Nightmare Keep is an adventure module

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 fictional Forgotten Realms

Forgotten Realms

The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...

 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...

 for the second edition of the Advanced 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...

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...

 role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

. The book, with product code TSR 9341, was published in 1991, and was written by Rick Swan, with cover art by Brom

Brom

-People:*Gerald Brom, an American fantasy artist,*Robert Henry Brom, an American Roman Catholic bishop*Gustav Brom , Czech band leader*David Brom, American murderer Cor Brom*Cor Brom Dutch footballer...

 and interior art by Valerie Valusek

Valerie Valusek

-Works:Valerie Valusek has produced interior illustrations for many Dungeons & Dragons books and Dragon magazine since 1985, as well as interior art for several Dragonlance novels, and cover art for the 1992 module Rary the Traitor...

 and Terry Dykstra

Terry Dykstra

-Works:Terry Dykstra has produced interior illustrations for many Dungeons & Dragons books and Dragon magazine throughout the 1990s.Dykstra also illustrated a number of Endless Quest series books.-External links:*...

.

Contents

The 64-page booklet is wrapped in a removable gatefold cover. The adventure takes place in the Veilstone Peaks northwest of Cormyr

Cormyr

Cormyr is a fictional country in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting published first by TSR, Inc. and subsequently by Wizards of the Coast for the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy Role Playing Game...

, 50 miles west of the Farsea Marshes. It takes place after the Time of Troubles

Time of Troubles (Forgotten Realms)

The Time of Troubles, also known as the Arrival, Godswar, and Avatar Crisis, is a fictional time period in the chronology of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game...

 and the death of the god Bane

Bane (god)

Bane , is the god of hatred, fear, and tyranny and one of the main evil gods in the fictional Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, Forgotten Realms....

.

• Background: Icelia of the Witches of Rashemen desired to extend her dominion over the world. Now exiled, her insatiable lust for power has turned her into a demilich. In her secret tower, Icelia has spawned an army of horrors that will soon be ready to be unleashed.
• Prologue: Flies and Lizards: 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 are summoned by Balko Verdemeer, an emissary of the King Azoun IV of Cormyr
  Cormyr
  Cormyr is a fictional country in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting published first by TSR, Inc. and subsequently by Wizards of the Coast for the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy Role Playing Game...
  
  . A strange, evil-looking insect was found near the Veilstone Peaks, next to the mutilated bodies of a man and a horse. The king wants the party to discover if there are more insects like this, and to destroy them. There is a hefty reward of gold and land. No adventurer has yet returned from the Peaks.
• Chapter 1: Squirrels and Wasps: The party explores the poor villages around the Veilstone Peaks. The party hears rumours about the good magician Amry Wolover and nearby Wolover's Keep. Wolover has not been seen for some time. While exploring the tower, the party encounters monsters and a strange orange mist in the basement.
• Chapter 2: Goldfish and Turtles: The party arrive in a large cavern of jagged walls, filled with bats. A stone bridge stands high above an underground lake. While exploring this dark labyrinth, the party learns the fate of some of their predecessors.
• Chapter 3: Leeches and Butterflies: The party ventures deeper into the maze, where they find the remains of more unlucky adventurers, and one arrogant survivor who is willing to trade information grudgingly. This second area is dark and chilly and smells of rotting meat. The party is assaulted by insects, oozes, shadows and various undead. Slowly, they learn of Icelia's evil plans and how she means to achieve them.
• Chapter 4: Spiders and Worms: On the final level of the labyrinth, the party arrive inside the cold, petrified husk of an enormous creature. Large ducts and organs filled with strange fluids are connected by valves. The party discovers the haunted spirit of Amry Wolover, who tells them the true horror of Icelia and the spawning grounds of her unholy army. Finally, the party challenges the demilich Icelia and her ghostly companion Zhorach.

This module includes a fold-out color poster map of the labyrinth.