Book Description
Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk is a
Dungeons & Dragons super-adventure, designed for characters of level 8-13, that revisits Castle Greyhawk and the classic dungeon beneath.
This adventure is usable as a mini-campaign on its own, a story arc in a Dungeon Master's regular campaign, or as a series of small side adventures with a big payoff.
Like other adventures in the "Expedition" series, this product takes a classic
Dungeons & Dragons location, updates it for
D&D v.3.5, and incorporates many new twists and surprises. This adventure also includes useful source material for players and a combat encounter format designed to make the DM's job easier.
Customer Reviews:
Buy This Now--You Won't Be Disappointed.......2007-09-07
Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk is easily the best adventure release of the 3.x era. It contains a vast number of easter eggs for the old school gamers, while containing a great storyline for those who are new to D&D. I firmly believe that Mona and Jacobs are the best writers in the game, and Jason Bulmahn is a young talent to watch. His Dungeon adventure, Mad God's Key, was the beginning point to my current campaign.
This adventure has everything that makes for good playing: a great number of role-playing opportunities, an open storyline that allows freedom to the players, excellent and well thought out encounters, a vast city to explore, and, of course, the original Greatest Dungeon Of Them All!!
I honestly can't think of any reason why any Dungeon Master who purchased this product would be disappointed. As the title says--if you buy this, your only problem will be that you will want to scrap your current campaign and run this one ASAP.
Excellent Adventure.......2007-08-22
For those of us who grew up with Gary Gygax's modules in the 80s, Greyhawk is your home town - you might enjoy other worlds, but there is a nostalgic connection to the Free City, the Circle of Eight, and various threads that hold tremendous potential but were never fully explored. Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk reconnects with that promise, and offers a rich and rewarding adventure. Some people inexperienced with Greyhawk will quibble with the extensive back history, and not appreciate the tributes paid to the past : Isle of the Ape, Dungeonland, the various quasi deities. Others will only wonder why couldn't Wizards of the Coast give us more?
This is a fantastic supplement. Let's buy these books so we can get more Greyhawk.
Could it be? Greyhawk's back!!!.......2007-08-18
Yes, it's true. It appears the folks at WotC have decided to bring back Greyhawk, at least with this latest release. It's been a long time coming and my hat's off to the people at WotC who promoted this adventure. I think many D&D players were disappointed(me among them)with the decision to discontinue any future gaming supplements for the Greyhawk campaign setting by WotC. I have examined this supplement and I would give it a 4 * rating. It's probably one of the better gaming supplements that WotC has released since taking over from TSR.
A fine update to a popular 2e adventure.......2007-08-17
Based on the 2e adventure Greyhawk Ruins, this campaign takes characters from 8th to 13th level while they divide their time exploring and investigating the Ruins of Greyhawk and the City of Greyhawk itself. Their adventures will take them back and forth between these two locations as the story progresses.
- Several portions of each of the three towers of the Ruins of Greyhawk are detailed, the parts relevant to the campaign laid out in the book. Some of the maps are re-creations of the 2e version, others are modified somewhat, and the rest completely new. The basic personality of each tower seems to be faithfully preserved.
- Mordenkainen makes an enigmatic appearance, and there are hints of him affecting the spread of information leading up to the encounter, cleverly showing how he manipulates events in the world but remains in the shadows, as he always does.
- A map of the City of Greyhawk is provided, faithful to the layout of the 2e boxed set The City of Greyhawk. The building placement is more dense in this version, and only a small part of the city is detailed. There are basic summaries of areas not fully covered.
- Several side quests in both the Ruins and the City are provided as filler for the slower times during the campaign, as well as suggestions for random encounters between significant locations.
- Descriptions and backgrounds for key NPCs in the adventure (several of which are part of long-time Greyhawk lore) are also provided, but statistics are not provided for all of them.
- Most encounters use the one or two page format for ease of setup.
Over half of the adventure takes place in the Ruins, and there will be other tasks for characters in the City itself, as well as additional locations they visit from within the Ruins.
All in all, I would say it's a well rounded adventure with a wide variety of challenges. I particularly enjoyed how some of Zagig's leftover magic continues to function, preserving his humorous eccentricity without compromising how dangerous it can be as well.
I would have hoped that more of the Ruins themselves were detailed, but the original 2e adventure had over a thousand rooms. To detail that much in a volume like this which uses the encounter format present in the most recent DnD adventures would make the book far too thick, plus increase the scope of the adventure beyond what the designers intended. It was clear, however, that the designers used material from the 2e version and updated it for this campaign. It's entertaining to see their visions of how things have changed in the Ruins after all this time.
Also, those not accustomed to the more recent one and two page encounter format may have some trouble following the intended path through the campaign, so some study will be required, especially involving the NPC's and events in the city.
Added: As a final note, after taking a closer look at the material, I've found the campaign to be very treasure heavy. After selling what they don't want to keep and purchasing and making their own items, you can expect your players to not find any upgrades for a few levels afterwards!
Average customer rating:
- Chris Pramas is one of the best RPG writers out there.
- The essence of Greyhawk
- Worthy sequel to the proud Slavelords tradition
- Excellent Work-Creates an entire Campaign
- Better than the original slavers series
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Slavers, Second Edition (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Greyhawk)
Sean K. Reynolds , and
Chris Pramas
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
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Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons)
ASIN: 0786916214
Release Date: 2000-04-01 |
Customer Reviews:
Chris Pramas is one of the best RPG writers out there........2003-08-16
Everything about this book appeals to the Greyhawk afficianado. It's intelligent, well-written, and builds upon the great tradition laid down by the father of role-playing, Gary Gygax. Find a copy of this if you can. Pramas remains of the best writers out there, and deserves all the credit for this excellent release.
The essence of Greyhawk.......2000-11-30
Don't pick up Slavers expecting a quick, easy-to-run module. It's not. But it can be much, much more. In fact, Slavers can serve as the basis for one of the most epic Greyhawk adventures you'll ever run.
For me, Greyhawk stands out as a campaign world for several reasons: the influence of history, great villains, and strong plot development (though not necessarily resolution). Slavers has all three. It starts with the background of the Slavelords, relating the role they have played in events throughout the Flanaess. We learn what motivates them and what they hope to achieve. They are greedy, ruthless, power-hungry, and above all, smart -- the perfect ingredients for memorable villains. As this story of intrigue develops, the players will discover plots within plots that go deeper than they ever imagined.
Apart from the adventure outline, Slavers holds its own as a sourcebook for the lands immediately surrounding Greyhawk. You'll find a detailed description of the Free City of Dyvers -- including its geography, government, economy, prominent citizens and more. Blackthorn, the humanoid lair hidden deep within the Gnarley Forest, is finally revealed. Slavers also does an incredible job of bringing Pomarj cities such as Highport to life, offering a realistic picture of how thousands of humans, orcs and others manage to co-exist.
Crafting this exhaustive material into a campaign will take some work. (Chances are, you'll spend a couple nights just reading through it all.) But it's definitely worth the effort. Slavers represents one of the best releases put out by Wizards of the Coast for D&D.
Worthy sequel to the proud Slavelords tradition.......2000-05-02
At last, a sequel to the epic story of modules A1-4, Scourge of the Slavelords! I was so excited to see this finally make it into print that I bought 7 copies. A brand new Greyhawk adventure, based on the modules of old, but an entirely new experience, with no rehashing! How long had I been waiting for this? The enthusiasm wore off a bit as I plowed through the module's 128 pages. I haven't had a chance to play this adventure yet, but I have a few reservations about the experience. The adventure begins well. The humanoid clans of the Pomarj, scattered into chaos once again by the heroic depredations of the adventurers of 20 years ago (A1-4), have once again been reunited by a Slavelord - this time, it is the grim, charismatic Turrosh, a half-orc princeling who shows ingenious savagery as both lord and conqueror. The dreaded yellow sails, not seen on any armada for years, have once again become the symbol of death and slavery throughout the Wild Coast, and even as far as the Nyr Dyv. It's time for a new generation of heroes to put an end to the menace! Things get a little sticky as the scenario continues. A bit more reading reveals that this isn't really a heavily-scripted adventure; actually, it's more of a sourcebook with detailed encounter keys. The PCs are given no single incentive to go from point A to point B - and although the work is impressive for its non-linearity, a bit of frustration sets in as the DM realizes that at least 10 hours of preparation will be required (after the preliminary reading) to make this adventure come to life. But don't let that throw you off! The more you read, the more you realize that the book is set up so that it can be perfectly customized to your campaign. Even better, it gives exhaustive, detailed, and imaginative settings, many of which are famous and well-known to long-time wanderers of Greyhawk: Hardby, Elredd, Highport (at last!), and more are revealed for the first time with well-planned encounters and many pages of lore. What's mostly lacking is the dungeon crawls - there's a few slaver outposts highlighted, but the book's pages are mostly spent detailing the settings of the adventures, rather than detailing the adventures themselves. One of the most impressive aspects of the sourcebook is the great ideas. We're treated to the ruined, shipwreck-dotted coastal village of Cantona, whose non-Euclidean angles and magical wardings prevent summonings and teleportation; the Yellow Tooth Kobolds of the Pomarj, who create makeshift floating villages with which to harass the unwary; the Temple District of Highport, where we get to read about the intriguing worshippers of Vecna, Iuz, Incabulos, and more; and the return of Stalman Klim, with his insidious plots to spread the Cult of the Earth Dragon throughout the heartlands of the Flanaess. The final "dungeon," the Temple of the Earth Dragon, is creative, fun, intense, and well-planned; but, this section is abysmally short. The hopeful DM is left with the idea that someone cackled, threw a handful of ingenious ideas into a cauldron, and then... forgot to stoke up the fire. If you're looking for flashing blades, sizzling spells, and piratical scenes of mayhem and drama, you'll likely be disappointed. But if you want an outstanding sourcebook that provides lavish detail on some of the most eternally mysterious corners of Greyhawk (which happen to be very close to the Free City itself), you'll find Slavers to be an excellent resource, with the seeds of many potential adventures. May it live long and free!
Excellent Work-Creates an entire Campaign.......2000-04-28
At once I was pleased to find that several of the original Slavelords had survived and had rebuilt the organization. This super module provides enough action and plot to put together an entire Greyhawk campaign for characters that are roughly 3rd or 4th level. It also provides plenty of side adventure hooks and ideas to keep the action going and to come in and out of the campaign to keep things fresh. Several key towns and cities are described to provide locales for action and to act as bases of operations. Several slave lords are familiar and several are new. The story will take the characters on a ride across several parts of Greyhawk during their quest and serves as a good means of "jumping" in to the setting. All in all this is an excellent module that should provide players and DM's with many sessions of thrills and action.
Better than the original slavers series.......2000-04-03
There are all kinds of contradictory feelings about the original A1-4 series. My group's experience in particular was not very good.
If only we had own Slavers! instead of A1-4 everything would have been different. The new module is more challenging but undoubtedly more fun than the original, with unexpected twists. All in all, it is more juicy.
Customer Reviews:
The last book in the adventures of Mika.......2000-02-04
This is the sequel to "The Demon Hand" (Greyhawk Adventures No. 5). I honestly found this series to be one of the most entertaining and hard-to-put-down reading I've ever come across. I have to admit that I bought these four books for $2.00 in a dollar store in Grand Rapids. It took me a couple of years before I decided to read them and I'm glad that I did. Rose Estes creates a marvelous world of majic and mystery, with all the necessary touches of good and evil and spliced with humor and wit. Others will say these books are for young-adult. They are, and that's what I was when I read them. But my opinion is still the same.
Customer Reviews:
The definitive reference work for the Free City of Greyhawk.......2003-10-26
"Greyhawk was the first city designed for an AD&D game campaign. It has more gaming history than any other locale. And yet we have barely scratched the surface of its gaming potential."
This boxed set represents one of the pinnacles of TSR. Released in 1989, it enjoyed the fruits of years of gaming science, and talented editing.
The set includes:
* Greyhawk: Gem of the Flanaess - "A gazetteer of the Free City of Greyhawk and the surrounding area" 96-page softcover.
* Greyhawk: Folk, Feuds, and Factions - "The good, the bad, and the in-between: People who make the city what it is" 96-page softcover.
* 3 large fold-out maps of the city & environs, and overhead picture of the city.
* Two-dozen adventure cards, with mini-modules set in the city.
"Greyhawk -- City of High Culture and Low Life! From the high towers of its grand universities to the rancid alleys of its darkest slums, the City of Greyhawk awaits you. Center of magic and learning in the Flanaess, Greyhawk is also the home of powerful thieves, mighty warriors, traitorous ambassadors, and honest craftsmen."
Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books / Krakow RPGs
WaynesBooks.com
Book Description
BradyGames' The Temple of Elemental Evil: A Classic Adventure Official Strategy Guide provides a complete walkthrough for every quest, including all side quests! Comprehensive stats for every creature and weapon. Complete character coverage including specifics on every class, race, feat, skill, spell and more. Full explanations of the various party dynamics. Full-color format captures the rich design and style of the game!
Customer Reviews:
Temple of Broken Dialog Options.......2005-12-10
Don't get me wrong - I loved Troika, and I play lots of D&D games, so I'm pretty surprised to be giving such a low rating. The game is very ambitious, but the flexibility of choice isn't matched by the programming of the game.
The two most glaring problems are the dialog options and the turn-based combat. The dialog options don't follow a set structure (that is, the "exit dialog" conversation might be any one of the options; typically it would be the last). As for the combat, there is no way to see melee or ranged dice rolls, so it is difficult to tell what is happening in combat.
Even the most hardcore D&D/Gary Gygax fan will find this a bit slow moving and boring, except when he is forced to reload over and over.
Customer Reviews:
The Story Behind the Greyhawk Wars.......2001-09-05
I enjoyed this book more because I am a Greyhawk fan than the actual quality of writing. This book is the sequel to "Saga of Old City" and picks up a couple of years later after Gord and his friends discovered the first of three keys or artifacts which will unleash the dreaded evil god named Tharizdun. The book details the fight to obtain the second key which leads to a chase across the Flanaess. Many forces are at work in this mad dash to control the face of the planet including Oerth's own demigod the evil Iuz as well as the Scarlet Brotherhood. Many important figures pop up in this book including the Catlord, Mordenkainen, Melf (as in Melf's Acid Arrow), and the circle of eight. The fate of the world tends to draw a party. The storyline recounted in this novel basically tells the story behind the Greyhawk Wars up to the fall of the Horned Society and the takeover of the Bandit Kingdoms. For those who play in the Greyhawk world, this novel could definitely liven up a campaign or just provide an interesting background into what has happened before. The story is intriguing, but the writing, while better than "Saga of Old City" still lacks artist polish. Bottom line, if you enjoy the Greyhawk setting and read "Saga of Old City" get this book; it is an enjoyable and quick read. However, if you aren't familiar with Greyhawk your best bet would be to skip it.
Second of the novel length adventures........1999-12-27
Second of the Gygax AD&D novels, Artifact is a sequel to Saga of Old City and AD&D in general.
Gord the Rogue series.......1999-11-29
This may be the best fantasy series since Micheal Moorcock's Elric saga. The hero is not some goody-two shoes trying to save the realms. The plot is unpredictable and the characters are different. This is old school D&D written by the origonal master. If you can find the series you are in luck. I only with Erol Otus did the illustrations. Long live Gygax!
good book..gripping....will read again...........1999-07-29
In books of this type i liked it very much and am still in search of the rest of the series..well written and very creative..many differnt plots and characters keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning...many things can be missed..I know I read the book two or three times..thank you for your time a fond reader of Gygax..
Customer Reviews:
The finest compendium of Greyhawk lore.......2000-05-02
Ah, yes... seconded closely by Oriental Adventures, this is the FINEST supplemental hardcover ever produced by TSR! This one includes excellent, EXCLUSIVE information on the most intriguing aspects of Greyhawk. Best of all, this one includes only the secrets the players themselves requested! Tantalizing topics include: the 12 clerical orders of the most popular deities, all with unique powers and spells, including the Priests of Iuz; 13 great monsters unique to the Flanaess (including the Greyhawk Dragon, and the ever-notorious Swordwraith); the Free City of Greyhawk, the Valley of the Mage (with stats and history on the Magus himself!), the Scarlet Brotherhood, over 100 Archmage spells (Bigby, Rary, Otto, Nystul, etc.), 95 magic items unique to Greyhawk (Red Dragon Armor of the Hellfurnaces, Cheetah Cloak of Amedio, Black Arrow of Iuz, etc.), 15 pages on the most intriguing geographic locations of Oerth, including the secrets of the Sea of Dust (at last!), lots of mini-adventures in Greyhawk, plus: beginning a "veterans-challenge" campaign with zero-level characters! Your jaw will drop when you realize just how much is here. Highest recommendation.
An excellent sourcebook.......1998-10-19
Though it's a 1st edition book, there are many things in this book that can easily be adapted to any AD&D game. This book has a number of new monsters, spells that can't be found anywhere else, Deities of Greyhawk, magic items, and in-depth descriptions of several interesting characters (who, unfortunately need to be adapted) who can be used for great stories and adventures. Also included are a number of locals that can provide interesting and dangerous adventures for your PCs. All in all a great book from a great campaign world.
Customer Reviews:
Greyhawk.......2005-10-16
The first novel in Gygax's Greyhawk setting is a good one. It is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a fast and fun read. The story continues in Artifact of Evil, at which point Gary and TSR parted ways. He then took his Gord the Rogue series to another publisher and come out with Sea of Death, Come Endless Darkness and Dance of Demons. There is also a collection of short stories. TSR has published other Greyhawk novels, but none have been as good or fun as the Gord the Rogue series.
Classic in my heart.......2005-03-31
Yes I have kept the book for over 10 years I lost it at about 18 and re-ordered it at about 28 - I wont lost it again.
True to the spirit of D&D, the most fun part is going from "level 0" to "level 1" and finally reaches the "named" level - which is exactly what happens in the book.
My favorite book EVER!.......2004-10-01
I had a friend give me this book to read when I was 13 and read it atleast 5 times before I gave it back to him. I asked him years later when he was home on a visit from the navy and he said sorry man my mom thru all my old books away. Can you believe that?? Anyway, I finally have found it again at age 32 and let me tell its even better then I thought! I was concerned maybe I outgrew it or something but no way as Gary Gygax is an absolute genius and it shows most I think in his books. I also want to point out there are several more books to this series all of which are great.
Gygax can spin a great yarn!.......2004-04-10
I am a slow reader, It takes me 2 months plus to finish novels but I read this book in 3 days!! I could not put it down. The characters are so endearing, the novel is filled with sweet poetic justice. I was a big fan of the Greyhawk Campaign but the Gygax novel really brought it to life! If you enjoyed Greyhawk in the least bit you'll be cheating yourself if you don't read this series. Gygax is such a creative mind!!! I don't think he gets all the credit he deserves.
Gygax at his best.......2002-12-05
Many movies have been made on lesser books than this one.Its simply a fun and entertaining book to read.I love how Gygax mixes the actions/events taken place with gords inner thoughts and feelings.Not to mention the brilliant interplay of characters that gord meets through his travels.Gygax mixes just the right amount of character depth with the characters roll in the story - theres nothing worse than reading page after page about a characters own past then he/her character disappear from the pages.
Customer Reviews:
Further mutilation of Greyhawk..........2000-05-04
The World of Greyhawk is one of the oldest worlds for fantasy roleplaying. It has a depth and interest to it which is totally unseen in this book. There are far better books based on AD&D - try Elfshadow by Elaine Cunningham for one of the best. Actually, come to think of it, almost all of them are better than Rose Estes' Greyhawk books. Of more interest to AD&D/Greyhawk historians is the GORD THE ROGUE series by Gary Gygax - occasionally badly written, but the ideas make up for it!
Third book of a four part series.......2000-02-06
The third installment of the adventures of Mika. His hand has been mutated (if I remember correctly) by the demon Maelfesh. This is a one-of-a-kind series with a lot of original ideas and many interesting characters.
Customer Reviews:
The Adventures of Mika Part 2.......2002-08-07
The second installment to the Mika series left a little to be desired. I was very anxious to read it after finishing "Master Wolf" wanting to find out how everything would turn out. However, the beginning of "The Price of Power" is probably the worse portion of the book. The ending of "Master Wolf" didn't seem to match what happened at the beginning of this novel. I also didn't like the direction the book took with the addition of Maelfesh. The rest of the book does get better though. You will enjoy the effects of the magic stone and Mika's stay in Eru-Tovar and the Phantom Forest as well as Mika's run-ins with a harpy! Unfortunately the climax, while it showed promise, didn't deliver. The rust monsters ruined it for me. As for the ending...it didn't leave me with the same desire to continue reading the rest of the series that the previous book did. In my opinion, if you have read "Master Wolf", then you might want to read this book. However, I wouldn't go out of my way to locate a copy. As for the rest of the series, I don't have them and I don't plan on looking for them.
The sequel to "Master Wolf".......2000-02-04
When I read this book I had just finishing "Master Wolf," the previous book in the four book series of the adventures of Mika and his wolf Tam. Throughout these books there are many different creatures and many adventures. It is a quick and entertaining book. I highly recommend it to beginner readers of fantasy. Be sure to read "Master Wolf" first (Greyhawk Adventures, No. 3) or it won't make much sense.
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