Thoughts on Ruins of Adventure

FRC1 - Ruins of Adventure

Wow! Does this book bring back memories! Not memories of playing the table top version, but the Gold Box video game, Pool of Radiance. (It looks like you can download a copy HERE).

A FB post asked about it, which got me responding a few times, reading through the printed adventure, triggering more responses.  I gotta tell you, there is nothing like a dose of reality to clear the fog of nostalgia.  Still, Ruins of Adventure is not a complete loss.  The pdf is cheap at DrivethruRPG, with Amazon and Ebay versions running between $30 and $60 (or more).  My observations come from the pdf.  This means that for less than $5 USD, you too can have a copy.

As written, it is intended for 1e rules, which means GP=XP.  This helps explain the vast amounts of coinage and gems discovered.  The ridiculous amounts of magic items, on the other hand.... well, it IS the Forgotten Realms.  The names are equally ridiculous, but again, it is Forgotten Realms.  At least there are no gratuitous Zs or apostrophes in use.

The adventure is set in and around the ruins of Phlan. As this regional map shows, Phlan lies on the northern coast of the Moonsea (a cool name, that).  The introduction to the adventure tells us how the city was initially ruined:

"From the start of the attack, the humans were defeated. They were out-numbered, out-fought and out-generaled. The first wave struck from the air—wheeling flights of dragons after dragons swept over the rooftops, setting ablaze vast portions of the city.  As the flames licked over the chimneys, the attackers charged into the trapped militia. The Battle of Phlan was a massacre."

With that history in mind, I'd expect far more undead and actual, well, ruins.  As written, the undead are mostly confined to the Graveyard, and the buildings are strangely intact, despite dragons having set 'ablaze vast portions of the city.'  

Regardless, the premise is a fine one, and certainly ripe for adventure.  PCs are part of a group of people reclaiming Phlan for civilized folk.  The docks - now called New Phlan - were recaptured and somewhat resettled before the adventure happens.  Once the PCs arrive, they take jobs for the City Council, clearing blocks of the city for eventual resettlement.  

Here is the city map from the Pool of Radiance game book (because my image from the pdf is split in two).  Lots of stone walls and gates survived the razing of Phlan, as well.  Looking at it, it IS a railroad, which should be expected from an adventure modeled on a video game.  At least this form makes it easy to decide what to do next.  Oh, the water is variously described as acidic and poisonous and both, so don't go swimming - hire a boat.  Later on, you clear the water by purging a pyramid, which I vaguely recall happened in the video game, as well.

Like all good published adventures, FRC1 comes with a hexmap of the outlying areas, complete with a handful of settlements for the PCs to encounter and either parley with, run from, get killed/captured by, or fight through.  The Orc and Hobgoblin settlements come complete with hamfisted moral issues - the Orcs slaughter prisoners, and if Hobgoblin women or children are attacked, the remaining Hobgoblins get +4 on attacks out of anger.  In both cases, it is recommended the DM do something with PC alignment for either allowing slaughter or participating in it.

There is a rumor table, of sorts.  Actually, it is more of a collection of rumors, one true and one false, for certain areas in the Old City.  Written in dialect.  There is also a small army of NPC adventurers milling about New Phlan, each with an agenda, but also willing to sign on for a share in the loot.  Note that there are several assassins among these NPCs, whose agenda is to kill PCs of their shared race.  None of these NPCs can be used as-is, if only because their write ups are vague.  

Here are two examples:  

Elven fighter: Gilesestri is a 7^th level fighter that has been battling evil for 900 years. He is loaded down with magical weapons and armor and other useful devices. He has come to punish the ones that have poisoned the river and now looks for them. He will join a group interested in also looking for those that are polluting the water.

I imagine that Gilesestri glows under a Detect Magic and would likely be a prime target for Eelzifestro, the Elf Assassin 9, him being such a staunch foe of evil for the last 900 years.  Then again, maybe G could join forces with Ren, the White Wizard, and they could clear the ruins together.

Human magic-user: Ren, the white wizard, is a 15th-level human wizard. He is trapped in the Valjevo Castle. If the group frees him, he leads them to a large treasure in the castle. He then helps them finish their quest in the castle, but leaves the moment they exit the castle. He has things he must attend to in the wilderness.

Things to attend to in the wilderness.  How like a wizard! Leaving just when he'd have been most useful!

The combative NPCs, 38 in all (not counting the bandit chief, the berserker chief, the buccaneer chief, and the merchant leader who are designed to appear time and again bringing/offering trouble), range in level from 2-15, with 16 of them being name level or higher.  These potential allies make better patrons and rivals than they do henchmen or short-term party members.

A canny or skilled DM can interweave the various NPC agendas into plots and places and parties of their own, but not on the fly.  Especially when some of the NPCs appear or are referenced elsewhere in the book.  But I've digressed.

The docks and New Phlan are given a verbal description of local inns and merchants, but no map.  Not that you need one for a nonfighting area, but some gamers swear otherwise.  

Then it rolls right into the various city blocks.  Reading through the entries makes it apparent that different people wrote the pieces and that editing was an afterthought.  Buried on page 36 is an encounter with undead that states "The first encounter the party has on their first outing, anywhere (except Sokol Keep), is with a mixed band of undead: skeleton, zombie, wight."  After the stat blocks is this note: "the wight is not supposed to ever hit the party members in this first attack. It should be apparent to the party that they are fighting undead and dealing with a wight."  Why it is here, and not near the front is one of many forever-unknowable mysteries.  

Since that first encounter is found with the graveyard entry, let's talk about how the graveyard is the gift that keeps on giving.  A proper looting provides diligent PCs with 7 assorted ioun stones + 1 more ioun stone per PC (as a reward).  63 base 100gp gems and large amounts of coin and other magics, all for the low, low price of slaying (at least) 5 specters and a vampire.  And nearly 20 wights, 12 in one batch.  Then hordes of skeletons and zombies. 

Note that the skeletons, zombies, and wights are not only replaced, but doubled by those blasted specters, and the vampire replaces lost specters.  If left for last, the Graveyard really will be a nightmare fight, especially as with morale rules, lesser undead won't ever retreat.  Yet killing specters (with 1e's level drain) is not something mid-to-high level PCs seek out, let alone the low-level PCs that are off to clear the cemetery for the Town Council.

Each other section has its own strengths and foibles, particularly the auction in Pobol Plaza, but I want to jump to the end of the book, which contains 15 different random encounter charts, based on rough grouping (river, organized inhuman town, evil specials II, random monsters).  Each chart is a d20 and most contain several entries referencing other charts.  Following are my favorites, if only for how they are phrased, because they read like hexcrawl entries, except that they are random.

Random Encounters –

Sunken Ship: The ship is visible, but it should be mostly underwater. The idea is to provide a quick monster encounter (roll again from this table) tied to a rich treasure of magic and gold.

Island: An unexplored, uncharted island. A good place for that "special" encounter the DM's been working on.

Ruins: Ruins always have random monsters of higher level than the PCs and very little treasure.

Useful ruins: Useful ruins are ruins that have some magic item the characters can use. These ruins are guarded by a single monster powerful enough to give the PCs problems (DM's option).

Magic for magic's sake: Pick a random spell from all the lists, and it hits the party, as if a 6th level spell caster threw it.

A castle of evil, newly set up.

Cave Men (MM 1, AC 8(7), HD 2(1), Damage 1-6 +2, # appearing Special): Cave men should be a steadily increasing threat. They should come in numbers and strength large enough to cause the PCs real trouble. These cave men should come more and more often until the PCs wipe out a nest of 50 of them in the low hills to the north of Phlan.

A ghostly king appears to warn the PCs not to carry magic for two days.

Evil cleric band: There are always exactly the same number of clerics as PCs. The highest cleric has 2 more HD than the highest PC. The lowest cleric has 1 less HD than the lowest PC. These clerics exist only to destroy the PCs. They even go so far as to carry off any bodies that fall during a battle.

Evil magic-user band: These average higher levels than the PCs. They always exist only to destroy the PCs. They will, however, have magic items useful to the party if defeated.

Dinosaur (MM 2, Ankisaurus, AC 7, HD 2, Damage 1-4, # appearing 1-10)

Still, there IS plenty enough to riff on, particularly this delight: "Pilgrim Bands: These groups should be found everywhere, and always under attack."  As written, there are ample bands of ne'er-do-wells about that will gladly attack hapless pilgrims.

This post will likely see a part II because I'm sorely tempted to flesh out many of these vague entries and turn them into table-ready information and one-page and/or five-room dungeons.   Not too mention a map of New Phlan, better maps (variety and interconnectivity - sewers could undercut the whole area allowing for more stealth), and more connections between sections.  Lots of ideas in my head, so I guess we'll see what makes it to paper.