raging_swan

I’ve had a number of requests to write a series of blogs posts about the design process behind Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands, my new module which releases next month and I’m more than happy to do so as I’ve very proud of how it’s turned out.

One of my all-time favourite modules is T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil. I’ve run it many times (and even got to play parts of it on occasion). It is a classic in every sense of the word and still an awesome module. In Dungeon magazine, it was ranked the 4th greatest D&D adventure of all time.

My favourite part of the adventure is the Moathouse, I think that in many ways it is a near perfect starter adventure. A small ruined location that low-level PCs can poke about in that has several different “zones;” the upper ruined level claimed by a small group of bandits and various monstrous animals and the lower levels claimed by the evil cleric Lareth and a variety of humanoids.

It provides an excellent blend of challenges and leads into a greater adventure if the PCs so wish. It’s a challenging locale, but rewards are there to be had for the brave and perceptive.

I’ve always wanted to write a module like the Moathouse, but never got around to it. I was surfing the net last year, when I came across this awesome image by Marc Radle.

Before I knew it, the image had leapt off the screen, belted me around the face and shouted “Moathouse!” Needless to say, I immediately purchased it, stuck it on my wall directly above my desk and began to ponder how I might use it. It did become immediately apparent to m e that I really needed to set a module in the ruined keep, but I hate to rush things and at the time I was writing other stuff so I didn’t immediately jump into the project.

Next time, I’ll talk about my design goals for Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands and how I went about my initial planning.