Scourge of the Slave Lords

The original series consisted of four adventure modules: • A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity • A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade • A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords • A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords Each module is a self-contained scenario that leads into the next adventure in the series. The series is designed to be used in the World of Greyhawk, but can be imported to any campaign setting. The modules are set in the Pomarj. ==Component modules==

A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity Slave Pits of the Undercity was published by TSR in 1980 as a 24-page booklet, and was written by David Cook. The interior art was done by Dee, David S. LaForce, Jim Roslof, and Bill Willingham. As the first module in the series, Slave Pits of the Undercity was the first TSR publication to introduce players in the Greyhawk setting to the Slave Lords and their operations in the central and southwestern Flanaess. The module has been described as the first adventure in a series of medium-level scenarios that provide the player characters with the goal of finding down raiders who have been attacking coastal areas. Synopsis The events of the adventure are set in 580 CY, following four years of raids by slavers on the coastal population along the Sea of Gearnat from Onnwal to the Wild Coast. Local lords, finally tired of the situation, hire a band of adventurers to attack the slavers in their home. The adventure begins in the Pomarj city of Highport at a ruined temple which serves as a headquarters for the slavers. The scenario involves a lost fortress where slaves are held prisoner to fatten them up. In this scenario the characters continue to search for the slavers in the depths underneath the Drachensgrab Mountains. Synopsis The A3 module finishes with the player characters as captives of the Slave Lords, and they begin module A4 in the same condition. The module begins with the party trapped, without any gear, deep underground below a volcanic island. The Slave Lords have captured the characters, and have left them for dead in this dark cave system as an erupting volcano threatens to destroy the island. Through a series of incidents they quickly find themselves free but completely bereft of equipment and spells. The final scenario plays out as a massive earthquake threatens to bring down the tunnels around the group, and they must exit the caverns within four hours or perish in the ensuing collapse. The labyrinth is a difficult test for characters without equipment and spells, and challenges the players' wits and role-playing ability rather than focusing on traditional combat. Once the players emerge from the caverns, they face the final test of escaping the island itself, which can be accomplished by attacking the surviving Slave Lords, escaping via a different boat, or possibly by swimming. ==Pre-generated characters==

Because the original modules were run as a tournament event, the compilation includes nine pre-generated characters for use in tournament mode. They are Elwita (dwarf fighter), Ogre (human fighter), Freda (human ranger), Karraway (human cleric), Blodgett (halfling thief), Dread Delgath (human magic-user), Phanstern (human illusionist), Eljayess (half-elf cleric/fighter), and Kayen Telva (elf fighter/magic-user). Each of these characters has a standard list of equipment and prepared spells so that tournament players can begin the game with very little preparation. ==Scoring==

Due to their design for use at Gen Con XIII, each A series module includes a scoring scheme. This scheme essentially takes the number of surviving characters and gives them points for visiting the largest number of areas described in the adventure. Each area contains additional points available for gain or loss based on specific actions by the players. ==Publication history==

The A series of modules was created for tournament use at Gen Con XIII in 1980, as the AD&D Open Tournament. Design contributors to the revision (including the original module designers) were David Cook, Allen Hammack, Harold Johnson, Tom Moldvay, Lawrence Schick, and Edward Carmien. All four modules of the A-series were included as part of the Against the Slave Lords hardcover collection, released on June 18, 2013. Also included was the newly-written fifth adventure A0: Danger at Darkshelf Quarry. The hardcover includes a foreword written by each of the four surviving designers of the original modules. David Cook writes: "In the early days of TSR, we were still feeling things out, learning what we could and couldn't do. It was in a previous GEN CON Game Fair that we had heard murmurs that the AD&D tournament needed some work. We hadn't realized until then how much the tournament could be, should be, a showcase event. The players who came to Wisconsin deserved a deliberately crafted experience, something that could show TSR and AD&D in the best possible way." Harold Johnson writes: "Our goal was to provide a model for a new type of adventure that encouraged DMs to use strategy to challenge the players to think. Up to this point, adventures presented monsters that attacked and fought to the death. We wanted to show that even weak monsters could be dangerous when played intelligently." Allen Hammack writes: "Some people have asked about names in the modules. Yes, I have fun with words. Combining Latin and Greek, pulling player and character names from my campaign, and twisting the results so they sounded right when I heard them—all were in the bag of tricks. "Suderham," for example, combined elements that to me meant "south home" (a nod to my Alabama roots), and was also a tip of the hat to my artist friend, the late, great Dave Sutherland. 'Ayares the Cutpurse' reflected my long-standing annoyance with the Internal Revenue Service." Lawrence Schick writes that he was inspired by an idea from Harold Johnson: "In his campaign one night, Harold had our characters get captured, whereupon he took away all our stuff and threw us in a dungeon. The challenge: escape without relying on all our carefully hoarded adventuring gear. Were our characters people with skills and brains, or were they really just lists of equipment?" The original TSR product codes for modules A1, A2, A3 and A4 are 9039, 9040, 9041, and 9042 respectively. ==Reception==

Elisabeth Barrington reviewed Slave Pits of the Undercity in 1981, in The Space Gamer No. 35. She felt that the art was neat and organized, and on par with other art from TSR, although she felt that the maps required thorough study before play, as they are slightly too small for quick reference. Barrington felt that the module would not require much re-working, stating that it is "Recommended as is for AD&D enthusiasts." ''Secret of the Slavers' Stockade was reviewed in Different Worlds'' magazine in November 1981. The reviewer complained that the module was poorly edited, and that it would have been easier to use with a roster of monsters provided. However, he said the module was "reasonably well done" overall, and a "good, workman-like" adventure. He praised the development of the antagonists and the care to characterize the reactions of the various monsters. Anders Swenson reviewed Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords and In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords for Different Worlds magazine and stated that "The two dungeon modules are quite different in style. The Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords for all is complexity is basically a pair of rather ordinary graph paper style dungeons, just like the ones we all have constructed from time to time [...] In contrast, In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords, while basically an underground crawl, is a seemingly realistic, (by FRP standards), situation." All four modules were reviewed by Jim Bambra in issue No. 33 of White Dwarf magazine, who scored them 7 out of 10 as a whole, and reported A4 as the best adventure. He felt they were tough and held some surprises for players used to hack-and-slash dungeons. He also said Dungeon Masters needed to be creative and adaptive in describing dungeon rooms and remember that the occupants were dynamic and reacted to characters. Bambra was very critical of the editing done on the modules and pointed out several mistakes, concluding that "these modules should never have been released with such errors". Ken Rolston reviewed Scourge of the Slavelords for Dragon magazine #133 (May 1988). Rolston felt that a lot of the new material added to develop the Slavelords campaign was "quite good, particularly the first two new chapters of campaign material which bring the characters up to the original A1-4 scenarios". Dungeon Master for Dummies lists Slave Pits of the Undercity as one of the ten best classic adventures. Scott Taylor of Black Gate in 2015 rated the Slave Lords series as #2 in "The Top 10 Campaign Adventure Module Series of All Time, saying "as it is legendary both in name and artwork, as well as having been done in two supermodule reprints, I have to say it certainly is a classic among classics." ==Notes==