Curse of Xanathon
Encyclopedia
Curse of Xanathon is a Dungeons & Dragons
adventure module designed by Douglas Niles
for use with the D&D Expert Set
.
are to be shaved and stretched to make them "presentable to human sensibilities". Duke Stephan is suffering from a curse which was brought upon him by Xanathon, chief cleric
of the Ethengar Khanate immigrants living inside Rhoona's walls, and Stephen's own treacherous guard captain, Draco Stormsailer.
The player character
s must discover the nature of the Duke's affliction. They will need to learn how to lift the curse from the Duke of Rhoona, as he is needed to lead his troops against an invading army. They will need to find the antidote for the curse, battling Xanathon, Draco, and their minions to achieve their goal.
Lawrence Schick, in his sourcebook of roleplaying games, Heroic Worlds, describes the module as a town adventure in which the players are tasked with solving a mystery in order to remove a curse. The cursed town is threatened by a dwarven
army, and the player characters must save the town.
, with art by Tim Truman, and published by TSR in 1982 as a thirty two page booklet with an outer folder. Curse of Xanathon was designed as an adventure for 5th-7th level D&D characters. Curse of Xanathon was developed by Douglas Niles and Alan Hammack, and edited by Deborah Campbell Ritchie.
magazine. He called Curse of Xanathon a "detective adventure", though he said that it was "very much a programmed affair" and "players move through a series of distinct and logical stages, discovering clues as they go." He noted that if the players fail to follow the clues, the Dungeon Master must direct them to the next encounter, which cuts down on the amount of freedom available to them. Bambra deemed the module to be not as good as the contemporaneous releases for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but said it was superior to the two modules preceding it in the series, Isle of Dread
and Castle Amber.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
adventure module designed by Douglas Niles
Douglas Niles
Douglas Niles is a fantasy author and game designer. Niles was one of the creators of the Dragonlance world and the author of the first three Forgotten Realms novels, and the Top Secret S/I espionage role-playing game.-Early life:Niles was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, and...
for use with the D&D Expert Set
Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set
The Expert Set is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1981 as an expansion to the Basic Set.-1981 printing:The D&D Basic Set saw a major revision in 1981 by Tom Moldvay...
.
Plot summary
The Duke of Rhoona has begun issuing strange proclamations, such as decreeing that all taxes are to be paid in beer, horses are to be ridden backwards, and all dwarvesDwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
are to be shaved and stretched to make them "presentable to human sensibilities". Duke Stephan is suffering from a curse which was brought upon him by Xanathon, chief cleric
Cleric (Dungeons & Dragons)
The cleric is one of the standard playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In the game, clerics are versatile figures, both capable in combat and skilled in the use of divine magic. Clerics are powerful healers due to the large number of healing and curative...
of the Ethengar Khanate immigrants living inside Rhoona's walls, and Stephen's own treacherous guard captain, Draco Stormsailer.
The player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s must discover the nature of the Duke's affliction. They will need to learn how to lift the curse from the Duke of Rhoona, as he is needed to lead his troops against an invading army. They will need to find the antidote for the curse, battling Xanathon, Draco, and their minions to achieve their goal.
Lawrence Schick, in his sourcebook of roleplaying games, Heroic Worlds, describes the module as a town adventure in which the players are tasked with solving a mystery in order to remove a curse. The cursed town is threatened by a dwarven
Dwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
army, and the player characters must save the town.
Publication history
X3 Curse of Xanathon was written by Douglas NilesDouglas Niles
Douglas Niles is a fantasy author and game designer. Niles was one of the creators of the Dragonlance world and the author of the first three Forgotten Realms novels, and the Top Secret S/I espionage role-playing game.-Early life:Niles was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, and...
, with art by Tim Truman, and published by TSR in 1982 as a thirty two page booklet with an outer folder. Curse of Xanathon was designed as an adventure for 5th-7th level D&D characters. Curse of Xanathon was developed by Douglas Niles and Alan Hammack, and edited by Deborah Campbell Ritchie.
Reception
The module received 7 out of 10 overall in a review by Jim Bambra in issue No. 48 of White DwarfWhite Dwarf (magazine)
White Dwarf is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop. Initially covering a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing and board games, particularly the role playing games Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest and Traveller...
magazine. He called Curse of Xanathon a "detective adventure", though he said that it was "very much a programmed affair" and "players move through a series of distinct and logical stages, discovering clues as they go." He noted that if the players fail to follow the clues, the Dungeon Master must direct them to the next encounter, which cuts down on the amount of freedom available to them. Bambra deemed the module to be not as good as the contemporaneous releases for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but said it was superior to the two modules preceding it in the series, Isle of Dread
Isle of Dread
The Isle of Dread is an adventure for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The adventure, module code X1, was originally published in 1981. Written by David "Zeb" Cook, and Tom Moldvay, it is among the most widely circulated of all Dungeons & Dragons adventures due to its inclusion as part of...
and Castle Amber.
External links
- http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10780.phtml