Thoughts on B4 The Lost City

  

“I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said — “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert…”

– Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelly

B4 The Lost City

There are works of perceived perfection in all forms of fiction. So too even in adventure modules – although those which attain that distinction differs depending on who creates their list.

Some cite G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief or S1 Tomb of Horrors as the greatest adventure ever, others T1 Village of Hommlet, or N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God, or L1 The Secret of Bone Hill. It’s possible that most might agree that B2 Keep of the Borderlands deserves such lofty distinction, others not. Which adventures are might depend on how old the speaker is. Most people of a certain age might lean towards the earliest publications when considering the best of the best of adventures, myself being one of them (see those mentioned above for proof of that).

It might come as no surprise then that I’d rank Tom Moldvay’s B4 The Lost City among those works of perceived perfection – notice I keep saying “perceived.” It might be a masterpiece, in its way. I love its vision; I even love its scope; but it’s not without its flaws. Hence “perceived.”

There are aspects of this adventure module that fall far short of perfection, to my mind. It’s a creature of its time: a dungeon crawl. Not a bad thing; indeed, dungeon crawls are what we cut our teeth on, back in the day. In that it succeeds – kind of. It’s chalk full of tricks and traps, carrion crawlers and undead, and a degenerate culture that can be sunk or saved, depending on how the DM wants to run it, or how the players react to it. Where B4 fails, in my opinion, is in its timeline, its crazy-quilt lower tiers, its verisimilitude, and in its inclusion of certain undead (that the PCs will be wholly unprepared for, given their lowly levels). Where it succeeds is in its potential. Perhaps that’s because it leans heavily on its pulp origins, pulp origins that its author, the much-acclaimed Tom Moldvay, loved so much.

Lost, and in dire need of shelter and succour, our heroes stumble upon their salvation, if what they find can be called salvation.

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 adventurers inside an ancient pyramid ruled by a strange race of masked beings. [B4 – 1]

It’s an old trope now – maybe it was an old trope then, too.

Days ago, your group of adventurers joined a desert caravan. Halfway across the desert, a terrible sandstorm struck, separating your party from the rest of the caravan. When the storm died down, you found you were alone. The caravan was nowhere in sight. The desert was unrecognizable, as the dunes had been blown into new patterns. You were lost.

You headed east, the same way the caravan was headed before the storm. Days passed. Your mounts died and you soon drank the last of your water. The end of the desert was not in sight.

The second day after your water ran out, you stumbled upon a number of stone blocks sticking out of a sand dune. Investigation showed that the sand covered the remains of a tall stone wall. On the other side of the stone wall was a ruined city. [B4 – 4]

When I suggest that this is an old trope, it is: It should remind readers of Robert E. Howard’s “Red Nails,” even if the circumstance and geography couldn’t be more different. Conan, in Howard’s pulp classic finds himself at the foot of a long-lost city. But it’s a city choked by jungle, not suffocated by shifting sands.

Red Nails, The Dragon

"If you'll take your hands off me long enough to climb up on that peak," she said presently, "you'll see something that will surprise you."

He cast her a questioning glance, then obeyed with a shrug of his massive shoulders. Clinging to the spire-like pinnacle, he stared out over the forest roof. […]

He stood a long moment in silence, posed like a bronze statue on the rock.

"It's a walled city, right enough," he muttered presently. […]

The sun was high above the eastern horizon when they stood before the great gate in the northern wall, in the shadow of the lofty rampart. Rust flecked the iron bracings of the mighty bronze portal. Spiderwebs glistened thickly on hinge and sill and bolted panel. [Red Nails, Robert E Howard]

Our heroes find themselves in similar circumstances, laying eyes on the remains of the lost city of Cynidicea, its ruins poking out of drifting dunes, and its pyramid that once towered over it. They’re the first to do so in centuries, perhaps even longer.

Centuries ago, Cynidicea was the capital of a rich and fertile kingdom. Its people reclaimed much land from the desert, especially during the reign of King Alexander—the last and greatest king of Cynidicea. [B4 – 3]

The people prospered, and the nation achieved great advances in magic, science, and technology.

As with all cultures, it didn’t last. [Elder Evils – 144]

[Forgive the 3e intrusion. There are a number of resources out there other than the Moldvay’s original that further flesh out his adventure, if you’re so inclined to let them.]

Upon King Alexander's death, a huge pyramid was raised in his honor. This pyramid was the largest and most important building in the city. [B4 – 3]

One wonders how they came to complete such an impressive engineering feat without having worked their way up to it, but such was the way of adventures: one needs a bit of a backstory and a starting point, and Alexander’s pyramid fits the bill. Anyway, construction of a pyramid began…

The fall of Cynidicea began on the day that workers, digging under the great pyramid, chanced upon the lair of a strange monster called Zargon. [B4 – 3]

… chancing upon this elder being was the worst thing that could have happened to the now doomed people of Cynidicea.

Zargon

Although Zargon is ancient, it is no god. It is a cunning creature that discovered its "godhood" makes it easier to get victims. Zargon was worshipped by primitive peoples in early times, but retreated underground when the primitives were wiped out by the ancestors of the Cynidiceans. Zargon remained in a strange hibernation for many years. By chance, the Cynidiceans built the pyramid on the spot where Zargon's original shrine stood, and the later digging of the Cynidicean slaves awakened the creature. [B4 – 23]

Me being me, I wonder who those earlier primitives were, but they are not part of our story.

Getting back to the Cynidiceans, Zargon seduced them, and tainted them.

The kingdom’s success bred complacency and decadence, and the population plunged itself into excess. This laxity enabled a bloodthirsty cult to come to power and perform unspeakable sacrifices to their dark god, Zargon. [Elder Evils – 144]

In time, a strange cult arose that worshipped the monster as a god. The cult viewed the monster's victims as religious sacrifices. [B4 – 3]

For years, the kingdom declined, languishing under the yoke of oppression, until a great barbarian horde smashed the nation, slaughtered the people, and scattered them across the lands. [Elder Evils – 144]

The only people of Cynidicea who survived its destruction were those who had fled underground to the vast catacombs under the city. There, led by Priests of Zargon, the Cynidiceans tried to rebuild the city. [B4 – 3]

Cynidicians

They’ve been down there a long time. B4 says centuries, but not how many. It must have been extremely long, though, given their fate.

A Decadent and Dying Race

The Cynidiceans are a dying race. Each new generation is smaller than the last. Most Cynidiceans have forgotten that an outside world exists, living most of their lives in weird dreams. The times when they seem normal, tending their fields and animals, are becoming fewer and fewer as the dreams replace reality. Their unusual costumes and masks only strengthen their dream worlds. [B4 – 3]

The worshippers of Zargon began to look for strange pleasures. They sought oblivion in rare wines and bizarre drugs. [B4 – 3]

Roughly a thousand Cynidicians remain in the lost city. The average Cynidicean has pale skin, snow-white hair, low-light vision, and light sensitivity [.] [Dungeon #315 – 88]

Generation after generation of Cynidiceans have lived out their lives underground. Though still human, their skin has become very pale and their hair is bone-white. The Cynidiceans have developed infravision and, like goblins, attack with a penalty of -1 to hit when fighting in full daylight.

Every Cynidicean wears a stylized mask...

Every Cynidicean wears a stylized mask, usually of an animal or human face. Some are made of wood, some of paper [mâché], and some of metal. They are decorated with beads, bones, feathers, and jewels. Most Cynidiceans wear fancy clothes, flashy jewelry, and carry short swords. Some paint their bodies with bright colors. [B4 – 3]

Long story short, the Cynidiceans have been isolated for a very long time, long enough to have adapted to their new home and isolation.

As were Howard’s isolated and thoroughly degenerate natives in his lost city.

The man in no way resembled the figures depicted on the friezes. He was slightly above middle height, very dark, though not negroid. He was naked but for a scanty silk clout that only partly covered his muscular hips, and a leather girdle, a hand's breadth broad, about his lean waist. His long black hair hung in lank strands about his shoulders, giving him a wild appearance. He was gaunt, but knots and cords of muscles stood out on his arms and legs, without that fleshy padding that presents a pleasing symmetry of contour. He was built with an economy that was almost repellent. [Red Nails]

But this being D&D, our degenerates can’t be so degenerate as to not be somewhat civilised – if they were thoroughly so, they might as well be grimlocks and not what they are. It’s what passes as civilisation in this hidden corner of the world that makes Cynidicea so interesting.

Factions of Cynidicea

A few Cynidiceans are nearly normal. These Cynidiceans are trying to restore the worship of the old gods—Gorm, Usamigaras, and Madarua. They hope to stop the slow death of their society and regain the past glory of Cynidicea. [B4 – 3]

The Brotherhood of Gorm. Their god, Gorm, is the god of war, storms, and justice. The followers of Gorm are male fighters of Lawful alignment. All wear golden masks of the face of Gorm, a long-haired, bearded man with a stern gaze. [B4 – 3]

Let’s call them Grecian warriors, or more likely, given their roots in antiquity, Achaeans.

The Magi of Usamigaras. This faction worships Usamigaras, the god of healing, messengers, and thieves. They are all Neutral magic-users, wearing silver masks of the face of Usamigaras, the smiling child. [B4 – 3]

Magic-users, obviously, although they feel like unsavoury Howardian cultists.

The Warrior Maidens of Madarua. The Maidens worship Madarua, goddess of birth, death, and the changing seasons. They are Neutral female fighters. The Warrior Maidens wear bronze masks of Madarua, a beautiful woman. [B4 – 3]

Amazons, without a doubt, a la Bêlit.

The three factions do not get along well. Each faction is sure that only its members know the proper way to restore the lost greatness of Cynidicea. Often, when members of different factions meet, they argue or fight. It is possible for the three factions to cooperate, but such cooperation is rare. [B4 – 3]

What makes the factions so inspiring is their politics and infighting, and their leaders’ respective personalities.

12. GRAND MASTER OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF GORM

Kanadius is stern-looking but basically kindly. He prefers to outmanuver [sic] opponents, but is brave if fighting is necessary. He is somewhat absent-minded with unimportant details, but not with major ones. He leads his men rather than orders them. Under his leadership, morale is high. [B4 – 7]

The Magi of Usamigaras

14a. THE CHAMBER OF THE MAGI

Stout Auriga Sirkinos appears to be jolly and fun-loving. His mirth actually hides a ruthless personality. He is a fanatic who will do anything to promote the cult of Usamigaras and his own power. He tries his best to hide this under a pleasant manner. While he will welcome the party, he will also do his best to insure that he, personally, retains the most power in the cult. However, if it comes to a choice between the Magi of Usamigaras or the personal power of Auriga Sirkinos, he will choose personal power. [B4 – 9]

23. WARRIOR MAIDENS OF MADARUA

Pandora prides herself on being a simple fighter. She claims that swift action is the best solution to any problem. "When in doubt, attack" she often says. Actually she is more subtle than she leads people to believe. She always keeps track of the odds. While she often uses force to settle problems, she tries to make sure that the odds are with her. She raises the morale of any Warrior Maidens she is with [.] [B4 – 12]

What will the Cynidicean factions think of the PCs? They won’t be freaked out by them: they’re familiar with gnomes and hobgoblins and goblins, after all, so how could dwarves, elves, and halflings possibly be perceived as monsters?

Hobgoblins are [servants of] the Priests of Zargon (capturing prisoners, raiding another faction, or so on). [B4 – 8]

A thoul is a magical combination of a ghoul, a hobgoblin, and a troll [.] Thouls look like hobgoblins. The party will think these thouls are hobgoblins until they attack. […] The thouls serve the Priests of Zargon. They hunt for prisoners to take back to the Underground City. [B4 – 16]

Goblins […] live in caves across the underground lake from the Cynidiceans [….] The goblins serve Zargon [.] If no Cynidiceans volunteer to go to Zargon, the goblins kidnap victims to feed the monster. Otherwise, the goblins do not usually harm Cynidiceans. After all, if the Cynidiceans died out, Zargon would start eating goblins! [B4 – 5]

[G]nomes have traveled underground to the Lost City through the tunnels and canals that empty into the underground lake [.] [B4 – 5]

One imagines the Cynidiceans would view the PCs with suspicion, regardless what the PCs look like; but the Cynidicean factions have been beleaguered and largely ineffectual for a very long time – their perpetual struggle is in perpetual stalemate – so they will obviously put what prejudices they might have aside and endeavour to use the PCs to whatever advantage they can hope to gain to get the upper hand against their rival factions, and ultimately against the Cult of Zargon, so long as it’s “the right help.”

The Brotherhood of Gorm will take male fighters, male dwarves, male halflings, and male elves as full members. The Magi of Usamigaras will take any magic-user, elf, cleric, or thief. The Warrior Maidens will take female fighters, female elves, female dwarves, and female halflings as full members. Also, any character may become a lesser member of a faction, if desired. Factions will not do as much for lesser members, and a lesser member can never become powerful within a faction. [B4 – 3]

Grist for the mill, so to speak. It’s a powder keg ready to blow, if played right. But only as part of a greater campaign. In a short adventure, they are merely chess pieces to manipulate.

It ought be mentioned that this module is more than a mere adventure. It’s a campaign setting. But it’s also a “mega-dungeon.” In its shortest form, the adventure consists of only Tiers 1-5. Technically, the PCs could stop there, they could find enough food and water to brave the dunes again and high tail it out of the lost city and let the factions sort their own mess out. Prudent low-level adventurers surely should do exactly that, given what they may have encountered in these relatively “easy” levels.

Did I suggest the upper levels were easy? If they were only infested with carrion crawlers and stirges, one might think so (yeah, like carrion crawlers and stirges are a walk in the park for 1^st level characters – input sarcasm here). But they are not. The pyramid is a tomb, after all, and what good is a tomb without an menagerie of undead entombed within it?

Queen Zenobia

32. QUEEN ZENOBIA'S BURIAL CHAMBER

The stone box contains the wooden coffin of Queen Zenobia. If the coffin is opened, the party will find that Zenobia is now a wight [.] She will attack on sight [.] A wight can only be hit by silvered or magical weapons. [B4 – 14]

34. KING ALEXANDER'S BURIAL CHAMBER

The translucent, ghost-like figure is a banshee [.] The banshee is a new monster. A banshee is a supernatural creature that warns certain families of an approaching death or mourns for certain individuals after their deaths. Banshees can only be hit by magical weapons or harmed by magical spells. [B4 – 14]

The PCs will likely not have magic weapons at such low levels. They probably won’t have silvered weapons, either. They certainly won’t have either if this is their first adventure, and since Mr. Moldvay did not see fit to include either in the rooms leading up to these encounters, one might imagine the PCs tomb raiding days will come to a decidedly quick end as soon as they discover either of these dearly departed regals.

Another concern of mine is the upper-Tier boss encounter. It involves a possession.

45. BEDROOM

This was once the bedroom of Demetrius, a 6th level cleric. Demetrius was an elder in the cult of Usamigaras. His twin brother, Darius, was a 6th level cleric in the cult of Zargon. Years ago, Demetrius vowed to destroy the cult of Zargon, especially his evil brother. But Demetrius was assassinated before he could even begin his quest.

Demetrius made a dying wish that his spirit live on until Darius was destroyed. The spirit of Demetrius now rests in the white robe. Any character touching the robe must make a save vs. Dragon Breath or be taken over by the spirit of Demetrius. Demetrius will only possess the character long enough to kill Darius (see room 58). [B4 – 17]

58. CLERIC'S CHAMBER

This room contains the evil cleric Darius and his hobgoblin guards. [B4 – 20]

Demetrius will depart once Darius is dead, and the white robe will disintegrate. The possessed character will be magically restored to his or her own full hit points when Demetrius leaves. [B4 – 17]

This sort of thing always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The most likely way to defeat Darius and his hobgoblins appears to be the possession. Otherwise… I’m not saying killing Darius is not doable without being possessed by Demetrius and gaining access to his spells, but it’s going to be a tough go without them.

Demetrius

Personally, I prefer this encounter, even if it is less “epic” than the other.

48. HIDDEN GUARDROOM

Wererats

The four men are actually wererats [….] These lycanthropes are disguised as Cynidiceans so they can safely rob the citizens when they get a chance. If threatened, the wererats will change into giant rat form and fight or run. Like other lycanthropes, wererats in animal form can only be hit by silvered or magical weapons. [B4 – 18]

Having a warren of wererats eking out a living among the factions is evocative, to say the least; but I also question whether any member of any faction wouldn’t be infected with lycanthropy after too long.

That said, there’s that magic/silvered weapon issue, again. Poor PCs. They just aren’t going to have an easy time of delving this pyramid, are they?

I would not blame unseasoned adventurers if they’d had their fill by then and cut and run. If they managed to survive, that is.

But what would be the fun in that?

There’s another pyramid below this initial one, where in the adventure’s longer form Tiers 6-10 descend into the earth, the upper pyramid a cake walk by comparison. The PCs will be on their own down there unless they can solicit aid from one or more factions. And good luck with that.

TIERS 6-10

The Cynidiceans do not usually venture into the lower tiers. These are the haunt of Zargon, the tentacled monster the Cynidiceans worship. Cynidiceans found on these tiers will most likely be Zargon's prey, or Priests of Zargon. [B4 – 21]

As mentioned, Tiers 6-10 are Zargon country and the factions have absolutely no power down here. Evil clerics abound on Tier 6 (or should I say Chaotic…). Below them even these fell priests hold little to no sway. Ever more dire monsters dwell the deeper the PCs might plumb, until the lowest levels are a veritable menagerie of what one might call Lovecraftian horrors, culminating in the final battle with Zargon, himself. Rumour has it that Lovecraft’s tales of eldritch horrors was the other inspiration for this adventure.

Why are the rebel factions up here in the upper tiers of the hollowed-out pyramid, anyway? Is it because they’re insurgents, and insurgents are rarely welcome due to their seditious nature.

These Cynidiceans are trying to restore the worship of the old gods—Gorm, Usamigaras, and Madarua. They hope to stop the slow death of their society and regain the past glory of Cynidicea. [B4 – 3]

Honestly, there is no actual reason given why the rebels are in the upper tiers of the pyramid. It’s not like they are hiding out. Each has a stronghold in the city below. And why would all of their leaders be away from their command posts, at the same time? They are there as an introduction to what might be had as part of a larger story below.

Maybe a clue as to why they are present is in that they are trying to free Cynidicea from the tyranny of Zargon. Perhaps they are each racing to unearth a long lost relic that will help them defeat Zargon: scrolls, a magic sword, or perhaps something as “mundane” as Alexander’s crown, as a symbol for Cynidicea’s drug addled people to rally to.

The Priests of Zargon are a fourth faction. They are found mainly in areas outside the basic adventure. The Priests of Zargon serve the evil monster Zargon and control the underground city. [B4 – 3]

K: The Temple of Zargon

This the largest building in Cynidicea. It holds a temple to Zargon and barred cells where prisoners are kept until the priests feed them to Zargon. The temple services are poorly attended, but the Priests of Zargon are still the strongest power in the underground city. [B4 – 24]

THE UNDERGROUND CITY

The surviving people based their new life around a huge underground lake fed by channels cut through solid rock. Built in the reign of King Alexander, the lake had been the original city's water supply. On its shores, the people grew mushrooms and other edible fungi. They built houses using stones from the ruins above. The new underground city was much smaller than the ancient capital, but it was safer because it was hidden beneath the desert sands. Above, drifting sands covered the original city, and Cynidicea was lost in the vastness of the desert. [B4 – 3]

Descent to the City

Will the PCs descend to Cynidicea proper? Will they become mired in faction infighting? Or will they somehow find a way to bind these disparate and bickering freedom fighters together and rally them against their real enemy, the Cult of Zargon, and ultimately Zargon, itself?

“Who can stand against the might of Zargon the Returner? Surely, no man is strong enough of courage and skill to face my master in combat. No god would dare confront him, for he has brought low others before. Nay, when Zargon awakens, all shall tremble as the world is born anew in his foul image.”

—Dorn, Ascendant of Zargon [Elder Evils – 144]

That passage elevates Zargon from a mere parasite to near god status, the true elder evil he ought to be, one cast down aeons ago by his enemies and is struggling to rise again.

Despised by the baatezu, feared by the gods, and all but forgotten by mortals, Zargon the Returner struggles to escape his prison to once more conquer the earth and drown the world with rivers of his slime. [Elder Evils – 144]

Cynidicia

If the PCs do descend to the city, be prepared to work. There is little said about it. There’s a simplistic and wholly inadequate map. No buildings are mapped. There are only brief paragraphs describing certain notable features, faction strongholds, and Zargon’s temple, and little else. There are also a few paragraphs suggesting further adventures to be had, but no suggestions on how to carry them out. I blame publishing issues, most specifically page count. There’s only so much Moldvay could press into 28 pages. That said, he stuffed a whole lot into them.

What to do then? Find inspiration where you can: in the 4e sourcebook The Underdark, in the Menzoberranzan boxed set, in Skullport, in Drow of the Underdark, and whatever else that might inspire you, even the City of Greyhawk boxed set, and perhaps even B6 The Veiled Society for city streets.

It won’t be an easy task fleshing out Cynidicea but it will be a labour of love.

The Lost City

Is B4 The Lost City a Greyhawk adventure module? Of course not. It’s Basic D&D and was firmly placed in Mystara in “Return to the Lost City,” in Dragon #315. But it can be easily retconned into the Flanaess. I expect quite a few have over the decades.

But where?

Well, if one were so inclined to follow in the footsteps of Robert E. Howard, a jungle setting could suffice.

They had emerged from the belt of leaves, and stared down into the lower reaches of the forest. Above them the green roof spread its dusky canopy. Below them the sunlight filtered in just enough to make a jade-tinted twilight. The giant trunks of trees less than a hundred yards away looked dim and ghostly. […]

The thicket was violently agitated, and Valeria clutched Conan's arm hard. Ignorant of jungle-lore, she yet knew that no animal she had ever seen could have shaken the tall brush like that. [Red Nails]

The Amedio would suit. There are lots of ruins hidden under its canopy.

But if we are true to Moldvay’s text, a desert setting is in order. The Bright Desert is far to small, to my thinking, for a city to be lost in. That leaves either the Paynim Steppes (which aren’t actually a desert) or the Sea of Dust. Personally, I think the Sea of Dust is ideal. It’s a vast, windswept, inhospitable tract of desolation, where we know a lost civilisation once thrived.

The Suel Imperium was located in what is now the Sea of Dust. Wicked and decadent, this empire was destroyed during a war with the Baklunish when the latter brought down the Rain of Colorless Fire, Suloise survivors fled in all directions, many crossing the Hellfurnaces into the Flanaess, where they met other Suel who had fled the long war much earlier. [LGG – 8]

Sea of Dust: A bleak desert of powdery gray ash fills this enormous basin that was formerly the Suel Morning in the Sea of Dust Imperium. A fertile landscape once extended for 1,000 miles west and south until it was inundated by the Rain of Colorless Fire, sent in retaliation by the survivors of the Baklunish Empire after it had been brought low by the Invoked Devastation cast by the Suloise a millennium ago. What remains is an endless vista of ash and dust shaped into dunes. Howling desert winds often whip the surface into choking clouds that strip flesh from bone, making vision impossible and breathing a torment. This environment is made even worse by the addition of volcanic ash and cinders that rain down from the Hellfurnaces to cover the already ghastly landscape. Below the dusty surface, the ash is packed and nearly hard as rock; no plant will grow here. [LGG – 154,155]

We know there are people living there, clinging to existence despite how unforgiving existence in the Sea of Dust is, even on its fringe.

The fringes of this vast basin also hold examples of humanity. A tall, slender folk of ebony hue dwells on the southwest edge of the desert, pursuing a nomadic life where the caustic dust gives way to fertile soil. Another human race lives under the shadow of the Hellfurnaces on the desert's eastern border. These short, stocky people cover their bodies with an odorous wax to protect against the caustic dust and burning sun. [LGG – 155]

Either might have been the barbarians that sacked the city after the Rain of Colourless Fire.

We also know that there are those who’ve inexplicably braved that lethal sea in recent years.

Natives of the Sulhauts and explorers from distant lands sometimes enter the Sea of Dust and explore its few ruins in search of treasures of the ancient Suel Imperium. [LGG – 155]

Why? For ancient and esoteric knowledge, obviously.

The Society [of the Serpent] also has many ancient texts and maps showing the location of dozens of abandoned (former member) Wizard’s laboratories and strongholds, some of them in the Sea of Dust [.] [Dragon #256 – 46]

570 CY

Indeed, brave souls have discovered a well-preserved Suel settlement of modest size. Investigating further, they ascertained that they had discovered the legendary Forgotten City of the Suel. The city was blanketed in a white ash of caustic properties. […]

Eventually the band stumbled across a mage-tower protruding from the ash. Unfortunately for the searchers, many powerful wards were still in place within the tower, and these tested Aelistrifel’s magic to the utmost. Ultimately, the party found a hidden entrance to subterranean vaults. [Dragon #243 – 91]

It’s not too far a stretch to imagine our “heroes” braving the Sea of Dust for that very reason, certainly not for trade, because how lucrative could trade across the Sea actually be?

[Y]our group of adventurers joined a desert caravan. [B4 – 4]

You headed east, the same way the caravan was headed before the storm. [B4 – 4]

The storm stuck, they were separated from their caravan and their struggle to survive began.

Then, just when they thought they might surely die, they catch a flash across the sea of caustic sand…

That glint turns out to be three statues atop a buried pyramid if a strong, bearded man [B4 – 3], a child [holding] a wand in one hand and a handful of coins in the other [B4 – 3], and a beautiful woman. In her hands she held a sheaf of wheat and a sword. [B4 – 3]

Gorm, Usamigara, and Madarua do not fit our narrative. Kord (or Jascar), Wee Jas, and Brahm might.

[Dragon #87,88,90,92]

Lerara

As to the Cynidiceans, I imagine they might be a branch of Lerara. In fact, give that the underground city resides in the underoerth and that there are innumerable tunnels and caverns leading out from its cavern, it’s not too far a stretch to imagine that Cynidecea could very well be one of their settlements.

Appearance: The Lerara, once an attractive people, have degenerated thanks to a combination of inbreeding and environmental pressures over the last thousand years. Though certainly human in appearance, they are almost albinos, having chalk-white skin, very pale blue eyes, and rough, silver-white hair. Many true, pink-eyed albinos live among them. Most Lerara have receding chins and very small ears, a few having minor deformities such as one less finger or a few extra toes. Their eyes, however, have grown slightly larger and have a disturbing aspect when staring. [Dragon #241 – 45]

Special Advantages: A Lerara’s light-sensitive eyes are able to use a single candle flame or phosphorescent fungus to see within a 50['] radius. A torch illuminates a radius of 150’ for Lerara. [Dragon #241 – 46]

Languages: Leraran PCs speak a corrupt form of ancient Suloise mixed with words borrowed from the drow. [Dragon #241 – 45]

Habitat: Nearly all Lerara inhabit the northern reaches of the vast cavern-and-tunnel system under the Hellfurnances, along the Passage of Slerotin. [Dragon #241 – 45]

Indeed, Cynidicea might even be the embarkation point of Slerotin’s Tunnel.

577 CY

Some dozen years ago, a cavernous bore was found at the foot of the Crystalmists in the western end of the realm. This tunnel, which supposedly pierces the range and leads to the Sea of Dust [.] [LGG – 135]

Since the discovery of the Passage of Slerotin in 577 C.Y., an increasing number of adventurers and treasure-hunters have reached Leraran society. [Dragon #241 – 45]

Maybe Cynidicea being the start of the Tunnel is a bit of a stretch, but it does open a whole host of possibilities, doesn’t it? Deep Gnomes, Drow, Derro, Duergar, etc.

What can I say, I do so love to imagine and tinker. It’s in my nature. Given that, it’s not to hard to imagine that I would tinker here too. Would I use the maps, as published. I have. But I stripped the monsters down, judging that Moldvay’s “inhabitants” no longer held verisimilitude for me. In their place, I would (and did) repopulate the upper pyramid with desert creatures that wiggled their way in. I was liberal with undead in the middle, just to ensure my players would give it wide berth until they were stronger and better equipped. I also enhanced the lower “upper” levels with a warren of wererats. And a giant ant colony.

Zargon the Returner

The lower tiers were remade into a Lovecraftian dungeon delve. No manticores. No chimeras. No blue dragons. Lots of puddings and slimes and shriekers and the like, ghouls and ghasts and things that go bump in the depths of the dark.

As to Cynidicea proper, I thought it too small, to grid-like, too neat.

And as to King Alexander, I renamed him Ozymandias. You know I did.

All in all, I did a complete rewrite. But that’s me. I do like to tinker. Sadly, I did not run it to completion. Not even close.

Granted, one could just run B4 as is. It is a masterpiece, after all. Designers have come back to it time and again: there is a foreshortened version of it in B1-9 In Search of Adventure; it was revisited in Masque of Dreams in Dungeon #142, and in Mystara: Return to the Lost City in Dragon #315; made mention of alongside Zargon in 2007’s Elder Evils sourcebook; was expanded and expounded upon in the Vault ofPandius as The Lost City Campaign Sourcebook; and most recently, Goodman games gave it a full treatment in its Original Adventures Reincarnated.

That’s a lot of love lavished on this aged gem. And it deserves it.

So, is B4 The Lost City in my top ten? It is.

I love it. It ticks so many of my boxes: a lost, degenerate civilisation; "chaotic" cultists; Lovecraftian horrors! So good!

Is it in your top ten list?

"Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away."

—  Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelly

One must always give credit where credit is due. This post is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is interminable.

The Art:

Cover art, by Jim Holloway, from B4 The Lost City, 1982

Salvation, by Jim Holloway, from B4 The Lost City, 1982

The Dragon, by Howard S. Daley, from "Red Nails" in Weird Tales, 1936

Zargon, by Jim Holloway, from B4 The Lost City, 1982

Cynidicians, by Jim Holloway, from B4 The Lost City, 1982

Masque of Dreams details, by Michael M. Kaluta, from Dungeon #142, 2007

Queen Zenobia, by Jim Holloway, from B4 The Lost City, 1982

Demetrius,  by Jim Holloway, from B4 The Lost City, 1982

Wererats, from B4 The Lost City, 1982

Lost City cross-section, from B4 The Lost City, 1982

Lost City map, from B4 The Lost City, 1982

Priestess of Zargon, by Michael M. Kaluta, from Dungeon #142, 2007

Lazarretti map detail, from Dragon Magazine #118 - 121, 2005

Elayne Mystica, by Valarie Valusek, from Dragon #139, 1988

Zargon, from Elder Evils, 2007

Sources:

9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980

1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983

2009 Monster Manual 1e, 1977, 1978

9049 B4 The Lost City, 1982

11743 Living Greyhawk Gazeteer, 2000

Elder Evils, 2007

Dragon Magazine #87,88,89,90,92,230,241,243,256,315

Dungeon Magazine #142

Red Nails, Robert E. Howard, 1936

On Duchess and Candella

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Candella and Duchess

Anyone who has followed this blog may already realise that Duchess and Candella are my favourite NPCs. One or two of you may ask, why? They are low level, hardly heroic. They’re thieves, for goodness sakes.

That would be unkind. NPCs are ours to define and develop; they are what we make them.

Shekespeare said it best in Twelfth Night, I believe, even if its inference was less than kind when spoken: “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.”

That may be the very reason why I love them so. Room to grow, so to speak. And what room, indeed!

Where’d this dynamic duo spring from? The imagination of Jean Wells.

Consider this comment from this Dragonsfoot Forum thread:

Jean Wells illustration of Duchess and Candella?

Candella and Duchess

“Those are indeed Jean [Well]'s favorite duo in both pictures. They come from her and/or Skip's campaign in the late 1970s, iirc, tho she played other characters in my Lake Geneva campaign c1981-85.”

This leads me to believe that Duchess and Candella were 2 of her PCs, her favourite, it would seem, judging by the above quote. She loved them enough that she wished to immortalise them in her one and only adventure module, that only briefly saw print, before office politics decreed that her effort be recalled and destroyed. Why was it destroyed? Not by her doing, rumour has it; it had everything to do with presumably suggestive and immoral artwork, none of which she was happy with. Much has been said about this “lost” classic (which is not lost at all: the PDF is readily available for download; and a number of copies were “rescued” from destruction and those that were demand a pretty penny these day), so I won’t dwell on it. Use a little Google-fu if you’d like to learn more. The art may not have been her fault, but that did not save her from the fallout. Alas, she produced no other products for TSR.

Sadly, we cannot ask her, personally, what happened. She is forever mum on the subject.

(Oeva Jean Wells Koebernick, July 25, 1955 – January 25, 2012, 56 years old)

She will be forever mum on the subject of Duchess and Candela, as well. There might be a few who are privy to the story. The aforementioned Skip [Williams?] might have insights, perhaps a few others from those early hallowed halls of TSR who are still alive and well might, as well. I have not reached out to any of them on the subject, and likely never will, preferring to dream what dreams I may, instead. That way D & C will be forever mine.

All we do know is the little she wrote about them.

As the party searches the room, roll for a wandering monsters. If on the first roll none was indicated roll again. On the last roll if one was indicated the wandering monster will be two female thieves: Candella (20) F (AC 7, T2, hp 8, #AT 1, D 1-6. Save T2, M 7, AL N, S 12, I 15, W 13, D 17, C 15, CH 14) Duchess (18) F (AC 7, T2, hp 6, #AT 1, D 1-6, Save T2, M 7, AL N, S 11, I 12, W 15, D 16, C 18, CH 15). Both women will have an above average appearance (CH 14, 15) and will attempt to use it to their benefit. They will pretend to be young inexperienced fighters in search of adventure, fame and fortune, but mostly fortune. Candella is the spokesman of the two women.

These two thieves will be friendly towards the party, not acting hostile if they win the initiative. They will politely ask to join the party, saying that they are not quite as tough or prepared for adventuring as they had originally thought themselves to be. Dutchess [sic] (hp 6, CH 15) will stress her desire to accompany them, saying she fears that she and her companion have made a grave error in attempting to venture into the palace ruins by themselves, especially after seeing the strange 3 headed monsters they have managed to flee from so far. Both thieves will have the following on them including normal dungeon supplies, weapons and thieves tools:

15 gp.

7 sp.

21 cp.

Wolfsbane (Duchess)

poisoned daggers (poison effective for one attack)

Strand of pearls (Candella) (value 600gp)

These two thieves may be used by the DM as NPCs (nonplayer characters) or as a normal dungeon encounter.

[B3_Original – 10, 11]

What have we learned from this short passage? That they are pretty, and that they use their beauty to their advantage. They misrepresent themselves—perhaps not unexpected, as they are thieves and of dubious moral fortitude (they are packing poison, after all), and one might expect (they certainly do) that thieves would be less welcome in Lawful parties than fighters—although there is no mention that they will not be true to the party. That may be implied, citing the poison, but they are not Chaotic, are they?

We also learn that although it is Duchess who wishes (stresses her desire) to join the party, it is Candella who their spokesperson. That suggests that Candella (I 15, W 13, CH 14), the smarter of the 2, is the leader, but that Duchess (I 12, W 15, CH 15), the wiser and more charismatic of the 2, is not without influence.

That’s not much to go on; but it is also enough to inspire the imagination.

I’m not the only person to be inspired by Duchess and Candella, either. Those who are do pop up from time to time, in art, mainly (most notably Domenico Neziti, as seen below); but I also expect that quite a few DMs have seen fit to include them in adventures they’ve devised. ArtoftheGenre certainly used their image on the cover of his bonus module A Secret Respite, if only there and not in the adventure, itself.

Candella and Duchess

First, that is a great 'catch', as yes, the entire scene is a homage to the Red Box, as the shop is the one used by the fighter character in the introduction mini-adventure, and the cleric is the one from the book, although it isn't Aleena (who sadly died in the mini-adventure intro), as in the book she's called Clarion if you read the description under the Cleric class. I've used her extensively in my Roslof Keep adventure series because I fell in love with her when I was 12 and haven't stopped yet, obviously. AND the two other female characters are Duchess and Candella from The Palace of the Silver Princess (originally drawn by Roslof). This image is done by artist Domenico Neziti, who has done some great work for Art of the Genre in the past. And sadly no, none of the characters appear in the mini-adventure, unless you are using the playable characters from the Roslof Keep Campaign, in which Clarion has been stat-blocked at high level. I just enjoy putting Duchess and Candella in various situations, because I think they are fun.

Did Elmore's Anielle appear on the cover of this Folio adventure? - The Piazza

More importantly, Tom Moldvay saw fit to salvage D & C and include them in his refit of Jean’s disgraced adventure. One wonders whether he was inspired by these exceptional NPCs, or maybe perhaps he wished to exonerated Jean by ensuring her favourite characters survived the axe that felled her. We will never know how so about this, either, as Tom shall be as forever mum on the subject as Jean is, for the same reason.

B3 Candella and Duchess

(Tom Moldvey, November 5, 1948 – March 9, 2007, 58 years old)

But salvage, and immortalise them, he did.

A statue of a young girl playing with a dove is in the south-eastern corner of this oddly shaped room. A large handcarved bookcase stands next to the northeastern wall. Two wooden benches, one in front of each of the two southwestern windows, have scrolls lying upon them. Two women stand next to one of the benches. Both women wear leather armor and carry swords. One of the women has just unrolled a scroll and is reading it. [B3 – 24]

Tom did not deviate much from Jean’s original intent, although his room we encounter them in differs from the one she introduced them.

This room contains the remains of bunks, bedrolls, round oaken tables, stools, benches and dead soldiers which have been beheaded. Along the north wall is a line of 6 heads. [B3_Original – 10]

Jean’s is far more grim.

Other than that, Tom’s D & C are as equally deceitful in their profession.

The two women appear to be fighters, but are really thieves. [B3 – 24]

Otherwise, they are very much identical to Jean’s “heroines.”

The two women are named Candella (AC 5; T/2; hp 8; MV40'; #AT 1; D 1-8; Save T2;  ML7 ;AL N; S 12,  I 15 ,W 13,D  17, C 15, Ch 14), and Duchess (AC 5; T/2; hp 11; MV 40'; #AT 1; D1-8; Save T2; ML 7; AL N; S 11, I 12, W 15, D 16, C 18, Ch 15). Because of their wisdom ability scores, both women gain a bonus of +1 on magic-based saving throws. The two thieves are both very attractive and will attempt to use this to their benefit. [B3 – 24]

The thieves will have the following on them: dungeon pack C; 21 cp, 7 sp, 15 gp, wolfsbane (Duchess only), and a string of pearls worth 600 gp (Candella only). [B3 – 24]

Take note of the picture included in the module. I would hazard the guess that Candella is the blonde, since it is she depicted wearing a necklace.

Tom expounded on why they were there, in his castle, though, weaving them into his backstory, which differed from hers.

Candella and Duchess

They were trying to loot the rooms of Mirabilis before the disaster struck. Mirabilis caught them and put them to sleep with a sleep spell. He was going to clean up and then report them to the guards, but disaster struck first. The women thieves were not affected by the disaster. They have only recently awoken and are setting out to loot the palace. The scroll they are looking at is just a sketch of a black cat. [B3 – 24]

But he did not deviate from their choice of deception.

These two thieves will act friendly toward the party. They will pretend to be young inexperienced fighters in search of adventure. They will politely ask to join the party, saying that they are not quite as tough or as prepared for adventuring as they had originally thought.  [B3 – 24]

He then elaborated on how they might be played.

If they join the party the two thieves will wait for a good chance to steal whatever they can (either by trying to pick pockets or just grabbing any loot in sight), and then run away. [B3 – 24]

This shows patience on their part, in keeping with their above average wisdom.

If the thieves are not allowed to join the party, but are not attacked, they will try to get close enough to a character to try to pick that person's pockets. If discovered, they will claim that the person made a mistake, that they merely bumped into the person by accident. If successful they will leave with their loot. [B3 – 24]

Demon Bait _ Candella and Duchess

Either way, the girls are going to steal from the PCs, at the first opportunity, it would seem. I would suggest that both will not make the attempt, only one will, most likely Candella, while Duchess distracts the PCs. To me, this seems out of character, and that the girls would not place themselves in such quick jeopardy, unless the PCs were so foolish as to display, or brag about, rather valuable, or more importantly, “useful” magical items that would ensure their survival and escape from this obviously dangerous situation they’ve found themselves in. Desperate measures, and all that….

Remember, these are wise and intelligent ladies, and not rash, nor foolish, in their pursuit of their ill-gotten gains.

When playing the roles of NPCs the DM should keep in mind that NPCs are reasonably normal persons. They seldom act suicidal, usually fighting only if there is a chance to win. While they will take risks, they will seldom take unreasonable risks. In this particular encounter, the two thieves want loot. They are likely to try what- ever method offers the best possibilities for gaining the most loot at the least risk. [B3 – 24]

Tom goes on to declare our heroines expendable, in relation to the PCs, in his adventure. Which they would be, I suppose. The PCs are always front and centre, as they should be.

If Duchess and Candella are with the party, the doppleganger [sic] may choose one of them as a victim or one of the party members. Of course, if the doppleganger [sic] succeeds in killing its victim, and hides the corpse, it will pretend to be the new character. […] The doppleganger [sic] will continue to kill characters secretly until caught. [B3 – 24]

I declare their being expendable as short-sighted. Few NPCs are as evocative, in my opinion. Actually, there are a lot of “indispensable” NPCs stowed away in a lot of modules; you just have to keep an eye out for them.

Take this NPC, “found” in G3 The Hall of the Fire Giant King, for instance:

Duchess in Distress

12c. Human female (11th level thief: […] Strength 15, Intelligence 15, Wisdom 8, Dexterity 18, Constitution 16, Charisma 17) chained to the wall. She will gladly admit to being a thief caught trying to find the King's treasure room, and volunteer to aid the party faithfully for a chance to escape. If opportunity presents itself, she will heist as much in gems and magic as she can and then slip away, but until then she will actually help the party. Of course, during this time she will be casing each character to learn what he or she carries… [G3 – 9]

I’m reminded of Duchess and Candella. Duchess, in this case, owing to her dark locks.

Her stats don’t match our heroine…

Duchess: AL N; S 11, I 12, W 15, D 16, C 18 Ch 15

…but that’s of no never mind. Stats are as stats used. What’s important is her capricious thanks, reminiscent of our “point in case.”

These two thieves will act friendly toward the party. They will pretend to be young inexperienced fighters in search of adventure. They will politely ask to join the party, saying that they are not quite as tough or as prepared for adventuring as they had originally thought.

If they join the party the two thieves will wait for a good chance to steal whatever they can (either by trying to pick pockets or just grabbing any loot in sight), and then run away. [B3 – 24]

I suggest that we swap out this NPC with our Duchess. Why? Because I wish it; and because D & C are my favourite foils. When I say foils, I’m suggesting how useful our girls can be. They can be love interests. Lovely, lovable, loyal to a fault… Or not… Depending on their whim.

As to their capricious nature, they could be instrumental in absconding with what items you’ve mistakenly lavished upon your PCs. That said, this should not be an overused plot device. This might be a one-shot-deal occurrence.

I would ensure their inexpendability before attempting such a thing: they’re a font of expositionary lore, they’ve rescued the PCs when all seemed lost, delivered them from sure defeat more than once, pawned a thing or two, or delivered some much-needed graft when the PCs could not. Whatever.

Candella and Duchess

Consider the case above. The PCs were engaged to deal with recent giant raids; one thing leads to another, and as the PCs are readying to reconnoiter the Snurre’s fortress, they come across Candella. She tells them that Duchess has gone missing. She’d heard about Snurre’s wealth and took it upon herself to relieve him of some of it. But she bit off more than she could chew. And Candella is intent on a desperate rescue mission, willing to spin any yarn she might imagine to get the PCs to aid her in that regard. She need not have to. They must. They owe the two of them too much to not help. To say nothing about whether Bill’s character Aragorn is in love with her….

“We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.”

― Anaïs Nin

One must always give credit where credit is due. This post is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is interminable.

The Art:

Duchess-and-Candella-scene-01 by nezart

Duchess and Candella original art (unpublished)

A Secret respite cover, by Domenico Neziti (nezart), from CRK B3 A Secret Respite, The Folio

Candella and Duchess, by Harry Quinn, from B3 Palace of the Silver Princess, 1981

Second-Candella-and-Duchess-illustration by nezart

Candella-and-Duchess-homage by nezart

Demon Bait, by Domenico Neziti (nezart)

Captured Thief, by David Trampier, from G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King, 1978

Sources:

9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980

1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983

2009 Monster Manual 1e, 1977, 1978

2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979

9018 G3 Hall of the Fire Mountain King, 1978

9044 B3 Palace of the Silver Princess, 1981

9058 G123 Against the Giants, 1978, 1981

Thoughts on B2 The Keep on the Borderlands

 

“Yea though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death, I shall fear no evil...because I am the meanest motherfucker in the Valley.”

― Bruce H. Norton, Force Recon Diary, 1969: The Riveting, True-to-Life Account of Survival and Death in One of the Most Highly Skilled Units in Vietnam

The Realm of mankind is narrow and constricted. Always the forces of Chaos press upon its borders, seeking to enslave its populace, rape its riches, and steal its treasures. If it were not for a stout few, many in the Realm would indeed fall prey to the evil which surrounds them. Yet, there are always certain exceptional and brave members of humanity, as well as similar individuals among its allies — dwarves, elves, and halflings — who rise above the common level and join battle to stave off the darkness which would otherwise overwhelm the land. [B2 The Keep on the Borderlands – 6]

Ahead, up the winding road, atop a sheer-walled mount of stone, looms the great KEEP. Here, at one of civilization's strongholds between good lands and bad, you will base yourselves and equip for forays against the wicked monsters who lurk in the wilds. Somewhere nearby, amidst the dark forests and tangled fens, are the Caves of Chaos where fell creatures lie in wait. [B2 – 6]

Those passages set the stage for B2 The Keep on the Borderlands. And the mood. Civilization ends here.

And it most certainly does.

So, where should one place B2? When the adventure was first published, it was pretty vague about where one would. No mention was made at all, in fact. Why? Because it was the plug and play, introductory adventure included within the Basic Dungeons and Dragons Boxed Set, the replacement for Mike Carrs’ B1 In Search of the Unknown.

B1 was out, B2 was in; but there’s an interesting passage in B2 that links those two adventures:

51. BOULDER FILLED PASSAGE: Large rocks and boulders have been placed here in order to seal off this tunnel. It will take 100 man-turns to open a way large enough for a human to pass through into the area beyond. (You have the option of allowing this passage to lead to the outside somewhere to the southwest of the Caves of Chaos, or you may choose to have it go all the way to the Cave of the Unknown. If you opt for the latter case, you must, of course, prepare an appropriate underground area map and stock it with monsters and treasures.) [B2 – 21]

So, where was Quasqueton? The Brown cover edition of B1 is generic. Not so the original monochrome edition:

Note: In the mythical WORLD OF GREYHAWK (available from TSR) the stronghold can be considered within anyone of the following lands - the Barony of Ratik, the Duchy of Tenh; or the Theocracy of the Pale. [B1 – In Search of the Unknown monochrome – 6]

Before it was moved to Moldvay’s “Known World”, later Mystara, all content was considered homebrew, or set in Greyhawk. To my reckoning, it was intended to feature the Northern Barbarians, and says as much:

Some years ago, Rogahn and Zelligar apparently decided upon a joint foray into the lands of the hated barbarians. Taking most of their henchmen and associates along in a great armed band, the two personages disappeared into the forbidding alien lands to the north, far from the hills and forests surrounding Quasqueton. [B1 – 6]

It's because of that passage that I believe its best fit is Ratik. What lies north of Ratik? The Frost Barbarians, and beyond them, the Snow Barbarians, and the Ice Barbarians.

The Pale, on the other hand, is surrounded by Nyrond and Tenh and the Bandit Kingdoms, civilization and not Barbarians. Tenh is surrounded by the Pale, the Bandits. The Rovers and The Hold of Stonefist are within reach, but are they barbarians? One might argue that the Rovers are. One might argue that the Fists are, too.

Myself, I choose Ratik.

And it is because of those words that I disagree with TSR’s decision to set Return to the Keep of the Borderlands in the Yeomanry. One might argue that the Yeomanry is narrow, that it lies on the edge of the realms of mankind, and that it is beset by the forces of Chaos, namely Giants and such. But its maps show a clear passage to the southeast, leading to Quasqueton.

K2. Passage to Quasqueton [Return to the Keep on the Borderlands – 58]

The left-hand passage has an arrow and the word "QUASQUETON" engraved at eye level only a few feet in; this way once led to the secret fortress of Quasqueton, but the tunnel has completely collapsed; characters can only go this way thirty feet or so before having to turn back. In just that space, however, they discover unmistakable signs that the patient undead are working to clear the passage—a task that will probably take them several years to complete.  [RttKotB – 31]

Quasqueton is not detailed in the Silver Anniversary’s scope. Rogahn and Zelligar are not even mentioned. It’s a shame, really. There’s so much can be read into those NPCs.

To the module itself.

It’s assumed that the module begins with the PCs entering the keep, but that seems a little blasé to me. Dull, in fact.

Begin with an ambush! Show the players how dangerous this borderland is! There’s a raider camp nearby, almost on the keep’s doorstep, after all. After a heated exchange, the PCs take flight, making for the only refuge in sight, the Keep. During the chase, they catch sight of a figure in the distance, clad in a black robe with a maroon colored cowl. [B2 – 22] Once they are safe, they find that the Keep is undermanned. Poorly funded. Barely capable of defending itself. The Baron is beset! There are bandits in the woods, lizardmen in the marsh, and his supply chain is constantly under attack. There hasn’t been a caravan in weeks! He has sent out patrols, but they have fallen pray to the bandits, and orcs! Or hobgoblins. Or gnolls! Whichever. He needs your help!

He kits them, maybe he presents them with rooms at the inn. The keep has just about everything one would need. Walls, inns, taverns, a smithy, traders, and a bank, etc; all the sundries to keep you going; not bad for someplace that doesn’t deserve a dot on the map. There’s no town to speak of, just what’s to be had within the keep. I’d upgrade that, and place the keep and the town it would require to support it at it’s base. I’d add some farms around it too. The soldiers have to eat after all. But this was an introductory module, and I imagine Gary Gygax didn’t want to overwhelm fledgling DM’s. Upgraded, or not, the PCs have a base of operations. They meet a few of the townsfolk, including a friendly priest.

The western portion houses the jovial priest who is taking advantage of his stopover at the KEEP to discuss theology with learned folk and to convert others. Everyone speaks well of him, although the two acolytes with him are avoided, as they never speak — the priest says they must follow vows of silence until they attain priestly standing. His well-appointed chambers are comfortably furnished and guests are always welcomed with a cozy fire and plenty of ale or wine. The priest is a very fine companion and an excellent listener. He does not press his religious beliefs upon any unwilling person. He is outspoken in his hatred of evil, and if approached by a party of adventurers seeking the Caves of Chaos, he will certainly accompany them. [B2 – 9]

Thus begins your campaign.

Where might you begin? With idle chat? The townsfolk would have a thing or two to say about their town and their valley, wouldn’t they?

Which brings us to the rumour table. There was always a rumour table in a module back in those early days. We did love rumour tables then, didn’t we? They can add insight to any module, if used. But I suggest perusing them carefully, and working out which NPCs know what. Imagine if a fairly well-placed NPC relates something false. Should they do, you can figure out beforehand whether the falsehood was a fib, misdirection, a red herring, or misunderstanding.

These are pretty standard fare for an early dungeon module.

Italics denote a false legend or rumor.

1. A merchant, imprisoned in the caves, will reward his rescuers.
2. A powerful magic-user will destroy all cave invaders.
3. Tribes of different creatures live in different caves.
4. An ogre sometimes helps the cave dwellers.
5. A magic wand was lost in the caves' area.
6. All of the cave entrances are trapped.
7. If you get lost, beware the eater of men!
8. Altars are very dangerous.
9. A fair maiden is imprisoned within the caves.
10. "Bree-yark" is goblin-language for "we surrender"!
11. Beware of treachery from within the party.
12. The big dog-men live very high in the caves.
13. There are hordes of tiny dog-men in the lower caves.
14. Piles of magic armor are hoarded in the southern caves.
15. The bugbears in the caves are afraid of dwarves!
16. Lizard-men live in the marshes.
17. An elf once disappeared across the marshes.
18. Beware the mad hermit of the north lands.
19. Nobody has ever returned from an expedition to the caves.
20. There is more than one tribe of ores within the caves. [B2 – 7]

The question is, where did these rumours come from? Has an army of adventurers already pitted themselves against the Caves of Chaos? They shouldn’t have. No one should know about the caves. They ought to be secret, lest the Keep would have already stormed their gates, so to speak. There are foul humanoids gathering there. There is an evil temple there! The baron would have put an end to it, had he known it existed. But there might have been a group or two who’d ventured out already, never to return…

The PCs set out, and after a few heated battles against the raiders, and against a scattering of goblins (just for foreshadowing…), they can discover that the lizardmen in the hills and hollows may not be as slandered. I would suggest more sightings of black robes commanding goblins or orcs or some such, was well, tight-lipped cultists who refuse to speak at all if captured. They can discover the mad hermit, a survivor of an earlier adventuring group that had already come across the Caves of Chaos, much to their dismay, having escaped potential sacrifice with his life, if not his sanity. Feed him, give him succour, and he could be a valuable source of information that leads them to the caves.

Should the hermit be a Temple survivor, the jovial priest’s presence complicates things. The jovial priest is not what he appears to be, after all:

Note: All are chaotic and evil, being in the KEEP to spy and defeat those seeking to gain experience by challenging the monsters in the Caves of Chaos. Once in the caves the priest will use a cause light wounds (does 2-7 points of damage to the creature touched, a normal "to hit" roll must be made to touch the victim) or a light spell as needed to hinder and harm adventurers. Betrayal will always occur during a crucial encounter with monsters. [B2 – 9]

The hermit may betray the priest’s true nature, or the priest may silence him. If the hermit does not, the priest will lure the PCs into danger, or betray them while they confront the Temple.

Let’s add a twist, shall we?

What sort of twist, you ask?

Candella and Duchess

Duchess and Candella. You remember them, don’t you? They were featured in B3. I’m inclined to use them here, because I do so love them, and this is an excellent place to introduce them into a long-term campaign.

The party has made their first foray into the caves, and find the goblins or kobolds a whole lot more tricksy than they anticipated. There were traps everywhere, and before long, the “goblins” called for help. There were too many hobgoblins to fight, and the party took flight. They slipped into a copse of trees, only to discover that they aren’t the only ones hoping to defy detection. They hear a sharp, “Psst!’ They look up and there were two young ladies high in the adjacent foliage. One holds a finger to her lips and winks at them. She smiles. She’s beautiful. They both are. They gesture for the PCs to climb into the trees, and not long afterwards, the hobgoblins pass beneath, unaware that their quarry is mere feet above them.

Candella and Duchess

These two thieves will act friendly toward the party. They will pretend to be young inexperienced fighters in search of adventure. They will politely ask to join the party, saying that they are not quite as tough or as prepared for adventuring as they had originally thought.

If they join the party the two thieves will wait for a good chance to steal whatever they can (either by trying to pick pockets or just grabbing any loot in sight), and then run away.

If the thieves are not allowed to join the party, but are not attacked, they will try to get close enough to a character to try to pick that person's pockets. If discovered, they will claim that the person made a mistake, that they merely bumped into the person by accident. If successful they will leave with their loot. [B3 Palace of the Silver Princess – 24]

Weave those glorious ladies into your campaign. They help. They join the party. The PCs fall in love with them. The girls abscond with the loot. Only to be rescued later on in the midst of another adventure. The PCs are wrongly accused of some crime, the girls break them out. They need to rescue the girls time and time again. The girls have the key to solving whatever conundrum the party find themselves in. The possibilities are endless.

What lies ahead? The usual dungeon fare: entry, skulking, hiding in shadows, the odd combat, potential retreats and maybe the occasion running for one’s life, and the like.

There’s a lot of good dungeon ecology. Not in that all those species are within a stone’s throw of one another, but in how some of them interact. They have guards and secret chambers, and ways to double back and attack from behind; that their numbers will not replenish when they die, but they will retreat to other caverns if depleted. And that they will be ready for further forays by the party. I love how the goblins have worked out a deal with the ogre.

There’s an owlbear that should be avoided at all costs at such low level. All the other monsters do, but every now and again a gnoll or some other unfortunate is made a meal. I’m sure it would love a taste of PC.

If there were any doubt that these gathered humanoids were up to no good, the party would soon discover otherwise when they find the slave pens (potentially from where the hermit escaped from), where captured caravans are awaiting their final fate, and maybe an earlier party of adventurers that was not as lucky as the PCs thus far (replacements, if necessary).

I especially love this passage:

BUGBEAR LAIR: The group of bugbears is not numerous, but what it lacks in numbers, it makes up for in strength and cunning. There are signs beside the entrance cave in kobold, orcish, goblin, etc. Each says: "Safety, security and repose for all humanoids who enter — WELCOME! (Come in and report to the first guard on the left for a hot meal and bed assignment.)" [B2 – 19]

Personally, I think the numbers might be too high. Were there that many humanoids in residence, they might already have cut the keep off and starved it out; conversely, the keep might not be the primary reason as to why they are there. Besides, do most evil humanoids have the restraint and the cunning to not destroy humans in such close proximity? They wouldn’t if some higher power were controlling them. Which brings me to the finale.

The adventure culminates in the discovery and assault on the evil temple complex high above the rest of the complex. It’s too elaborate to my mind for it to have been excavated by the Priests and the Acolytes, without drawing the keep’s attention to their doings long ago.

Who excavated it then? Rogahn and Zelligar? Maybe.

Or maybe, just maybe, it is a relic of an earlier age, when Keraptis ruled over all the lands that could be surveyed from long-forgotten Tostencha. These new residents were drawn to this site, much as Rogahn and Zelligar were, and Keraptis before them. Something drew them there. Something old. Something incredibly old. And evil.

B2 will take a ton of work to prep. Most early modules do. Okay, they all do. They packed a lot into 30 pages, but there was a prevailing DIY attitude then, and only so much room between the covers. NPCs need naming. Encounters ought to be prepped beforehand; unless you want play to bog down while you think about who prisoners might be, and what they might say while under scrutiny. Etc. Even today’s 400+ page tomes require work; but these slim volumes always seemed way denser once you dove in than the weighty volumes do today.

But it needs a town. Keeps do not exist in a vacuum, and what passes for its community within the keep just doesn't cut it. It needs farms too. Etc.

Do I like B2 The Keep on the Borderlands? Yes. I love it.

Would I run it as written? Probably not. It’s an introductory module, and I find it implausible that so many disparate species of humanoids could be gathered in one place and not kill each other.

I would choose: goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears (the goblinoids); or kobolds and orcs, and not the patchwork quilt of enemies as presented. In either case, I would definitely keep the ogre. If the PCs were higher level, I’d swap the orcs or hobgoblins for gnolls and flinds.

Would I include the minotaur? Maybe. Probably. It has a nice tie-in to B1:

28. WORSHIP AREA. The stronghold's worship area is no more than a token gesture to the gods, it would seem. On the back wall of the room, opposite the door, is a rock carving of a great idol which is actually sculpted from the wall itself. The image (of a horned head with an evil visage) appears about 4' wide and 6' high, and is surrounded by religious symbols and runes. [B1 – 16]

Is this a perfect module? No. But it is damn close, isn’t it?

It’s a nearly perfect module insofar as it is a campaign waiting to happen.

One must always give credit where credit is due. This post is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is interminable.

Very special thanks to E. Gary Gygax, without whose imagination, this adventure, and this review, could not have been possible, to say nothing of Mike Carr, and Jean Wells and Tom Moldvay.

The Art:

B2 The Keep on the Borderlands cover, by Jim Roslof, 1981

B2 The Keep on the Borderlands back cover, by Erol Otus, 1981

B2 The Keep on the Borderlands map detail, by David S Laforce, 1980,1981

Zelligar and the Barbarians, from Into the Borderlands, by Goodman Games, 2018

Return to the Keep on the Borderlands map detail, by Todd Gamble, 1999

B2 The Keep on the Borderlands Keep map, by David S Laforce, 1980,1981

The Keep Square, from Into the Borderlands, by Goodman Games, 2018

Minotaur illustration, from B2 The Keep on the Borderlands, by Bill Willingham, 1981

Hermit illustration, from B2 The Keep on the Borderlands, by Erol Otus, 1980,1981

Duchess-and-Candella-scene-01 by nezart

Candella-and-Duchess-homage by nezart

Owlbear illustration, from B2 The Keep on the Borderlands, by by Jim Roslof, 1981

The Worship Area, from Into the Borderlands, by Goodman Games, 2018

The Caves of Chaos map, from B2 The Keep on the Borderlands,  by David S Laforce, 1980,1981

Sources:

9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980

1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983

2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979

9023 B1 In Search the Unknown, Monochrome edition, 1979

9023 B1 In Search of the Unknown, Brown cover, 1981

9044 B3 Palace of the Silver Princess, 1981

9034 B2 The Keep on the Borderlands, 1980

11327 Return to the Keep on the Borderlands, 1999

OJ Oerth Journal #1 & #11, appearing on Greyhawk Online