First appeared on www.AtFantasy.com
The Silver Summoning, by Jason Kempton, is the second in Fiery Dragon Production's line of d20 modules. Written for a group of four characters of fifth to seventh level, it is set in a generic kingdom known as the Kingdom of Kalendia, a generic kingdom that also served as the setting for Nemoren's Vault. Unlike the previous modules, The Silver Summoning draws a great deal from the setting presented, and will require a bit more adaptation to work with an existing campaign.
Plot Outline
Thousands of years ago, during an epic war between the Atlantean Sorcerers and the Enbarrian Psions, the Atlantean Sorcerers attempted to forge six powerful, enchanted swords, known as the Runeblades, to ensure victory. The forging of the last one proved to be disastrous for the Atlanteans, destroying their great magical forges and their homeland itself. The ashes of these forges, which spread to various places around the continent, became known as the Tund Dust. Few know of its power or its special properties. One of those who know about it is Gurza, a powerful necromancer and alchemist, who has sought it for the last thirty years. She wishes to use it to summon the demon Kraal and bind as her lover.
One of Gurza's servants is Tonagma, a beautiful and deadly sorceress, who may have a way to gain what her mistress desires. Using the knowledge of Kogga, a member of the Aggerring Dwarves, she has discovered that a batch of it can be found in the halls of the ancient Smargaholt. She also gained from him one of the three Talismans of Opening needed to gain access to the dust. In order to increase her chances of acquiring of the Dust she has asked her human lover, Koli, to gather her an army. He has made a pact with the local orc tribe, the Himark, to assault Smargaholt, providing sufficient distraction for Tonagma to infiltrate the fortress and seize the Dust. In order for the Himrik to do this, Koli must prevent the marriage of a human hero and an elven noble. A horde of orcs attacking would do very little to disrupt the alliance that threatens to emerge from this, and would in fact speed it up. Enter the PCs.
The PCs have been invited to the wedding of Celentina, an elven noble, and Paros, a human noble, that promises to strengthen ties between the human and elven nations. The PCs are given time to explore the festival that is heralding the upcoming wedding, and can learn much of what is going on in and around the settlement as well as the potential this match has. Unfortunately, Koli wants to stop that from happening. As the ceremony proceeds two black arrows strike the betrothed, affecting them with a poison that will slowly electrocute them. The local priestess and healer recognizes the poison as a rare one whose only cure is either in the hands of the assassin who just struck them down or the dwarves of Smaragholt to the north. Both the mayor and the priestess encourage the PCs to pursue the assassin.
The next portion of the adventure involves this chase, as the PCs pursue Koli across the countryside, through an abandoned gnomish mine, and finally to the Thorp of Ely, where he meets up with a contingent of orcs. Regardless of whether they defeat Koli over the course of the chase or he succeeds at escaping, they encounter Cuhulain, a powerful member of The Path, a mysterious group dedicated to maintaining nature's balance. He demands to know what is going on and, after discovering it and drawing upon his own knowledge, insists that the PCs go and warn the dwarven king of impending treachery. He says he will deal with finding the antidote for the poison that effects the couple, and has access to it in a secret fortress of the Path that only he may enter. He gives the PCs the option of two alternative paths that they might follow while seeking to gain entry to the fortress as well as a talisman to show to the dwarves to prove their sincerity. Each of these paths is equally dangerous and contains creatures warped by the effects of the Tund Dust.
Upon the PC's arrival at Smargholt, the dwarven stronghold is on the verge of falling after a sneak attack led by Tonagma crippled the interior defenders. Many dwarves are seeking to abandon the fortress while others continue to guard vital vantage points. The PCs are left to explore the place, looking for the king and attempting to stop Tonagma. The fortress itself is filled with a smattering of orcish raiders, dwarven guards, and battles between them. During the exploration the PCs encounter King Garr and his two generals, locked in a pitched battle with a collection of orcs, mercury golems, and an ogre. Assuming the PCs save them, the dwarves tell them that the talisman they have is one of the Talismans of Opening, and request that the PCs stop Tonagma and find the Tun Dust, hiding it away where noone will ever be able to find it. Eventually the PCs should encounter her, exploring the lower level, and face her in a pitched battle, and concluding the adventure.
If the PCs prove successful than they return to find the married couple injured but unpoisoned. They must also find out what to do with the Tun Dust, though Cuhulain offers to dispose of it for them, and deal with the revenge of Gurza and her minions. If they fail then Tonagma recovers the Dust and gives it to her mistress, precipitating the summoning of a terrible demon that unleashes its powers onto the world.
Presentation
The Silver Summoning, a standard laminated, stapled, booklet, is forty-four pages long. The inside covers have a set of tables representing challenge ratings on the front cover and a random encounter table on the back cover. The margins are blank and a half inch wide.
The cover illustration, by Todd Secord, depicts a variety of scenes, including the dwarven fortress of Smaragholt, the sorceress Tonagma, Koli, and an unidentified individual. The interior art largely displays illustrations of probable events covered in the text.
The maps are functional but informative, including a grid and scale where necessary, and major furniture and physical features.
Several additional features are included in the module, including a blank, square grid for miniatures combat, color, photocopyable handouts, a sheet of color, cardboard counters, the simple pursuit system tracking grid, and color maps of the town of Hollobrae and the West Wood Barony.
Overview
The Silver Summoning is divided into an Introduction, an Adventure Background & Synopsis, five chapters detailing the adventure itself, and four Appendixes.
The Introduction discusses the premise behind the module and how to use the extras included in the module. The Adventure Background & Synopsis explains everything that led up to the current state of affairs (summarized above) and a summary of the PCs tasks in the adventure. The adventure chapters are divided into Hollobrae, the Pursuit of Koli, the Mining Thorp of Ely, Cuhulain, Atalel's Wood, the Yellow Canyon, and Smaragholt. The Appendixes detail monster descriptions, featured characters, new items, and the OGL/d20 license.
Analysis
The Silver Summoning is a much more ambitious and fast-paced adventure than its predecessor, relying much more on events and particular, active characters rather than a particular static locations. It succeeds very well in providing an interesting plot but suffers from a few questionable decisions. First off, it never explains how Koli is able to get off the two arrows that strike the betrothed couple before anyone is able to react. He lacks rapid shot or any other sort of enhancement to his rate of fire. Secondly, the intervention of Cuhulain is also a rather forceful way to force the PCs to pursue the second half of the adventure. While it is a direct and easy way to do so, some PCs may resent the way it is done. Finally, it is unknown why King Garr would send the PCs with the two Talismans of Opening right into the hands of Tonagma. If he really wanted to insure this did not happen he would insist the PCs give him theirs and go far, far away.
In addition it appears that the module suffers in the form of Challenge Ratings. Many were assigned incorrectly, most notably the classed characters, who each had a CR one lower than their actual level.
Beyond these points, the Silver Summoning works well as an adventure. The Simple Chase rules add much to the adventure and provide a system that is easily useable beyond the constraints of the module. The plot itself is many-layered and unpredictable, with a plethora of opportunities for potential expansion after its conclusion. The Tund Dust itself can serve as the basis of an entire campaign, as the PCs seek out new sources of it and attempt to eliminate them before their corruption spreads.
Conclusion
The Silver Summoning is a very different adventure from NeMoren's Vault. Relying on the motivations of multiple conflicting NPCs and multiple layers of plot-hooks, but retains much of the quality that Nemoren's Vault had, despite suffering from some minor plots holes. Its additional material, in the form of counters and handouts, adds greatly to the value of the module, and easily makes up for the flaws it does have, making it definitely worth its $9.95 cover price.
