[RPG]: Assault on the Aerie of the Slavelords, reviewed by Lev Lafayette (3/3)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12793.phtml

Lev Lafayette's Summary:

A well-produced module with its own internal narrative that integrates very well with the overall plot of the Slaver's series. However this is seriously hamstrung by some seriously poor design, irrelevant and often ludicrous encounters and use of game and narrative fiat.

Go to the full review for more information.

[Dan Davenport]

Was it this adventure or Hall of the Fire Giant King that first featured a Drow antagonist?

[Lev Lafayette]

Originally Posted by Dan Davenport

Was it this adventure or Hall of the Fire Giant King that first featured a Drow antagonist?

Probably the latter; however there is a Drow at the end of A4.

[JRM]

TSR originally published G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King in 1978, although the G1-3 reprint came out in the same year as Assault of the Slave Lords, 1981.

[SDriver]

IIRC, there are also Drow in the catacombs at the end of A2 as a "non-tournament" encounter. I don't have it at work with me.

I think at least some of the dippiness of the "puzzles" in the A-series (which I've always had fun running) stems from its origin as a set of convention tournament adventures. (1980 GenCon? Don't honestly remember, although I think there was an article about it in Dragon #49, the first Dragon magazine I ever bought.)

Thus the text-adventure "solutions" like conveniently placed giant mushroom caps, along with bizarre set pieces. The encounters are presented as a gauge of how efficiently a given group of players can overcome a preset obstacle. The initial stages of the A-series finale, In the Dungeons of the Slavelords, are almost Zork-like, to the point one worries about wandering grue.

Ghost Tower of Inverness and Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan spring to mind as other gonzo tournament-style adventures with weird-ass set pieces. ("CHESS ROOM!!!")

None of this, of course, explains White Plume Mountain.

[Lev Lafayette]

Originally Posted by SDriver

IIRC, there are also Drow in the catacombs at the end of A2 as a "non-tournament" encounter. I don't have it at work with me.

Ahh, not that I can recall. Markessa and an elf that looks a lot like her are ivory skinned with amber eyes.

Thus the text-adventure "solutions" like conveniently placed giant mushroom caps,

Oh god yes. This was another of those incidents where I ran it differently, but told the players what was meant to happen according to the module.

[SDriver]

Encounter 38, page 35 - some drow that trade with the hill fort.

I like Markessa. The "end boss" in A1 is a boring cipher (albeit with WEASELS!), and we don't really get much of a glimpse of the personalities of the bosses in A3 and A4 (not to mention that the pirate guy is named "Feetla," gag) but the villains in A2 are pretty entertaining and memorable by dungeon-crawl standards of the time.

[Lev Lafayette]

Originally Posted by SDriver

Encounter 38, page 35 - some drow that trade with the hill fort.

Ah yes... <i>If</i> the PCs end up going that far. After all, by this stage the objectives have been met, the perimeter cleared and you can leave it to the locals... (In my game it was the timely arrival of El Cid his followers).

I like Markessa. The "end boss" in A1 is a boring cipher (albeit with WEASELS!), and we don't really get much of a glimpse of the personalities of the bosses in A3 and A4 (not to mention that the pirate guy is named "Feetla," gag) but the villains in A2 are pretty entertaining and memorable by dungeon-crawl standards of the time.

True, I should have made more of a point of them in the review of A2; a poor oversight on my part. Doesn't change my overall opinion on the module however; I really disliked running it.