a royal plot of assassination and intrigue with monsters.

GRAB IT HERE

 This module can be thought of as one part hamlet, two parts AD&D, and a whole ton of intrigue revolving around plot.  The PC's must find the prince of Dunador and return him home safely. Elements of investigation and detective work with a light smattering of wilderness adventure make this a solid AD&D module but it can be easily customized to suit a sword and sorcery campaign such as Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Marvel Conan from the Seventies has a tradition of using King Conan for a great deal of its plots and political maneuverings. We saw this in the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties. By using this as a base Destiny of Kings can easily be back slotted into any number of game campaigns. The maps alone are worth the price of entry.  Given the plot this module could be placed right within the central parts of Hyperborea.

 Given the Byzantine structure of politics in Dark Albion and Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Destiny of Kings has some very dark points behind it that can easily be adapted into the frame work of a Shakespearean adventure. It has an excellent castle ambush within its frame work. It is however like many Eighties adventures from the late Eighties heavy on plot. Not that this has ever stopped me at all from gutting using and folding its systems to suit my needs. This module gets the PC's out of the dungeon into the back end of deep court politics and  it's crappy to prepare, and not a very good story, unless you spice it up. Once this is done then the module shines through. I've taken Destiny of Kings routed out its back plot and transported it into Romanian and Russian setting where it worked as advertised. Given the backstabbing, murdering, poisoning, and other political frame work that surrounds Hyperborean politics, Destiny is a good mirror to use when creating a structure for your royal families in AS&SH.  There are several reasons why this toybox should be used for working through old school campaigns. One this is believe it or not a good primer and introduction  for 1st AD&D edition domain play to PC's and the importance of dealing with royals throughout a sword and sorcery campaign.  Because of the investigation and dealing with wilderness outside of the dungeon the central heart of this module is one part Arthurian mini campaign and two parts Hamlet style adventure in the heart of the royal politic.
"King Halfred of Dunador has died in a mysterious accident. As the heir has disappeared, the wicked Lord Edrin intends to seize the throne. Hollend, head of the Royal Council, asks the player characters to seek out the missing Prince. The characters must contend with scheming Dukes, raiders and corpses as they trace the pilgrimage the Prince took before the King's death. They must uncover and rectify ignoble deeds, bringing traitors to justice" Basically plots within pulpy plots. Which brings this image to mind.

Not only are your PC's in the middle of all of royal political intrigue their center stage and in Destiny of Kings the protection that a domain offers is made really evident because of a party's numbers game. The PC's as they raise in levels suddenly becomes a far more creditable threat and a danger to other minor royals around them.  Thus Destiny of Kings can actually serve as a stepping stone within a sword and sorcery campaign as a leg up onto the road of domain play. This makes this a module that can be used for an Adventurer, Conqueror, King style of play within an old school gaming system or retroclone rpg.

 Here's a bit from Wiki on the contents;  "N3 Destiny of Kings was published by TSR in 1986, as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder.^[1] The module was written by Stephen Bourne, with cover art by Keith Parkinson and interior art by James Roslof.^[3] The module includes a fold-out cover including a color area map.^{[2]"   Because of the fact that its not that well known the module is easily available on ebay and other outlets and can pack a punch to surprise players. Spoilers ahead so consider yourselves warned. Here's a quick wiki overview " In Destiny of Kings, an assassin kills the King of Andevar, and the King's brother seizes power. A loyal retainer hires the player characters to find the missing prince, who is held by agents of the usurper. They are charged with bringing him back to claim the throne.The module includes descriptions of a citadel, a castle, an abbey and an inn."  This is not a well known module and its one that can be sprung on players, it is in my mind in line with some of the material of Marvel  Conan style play by default but with a bit of work can work with other old school systems.}