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Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Module #C3
The Lost Island of Castanamir
An Adventure for Character Levels 1-4:
It is terribly cold. You swam for your life to this mysterious island, losing most of your provisions in the process, only to find it barren of all but grass.
A biting wind from the north drives through your wet clothes, chilling you to the bone.
Night is falling & promises even colder temperatures; you wish this place had even a bush to burn as firewood.
Your stomach has just begun to complain about the lack of dinner, when one of your companions calls & you rush to his side, hoping he's found a way to turn grass into a sandwich.
Instead, he points to the ground in front of him. "Look there."
Set in a shallow depression in the ground is a stone door.
Your friend reaches down & gives a tug, & the door swings slowly open on creaking hinges, revealing a descending stair.
The first thought that crosses your mind is whether it would be better to freeze to death up here in the wind or fall into the hands of Castanamir the Mad, the upredictable.
It is terribly cold. You swam for your life to this mysterious island, losing most of your provisions in the process, only to find it barren of all but grass.
A biting wind from the north drives through your wet clothes, chilling you to the bone.
Night is falling & promises even colder temperatures; you wish this place had even a bush to burn as firewood.
Your stomach has just begun to complain about the lack of dinner, when one of your companions calls & you rush to his side, hoping he's found a way to turn grass into a sandwich.
Instead, he points to the ground in front of him. "Look there."
Set in a shallow depression in the ground is a stone door.
Your friend reaches down & gives a tug, & the door swings slowly open on creaking hinges, revealing a descending stair.
The first thought that crosses your mind is whether it would be better to freeze to death up here in the wind or fall into the hands of Castanamir the Mad, the upredictable.
32 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 2, 2019
I really enjoy the set-up of this module- your player characters are stranded on a small island in the ocean, cold and hungry with no way to get off and nothing to sustain themselves long-term, their only hope lies in a trapdoor revealing a set of stone steps leading down...
It sounds pretty intriguing and the adventure unfolds with the party trying to find a way out of Castanamir's magical residence only to (SPOILER)…find themselves back on the surface of the island stuck in their same predicament Seeing how this module was used in tournament play, I think it explains some of its set-up and execution, but as a part of a campaign, the Dungeon Master will have to introduce additional story elements and/or resources to have the party continue after their escape from Castanamir's holdings.
I played this adventure long ago and remembered being excited about its concept but not so much its execution. There are a lot of interesting encounters and creatures that the party will experience but it seemed to struggle with providing inspiration and confidence in getting the players invested once their characters descended the steps. There were many times of frustration and little reward for risk. It basically felt like a collection of good and interesting ideas.
It sounds pretty intriguing and the adventure unfolds with the party trying to find a way out of Castanamir's magical residence only to (SPOILER)…find themselves back on the surface of the island stuck in their same predicament Seeing how this module was used in tournament play, I think it explains some of its set-up and execution, but as a part of a campaign, the Dungeon Master will have to introduce additional story elements and/or resources to have the party continue after their escape from Castanamir's holdings.
I played this adventure long ago and remembered being excited about its concept but not so much its execution. There are a lot of interesting encounters and creatures that the party will experience but it seemed to struggle with providing inspiration and confidence in getting the players invested once their characters descended the steps. There were many times of frustration and little reward for risk. It basically felt like a collection of good and interesting ideas.
October 10, 2020
Another "tournament" module, this adventure is a bit more usable for a regular gaming session. It is definitely a funhouse dungeon, with each encounter area separated from the others by magical portals that are far beyond the PC's ability to affect or change. Some of the encounters are interesting, but there is still a hint of the old-school "harshness" in this module. The module goes for a high strangeness factor by introducing completely new monsters, but it may make the adventure hard for the players to relate to. It's an interesting read but not a module I can see running with modern players.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews