RR1 Dark Lords by William W. Connors, Andria Hayday, James Lowder, & Bruce Nesmith, The Seventh Sister, & The Agents of The Darkest Night

For my own alternative Earth  Franco Prussian war campaign of 1870 I dusted off an old & important NPC. William Hooker Gillette is a man out of his own time & his castle plays a central roll in my Castles & Crusades /Victorious rpg campaign.  In this campaign William Hooker Gillette was a ressience man a performer, actor,gadgeteer , & occultist. 



In the year 1870 a distinguished looking adventurer saved the life of a twenty something young actor in New Orleans. The face of the older adventurer looked eerily familiar to the young actor William Hooker Gillette.  The young actor had in fact been saved by an older version himself from a falling piece of stage work dropped by an agent of darkness. Gillette Castle or The Seventh Sister has played a part in many of my rpg campaigns going back over thirty years.Every aspect of its construction was over seen by William Hooker Gillette  ;

 "Gillette Castle  straddles the towns of East Haddam and Lyme, Connecticut in the United States, sitting high above the Connecticut River. The castle was originally a private residence commissioned and designed by William Gillette, an American actor who is most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on stage. Gillette lived at this estate from 1919–1937."



Gillette Castle  on September 25, 2006 by Kevin Pepin

The Seventh Sister has been my go too adventure location & gathering place for adventurers & heroes across four campaigns; 

"William Gillette's "castle", called Seventh Sister and renamed "Gillette Castle" by Connecticut State in 1943,^[6][7] was built between 1914 and 1919 with an addition completed in 1924^[8] on a 184-acre (74 ha) tract at the top of the southernmost of a chain of hills known as the Seven Sisters. Gillette died having no children, and his will precluded the possession of his home by any "blithering sap-head who has no conception of where he is or with what surrounded". The State of Connecticut took over the property in 1943, renaming it Gillette Castle State Park. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.^[9][10]

Gillette originally planned to build his retirement home on Long Island until he discovered the cliffs of the Seven Sisters while traversing the Connecticut River in his houseboat, "Aunt Polly".^{[3][4][6][11]}

Gillette designed the home and personally overlooked every phase of the construction.^[7] Construction was performed by the Porteus-Walker Company, a leading contracting and wood-working firm based in Hartford, Connecticut founded by Gillette's childhood friend, Robert Porteus.^[10] It has been described as being designed in a medieval gothic, or an "American fairy tale mixed with European flair"^[2] style, or as "a weird blending of Victorian and Arts and Crafts".^[3] In the past, it had even been described as "Gillette's Folly".^[4]

The 3-story-plus-tower,^[10] 24-room, 14,000 sq ft home was built of wood, cement, and local Connecticut field stone, supported by a steel framework.^{[2][7][12][13]} The exterior of the home is covered in field stone.^[10] Woodwork within the home is hand-hewn southern white oak.^[7][6] In some places, beams were set directly into the stones, anchored only by cement.^[13] The walls, in particular, were constructed similarly to a stage set, lacking two-by-four studs and mortar in critical places.^[13] It has been noted it was "a wonder the building didn't collapse" before the castle's multimillion-dollar restoration.^[13] Insulation included seaweed and paper.^[3] It took 20 workers from 1914–1919 (5 years) to complete the construction^[4][7] totaling a cost of over $1 million at the time."

There are incredible trick & puzzle doors in the castle that captured my imagination when I
 was a kid visiting the castle on field trips in second grade & middle school.
The trick doorways & doors of the castle open across the planes to different times & places.
Gillette used the castle to take care of key points in his own life & send adventurers on to 

places where & when their needed. William Hooker Gillette portrayal of Sherlock Holmes was so real because
the real Holmes was a real life friend of his or at least in this alternative campaign world he was.


Gillette as Sherlock Holmes

But William Hooker Gillette is a mortal main whose matched wits with inhuman creatures on occasion. And he knows this but his construction of the castle has given him an edge in both time & space. He still has the span of a normal man but he can mark time & space easily occasionally this slips out;""It just seems, somehow, that every five years finds me back again, so you can expect me back at it again once more in 1941. Probably in 1976, when they are celebrating the two-hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, or what ever it is, 40 years from now, I'll still be farewelling. I should apologize for being here, but I am a man among Yankees, and they take promises with a grain of salt – in fact they usually take them home and pickle them in brine, so they probably knew I'd be back. Besides I have several good excuses – but they really don't count. And besides – and you men who follow horse racing will know what I mean – I'm not running against anyone, they're merely letting me trot around the track."

In his younger years Gillette tangled with several of the Rumps of Tegel Manor fame  with Sherlock Holmes but this is blog entry for another time.


Portrait of Gillette in The London magazine advertising
his appearances as Sherlock Holmes

This brings me to using TSR's Ravenloft second edition's RR1 Dark Lords by William W. Connors, Andria Hayday, James Lowder, & Bruce Nesmith. I specifically sought this book out because of its portrayal of 'The Headless Horseman'. I know another New England connection, right?!



The Rumps of Tegel Manor are each dark lords similar to Ravenloft's & in fact very similar to James Ward's Tainted Land At a certain key point in his life this alternative Earth version of William Hooker Gillette crossed paths with several dark lords including the Headless Horseman & it convinced him to take the next step into the life of adventure. 

The Seven Sister has been the head quarters for various adventurers & parties in my campaigns for years. These have included super heroes, adventurers, & even a post apocalyptic group of mutants guided by the ghost of Gillette.
I'm thinking that perhaps its time 'The Seventh Sister' makes its rightful place again among my campaign. William Gillette's 'Agents of the Darkest Night' have their work cut out for them! 

OSRing & Running Ravenloft's RA1 'Feast of Goblyns' By Blake Mobley For An Old School Campaign

"In Feast of Goblyns, a party of adventurers must use all their skills to escape the manipulations of one of Ravenloft's most powerful lords as they attempt to seek out the accursed Crown of Soldiers. If all goes well, they just might live long enough to escape this dread land and return to their homes."

RA1 'Feast of Goblyns' By Blake Mobley marks the first real expansion & explosion of Ravenloft material that came out right out after the Box of Terror box set in 1989. "RA1: "Feast of Goblyns" (1990), by Blake Mobley, is the first of the "RA" Ravenloft Adventures. It was published in September 1990.", according to the Drivethrurpg entry. 'Feast of Goblyns' is the first part of the 'Grand Conjunction' Ravenloft meta plot campaign adventure first hinted about in the Box of Terror in '89. 
The 96 page domain book is the first real expansion of the domains of dread & it shows we get lots of details in  the realm of Kartakass, including the towns of Harmonia and Skald. These are exceedingly important if the DM is going to run the Grand Conjunction meta plot adventure. We talked about that in the  Notes On Running RQ1: "Night of the Walking Dead" (1992) By Bill Slavicsek For Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition Ravenloft Setting.

This is one of the best adventures besides I6, the material here is top notch & the side slices of the Grand Conjunction makes this a well pressed & welcome expansion of the existing Ravenloft campaign set. Unlike other more 'railroady' adventures for  Ravenloft & second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventures  'Feast of Goblyns' gives the player's PC's much more latitude to destroy themselves! I'm not kidding when I say this. 


The PC's can easily die as the dark fantasy in the encounters, the combat, the design, etc. are turned up to 'eleven'.  The party finds itself increasingly fighting for their very lives as the prophetic events surrounding RA1 'Feast of Goblyns' By Blake Mobley tick away. The goblyns themselves are really dangerous & the adventure will give even vampire or supernatural creatures a real problem. But what about those gobylins? According to the Ravenloft wiki; "Goblyns are nasty little Goblin like creatures that typically serve evil Mages. Goblyns come into being when humans are twisted by evil magic. They can attack the faces of victims in an attack called Feasting. Radaga and Tristen Apblanc used goblyns as henchmen."
I've seen these hench goblyns give many a player's higher level PC a problem or two. My advice is to avoid the goblyns & their masters.

If I was running RA1 'Feast of Goblyns' By Blake Mobley today I'd switch it up a notch or two & bring in an a far more OSR flavor to the adventure. There are three things I'd do with RA1 'Feast of Goblyns' By Blake Mobley. One I'd take Dark Albion by Rpg Pundit and bring that setting in as my stand in Ravenloft & instead switch it up to a dark Europe. Using this set up for the Lion & Dragon rpg might be really pushing it. That's not to say that the DM couldn't draw upon it as an occult resource though. 


Because of the nature of RA1 'Feast of Goblyns' By Blake Mobley I'd switch out second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons for something a bit more contemporary like Troll Lords Castles & Crusades to make the whole works run smoother. 


 But I'm not done yet.  Because of the dark nature of the realm of Kartakass, including the towns of Harmonia and Skald. I'd bring in X2 Castle Amber By Tom Moldvay! The Grand Conjunction could be used as a spring board for the death of the lord of Amberville & the  Province of Averoigne! The mists are only the beginning as the terror &  darkness breaks down civilization  around the PC's! They find themselves face to face with the events of X2 right after RA1 'Feast of Goblyns'. 



There are a couple of adventure elements that could be used to create a boundary between a dark European setting & Ravenloft. RA1 'Feast of Goblyns' has all of the makes of a solid OSR campaign. But what about the rest of the 'Grand Conjunction' modules? We've got all month to get to those! Stay tuned! 

Free OSR Downloads & Secrets of X2: "Castle Amber (Chateau d' Amberville) By Tom Moldvay

"Trapped in the mysterious Castle Amber, you find yourselves cut off form the world you know. The castle is fraught with peril. Members of the strange Amber family, some insane, some merely deadly, lurk around every corner. Somewhere in the castle is the key to your escape, but can you survive long enough to find it?"

Castle Amber by Tom Moldvay  was/is one of my all time favorite modules. "X2: "Castle Amber (Chateau d' Amberville)" (1981), by Tom Moldvay, is the second Expert level Basic D&D adventure. It was published in 1981."
Last night I was poking aroung through the Vaults of Pandius website for some research & conversion work on  X2: "Castle Amber (Chateau d' Amberville). DM Steve clued me in on Dark History of the d'Ambreville Family by Andrew Theisen on the Vaults of Pandius site. 

This module fits into the mold of Clark Ashton Smith's The Oracle of Sadoqua-
 "Horatius, a Roman officer stationed in the recently-conquered province of Averonia, searches vainly for his missing comrade, Galbius, of whom there is apparently neither trace nor rumor among the natives. Horatius, in desperation, finally seeks an oracle of the pagan Druids-the ((fearsome)) baleful oracle of the dread god Sadoqua, who is believed to slumber eternally underground in a cavern amid the deep forests of Averonia. He finds the place, accompanied by several soldiers, and is ((bidden)) taken by the dark, repulsive Druids to ((enter)) the cave of the oracle ((alone)). In a grotto rifted from above and beneath, where The outer light falls dismally into half[?] dissipated shadows, he finds a strange, hairy, swarthy, half-human being, chained beside ((the fetid, reeking)) a chasm whence dire, fetid vapours reek. this being ((replies)) speaks in half-articulate Latin ,and gives a cryptic answer to his queries concerning the fate of Galbius. Horatius is strangely disturbed by something in the voice; and as the half-sifted sunlight falls briefly on the weird oracle, he fancies in this being a far-off. distorted, impossible resemblance to the lost Galbius. The creature, however, denies that it is Galbius; and Horatius departs with his men, more sorely perplexed and baffled than before. Leaving, he encounters a lovely pagan girl, who dwells in the vicinity of the cavern. There is an instant attraction between the two; and Horatius returns later, alone, to resume her acquaintance. Love grows between them and the girl tells him, reluctantly, something of the true secrets of. The oracle's cavern, and admits that the ((oracl)) present oracle is indeed the lost Galbius, who was abducted by the Druids and chained beside the chasm. The vapors rising from the chasm had speedily caused him to forget all his normal memories and had brought about a degradation into subhuman forna. In this connection, he had become a proper medium for the inspiration of the slumbering god Sadoqua, who knows all things; and could give such answers to queries as The god dictated. Many others had been the oracles of the god. The chasmemitted vapors were believed to be his actual breath; and their effect was so terrible that few mortals could endure them long without dying or at least becoming so embruted that they were no longer capable of human speech and were useless as intermediates. Learning this, ((Galbius)) Horatius in his wrath again enters the secret cave, and finds Galbius has turned to an almost formless mass of dark, hairy plasm, which utters wordless sounds. In his horror, he tries to slay the thing. The Druids enter and seize him as he plunges his sword into the transformed Galbius. He is knocked unconscious. Later reviving, he finds himself chained beside the baleful chasm, inhaling the fumes that cause him to forget his human past in a mad, primordial delirium."

All of this fits into the background  article by Harri Mäki Glantrian Principalities; "I've been planning to write something about history of Glantri's various principalities and their ruling houses. I have made some research about subject and I have some presuppositions to made which I want to you know and comment before I send any other works for list." This article fits the criteria that we've seen laid out in Castle Amber by Tom Moldvay . The idea that Amberville family are light years ahead of the rest of Mystara & even those families within  Averoigne  Why!? Because there's an occult connection that runs much deeper then anyone expects within the French region; ": 'region in France, heavily forested — located somewhere between Tours and Moulins; a "main highway" between those two cities goes through it (The End of the Story, Clark Ashton Smith)" The  Ambervilles are a cursed family whose connection to the occult is as solid as the Edgar Allan Poe family their based on namely the Ushers. "This adventure leads off with the players encountering the fog-shrouded Castle Amber. Some suggest that the Castle and its denizens, and in particular room #25, were influenced by Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839). The connection with room #25 is especially clear, since it includes a sister named Madeline calling out from her grave, just like the short story." 


 "Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination" (1935) Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

So not only do we have a powerful other worldly family but its one that suffers a heinous connection to the darkness of the occult.  We also have a family  on Mystara that is strongly connected with the royality of the wizards of the setting includin its military. The Grand Army of Glantri ... revised and updated
by micky article goes into some of the dangerous aspects & curious ties to the Glantri miliary that the family of Castle Amber has. The numbers of the armed forces of the miliary  are very interesting;" First off is the size of Glantri's armed forces. After the WotI and the plague Glantri was left with a population of just under 600,000. Yet their standing army... was a mere eight divisions of 900 men each. That means they have a standing army of just over one person of their post war population in what is still a very dangerous world. IMC Glantri did demobilise their armed forces after the war ended but they did not downsize to the original 8 divisions but instead kept 16 full strength divisions in place which is still just over 2% of the reduced population figure. That is something Prince Jaggar would want.. and at that point no one was going to fight him on that. Doing some economic number crunching per Gaz 3 it is safe to assume that 'doubling' the size of their active military forces would come no where near breaking the bank, especially with all the principalities ... and IMC dominions that were formed and have served their purpose of greater control economically of previously 'free' territories. As I noted in an earlier post where I discussed my campaign, new principalities (4 since AC 1000) have not been the only additions to Glantrian political landscape. Made no sense to me to have more Princes than Barons so during the Great War Glantri created score of new baronies and viscountcies. There are now 20 baronies in Glantri, and 10 Viscounties to go with previously existing higher noble titles and lands. Now the noble balance is more linear which in terms of this subject has brought significantly more income and taxation to the capital.)With these 16 divisions, I thought I might take Ohad's work and expand on it a bit. As always.. thoughts and feedback are appreciated. I would like to thank Ohad in advance for his work which I am just perverting for my amusement.
I think the main question I had with what Ohad did was the absence of wizards in the divisions. Like None in Jherek's division.. and only 25 or so in Jaggar's. Recruitment of wizards has always been a priority of the military and canon sources speak of significant numbers of mages within the Glantrian military with a strong martial tradition among particular ethic groups of wizards.
What I did was give each of the 8 division commanding Princes a second division. Prince Malachie took over Volospin's division. Juliana taking over her father's division"

Now take in the kind of power that the Chateau d' Amberville has over the whole of the wizards & occultists of Mystara. Then their influence becomes apparent so not only are we getting an overview of the forces of the country but the sort of diabloic power that the Chateau d' Amberville has within Mystara.
One question that always comes to mind reading through X2: "Castle Amber (Chateau d' Amberville)" is the module connected with Ravenloft? Are the mists coming to gather to take away the powerful  Ambervilles to Ravenloft after the latest bebacle or horridly ghoulish incident? 



Or could it be that the head of the Ambervilles is not only a powerful wizard of exceptional class but a dark lord of Ravenloft already?! Some of the secrets revealed in 

Mark of Amber by Aaron Allston, Jeff Grubb, John D. Rateliff,  & Bruce Heard may fall into this category. Mark of Amber is in my humble opinion one of the best products to come out for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons second edition. But that's a blog entry for another time. 

OSR Review & Commentary On The Free 1st Level Adventure Frank Schmidt's F1 Zombie Curse

There are very few Ravenloft modules but with Halloween coming up I've been quietly searching around. The Undead are a must just around Halloween & fortunately there are a few lower tier & lower level adventures floating around. Frank Schmidt's F1 Zombie Curse just happens to be one & today was a bank holiday here in the States. So I had a moment of time to check over the  Dragon's foot site once again & here's Frank Schmidt's F1 Zombie Curse .

"As you begin your travels to fame and glory you have discovered the road is actually paved mostly with dirt and boredom. You have heard of the caravan attacks at Feastelburg and have begun to make your way to fame and fortune. As light begins to fade from the sky you have come upon a sign welcoming you to the small lake community of Crystal Shores. What appears to be a smoldering funeral pyre is near the lake’s edge and a small group of children play near the road. Your journey to the caravan raiders is halfway there. A few more days and you will begin your life as adventurers!"
 Frank Schmidt's F1 Zombie Curse  is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module that clocks in at twenty three pages & while its not extremely well done. It hits the high notes for being easily customizable & easily adapted to Ravenloft. 


The tone of  Feastelburg is a dark one as the zombie plague ravages to the village. The adventurers are going to have to do some fast figuring as the adventure set pieces are outlined. The cartography could have used a bit more work but the layout is readable. This is a first level adventure & dungeon masters might want to add a bit more to fill out the meet of this adventure. The undead & locations are exactly what it says on the tin.
There's an artifact causing problems & the party could be easily overwhelmed at first level if the players are not careful.

The zombie, as depicted in the original Monster Manual (1977).

Crystal Shores promises some action & it does deliver but DM's are going to have to work a bit to add it into the mists of Ravenloft. Frank Schmidt's F1 Zombie Curse  is a useful adventure  with possibilities for continuation into a small campaign or into the larger mist filled horrors of Ravenloft. And this is exactly the sort of an adventure layout I'm looking for. Could Frank Schmidt's F1 Zombie Curse  be used for other retroclone systems?! Yes & I'm looking directly at Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Frank Schmidt's F1 Zombie Curse  could introduce the PC's to the world of Dark Europe. The shadow of the Black Death looms & a dark supernatural horror has taken on its ominous tone here in Crystal Shore. Undead are the perfect way to add in that element of the occult without wiping out the entire party right off unless they are very unlucky.


Sure I'm going against the grain of Lamentations but F1 Zombie Curse gets the PC's into the action without completely vaporizing the party that later LoFP adventures have the potential to do. Yes I can entirely see using F1 Zombie Curse  with Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Crystal Shores is sparse enough to mold the setting into the Pulpy weirdness of Hyperborea. But I can see using F1 Zombie Curse  with Ravenloft where the zombie sickness is connected with the mists. As Crystal  Shores drifts closer to the domain of dread the undeath state intensifies. The realm of terror claims the region as another horror crazy quilt piece in its ever expanding reign of evil. That is unless the characters can stave off the rise of the undead.


While  F1 Zombie Curse  isn't going to set the OSR world on fire its a good solid introduction into a horror filled OSR or old school campaign. The adventure even states this in its introduction; "Zombie curse is designed to start a new adventuring party on their road to fame and fortune. The party should have already formed itself and begun a journey to some other location and have to deal with this problem initially. When entering Crystal Shores they will notice mostly normal if not sickly villagers. This village can be the location of some of their adventuring gear they will require. While in the village they should be able to speak with the townspeople and discover a lot of them are becoming ill for unknown reasons. A funeral pyre at the outskirts will be explained that two of their kinsmen turned into zombies and attacked the community" I think that that  F1 Zombie Curse  is a great little module to introduce players into the world of OSR horror Dungeons & Dragons or old school Ravenloft. 

Free OSR Module & OSR Campaign Commentary On DF19 The Church of the Poisoned Mind By Mik Calow

So over the last day or so I've been doing a lot of thinking once again about Halloween OSR  games. I blame Goblinoid Games for this one. Their coming out with another Pumpkin Spice edition & its officially Halloween season here. Now this book isn't out yet but its kicked up in my mind where DM Steve needs to be in our on again off again Castles & Crusades game. Maybe I need to make him & his players suffer. Sure the Haunted Highlands is fantastic but I don't have access to that set of books.. yet.


Now perhaps I think that I'm going to dust off a 3.5 book by 'gasp' White Wolf games!? Yes I'm dusting off my copy of D20 Ravenloft & its attendant books. And yes I can always add in   the Haunted Highlands as a domain setting later on.  And please don't even begin to start with me how isn't OSR or I'm gonna pull out my copy of Dungeon Crawl Classics's 

 Transylvanian Adventures From  Land Of Phantoms. 
But I'm going to need a solid lead in adventure. 

 
 Fortunately I know a little second edition OSR module with all of the requirements for torturing erm getting the players deeply involved. The Church of the Poisoned Mind  By Mik Calow is a free Ravenloft  Dragon's foot adventure    "A Ravenloft adventure for AD&D 2nd Edition.

The party has come across a ruined church situated between a forest and a swamp. A thorough search reveals nothing other than a storm cellar door, which shows signs of recently being uncovered (the rest of the ruins are overgrown with weeds and grasses.) There is, curiously, no graveyard."

 The Church of the Poisoned Mind  By Mik Calow  isn't a fantastic module but it's easily customizable for a dungeon master & that's exactly the sort of a feel that I'm going for here. 

When begin to delve into the background of this module we get a sense of the horror for the ghoul cults involved here. So this is a straight up dungeon crawl with a few things going for it. Its got a weird vibe that runs throughout & can easily be made into a full on Lovecraft fest with no work at all. So Lovecraft & Ravenloft are a win in my book.



Otherworld miniatures ghouls are perfect monsters for 

The Church of the Poisoned Mind  By Mik Calow
The more I'm reading through this module the more I can see using The Church of the Poisoned Mind  By Mik Calow with say Lamentations of the Flame Princess or say Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.  Because The Church of the Poisoned Mind  By Mik Calow is second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons  & I'm using a third edition with a retroclone system there's gonna have to be some modification. Fortunately I've got more then a few tricks up my sleeve that I'll share with you guys coming up.

The Church of the Poisoned Mind  By Mik Calow is a solid middle of the road adventure but its gonna require a bit of work on a dungeon master's part who wants to get the maximum out of the module for their home games & such. But my conclusion is that its worth my time but D20 Ravenloft is gonna require some work on my part. 

Free OSR Module & Review DF5 The Horror of Spider Point AD&D first edition, OSRIC & Your Old School Campaigns

"Being dropped into the middle of a strange and eerie island, your adventurers have to fight for their lives to escape the evil that inhabits this weird island. Full adventure time plan, guides for the use of music,maps, hand outs and detailed information for the DM are included in this special adventure. A perfect introduction into the Ravenloft world or just to add some darkness into your current campaign world."

Sometimes you've got to go where the horror takes you & +
is one download over at the Dragon's foot site that I've been curious about. This is one of those modules that has a life of its own. Its a sort of 'Night of the Living Dead' meets Ravenloft in a dark alley & this is the black sheep of a baby. This is a stop watch adventure meaning that the adventure has a timeline as the PC's are transported to the island shortly before dawn & the beach is a blood bath of gore,bodies, & carnage.  Zombies come outta of the sea to attack the party & then retreat shortly before the sun comes up. So begins the countdown. Its a race of an adventure & the complication is that the PC's are trapped in Ravenloft to boot.



This wonderful piece of , Howard Johnson Pyle artwork isn't in the module seems oddly appropriate 

There Cap'n Goldsack goes, creeping, creeping, creeping, Looking for his reasure down below!: illustration of a pirate ghost. This was originally published in Sharp, William (July 1902). "Cap'n Goldsack". Harper's Magazine.

So the race is on & there's a definite survival horror aspect to this module & its surely inspired by John Carpenter's The Fog an old family favorite of ours. The zombie pirates with their nasty hooks are especially effective when they pull a PC into the depths with them. In fact do yourselves a favor & rewatch The Fog before running this adventure. But for the love of God grab the free Mappack for The Horror At Spider Point.

My only complaint about  Horror of Spider Point by Mark O'Reilly is that there needs to be more treasure in this adventure. Treasure is extremely important for PC's to go up levels with experience in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition & OSRIC as well as the various clones. The zombie pirates here are very well done & I can see expanding upon this module's premise to get the maximum dungeon master value from this adventure.



I can totally see running Horror of Spider Point by Mark O'Reilly with Lamentations of the Flame Princess with absolutely no modification. But can see running this as a pulp adventure with a Castles & Crusades rpg group or as a castaway module with pulp undertones with Amazing Adventures!.  But for a Sword & Sorcery game such as Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Horror of Spider Point by Mark O'Reilly has some very different connotations. The ghost pirates & the vile villain behind the action are the perfect boss monster to throw in an AS&SH sea borne campaign. Zombie pirates, mysterious islands, possible lost treasure this is a perfect module for AS&SH. All in all I really enjoyed Horror of Spider Point by Mark O'Reilly  because its nice change up from the usual D&D fare of adventures. 

4 Classic TSR Modules Under The Influence of The Ravenloft Setting For Old School Adventure

'The coiling mists of Ravenloft close their tendrils of fog & mist on other classic Dungeons  & Dragons  old school adventures. Adventures where the shadows grow longer & the aspects of monsters grow much more sinister as well as deadly. "
 

The idea here is to take five classic modules of  Dungeons & Dragons then marry these classics to the Ravenloft setting. How does the tone of these classic modules change & metamorphose into something totally unexpected ?


S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks suddenly takes on a darkly ironic kick to it as the ruined star ship not only is infected with hordes of undead zombies but the alien Flayer species is aboard as well. Very vicious monsters are being released onto the countryside at the same time which could mean the end of the world unless the PC's are willing to check out the dangerous remains of this cursed stead from the sky.
Once the party realizes the danger the ship represents then they must stop the undead hordes aboard from over running the countryside!



"Lost in the desert! The only hope for survival lies in a ruined city rising out of the sands. Food, water, and wealth await heroic adventures inside and ancient pyramid ruled by a strange race of masked beings. "

Every day the sands grow as the desert seeks to engulf  everything like a living hand of dry corruption! The goal is to to find out who or what is behind the sinister masked beings that are kidnapping locals & strange rumors of the demon god who is been accepting sacrifices once again. Does the lower levels of the lost city  under influence of Ravenloft contain far more demon gods & worse?



The cult of the demon god of B4 The Lost City under Ravenloft has already spread out into the county side like a disease. Th cancer is growing & only the adventurers can stop it! The dangers here grow as vampires & undead locked away for centuries flood out of these hidden levels.
"Not long ago, the valley was green and animals ran free through golden fields of grain. The Princess Argenta ruled over this peaceful land and the people were secure and happy. Then one day, a warrior riding a white dragon appeared in the skies over the castle, and almost overnight the tiny kingdom fell into ruin. Now only ruins and rumors remain, and what legends there are tell of a fabulous treasure still buried somewhere within the Palace of the Silver Princess."

The lunacy of B3 The Palace of the Silver Princess oozes into the counrty side as reality is twisted into knots by the mists of Ravenloft. Reality melts as the events of B3 spread like a cancer from the magicks of the events of the adventure. Men, women, animals are twisted into distorted versions of themselves as the curse of the valley spreads!
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Gray Mountain lies deep in the lush elven forest. The temple there was a haven of meditation and learning until taken over by an evil cleric known as the Rahib.

Far under the mountain, he paces before the temple's great altar. A brown-robed servant rushes in and falls to his knees, trembling at the sight of the Rahib's black panther. "Rahib, adventurers came to the village as the sun rose - the strangers now protect Rahasia."

A scowl crosses the Rahib's face. "I must have Rahasia! Attack again tonight." As the servant scurries away, a deep growl rises from the giant cat.

Gripping the panther's leash, the Rahib paces again, speaking out loud. "We must dispose of these strangers quickly; the secret beneath the temple will not wait much longer."" The PC's stumble upon an evil Elven cult of shape shifters whose influence deeply connects to the powers of Ravenloft itself. Murder,intrigue, horror, & the powers of Ravenloft tear at the PC's in this adventure. Modifying B7 means that the magcicks of the adventure must be stopped! 

Which of Ravenloft's Dark lords is behind the Rahib & whose taking advantage of the twisting of the magics of the temple in the Grey Mountains? Killing anyone that the party meets in this adventure would be very unwise.
The power s behinds the mists of Ravenloft are going to take full advantage of these adventure locations by spreading & maintaining the evils of them. In point of fact they'll be turning the horror & depravity aspects of these modules up to eleven. Just in time for Halloween.