H3 - The Bloodstone Wars is an Official Game Adventure

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...

 or "module" for 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...

.

Plot summary

The Bloodstone Wars consists of a Battlesystem

Battlesystem

Battlesystem is a tabletop miniature wargame designed as a supplement for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It was first released in 1985, compatible with either Advanced Dungeons & Dragons or the Basic / Expert Dungeons & Dragons...

 scenario depicting a battle to rid a city of a bandit horde.

The module is designed for 1st edition AD&D and makes considerable use of some rules that were removed in 2nd edition, notably the assassin

Assassin (Dungeons & Dragons)

The assassin is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It first appeared in 1975 in the Blackmoor supplement, as a thief sub-class. It next appeared in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons again as a thief sub-class...

 character class

Character class (Dungeons & Dragons)

A character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A character's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by his or her chosen class; choosing a class is one of the first steps a player takes in order to...

. There are two main parts of the module, the War itself which includes preparation and fighting out Battlesystem battles, and a small "dungeon" adventure which could occur at several points of the war. While the module provides alternatives for those who do not want to use miniatures

Miniature figure

A miniature figure is a small-scale representation of a historical or mythological entity used in miniature wargames, role-playing games, and dioramas. Miniature figures are commonly made of metal, plastic, or paper...

 to fight out the battles, the Battlesystem scenarios take a considerable portion of the module information. Players without Battlesystem would likely feel they were not getting full value from the module.

Publication history

H3 Bloodstone Wars was written 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...

 and Michael Dobson

Michael Dobson (author)

Michael S. Dobson is an American author in the fields of Business , Alternate History novels and Role-playing game adventures .-Early life:At a young age, Dobson's family moved from North Carolina to Germany; his father...

, and published by TSR in 1987 as a 32-page booklet with a large color map and an outer folder.

While this is the third adventure in the Bloodstone pass saga it is the first publication that places The Barony of Bloodstone and surrounding kingdoms in the 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. The module did not however bear the official Forgotten Realms logo.