TSR [Let's Read] Polyhedron/Dungeon

[(un)reason]

Dungeon Issue 58: Mar/Apr 1996



part 3/5



A Bad Batch of Brownies: We eventually got solo adventures for each of the core classes. Now we have one for a druid, courtesy of Lisa Smedman. As you'd expect from the title, it's whimsical one where you have to deal with trickster fae, and find out that a big part of being a druid is not summoning the raw power of nature to destroy despoilers, but talking to people with differences, some of which are unable to communicate with each other at all without your help and coming to an equitable solution. The little folk are taking way more food than normal from the Paradiso family inn, and you get asked for help. If you stay up late you'll spot them easily. (catching them is another matter) Turns out they have a "visitor" in the woods that they're trying to keep comfortable. You may go in expecting it to be some evil monster threatening them. The reality is far worse. It's a biker who wandered through a portal from earth and is now getting all the local fae into tattooing skulls & lightning bolts, switchblade fightin' and hog-riding with his tales of burnin' rubber on the open road. It would be a very good idea for you to restore the integrity of the 4th wall and find a way to send him back home. This will require collecting ingredients for oil of etherealness, which involves solving several other minor problems around the forest, most of which are also best resolved by talking. A distinctly silly adventure, but one which does actually have a genuine moral message and real challenges underneath that and doesn't railroad you from one scene to the next with no freedom of choice. Probably not one I'm going to use personally, but not completely groan inducing and infuriating as a read at least.



Challenge of Champions: Ah, here's an interesting turnup for the books that I'd heard about before going into this. Not content with turning the Ecology articles into a series with several recurring protagonists to make things more dramatic and memorable. Johnathan M Richards also gave us this one in Dungeon, a series of puzzle based adventures designed to be solvable challenges for characters of any level, primarily testing the brains of the players rather than the stats of your characters. (You do still need at least one of each core class though, as some of the magic items you're given need the right one to activate them) There are 10 challenges and you're given 15 minutes of real time each to solve them, so you can easily do everything in here in a single session even accounting for snack breaks and OOC digressions. Once you've completed them, you get scored for how well you did on each trial, allowing you to compare your result with not only the NPC's on the leaderboard but also other real groups around the world like the old school competitive tournament adventures. Since this is one where the dice rolls aren't important and knowing the details beforehand would remove all the challenge I'm not going to give more specific spoilers, but it is indeed a pretty cool departure from the usual adventure format in here and I can see why they'd be happy to accept sequels to it, particularly if it gets specific praise in the letters section in the next few issues.

 

[(un)reason]

Dungeon Issue 58: Mar/Apr 1996



part 4/5



Side Treks - The Ghost of Silverhill: Not content with werewolves, we have a second dose of spooky stuff. While staying at an inn, they hear a spooky story about the ghost that appears on a nearby hill during the full moon. Supposedly it's an old king and his treasure hoard is somewhere underneath the hill. Do you dare risk magical fear, energy drain, ageing, possession and whatever else it may inflict upon you to get that loot? Since this is an adventure for level 1-4 characters it's pretty obvious you're not intended to fight a full power ghost. Unsurprisingly, you're not getting a full king's worth of treasure, but there are not just one but two ghosts, and it's easy enough to avoid combat and lay one of them to rest by talking and doing what it asks, then get what treasure there is. This feels like one of the many plot hooks Ed rattles off in his Everwinking Eye articles blown up to 3 pages and given full stats, reinforced by specifically mentioning a FR novel in the sidebar. As long as your players are willing to engage with it in a non hack & slashy way it's a pleasant enough but unexceptional little flavour encounter. If they aren't, good luck to their next characters and hopefully they'll learn their lesson about not picking fights with things way above their pay grade.



The Baron's Eyrie: Off to Ravenloft for a third horror themed adventure, showing that they get far more of those than they do comedy ones whatever the time of year. A werebat got his hands on a flying castle, killed it's previous owners and became it's Lord. This may sound like a sweet deal, but in Ravenloft, it sucks, as he can't control where the castle goes or leave it, so he's trapped in a micro domain floating through other ones (an easy excuse to put this adventure nearly anywhere ) looking down on the world and ordering his infected werebat minions to fetch him food. The PC's are staying at an inn when they swoop down and carry off one of the other patrons. You're the only ones around with any flying capability to follow them with, so guess who's got to be the heroes again. Careful on the approach, as there's giant spiders on the underside, flying ghouls living around the crags, vultures enjoying the leftovers, and other general spookiness. Things get more interesting once you get inside the castle itself, as the infected lycanthropes hate their master, and would love for you to destroy him & free them, maybe cure them as well, but their magical compulsion means they can't do anything directly against him. This does still mean they'll be surprisingly civil if you don't attack everything on sight, giving you the option to play the adventure in a more political way with various twists and turns as you uncover the various personalities of the place and their secrets. Some of those twists are sufficiently sneaky that I'm not going to spoil them here, and there's enough of them that it's unlikely your group will discover all of them, making this both an interesting read and of well above average replayability too. A worthy addition to the Ravenloft canon of spooky places to explore that don't railroad you into a specific story, which is becoming an increasingly small proportion of the published adventures.

 

[(un)reason]

Dungeon Issue 58: Mar/Apr 1996



part 5/5



The Menacing Malady: Not content with three horror adventures, they manage to repeat the medical theme as well, with another story where people are transformed and while you could just kill them all, you're strongly encouraged to take the more ethical route and figure out a way to turn them back. This time it's an outbreak of russet mold, turning a full dozen patients at a hospital into mold men. Since it is a hospital, there's a whole bunch of things throughout the place that could be useful in treating the problem, and good luck in finding the right ones. So there's less emphasis on the mystery part of the adventure than Caveat Emptor, and more on the puzzle aspect of curing the victims successfully, but there are a lot of similarities between the two, as in both cases you have a socially driven, location based adventure that doesn't force you to use a precise solution, and has plenty of leeway for different degrees of success or failure in how many of the victims you manage to catch and successfully cure, plus the additional question of if you'll figure out how the problem started in the first place and take steps to deal with the responsible parties. Once again, it's decent enough in it's own right, but loses impact due to the quick repetition. It'd have been better if they'd taken just one of these two and made it twice the size. That way you could fit more character development and emotional depth into it rather than going over the basics twice.



An issue where all of the adventures are of pretty good quality taken individually, but they get very repetitive read in one go, all using much the same formula of being mystery & roleplaying heavy and combat light. Only the Challenge of Champions stands out as an attempt to do something different, returning to the principles of old school modules where challenging the brains of the players took precedent over any kind of character immersion. It makes me hope they see the merit in not being all 2eish all the time. On we go, time to see if polyhedron will have anything particularly wacky to serve us this year.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 118: April 1996



part 1/5



36 pages. A cover comprised of several covers past, it looks like they're in a retrospective mood. They seem to have chosen this month as the birthday of the newszine, even though it's only the anniversary of when they chose their name, and their first issue was a summer one. Let's see what they consider classic articles worth reviving for a new generation, and how well it meshes with my tastes.



Artifacts, Relics, & DM Headaches: Roger Moore has been contributing regularly to TSR since before polyhedron even started, and is still going as we speak, so it's no surprise that one of his early articles gets reprinted in here. Unfortunately it's not one of the fun worldbuilding ones, but this bit of nagging negativity, telling you in multiple ways over three pages why it's a bad idea to be over generous with handing out magical items and what you can do about it if you've already gone full monty haul. Many powerful artifacts have minds of their own or heavy costs for using their powers, so even if they seem cool at first you can make them more trouble than they're worth to the players long term. Other people hearing that the artifact has surfaced again will want to either take it from you or destroy it, possibly including the gods themselves if it's a particularly notable one. No matter how powerful they are, the DM can always bring out even more powerful antagonists to keep their lives interesting. What made you think people want to hear all that again when you never stopped saying it in other ways from further articles through the years? This is a tediously nepotistic choice.



Open Air Market: Ah, now this is more like it. One of the best early Living City articles (although not the very first as it bafflingly says here. The first was in issue 37, while this is from a full year later in issue 44. They can't be keeping very good care of their archives. ) Between the 16 booths in the open air market and the owners, you have both a solid selection of everyday items and several interesting plot hooks, as well as a good mix of 0th level NPC's and ones that have gained adventurer levels for one reason or another. This remains both interesting and useful on a reread, although it does also remind us that they've got stricter about the code of conduct over the years, so incidences of casual sexism and racism even when presented as an IC bad thing to be challenged have become less frequent over the years. They killed off Anton Paere because they wanted to enforce the rule against anything promoting distrust of cops, blew up Chemcheaux and made the admantite supplies dry up to bring the power levels down, and are currently in the process of strictly certificating every magic item that appears in future adventures. This article is already a reminder of a more freewheeling time, just 8 years later.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 118: April 1996



part 2/5



"Zee Chef": Urg. Our only comedy article this year is a reheated one that was deeply irritating even the first time around. The (not so) terrifying powers of a chef to thwack you with a frying pan, throw cream tarts, give you hiccups, always know where the right ingredients are kept and so forth definitely have their practical applications, but they're not going to be able to compete with a serious adventuring class out on the road. This is an article intended for reading, not playing, unless you feel in the mood for a Fluffyquest marathon and want PC's that match the tone. As with the first time, this just serves to rub in how little use Polyhedron is when it comes to providing new classes, races, etc compared to Dragon. Couldn't they have concentrated more on the strengths of this place rather than the weaknesses?



Elminster's Everwinking Eye: Ed's always been too busy coming up with new stuff to let nostalgia dominate. If he wants to call back to one of the classics he'll do a new entry in an irregular but acclaimed series like Pages From the Mages or The Wizards Three. For now, it's business as usual with another two locations in the Border Kingdoms. Dunbridges is a peaceful looking village that's kept that way by not just one but three different adventuring parties, including an all-female one, and their various (mostly friendly) competition for the coolest exploits is the topic of much local gossip. Ed is in an extra horny mood for this one, with relationship gossip also running rampant and the Lord Protector of the place being a famed hearthrob with a lengthy list of conquests of many species. (and an equally serious talent for diplomacy to prevent them from all jealously fighting each other over his favors. ) You can set up shop there knowing that the people in charge know how the adventuring life works and won't try to overly tax or regulate what you bring back from your dungeon delves. The Duskwood, on the other hand is completely different. One of the thickest and most dangerous woods around, there are beholders, deepspawn, and all sorts of lesser dangers, including a profusion of fungi that have medicinal properties if used correctly. (but good luck finding the right one and getting out alive) Some of the monsters are linked with powerful bonding magic so beating one teleports another in to avenge them (or the smart ones can swap out tactically, heal, buff, and swap back in again) turning what you thought was a single fight into an extended boss rush like near the end of a video game. Another example of his ability to steal ideas from a wide range of sources and then put his own distinctive flavour on it, in a way that makes sense IC that something would actually want to do this. If you could figure out how to replicate the power, your adventuring party could reach new heights of tactical badassery with an extended roster of PC's, picking the best half a dozen for each particular encounter on the fly, getting all the glory at a fraction of the time and effort for each individual, not having to completely leave your day to day responsibilities behind to adventure. But what are the odds of having a DM that nice?

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 118: April 1996



part 3/5



World Under Construction, or The Kargat Wants You!: Ravenloft continues to be one of their most popular settings, getting the second greatest number of reader submissions after the Forgotten Realms, with even it's spin-off exceeding expectations and getting it's own Living setting. They're not planning on cancelling it any time soon. Quite the opposite, they're doing a new edition and welcome feedback on their directions, particularly using the internet. The big change from last time is trying to make the place more of a setting you can spend an entire campaign in, focussing on creating native PC's rather than ones sucked in by the mists, with new kits & races appropriate to the setting. So this is the start of the approach they'll keep all the way to the end of the 2e era and through the licensed out 3e books, trying to make the place feel more like an internally consistent world rather than a theme park created purely to torment people, only going the opposite direction again when they intentionally reject simulationism in their game design in the 4e changeover. If a world is all horror all the time the scares soon lose impact. You've got to have the bright clear days to set off the dark and stormy nights. (although they still go by suspiciously quickly) It also reminds us that a big part of Ravenloft's survival through the 3e era was due to a strong hardcore fanbase that was given the leeway to create their own websites and netbooks without WotC getting all stompy with the cease & desists. The Kargatane and Fraternity of Shadows websites are still alive to this day and you can download all sorts of interesting things from them to liven your game up. I mostly approve of all this, as even if it is a promotional article, it shows that their hearts are in the right place, and they're approaching their audience with a spirit of collaboration, not just writing something in-house and expecting us to follow their railroads, then being shocked when the line doesn't review or sell well and winds up getting cancelled.

 

[Ancalagon]

Dungeon Magazine Issue 52: Mar/Apr 1995



part 4/5



My Lady's Mirror: So we've reached our first sequel adventure since issue 17's return of Flame. Turns out we're returning to the scenario of secretive highlander style immortals amongst us from issue 42, whiling away the centuries with their machinations until it all goes a bit pear-shaped. You thought all of them had died in the last adventure, but there's always one who escaped notice, or drank the potion of immortality later than the others so it hasn't worn off yet, or some even more implausible plot contrivance to ensure there's always another story for adventurers to get involved with. Once again it's time to investigate a large castle filled with weirdness, some of which is hostile and some of which you shouldn't fight, but which is which is not always clear, as there's a lot of plot threads going on at once. Thankfully, making it a sequel means they can spend less time on the exposition text and more time on the actual meat of the adventure, so although they're about the same page count there's more rooms and more action in this one. So this turns out to be an improvement on the first in a similar way Wrath of Khan is to The Motion Picture, not losing the atmosphere entirely, but speeding up getting to the parts that are actually useful for the DM when running the adventure rather than wasting it on stuff that looks pretty, but will probably never be seen in actual play. From that perspective, if you've already got through the first one it would be a waste not to use this one with the same group as well. Even without the other one it still works decently as a stand-alone adventure. I have no problem with this, so the only big question is if there'll be any further follow-ups, and if so, will it be the odd-numbered ones that suck?

I've run this adventure 3 times now - once in 2e, and twice in 5e. It's definitely a bit of a challenge, but it's more dynamic than the average dungeon. I recommend it!

 

[Ancalagon]

Dungeon Magazine Issue 52: Mar/Apr 1995



part 2/5



Spirits of the Tempest: Another adventure that's specifically based on a specific story and is particularly blatant about it. Those do seem to be getting more common. This time it's Shakespeare's The Tempest that gets converted to D&D stats, making Prospero considerably more ruthless than the original play and trapping the PC's on the island with him. He'll use mind control spells and his various summoned minions to mess with the PC's, separate Ferdinand & Antonio from them, and get his revenge and/or freedom. You'll need to get through several weird setpieces to reach him, inspired by, but not sticking strictly to the details of the play. Then to get out, you'll need to abandon all your memorised spells and magical items at the end, which most players will balk at, or figure out the extremely tricky to perform loophole to that clause. This isn't a complete railroad, with most of the scenes having several outcomes, but it is very plot driven and you'll have to be very powerful or clever to not be sucked back to the main path in the end, as it's definitely not balanced to be a fair challenge for the expected character level. So this is for groups who want to get into the theatrical roleplaying, not ones that are attached to their characters stats and equipment, making it very 2e indeed. Definitely not for every group.



Side Treks - Pakkililir:

Confidence is a preference for the habitual invader of unfamiliar planets
Breaking connection to the hive-mind should be avoided when taking a trek through potentially hostile terrain
Pakkililir's got too much free will, he gets intimidated by the other Grell, they love tearing apart traitors
So he decides to do a little less marching, stick around here where there's no overlord

All the space Grell, so many space Grell
And they all fly round and round, leaving behind their friend, Pakkililir

I get up when I want, except on wednesdays when I get rudely awakened by the merchant caravan
I set some traps, eat some leftovers and think about leaving the cave.
I eat the pigeons, I sometimes eat the humans too, it gives me a sense of enormous well-being.
Then i hide the bones, happy that this'll make sure no hunters are devoted to catching me.

All the space Grell, so many space Grell
And they all fly round and round, leaving behind their friend, Pakkililir

It's got nothing to do with your illithid empire, you know.
And it's not about your giant space hamster wheels, which just go round and round and round.

I remember reading the Tempest, thinking "this is pretty cool, but how the hell do I run it?" so... I never did.

I did run the Pakkillir adventure, not very memorable though.

 

[Ancalagon]

Dungeon Magazine Issue 52: Mar/Apr 1995



part 3/5




The Hurly-Burly Brothers: As should instantly be apparent from the title, this one also has definite comedic elements. A pair of ogres have found themselves in possession of a Quaal's feather token that turns into a Roc, a crumbling tower, and a giant scorpion. They've put the scorpion at the bottom, rigged up a net and rope mechanism to slowly lower people into the scorpion pit, and are now going to grab some passers-by in the Roc's claws and put them in said deathtrap, then watch and laugh as their victims die horribly. Basically, a Batman '66 or James Bond scenario where one of the PC's gets captured and has to figure out how to escape the deathtrap, or at least stall proceedings enough for their friends to catch up, only unlike in the movies your last-minute escape isn't a foregone conclusion. Less irritating than the previous adventure, but still only one for the more theatrical DM who can get the players into the right spirit by going full ham with the roleplaying of the ogre brothers. It's also only a single encounter, so don't use it thinking it'll last the whole session and have other stuff prepared for afterwards. Since it's the kind of thing that you can use nearly anywhere when they're travelling between more intentional adventures, that shouldn't be too hard. Overall, neither good nor terrible.

I ran this adventure when a number of players couldn't make it, so the party had 2 (maybe 3?) players in it. I remember it going fairly well and the players having fun. Not bad at all!

 

[Ancalagon]

Dungeon Issue 37: Sep/Oct 1992



part 3/5



A Wizard's Fate: An adventure where a wizard only just died, and the PC's are sent in to deal with the power vacuum and find out what happened? We've seen that idea before. (issue 28) Thankfully, the specifics are completely different. That was a high level one where the wizard's ambition outstripped his reach. This is a low level one where he was redeemed by the power of love, trying to get out of being evil and be a better person, and was assassinated by his imp familiar, for the 9 hells are notoriously unforgiving of deal-breakers. Now the imp is holding said girlfriend in the dungeon underneath the tower and enjoying his relative freedom to be an inventively sadistic little pain in the ass, while trying to cause enough misery down here to earn a promotion when he gets home. He'll use his invisibility, shapeshifting, poison and other various tricks to make your life considerably more difficult while you're facing the various static challenges throughout the dungeon. Sounds pretty fun to DM, as you have a decent selection of powers, but they're not very strong ones, so you're free to play it smart but fair and not have to pull your punches to keep the PC's alive. Plus if you defeat him, he won't be killed permanently, so having him appear again further along the road in a more powerful baatezu form with a grudge is a very good option for an extended campaign. It's good to get those kinds of plot hooks going in the early levels so you have something to call back too later. So this isn't the biggest or most spectacular adventure, but it's a solid low level one that's easy to build upon and make your later adventures better. Well worth using.

it's definitely a solid one. I ran it in 2e, and then again using the GLOG. It's definitely a nice twist on the evil wizard's tower concept.