Dwellers of the Forbidden City
1981 - David Cook - for levels 4-7
It's hard to find a review of this venerable adventure without the writer of the piece banging on about its 'pulp' origins. For me, a Brit who had to Google the term to find out what it meant, that's pretty meaningless - that style of literature never had much of an impact over here, it was very much an American phenomenon, and thus has no effect on my own opinions of this adventure, be they good or bad.
Dwellers developed from a short scenario that was used at Origins in 1980 and subsequently expanded into the traditional 32 page adventure module that was typical of the era. Also typical of the period was the fact that it lacks much of a plot, there's a little bit of fluff about caravans going missing the jungle, along with some suggestions of extra plotlines for the DM to introduce and build upon. What you do get though is a massive 'lost city', hidden for centuries by thick jungle, inhabited by various factions of creatures, plus descriptions of several ways into said city - one of which was the series of passages and caverns that was used in the RPG tournament.
The cover art is classic Erol Otus
The 1st impression is one of 'wow', the city map is a sight to behold, filled with ruined buildings, some areas overgrown, some overtaken by an area of swamp, and a small lake. It looks great, but it's not the easiest of maps to read, I can forgive it for that though! There are more maps of specific areas of the city, which are of varying quality, and a couple of maps detailing the 2 possible entrance tunnels which are both clear and sensible.
A small portion of the wonderful city map
The 2 tunnels by themselves offer a steely challenge to any party of the suggested levels. Some of the encounters are a little illogical, as is the norm with tournament products, and are clearly designed to cause significant casualties - my own party were forced to retreat twice before finally making it as far as the city itself. Once inside the city everything is very sandboxy. The various occupied areas and the factions occupying them are given adequate descriptions, plus some details of alliances and motives, but much is left to the DM to fill in based upon the actions of the party - and it is that freedom which is one of the module's great strengths. The DM can do as much or as little as they like with the city, the party can *mostly* come and go at will once they've secured a way in and out, and their approach to some of the groups within will determine future events. In essence, this is as much a setting as it is a self-contained adventure. I placed the entrance to module C1 - The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan - in one of the ruined temple areas and that fitted very nicely and felt logical.
Eventually the party are likely to find out the root cause of the raids upon the caravans, which will culminate in some very intense battles with those who are pulling the strings. The rewards are great, but the potential for failure is very real.
Several iconic D&D creatures made their 1st appearance in this adventure - Yuan-Ti, the Aboleth and Tasloi - all were to become staples of the game. However the Yuan-ti and Aboleth feel somewhat shoehorned in, and much more could have been made of them - though doing so would have bumped up the level requirements significantly. The DM plot suggestions do include developing the role of the Yuan-Ti - in my opinion it would have been better to have that addition already in place, maybe at the expense of some of the other creatures. The Tasloi lair is very interesting, as are a colony of Mongrelmen, who add scope for some entertaining roleplaying with their comedy value.
The module gave birth to the Yuan-Ti...
This has the potential to be a very long adventure, maybe even developed into a mini-campaign, but my group eventually tired of going back and forth, and seemed relieved when it was finally completed. Like me, they are Brits, and like me, they don't care about pulp literature - in fact I'd be confident in saying they wouldn't have a clue what it is or the themes it encompassed.
... and the Tasloi - tricksy little buggers!
Presentation is decent, with a couple of excellent Erol Otus pieces adorning the outer cover and that of the booklet, plus the city map alone could inspire a DM to do great things with the material. The rest of the images are a mixed bag. Text is clear, and descriptions are kept to very sensible lengths, being easy to work with both in preparation and during play.
With a DM inspired by the subject matter, I1 is close to perfect. There's no doubt it's worth a look for any groups wanting an old school sandbox experience. It provides a setting, a basic framework of factions and motivations, and has masses of room for expansion, but that sense of incompleteness can be both positive and negative. It didn't quite grab me or my players, mainly due to our own fantasy influences and preferences, and thus I never really felt the urge to 'complete' it.
Presentation: 8/10 – great in places, lacking in others, but 'Oh THAT map'.
Brawn: 10/10 – long and tough - if the party want to fight they can find plenty very easily.
Brains: 7/10 – it's a well designed sandbox for the DM to build upon. What puzzles it has are found in the entrance tunnels, and a few feel too 'tournamenty'. Roleplaying the Mongrelmen is great fun!
Overall: 7/10 – huge, potentially inspiring, loads for a DM enthused by the subject matter. That DM is not me, but I can understand why some will absolutely love it!
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