“Success is not
final, failure is not fatal:
it is the courage to continue that counts.”
― Winston S. Churchill
 |
| A6 Die, Marquessa, Die! |
Thus begins Carlos Lising’s second installment of his continuing
expansion of his A series, where the said fellowship of heroes again endeavour
to put an end to “Marquessa’s” dastardly deeds, once and for all.
 |
| Markessa |
Be advised that I will adhere to Carlos’ spelling
throughout this review [except where noted].
This, like Carlos’ A5 adventure, is a tournament module,
first played at GaryCon in Lake Geneva in 2017. It was designed for OSRIC, very
much a sibling to 1st edition AD&D, so if you have that elderly
rule set you will be able to run it without any conversion. It’s intended for
characters 7th to 11th level. A Wandering Monster Table
is included for campaign play, not tournament play.
Have I played it? No. Have I Dm’ed it? No. You can cease
reading here now, if that admission renders my opinion irrelevant to you. I do
own a hardcopy of the adventure, and Carlos has graciously bequeathed me a
digital copy that I might review his effort. I have read it, obviously—commenting
on the adventure would have been difficult, otherwise—extensively, I might mention.
With a critical eye.
Still with me?
As noted above, the heroes failed in that endeavour the
prior year at GaryCon 2016. (That might depend on the session, but their
failure is presumed in the blurb on the cover.) One should not be too harsh.
It’s no easy task defeating high level NPCs. The odds were stacked against
them, what with Marquessa’s paranoia. Security in her complex was tight.
Is this a spoiler? One might think so, but this strategy is
all but identical to that in A2.
And she had always prepared means of escape.
Markessa has a
contingency spell cast upon herself that should she be reduced to 10 or fewer
hit points, she will be teleported to the home of a charmed ally in Furyondy. [Slavers
– 105]
Aside from that, she has always fought smart. She wants
to win. And she wants to survive.
If things are going badly for her she will either cast
her darkness spell and flee or she will pick up a flask off of a shelf and
throw it down to smash on the floor. The contents of the flask will form a blue
cloud of smoke, 10‘ radius, that cannot be seen through. Anyone caught in the
smoke will find that it stings their eyes and blinds them for 1 round after
they leave the cloud. [A2 - 27]
We know that the fellowship of heroes put Marquessa’s
minions to the sword in A5, but while doing so the alarm was raised and
Marquessa escaped, or if she was confronted, she fled when she deemed her
defense hopeless; either way, they failed in their quest, and one of the
Flanaess’ most heinous villains escaped, yet again.
Unfortunately, this
new fellowship failed in their aim. Though they managed to kill Marquessa's
loyal henchman, the sly Storm Zothculb, the enchantress herself learned of
their presence in her labyrinthine stronghold and used her potent magics to
teleport herself away to a position of safety. [A6 – 1]
Far be it for Marquessa not to hold a grudge.
 |
| Leander Hatgled |
And far be it for Marquessa to not be thorough in her
retribution.
A score of his
mercenaries, each one a potent warrior, were found slaughtered within his home.
The wizard was never seen again. Perhaps even more terrible, after he returned
to the village of his birth from his failed mission, the redoubtable paladin
amongst the fellowship discovered that the entirety of the community had
disappeared. His family, his friends...all vanished like morning dew beneath
sunrise. All that remained was a simple note, written in an elegant feminine
script:
Freedom,
fleeting as the petal of a rose. –M.
[A6 – 1]
Marquessa’s reaction is typical of what we would expect of
her. She’s, if anything, thorough. She’s a survivor, after all. Granted, one or
two were likely to slip her net; someone who, perchance, might already be
looking over her shoulder….
 |
| Skye, The Lioness |
Yet, even as a
black plume of roiling smoke rose from the top of the sacked tower of Leander
Hatgled, Skye would receive a sending from her master to remain in Diver.
Warriors from the north would arrive in but a night to reinforce her and aid
her in a new mission. The task of reforging the fellowship that had failed to
lay Marquessa the Enchantress low before had fallen to her. This group of
powerful worthies would be sent forth once more to finish the job they had
started and regain their honor, in the process. [A6 – 2]
The stage is set. The props do raise some questions,
though.
Skye seems a little dodgy, to my mind. Her loyalty lies
elsewhere, and not to Leander Hatgled, at all. Who might this Colourless Mage
of Perrengaard be? Why does he care what goes on in the Tanraeg? It matters not
a whit if you are just running this as a tournament. Motivations and McGuffins
are a means to an end. These questions need answering, however, should this
adventure be slipped into an ongoing campaign.
So, who exactly is this Colourless Mage? What’s he all
about? Why does he hate Marquessa so, that he sent a trusted agent into harms
way to spy on Leander Hatgled and report on his ongoing war with the dire elf?
Grist for the mill, I’d say.
As to the powerful worthies sent forth, these Pregens are
the same as those made available in A5. Their gear is identical. They include:
 |
| Our Heroes |
Quenden Tasander, 6th level Elf Male Fighter / 6th level
Magic-User
Sildan Enathwrel, 8th level Elf Male Magic-User
Ilsandre Sunshower, 6th level Gnome Female Illusionist /
6th level Thief
Jaran Braxx, 7th level Half-Elf Male Ranger
Telvas Thistlewine, 8th level Halfling Male Thief
Khâzratha Ironthews, 7th level Half-Orc Female Cleric
Lyandra Yrsanthi, 6th level Human Female Cleric / 6th
level Magic-User
Merranen Eagleheart, 8th level Human Male Druid
Ravella Zaar, 8th level Human Female Illusionist
Brother Lyrwend, 8th level Human Male Monk
Kendrel Rilsheven, 7th level Human Male Paladin
Players may choose among them, or play their own
characters, advice given in every classic adventure module ever published.
 |
| OSRIC |
I will say that it will be challenging for players, more
so than A5 was, I wager; as it should be: Marquessa has been tipped off by that
earlier assault that there are worthy adversaries hunting her; and one might
expect that after that earlier ordeal, she will be better prepared, and that
she will be holed up in a far more secure bunker than she was the first time.
This is not to say that A5 was a cake walk. I expect it was not.
One should expect that she has surrounded herself with
equally worthy minions. Because she has. All are fugitives, in one way or
another; and all are fitting companions to their mistress.
In her employ are a hot-tempered sociopath, Hargrath
Gernad, the Headless Lion of Hicrets [Sterich]; a paranoid Lesser Heirarch of
the Six-Fingered Society [the Horned Society], named Ranzir, on the run from
the Empire of Zuii [Iuz]; and Lady Tazmin il-Varzii, a fallen Paladin who was
once in the service of the Great God of the North [—an albino noted as Xuloise
{Suloise}, I’ll go out on a limb and say that she’s Schnai]. Marquessa’s right
hand man is the extremely formidable Azaak Tolin, from The Black Heath
[Blackmoor].
A relevant history is given for each of Marquessa’s
entourage. So too their personalities. These will be far more useful for the
module’s inclusion into a larger, and longer, campaign, but will also help the
DM give each life should the PCs get chatty with their opponents before
engaging with them.
The history of Marquessa’s fortress is given in the
Campaign notes, as well. You might imagine it’s a dark one, and in that you’d be
correct.
The maps given are simple, concise, and functional. Room
descriptions are equally clear and concise.
The bound maps are grey in colour, and look to be computer generated. Carlos was kind enough to donate a digital copy for my review purpose (to which I am grateful), and that has B&W maps. I prefer these. I printed copies of the maps and
doodled in what was described for each room, to better understand the layout
and how the furniture might help or hinder combat and can say that everything stated
fits with ease. I’ve always found dungeon rooms to be a little large for my
liking—let’s call them unnecessarily spacious—what with what I know about
subterranean excavations, and these are no different. The 40’ span of certain
rooms appear enormous to my mind’s eye. Why are they so large, I wonder? Battle
maps, maybe? Minis? I wonder why the adventure is laid out as it is, too. I
assume because doing so afforded the greatest challenge to players. Carlos has
a reputation as a masterful, and much sought after, DM at conventions, so I
don’t doubt that it is so for just that reason. One thing is certain: should
the players by chance choose a specific route they would bypass much, if not
most, of the potential encounters and expedite their confrontation with
Marquessa, the only way they could possibly face Her Vileness, what with the
security measures she has in place.
They had best be quick about it, too, if they’re going to
catch the Sculptress of Flesh, because if they learned anything last time,
she’s a tough nut to crack, and if they fail again, they had better fear what
she’ll do to exact revenge afterwards!
Is this a good adventure module? I think it is.
Is it worth the money? I think it is, too. Especially if
you’re a fan of the Greyhawk setting. Little has been created for it outside of
fandom, most of it either in Canonfire! And the Oerth Journal. Indeed, the
setting was all but unsupported for decades since the Living Greyhawk Campaign
folded decades earlier. In fact, I might suggest that fans of the setting would
be remiss to not support those authors and game designers willing to take the
time and effort to create and publish new content for the venerable Flanaess.
What do you get for your money?
The adventure hardcopy is staple bound, with glossy cardstock
cover. The actual adventure is 20 pages in length of the total 64 pages. There
is no interior artwork. Marquessa is extensively detailed, as are 4 of her
lieutenants; and each PC is given 2 full pages, ideal as handouts. There are
new monsters and new magic items. There is a page for tournament scoring, one
for the Open Gaming Licence, and 2 for maps.
Just remember that should the players fail again, they
should take heart, because:
“Success is
stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
― Winston S. Churchill
The Art:
Die, Marquessa, Die! cover art, by Chet Minton, 2017
Markessa detail, by Bill Willingham (?), from A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade, 1981
OSRIC cover, by Mark Ahmed, 2006
Die, Marquessa, Die! map, from the digital copy, 2017
Source:
2011A
Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979
2010,
Players Handbook, 1st Ed, 1978
2160
Dungeon Masters Guide Revised, 2nd Ed., 1989/1995
2159,
Players Handbook Revised, 2nd Ed., 1989/1995
OSRIC,
2006
9040
A2 Secret of the Slaver’s Stockade, 1981
11621
Slavers, 2000
A5
Kill Marquessa! casl Entertainment, 2016
A6 Die, Marquessa, Die! casl Entertainment, 2017
A7
Marquessa, Thy Name is Evil, casl Entertainment, 2018
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