The Mines of Bloodstone
Encyclopedia
H2 The Mines of Bloodstone is an Official Game Adventure or "module" for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
(1st edition) fantasy
role-playing game
.
The adventure begins with a set of village encounters, before some further encounters in a big valley. The player character
s then proceed into the Mines of Bloodstone, where the duergar
and svirfneblin
are at war, and then on to the demonic
temple of Orcus
of the duergar. This is an attempt to gain an ancient treasure to help the belagured innocent citizens of Bloodstone Pass.
The module includes two Battlesystem
conflicts, between armies of gnomes
and duergar.
and Douglas Niles
, with a cover by Keith Parkinson
, and was published by TSR in 1986 as a 48-page booklet with an outer folder.
It is a sequel to H1 Bloodstone Pass
which although originally a stand alone adventure, was now to be the first in the four part Bloodstone Pass saga. This module continued the generic campaign setting of H1, later modules in the series retconned Bloodstone into the Forgotten Realms
.
The modules contains options for use of the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide
and Wilderness Survival Guide
game manuals
, both new at the time. It also includes two battles where players command an army using the Battlesystem
rules. For players without Battlesytem these battles can occur "off stage" while the players make a raid that otherwise occurs after the battles.
& Douglas Niles
Editing:
Brand Manager:
Cover Art: Keith Parkinson
Interior Art:
Cartography:
Typesetting:
Art Direction:
Electronic Prepress Coordination:
Playtesters:
Distributed to the book trade in the United States by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. Distributed in the United Kingdom by TSR UK Ltd.
product number
ISBN
#88. The review was highly critical, with Saunders explaining that "Strong criticism requires justification in great detail." He called the encounters before the mines "time-wasting", the fight between the duergar and svirfneblin a "splatterfest", the temple of the duergar a "super-killer zoo dungeon", the adventure's climax "ultra-gross", and the whole adventure "just a gross dungeon bash". He also criticized the "well-stocked zoo" of many dozens of monsters encountered before the adventure's climax, and the fact that the many undead
present cannot be turned. Saunders also felt the "treasure haul is equally gross", with millions of gold pieces and gems, noting that "Magical treasure
is sprayed around like confetti." Saunders also complains that the module never tries to deal with the problems of high level play, such as how the DM should deal with powerful magic spells being used to upset the adventure's plot. He also felt it did not make sense for the script to assume that the players would attack the temple while the svirfnebli fight the duergar, as it is bad tactics to divide the forces and attack two sets of opponents simultaneously if the player characters can take them on sequentially. Saunders concluded the review by stating, "This effort is the best argument I've ever seen for retiring high-level AD&D characters. Quite appalling."
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...
(1st edition) 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...
.
Plot
The characters need to journey through a blizzard to get to the Bloodstone Mines, which lead to the duergar kingdom of Deepearth, and the Temple of Orcus.The adventure begins with a set of village encounters, before some further encounters in a big valley. 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 then proceed into the Mines of Bloodstone, where the duergar
Duergar (Dungeons & Dragons)
In Dungeons & Dragons fantasy, the duergar, or gray dwarves are a cruel and evil subrace of dwarves.-Publication history:The duergar are named after the dvergar of Norse mythology, who were the builders of Gleipnir...
and 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...
are at war, and then on to the demonic
Demon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demons are the most widespread race of fiends. The demons are chaotic evil by nature, and are native to the Abyss...
temple of Orcus
Orcus (Dungeons & Dragons)
Orcus is the fictional demon prince, and lord of the undead in many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He is named after Orcus of Roman mythology. His symbol is a mace with a human skull as the head...
of the duergar. This is an attempt to gain an ancient treasure to help the belagured innocent citizens of Bloodstone Pass.
The module includes two 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...
conflicts, between armies of gnomes
Gnome (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, gnomes are one of the core races available for play as player characters. Some speculate that they are closely related to dwarves; however, gnomes are more tolerant of other races and of magic, and are skilled with illusions...
and duergar.
Publication history
The Mines of Bloodstone was written by Michael DobsonMichael 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 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...
, with a cover by Keith Parkinson
Keith Parkinson
Keith Parkinson was an American fantasy artist and illustrator known for book cover and game artwork for games such as EverQuest, Guardians, Magic: The Gathering and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.-Early life:...
, and was published by TSR in 1986 as a 48-page booklet with an outer folder.
It is a sequel to H1 Bloodstone Pass
Bloodstone Pass
H1 Bloodstone Pass is an adventure module for the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was written by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson and published by TSR, Inc., in 1985...
which although originally a stand alone adventure, was now to be the first in the four part Bloodstone Pass saga. This module continued the generic campaign setting of H1, later modules in the series retconned Bloodstone into 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...
.
The modules contains options for use of the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide
Dungeoneer's Survival Guide
Dungeoneer's Survival Guide is a supplement to the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book was written by Douglas Niles, and published by TSR, Inc...
and Wilderness Survival Guide
Wilderness Survival Guide
The Wilderness Survival Guide is a supplement to the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, written by Kim Mohan and published by TSR, Inc...
game manuals
Dungeons & Dragons manuals
Three books are required for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The current Dungeons & Dragons requires the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual...
, both new at the time. It also includes two battles where players command an army using the 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...
rules. For players without Battlesytem these battles can occur "off stage" while the players make a raid that otherwise occurs after the battles.
Table of contents
| Chapter | Page |
|---|---|
| Introduction | 2 |
| A Hard Winter | 4 |
| The Big Valley | 11 |
| The Bloodstone Mines | 15 |
| Kingdom of the Deepearth | 20 |
| Council of War | 30 |
| Temple of Orcus Orcus (Dungeons & Dragons) Orcus is the fictional demon prince, and lord of the undead in many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He is named after Orcus of Roman mythology. His symbol is a mace with a human skull as the head... |
33 |
| Epilogue | 43 |
Credits
Design: Michael DobsonMichael 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...
& 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...
Editing:
Brand Manager:
Cover Art: Keith Parkinson
Keith Parkinson
Keith Parkinson was an American fantasy artist and illustrator known for book cover and game artwork for games such as EverQuest, Guardians, Magic: The Gathering and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.-Early life:...
Interior Art:
Cartography:
Typesetting:
Art Direction:
Electronic Prepress Coordination:
Playtesters:
Distributed to the book trade in the United States by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. Distributed in the United Kingdom by TSR UK Ltd.
product number
ISBN
Reception
John Saunders reviewed The Mines of Bloodstone for 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...
#88. The review was highly critical, with Saunders explaining that "Strong criticism requires justification in great detail." He called the encounters before the mines "time-wasting", the fight between the duergar and svirfneblin a "splatterfest", the temple of the duergar a "super-killer zoo dungeon", the adventure's climax "ultra-gross", and the whole adventure "just a gross dungeon bash". He also criticized the "well-stocked zoo" of many dozens of monsters encountered before the adventure's climax, and the fact that the many undead
Undead (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, undead is a classification of monsters that can be encountered by player characters. Undead creatures are most often once-living creatures, which have been animated by spiritual or supernatural forces....
present cannot be turned. Saunders also felt the "treasure haul is equally gross", with millions of gold pieces and gems, noting that "Magical treasure
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...
is sprayed around like confetti." Saunders also complains that the module never tries to deal with the problems of high level play, such as how the DM should deal with powerful magic spells being used to upset the adventure's plot. He also felt it did not make sense for the script to assume that the players would attack the temple while the svirfnebli fight the duergar, as it is bad tactics to divide the forces and attack two sets of opponents simultaneously if the player characters can take them on sequentially. Saunders concluded the review by stating, "This effort is the best argument I've ever seen for retiring high-level AD&D characters. Quite appalling."