Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure

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Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure
Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure01.png
Cover of Mordenkain's Fantastic Adventure (1984), art by Clyde Caldwell
Type: Adventure module
Code/Abbreviation: WG5
Edition: AD&D first Edition
Author(s): Robert J. Kuntz and Gary Gygax
First Published: 1984
Class: Canon

Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure by Robert J. Kuntz and Gary Gygax is an adventure for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, published by TSR, Inc. in 1984. It originally bore the code "WG5" and was intended for use with the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition rules. Because it is one of the WG modules, it is a module intended for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting. It was later updated in 2004 to the third edition Revised rules in Dungeon magazine, issue #112, as Maure Castle. There were subsequently two additional installments in issues #124 and #139.

Back Cover Text[edit]

Four great and powerful heroes travel in search of adventure. Led by Mordenkainen, wizard without peer, they have come to mysterious Maure Castle, a forlorn and foreboding place, source of wonderment and awesome adventure, following a strange and terrible story. For, somewhere deep beneath Maure Castle, from whence no person has returned alive, there stand two massive iron doors - doors without latch, lock, or handle - the Unopenable Doors.

And if the doors are opened, what then? Such potent evil, such terror lies beyond, that even the bravest adventurers may quail before the ultimate test! Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure is a challenging adventure for high-level play. Four original characters from Gary Gygax' famous Greyhawk capmpaign are included for your use.

Can you meet the challenge? Can you survive what lies beyond...the Unopenable Doors?

Background[edit]

This module, according to the Introduction, was based on the campaign that Robert J. Kuntz ran for Gary Gygax, and they later both worked on. The original version was written in 1972-1973. Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, however, was the first published form of the adventure. This campaign, in its pre-commercial form, was the seed from which much of the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and the Dungeons & Dragons game itself originated. Gygax wrote about his experiences in this game in what would later be called "one of the foundations of our favorite hobby," by Dungeon magazine Editor-in-Chief, Erik Mona. Gygax's article was written for the May issue of Wargamer's Digest, and was later reprinted in the Dungeon issue which acted as sequel and rules update to the original module in July of 2004.

The publication contains versions of Gygax's characters, Mordenkainen the Mage, Yrag the Lord, Riggby the Patriarch and Bigby the Wizard, but is designed to allow the introduction of the players' own characters if they wish.

Some iconic creatures of the Dungeons & Dragons game were first introduced in the pre-commercial version of this adventure in the 1970s such as the Iron Golem that claimed the lives of two of Gygax's characters, which was inspired by the Conan the Barbarian books by Robert E. Howard.

Update in Dungeon[edit]

The adventure was adapted for third edition by Rob Kuntz, Erik Mona, and James Jacobs (with some advisory material provided by Gary Gygax). The adaptation was titled "Maure Castle" and comprised four articles in Dungeon #112. Dungeon magazine typically contains 3 adventures and a number of columns. The issue is dominated by four articles all set in Maure Castle and contained no other adventures. The adventure itself was preceded by a reprint of a 1974 article by Gary Gygax, introducing Dungeons & Dragons.

Overview[edit]

Original module[edit]

The module begins when the players are informed that a pair of impassable doors have been discovered under the abandoned Maure Castle. Suspecting that these iron doors lead to fantastic treasures, many have tried to gain access, and all have failed.

First level[edit]

The adventure is broken up into physical "levels", the first is entered through the doors. Once the players find a means of bypassing the doors, they are presented with a fairly open dungeon with several rooms placed throughout. Each area includes its own challenge, ranging from images that come to life and attack to pools of dangerous fish to a climactic encounter with an iron golem.

Second level[edit]

On the second level, the party encounters the first modern occupant, Hubehn and his guards, and eventually his master, Eli Tomorast. Eli is an insane mage, bent on the collection of arcane knowledge at all costs. He is in these dungeons to study them and the treasures which they contain.

Third level[edit]

The final level is populated by worshipers of a demon named Kerzit, which Tomorast had set up as a false god. These worshipers include a band of gnolls, a group of mages (one of whom is surprisingly trigger-happy) and a pair of torturers.

The climax of the module is an encounter with the demon Kerzit himself.

Updated module[edit]

The first three levels of the new module roughly map to the original three levels in the first module, ultimately encountering the demon Kerzit. However, these were substantially expanded, and the events of the updated dungeon include the ramifications of the first module's invasion by Mordenkainen and his band. In fact, the resurrected Eli Tomorast has been plotting his revenge on the mage for several months, though he is in The Statuary (see below) at this time.

Again, the climax of the adventure is a battle with the demon Kerzit.

The Statuary[edit]

The Statuary is a new level of Castle Maure included in Dungeon #112. This dungeon is actually part of the castle itself, where the previous levels were outlying complexes. The ancient magics of the Maure "family" are at play in this dungeon, involving a lich, a reconstructed member of the family and an evil psychic entity known as the Id Core which fuels an endless war between the other two.

This is also the new location of Eli Tomorast, who seeks to eliminate the warring forces and gain access to the secrets of Maure Castle.

Chambers of Antiquities[edit]

The fifth level of the dungeon was published as a stand-alone module in Dungeon #124 in 2005. The module involves a storehouse of magical traps, artifacts and other devices gathered by the architect of Maure Castle, known only as "Uncle".

The Greater Halls[edit]

The sixth dungeon is titled, Maure Castle: The Greater Halls, and was published in 2006 in Dungeon #139. The Greater Halls is a tour of the Maures' dark connections to the Abyss. This adventure pits the players against the devices of the Maures and the machinations of the Demon Queen of Succubi, Malcanthet.

Note[edit]

There is at least 8 portals to other planes as Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk states that the apprentices of the last Suel mage of power, Slerotin, left Oerth at Maure castle, each to their own personal demiplane. The key to access one world is a magical device called an Octych. Only one Octych has been discovered (in the ruins of Castle Greyhawk); the others are lost.

External links[edit]

Disclaimer:Any lore presented through the following links does not necessarily adhere to established officially published content, and the views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Kuntz, Robert J. "Chambers of Antiquities." Dungeon #124. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2005.
  • ----- "The Greater Halls." Dungeon #139. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2006.
  • Kuntz, Robert J, and Gary Gygax. Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1984.
  • Kuntz, Robert J., Erik Mona, James Jacobs & Gary Gygax. "Maure Castle." Bellevue, WA: Dungeon #112 (Paizo Publishing, 2004.