Against the Cult of the Reptile God
Encyclopedia
Against the Cult of the Reptile God is an adventure module
for the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
roleplaying game, set in the game's World of Greyhawk campaign setting
.
and the Kingdom of Keoland in the western Flanaess
. It is one of the most challenging of the early AD&D modules, featuring a mystery that leads to adventures in town, the wilderness and a dungeon. The scenario details the village and the cult's dungeon caves.
The player character
s arrive in the village of Orlane, where they are met with mixed reactions. Some villagers are friendly towards the characters, whereas some are distant and others are very suspcious and guarded. The characters realize that something is amiss, and have to find out what. They find that Orlane is being plagued by an evil cult, and the characters have to stop the cult.
, with the cover drawn by Tim Truman, and published by TSR
in 1982 as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. It bears the code N1 and is the first in the N (Novice) series of unrelated adventures for beginning characters.
The module was the first design by Doug Niles after he came to work at TSR. Working from an old brief, Niles completed the module in four weeks. There is a printing error in one of the module maps, the maze near the troglodytes
has no exit.
, and gave it 8/10 overall. Bambra felt that the village is well laid out, requiring the players to interact with its populace to piece together the various clues. Bambra noted that once the players find out what is wrong with the village, "they are in for a very hard time as the action quickly develops into a life and death struggle against the Cult." Bambra concluded that this module proves that "low level adventures are just as interesting and exciting as their high level counterparts".
Against the Cult of the Reptile God was ranked the 19th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon
magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game.
Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, an adventure or module is a pre-packaged book or box set that helps the Dungeon Master manage the plot or story of a game...
for the Dungeons & Dragons
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...
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...
roleplaying game, set in the game's World of Greyhawk campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
.
Plot
The adventure takes place on the border between the Gran MarchGran March
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Gran March is a political state of the Flanaess.-Geography:...
and the Kingdom of Keoland in the western Flanaess
Flanaess
The Flanaess is the eastern part of the continent of Oerik, one of the four continents of the fictional world of Oerth in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The Flanaess has been the setting of dozens of adventures published between the 1970s...
. It is one of the most challenging of the early AD&D modules, featuring a mystery that leads to adventures in town, the wilderness and a dungeon. The scenario details the village and the cult's dungeon caves.
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 arrive in the village of Orlane, where they are met with mixed reactions. Some villagers are friendly towards the characters, whereas some are distant and others are very suspcious and guarded. The characters realize that something is amiss, and have to find out what. They find that Orlane is being plagued by an evil cult, and the characters have to stop the cult.
Publication history
The module was written by Douglas NilesDouglas 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 the cover drawn by Tim Truman, and published by TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
in 1982 as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. It bears the code N1 and is the first in the N (Novice) series of unrelated adventures for beginning characters.
The module was the first design by Doug Niles after he came to work at TSR. Working from an old brief, Niles completed the module in four weeks. There is a printing error in one of the module maps, the maze near the troglodytes
Troglodyte (Dungeons & Dragons)
The troglodytes is a fictional race of primitive reptilian humanoids in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Publication history:The troglodyte was introduced to the D&D game in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons....
has no exit.
Reception
Jim Bambra reviewed Against the Cult of the Reptile God 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...
, and gave it 8/10 overall. Bambra felt that the village is well laid out, requiring the players to interact with its populace to piece together the various clues. Bambra noted that once the players find out what is wrong with the village, "they are in for a very hard time as the action quickly develops into a life and death struggle against the Cult." Bambra concluded that this module proves that "low level adventures are just as interesting and exciting as their high level counterparts".
Against the Cult of the Reptile God was ranked the 19th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon
Dungeon (magazine)
Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...
magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game.
External links
- Against the Cult of the Reptile God at the TSR Archive