Descent into the Depths of the Earth
Encyclopedia
Descent Into the Depths of the Earth is an adventure module
for the Dungeons & Dragons
(D&D) fantasy
roleplaying game coded D1–2. It was written by Gary Gygax
, and combines two previously published modules from 1978, the original Descent into the Depths of the Earth and Shrine of the Kuo-Toa. A sequel to the first two modules, Vault of the Drow, was also published in 1978. All of these D-series modules were produced for use with the 1st edition
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules.
The D-series itself is part of a larger overall campaign of adventures
set in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting
. The overall campaign begins with the three modules in the Against the Giants
series, continues through the D-series, and concludes with module Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits
. The latter segments of the campaign, including the D-series and module Q1, are set in a vast network of caverns and tunnels called the Underdark
.
of player character
s (PCs) on the trail of the drow priestess Eclavdra through the Underdark
, a vast subterranean network of interconnected caverns and tunnels, battling various creatures on their journey.
In the last module in the preceding G-series, Hall of the Fire Giant King, the PCs were supposed to have discovered that the drow had instigated the alliance between the races of giants
and their attacks on neighboring humans. The drow that survived the party's incursion have fled into tunnels leading deep into the earth. The adventurers will have arrived at the bottom of the dungeon below the cave-castle of King Snurre. In D1 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth, the PCs seek the home of the drow by traveling through an underground world of caves and passages. In the tunnels, the adventurers first fight a tough drow patrol, and the next major fight is with a raiding party of mind flayers
and wererats, who have halted their patrol long enough to torture their drow prisoner. The characters also find a grand cavern containing drow soldiers, purple worm
s, a lich
, a clutch of undead, a giant slug, sphinxes
, trolls
, bugbears
, troglodytes
, wyverns
, and fungi.
D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa picks up with the party continuing to pursue the drow. The party encounters a kuo-toa
n rogue monitor who helps them cross a large river for a fee. A party of Svirfneblin
(or deep gnomes) approaches the player characters on the other side, and the party has a chance to convince them to help them fight against the drow. As the party travels, signs of the drow are all around; the drow are allowed to pass through these subterranean areas, even though they are hated and feared by the other local intelligent races. The party then moves through kuo-toa territory, ruled by the Priest-Prince Va-Guulgh. If the PCs appease the kuo-toa and respect their customs, the evil kuo-toa are not openly hostile to the party, but will attack if the party gives them a reason. The party learns that the drow and kuo-toa trade with each other openly, but the kuo-toa hate and fear the drow, resulting in frequent skirmishes between the two peoples.
D3 Vault of the Drow is set in Erelhei-Cinlu, an underground stronghold of the drow, and the Fane of Lolth, their evil spider-goddess. After traveling for league after league into the Underdark, the adventurers come upon Erelhei-Cinlu, the vast subterranean city of the drow. The adventure is written in a very open-ended fashion, giving the Dungeon Master
(DM) free rein to script any number of mini-campaigns or adventures taking place inside the drow capital. An extensive overview of the drow power structure is given for just this purpose. Eventually, the players may discover an astral gate leading to the plane of the Abyss
, leading into the Q1 module.
and published by TSR, Inc.
in 1978. Gygax had recently finished the Player's Handbook
(1978), and according to Gygax, he authored the D series "as sort of a relaxation to get away from writing rules". Descent Into the Depths of the Earth, the first module of the D-series, was printed as a sixteen page booklet, and Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, second of the three-part D-series was twenty pages; both featured an outer folder. Both modules were released before the Dungeon Masters Guide and Players Handbook. Both modules were reprinted in the omnibus collection D1-2 Descent Into the Depths in 1981, as a thirty-two page booklet with an outer folder. The original versions of the D1 and D2 modules both featured monochrome cover artwork by David C. Sutherland III
, but the 1981 compilation was released with a color cover illustrated by Jim Roslof
. Sutherland's interior artwork from the original two publications was included in the compilation, as was that of David A. Trampier
. Other artists whose work appears inside the compilation include Jeff Dee
, Erol Otus
, David S. LaForce
, Bill Willingham
and Roslof.
Vault of the Drow, also by Gygax and the last of the D-series, was also originally published in 1978 as a thirty-two page booklet with a two-color outer cover. The original printing featured monochrome cover artwork by David C. Sutherland III
. In 1981, TSR re-issued the adventure with a new color cover. D3 was re-released to coincide with the release of the D1-2 compilation Descent into the Depths of the Earth. Since the D1-2 compilation featured color cover artwork, Erol Otus
was tasked with creating a new color cover for D3 as well. Sutherland's interior artwork was retained, and other interior artists for the module include Jeff Dee
, David S. LaForce
, David A. Trampier
, and Otus. The entire campaign was eventually combined into a supermodule GDQ1-7 - Queen of the Spiders
.
The modules were designed as a sequel to the G-series of modules
. At the time these modules were released, each Dungeons & Dragons module was marked with an alphanumeric code
indicating the series to which it belonged. The D in the module code represents the first letter in the word Drow. According to a Wired.com article, the D-series "introduced the world to the concept of the dark elves." Game statistics for the Drow first appear in the module, although the 1977 edition of the Monster Manual
does mention the Drow.
The D-series is part of a larger overall campaign of adventures
set in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting
. The overall campaign begins with the three modules in the G1–3 Against the Giants
series, continues through the D-series, and concludes with module Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits
. The latter segments of the campaign, including the D-series and module Q1, are set in a vast network of caverns and tunnels called the Underdark
. The entire campaign was eventually combined into a supermodule GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders
. Descent into the Depths of the Earth was the basis for a 2000 novel of the same title by Paul Kidd.
, the D-series was voted the single greatest adventure of all time by Dungeon
magazine in 2004. Reviewer Alan Kohler said, "The Underdark has become a classic place to set adventures... This is where it all got started." According to the editors, Vault of the Drow would have made the top five if it had been considered as a single module. They felt the Drow city detailed in the module offered "more intrigue" than any module previously. Judge Clark Peterson compared it favorably to City State of the Invincible Overlord
, which also had a complicated city environment, saying "this was an underground city of evil monsters—the Drow, who, then, were new and mysterious as opposed to tired and overused as they are today." Dungeon Master for Dummies lists Descent into the Depths of the Earth as one of the ten best classic adventures, noting that it takes "the player characters into the underground world of the Drow—the wildly popular dark elves of D&D lore."
The series has received considerable praise. It was reviewed by Don Turnbull in British RPG magazine White Dwarf
No. 11, who gave it 10 out of 10. He compared the series favorably to the G series of modules
, which he also liked. Turnbull commented that the scope was large, and that the modules were of good value. Although D3 can be played by itself, he speculated that the party of characters may need the magic items
that can be acquired in the first two to not be put at a disadvantage. Turnbull did lament that the series was designed for parties of a high level, making it difficult to use with a group of lower level characters. He concluded the review by saying "don't be surprised if they eclipse in quality most of the material you already have.". All three modules are also profiled in Heroic Worlds, Lawrence Schick's 1991 guide to role-playing games.
The D-series of modules was also given an extensive overview review by Turnbull in issue No. 15 of White Dwarf, wherein he cautioned DMs that running these modules was unlike any they had run before. He commented that the adventure would be too difficult for most groups of player characters, and theorized that buyers wouldn't actually play the modules because it would take a lot of sessions to finish. He did run the adventure himself, though. He recommended using miniatures on a grid, because some of the battles involved so many characters and monsters. He also recommended rolling the dice for various encounters in advance. Although some such work would be wasted when the players chose one route over another, "it will be worth the effort." He also thought that pre-planning enemy tactics was a good idea, providing an example of how to do so using the Drow outpost from D1, as well as other encounters.
He noted that while some DMs may ban psionics in their games, if they don't allow the creatures in section M12 of D1 to use them, the game will be unbalanced in favor of the players. Although he hadn't run D3 at the time of writing the article, the thought of pre-planning some of its encounters "brings me out in perspiration." The power levels of his regular players' characters were insufficient for the adventure, so he gave them pre-generated ones. Although he felt the magical weapons he gave these characters were too powerful, he warned that giving weapons that are too weak would be a bigger problem. He also recommended lots of healing spells and potions.
Overall, he enjoyed playing the modules, despite wishing he had prepared more, and thought that his players also enjoyed the experience. He hoped that people would not be scared to use the modules because of their difficulty. In summary, he said "I can give no higher praise to these designs than to say they are as good as anyone is likely to meet, and better than almost everything else I've seen."
Reviewer Anders Swenson reviewed the D1–2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth compilation in 1982 for Different Worlds
#21. Swenson noted that standards for adventure publications had come to expect longer texts for the given price, so that the two adventures had been combined into one format; redundant text was eliminated, and new illustrations were added to fill the resultant gaps in layout. He was perplexed by all of the creatures found in the grand cavern area originally found in module D1: "All these creatures are apparently expected to do nothing but sit in their caves and wait to be attacked, for they would certainly defeat any moderately tough adventurer party specified by the author if they all tried a massed and well-coordinated attack." He also wondered about the placement of the kuo-toan shrine: "There is great hostility between the Kuo Toa and the Drow, so it is surprising to find the main Kuo Toa stronghold in the middle of a thoroughfare used by the Drow as a main route. It is also surprising to find the Kuo Toa still in business, given the seeming superior military power of the Drow, but who knows?" Anders felt that the adventures contained a great deal of imaginative material, "but while the writing style is by no means poor, the combination of florid prose and new ideas makes a text which is relatively difficult to read. Gygax does not make a regular practice of organizing his text to help the poor GM pick out the important information quickly." However, Swenson concluded that this is overall a worthwhile adventure. "The plot is interesting, and everything is well detailed. Aside from the problems I have already noted, the adventures are interesting and generally of superior quality."
Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, an adventure or module is a pre-packaged book or box set that helps the Dungeon Master manage the plot or story of a game...
for the Dungeons & Dragons
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...
(D&D) fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
roleplaying game coded D1–2. It was written by Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
, and combines two previously published modules from 1978, the original Descent into the Depths of the Earth and Shrine of the Kuo-Toa. A sequel to the first two modules, Vault of the Drow, was also published in 1978. All of these D-series modules were produced for use with the 1st edition
Editions of Dungeons & Dragons
Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of Dungeons & Dragons , Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game...
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules.
The D-series itself is part of a larger overall campaign of adventures
Campaign (role-playing games)
In role-playing games, a campaign is a continuing storyline or set of adventures, typically involving the same characters. The purpose of the continuing storyline is to introduce a further aspect into the game: that of development, improvement, and growth of the characters. In a campaign, a...
set in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
. The overall campaign begins with the three modules in the Against the Giants
Against the Giants
Against the Giants is an adventure module written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1981 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. It combines the G series of modules previously published in 1978: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, and Hall of...
series, continues through the D-series, and concludes with module Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Queen of the Demonweb Pits is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game written by David Sutherland. The "Q" in the module code represents the first letter in the word "queen." This module is a sequel to the D series of modules...
. The latter segments of the campaign, including the D-series and module Q1, are set in a vast network of caverns and tunnels called the Underdark
Underdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore...
.
Plot summary
The plot of the original modules Descent Into the Depths of the Earth and Shrine of the Kuo-Toa place a partyParty (role playing games)
A party is a group of characters adventuring together in a role-playing game. In tabletop role-playing, a party is composed of a group of players, occasionally with the addition of non-player character allies controlled by those players or by the gamemaster. In computer games, the relationship...
of 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 (PCs) on the trail of the drow priestess Eclavdra through the Underdark
Underdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore...
, a vast subterranean network of interconnected caverns and tunnels, battling various creatures on their journey.
In the last module in the preceding G-series, Hall of the Fire Giant King, the PCs were supposed to have discovered that the drow had instigated the alliance between the races of giants
Against the Giants
Against the Giants is an adventure module written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1981 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. It combines the G series of modules previously published in 1978: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, and Hall of...
and their attacks on neighboring humans. The drow that survived the party's incursion have fled into tunnels leading deep into the earth. The adventurers will have arrived at the bottom of the dungeon below the cave-castle of King Snurre. In D1 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth, the PCs seek the home of the drow by traveling through an underground world of caves and passages. In the tunnels, the adventurers first fight a tough drow patrol, and the next major fight is with a raiding party of mind flayers
Illithid
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, illithids are monstrous humanoid aberrations with psionic powers. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns and cities of the enormous Underdark...
and wererats, who have halted their patrol long enough to torture their drow prisoner. The characters also find a grand cavern containing drow soldiers, purple worm
Purple worm
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the purple worm is a magical beast and a classic D&D monster.-Publication history:The purple worm was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
s, a lich
Lich (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the lich is an undead creature; a spellcaster who seeks to defy death by magical means.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
, a clutch of undead, a giant slug, sphinxes
Sphinx (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game Sphinxes are a type of magical beast related to manticores. The four most common subraces of sphinx are the androsphinx, criosphinx, gynosphinx, and hieracosphinx.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
, trolls
Troll (Dungeons & Dragons)
Trolls are fictional monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Dungeon Masters can use them as enemies or allies of the player characters.-Publication history:...
, bugbears
Bugbear (Dungeons & Dragons)
The bugbear is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.A bugbear is depicted as a massive humanoid distantly related to goblins and hobgoblins...
, troglodytes
Troglodyte (Dungeons & Dragons)
The troglodytes is a fictional race of primitive reptilian humanoids in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Publication history:The troglodyte was introduced to the D&D game in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons....
, wyverns
Wyvern (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the wyvern or WHY-vern) is a species of dragon.-Publication history:The wyvern was based upon the wyverns of legend.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
, and fungi.
D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa picks up with the party continuing to pursue the drow. The party encounters a kuo-toa
Kuo-toa
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the kuo-toa are fish-like monstrous humanoids that dwell in the Underdark, and in the sea.-Publication history:...
n rogue monitor who helps them cross a large river for a fee. A party of Svirfneblin
Svirfneblin
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, svirfneblin , or deep gnomes, are a sub-race of gnome.-Publication history:The svirfneblin first appears in first edition in the adventure modules D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa , and D3 Vault of the Drow , and then in the original Fiend Folio...
(or deep gnomes) approaches the player characters on the other side, and the party has a chance to convince them to help them fight against the drow. As the party travels, signs of the drow are all around; the drow are allowed to pass through these subterranean areas, even though they are hated and feared by the other local intelligent races. The party then moves through kuo-toa territory, ruled by the Priest-Prince Va-Guulgh. If the PCs appease the kuo-toa and respect their customs, the evil kuo-toa are not openly hostile to the party, but will attack if the party gives them a reason. The party learns that the drow and kuo-toa trade with each other openly, but the kuo-toa hate and fear the drow, resulting in frequent skirmishes between the two peoples.
D3 Vault of the Drow is set in Erelhei-Cinlu, an underground stronghold of the drow, and the Fane of Lolth, their evil spider-goddess. After traveling for league after league into the Underdark, the adventurers come upon Erelhei-Cinlu, the vast subterranean city of the drow. The adventure is written in a very open-ended fashion, giving the Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...
(DM) free rein to script any number of mini-campaigns or adventures taking place inside the drow capital. An extensive overview of the drow power structure is given for just this purpose. Eventually, the players may discover an astral gate leading to the plane of the Abyss
Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Abyss or more fully, the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, is a chaotic evil-aligned plane of existence. It is one of a number of alignment-based Outer Planes that form part of the standard Dungeons & Dragons cosmology, used in the Planescape...
, leading into the Q1 module.
Publication history
The original modules Descent Into the Depths of the Earth and Shrine of the Kuo-Toa were both written by Gary GygaxGary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
and published by TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
in 1978. Gygax had recently finished the Player's Handbook
Player's Handbook
The Player's Handbook is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons . It does not contain the complete set of rules, but only those for use by players of the game...
(1978), and according to Gygax, he authored the D series "as sort of a relaxation to get away from writing rules". Descent Into the Depths of the Earth, the first module of the D-series, was printed as a sixteen page booklet, and Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, second of the three-part D-series was twenty pages; both featured an outer folder. Both modules were released before the Dungeon Masters Guide and Players Handbook. Both modules were reprinted in the omnibus collection D1-2 Descent Into the Depths in 1981, as a thirty-two page booklet with an outer folder. The original versions of the D1 and D2 modules both featured monochrome cover artwork by David C. Sutherland III
David C. Sutherland III
David C. Sutherland III was an early Dungeons & Dragons artist. Sutherland was a prolific artist and his work heavily influenced the early development of Dungeons & Dragons.-Early life and inspiration:...
, but the 1981 compilation was released with a color cover illustrated by Jim Roslof
Jim Roslof
James Paul "Jim" Roslof was an American artist and graphic designer particularly well known for cover art and interior illustrations of fantasy role-playing games published by TSR, Inc. during the "golden age" of Dungeons & Dragons...
. Sutherland's interior artwork from the original two publications was included in the compilation, as was that of David A. Trampier
David A. Trampier
Dave A. Trampier is a former artist and writer who worked on some of the earliest editions of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and was the creator of the Wormy comic strip that ran in Dragon magazine...
. Other artists whose work appears inside the compilation include Jeff Dee
Jeff Dee
Jeff Dee is an American artist and game designer. Based in Austin, Texas, he is a recognized figure in the role-playing game community and game industry...
, Erol Otus
Erol Otus
Erol Otus is an American artist and game designer, known internationally for his contributions to the fantasy RPG genre, most notably for the early Dungeons & Dragons franchise...
, David S. LaForce
David S. LaForce
David S. LaForce is an artist, noted for his artwork in fantasy role-playing games.-Career:Along with Jeff Dee, Erol Otus, Jim Roslof, David C. Sutherland III and David A...
, Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics.-Career:Willingham got his start in the late 1970s to early 1980s as a staff artist for TSR, Inc., where he illustrated a number of their role-playing game products...
and Roslof.
Vault of the Drow, also by Gygax and the last of the D-series, was also originally published in 1978 as a thirty-two page booklet with a two-color outer cover. The original printing featured monochrome cover artwork by David C. Sutherland III
David C. Sutherland III
David C. Sutherland III was an early Dungeons & Dragons artist. Sutherland was a prolific artist and his work heavily influenced the early development of Dungeons & Dragons.-Early life and inspiration:...
. In 1981, TSR re-issued the adventure with a new color cover. D3 was re-released to coincide with the release of the D1-2 compilation Descent into the Depths of the Earth. Since the D1-2 compilation featured color cover artwork, Erol Otus
Erol Otus
Erol Otus is an American artist and game designer, known internationally for his contributions to the fantasy RPG genre, most notably for the early Dungeons & Dragons franchise...
was tasked with creating a new color cover for D3 as well. Sutherland's interior artwork was retained, and other interior artists for the module include Jeff Dee
Jeff Dee
Jeff Dee is an American artist and game designer. Based in Austin, Texas, he is a recognized figure in the role-playing game community and game industry...
, David S. LaForce
David S. LaForce
David S. LaForce is an artist, noted for his artwork in fantasy role-playing games.-Career:Along with Jeff Dee, Erol Otus, Jim Roslof, David C. Sutherland III and David A...
, David A. Trampier
David A. Trampier
Dave A. Trampier is a former artist and writer who worked on some of the earliest editions of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and was the creator of the Wormy comic strip that ran in Dragon magazine...
, and Otus. The entire campaign was eventually combined into a supermodule GDQ1-7 - Queen of the Spiders
Queen of the Spiders
Queen of the Spiders is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 and is a compilation of seven previous related modules, often referred to as a "supermodule." Together, the seven adventures form an integrated campaign that...
.
The modules were designed as a sequel to the G-series of modules
Against the Giants
Against the Giants is an adventure module written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1981 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. It combines the G series of modules previously published in 1978: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, and Hall of...
. At the time these modules were released, each Dungeons & Dragons module was marked with an alphanumeric code
Alphanumeric code
In general, in computing, an alphanumeric code is a series of letters and numbers which are written in a form that can be processed by a computer....
indicating the series to which it belonged. The D in the module code represents the first letter in the word Drow. According to a Wired.com article, the D-series "introduced the world to the concept of the dark elves." Game statistics for the Drow first appear in the module, although the 1977 edition of the Monster Manual
Monster Manual
The Monster Manual is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It includes monsters derived from mythology, and folklore, as well as creatures created for D&D specifically...
does mention the Drow.
The D-series is part of a larger overall campaign of adventures
Campaign (role-playing games)
In role-playing games, a campaign is a continuing storyline or set of adventures, typically involving the same characters. The purpose of the continuing storyline is to introduce a further aspect into the game: that of development, improvement, and growth of the characters. In a campaign, a...
set in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
. The overall campaign begins with the three modules in the G1–3 Against the Giants
Against the Giants
Against the Giants is an adventure module written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1981 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. It combines the G series of modules previously published in 1978: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, and Hall of...
series, continues through the D-series, and concludes with module Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Queen of the Demonweb Pits is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game written by David Sutherland. The "Q" in the module code represents the first letter in the word "queen." This module is a sequel to the D series of modules...
. The latter segments of the campaign, including the D-series and module Q1, are set in a vast network of caverns and tunnels called the Underdark
Underdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore...
. The entire campaign was eventually combined into a supermodule GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders
Queen of the Spiders
Queen of the Spiders is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 and is a compilation of seven previous related modules, often referred to as a "supermodule." Together, the seven adventures form an integrated campaign that...
. Descent into the Depths of the Earth was the basis for a 2000 novel of the same title by Paul Kidd.
Reception
When combined with the G-series and Q module as the Queen of the SpidersQueen of the Spiders
Queen of the Spiders is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 and is a compilation of seven previous related modules, often referred to as a "supermodule." Together, the seven adventures form an integrated campaign that...
, the D-series was voted the single greatest adventure of all time by Dungeon
Dungeon (magazine)
Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...
magazine in 2004. Reviewer Alan Kohler said, "The Underdark has become a classic place to set adventures... This is where it all got started." According to the editors, Vault of the Drow would have made the top five if it had been considered as a single module. They felt the Drow city detailed in the module offered "more intrigue" than any module previously. Judge Clark Peterson compared it favorably to City State of the Invincible Overlord
City State of the Invincible Overlord
The City-State of the Invincible Overlord was the first published fantasy role-playing game city setting, designed for use with Dungeons & Dragons, and officially approved for use with Dungeons & Dragons from 1978 through 1983...
, which also had a complicated city environment, saying "this was an underground city of evil monsters—the Drow, who, then, were new and mysterious as opposed to tired and overused as they are today." Dungeon Master for Dummies lists Descent into the Depths of the Earth as one of the ten best classic adventures, noting that it takes "the player characters into the underground world of the Drow—the wildly popular dark elves of D&D lore."
The series has received considerable praise. It was reviewed by Don Turnbull in British RPG magazine White Dwarf
White 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...
No. 11, who gave it 10 out of 10. He compared the series favorably to the G series of modules
Against the Giants
Against the Giants is an adventure module written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1981 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. It combines the G series of modules previously published in 1978: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, and Hall of...
, which he also liked. Turnbull commented that the scope was large, and that the modules were of good value. Although D3 can be played by itself, he speculated that the party of characters may need the magic items
Magic item (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it. These may act on their own or be the tools of the character in whose hands they fall into. Magic items have been prevalent in the game in every edition and setting, from the...
that can be acquired in the first two to not be put at a disadvantage. Turnbull did lament that the series was designed for parties of a high level, making it difficult to use with a group of lower level characters. He concluded the review by saying "don't be surprised if they eclipse in quality most of the material you already have.". All three modules are also profiled in Heroic Worlds, Lawrence Schick's 1991 guide to role-playing games.
The D-series of modules was also given an extensive overview review by Turnbull in issue No. 15 of White Dwarf, wherein he cautioned DMs that running these modules was unlike any they had run before. He commented that the adventure would be too difficult for most groups of player characters, and theorized that buyers wouldn't actually play the modules because it would take a lot of sessions to finish. He did run the adventure himself, though. He recommended using miniatures on a grid, because some of the battles involved so many characters and monsters. He also recommended rolling the dice for various encounters in advance. Although some such work would be wasted when the players chose one route over another, "it will be worth the effort." He also thought that pre-planning enemy tactics was a good idea, providing an example of how to do so using the Drow outpost from D1, as well as other encounters.
He noted that while some DMs may ban psionics in their games, if they don't allow the creatures in section M12 of D1 to use them, the game will be unbalanced in favor of the players. Although he hadn't run D3 at the time of writing the article, the thought of pre-planning some of its encounters "brings me out in perspiration." The power levels of his regular players' characters were insufficient for the adventure, so he gave them pre-generated ones. Although he felt the magical weapons he gave these characters were too powerful, he warned that giving weapons that are too weak would be a bigger problem. He also recommended lots of healing spells and potions.
Overall, he enjoyed playing the modules, despite wishing he had prepared more, and thought that his players also enjoyed the experience. He hoped that people would not be scared to use the modules because of their difficulty. In summary, he said "I can give no higher praise to these designs than to say they are as good as anyone is likely to meet, and better than almost everything else I've seen."
Reviewer Anders Swenson reviewed the D1–2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth compilation in 1982 for Different Worlds
Different Worlds
Different Worlds was an American role-playing games' magazine, now defunct.-History:Different Worlds was launched in 1979 by Greg Stafford to promote the role-playing games from his own editing house, Chaosium...
#21. Swenson noted that standards for adventure publications had come to expect longer texts for the given price, so that the two adventures had been combined into one format; redundant text was eliminated, and new illustrations were added to fill the resultant gaps in layout. He was perplexed by all of the creatures found in the grand cavern area originally found in module D1: "All these creatures are apparently expected to do nothing but sit in their caves and wait to be attacked, for they would certainly defeat any moderately tough adventurer party specified by the author if they all tried a massed and well-coordinated attack." He also wondered about the placement of the kuo-toan shrine: "There is great hostility between the Kuo Toa and the Drow, so it is surprising to find the main Kuo Toa stronghold in the middle of a thoroughfare used by the Drow as a main route. It is also surprising to find the Kuo Toa still in business, given the seeming superior military power of the Drow, but who knows?" Anders felt that the adventures contained a great deal of imaginative material, "but while the writing style is by no means poor, the combination of florid prose and new ideas makes a text which is relatively difficult to read. Gygax does not make a regular practice of organizing his text to help the poor GM pick out the important information quickly." However, Swenson concluded that this is overall a worthwhile adventure. "The plot is interesting, and everything is well detailed. Aside from the problems I have already noted, the adventures are interesting and generally of superior quality."
External links
- Drow Series at Acaeum.com
- Descent into the Depths of the Earth (1981) at the Pen & Paper RPG Database
- Descent into the Depths of the Earth (1978) at the Pen & Paper RPG Database
- Shrine of the Kuo-Toa (1978) at the Pen & Paper RPG Database
- RPG.net review of D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth
- RPG.net review of D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa