The
player characters go on a quest to find the fabled Soul Gem, a legendary artifact of great power. They must gather the four parts of a key granting them entrance to the Ghost Tower. Inverness was the fortress of the great
wizard Galap-Dreidel, whose magic raised a great stone tower within a formidable keep. The tower was built to house Galap-Dreidel’s most prized possession, an eldritch jewel called the Soul Gem, which could steal life from any creature. The monsters and magic of the tower kept the gem safe for many years, but when Galap-Dreidel vanished, Inverness was seized and its tower was destroyed. No sign of the Soul Gem was ever found, but local folk talk of seeing a ghostly vision of the tower of Inverness on fog-shrouded nights. Seeking to discover where the Soul Gem was hidden, the characters descend beneath the ruined tower, discovering four pieces of magical metal that bond together to form a key. The key opens the doors to the central chamber beneath the tower, which holds a time portal that takes the characters back to the age when the tower of Inverness was still standing. Each level of the tower is a deadly gauntlet meant to destroy intruders. Passing through levels of air, earth, fire, and water (the latter featuring reversed gravity) eventually leads the characters to the top of the tower. The Soul Gem is there, but its magic tries to steal the souls of the characters even as they try to claim it.
Tournament version Players may choose from one of five pre-determined characters listed in the module. All of the characters are in the dungeon of the Duke Justinian Lorimnar of Urnst for various crimes and charged with the task of recovering the Soul Gem for the Duke: Hodar - A sorcerer practicing forbidden magic specifically outlawed by the Duke Zinethar - A priest who led a temple revolt against the Duke's citizens Lembu - A fighter who killed the palace guard captain and 11 of his men in a barroom brawl Discinque - A thief who attempted to steal jewels from the crown, only to fall off the wall on top of the guard patrol Li Hon - A monk indentured into the Duke's service by her monastery in lieu of tax payment The Duke, after providing gold for the characters to equip themselves, also provides a magic item (the Amulet of Recall) which teleports the party back to the Duke, no matter where they are. After equipping is complete, the palace guard escort the characters to the ruined site of the ghost tower, where players must then figure out actions on their own how to best enter the tower and recover the gem. Tournament Points are added, or deducted, from both team and individual scores depending on how characters choose to handle the situations they encounter. These include a chess room, a "frozen bugbear" room, a "tunnel" room, and others. When the proper keys from this level are gathered and activated, the party (unbeknownst to them) travel back in time within the Tower, where more challenges await, among them elemental levels of the newly restored tower. The final level of the tower houses the Soul Gem, which is behind a force field that must be broken before the characters can claim it. Should the characters survive, they use the amulet to return to the Duke and keep all treasure they find (subject to 20% tax). The "twist" at the end is that any character that was killed by the gem can be restored to life by the Duke's Seer.
Published version The characters are hired by the Duke to recover the gem, but are not provided starting gold nor subject to the 20% treasure tariff of the spoils. Also, unlike the tournament version, which often specifically states how much damage characters take from certain actions, in the non-tournament version characters are subject to normal random damage rolls. Additional encounters and traps are also added, which are marked "Not for Tournament Use" in the module. ==Publication history==