Beyond the Crystal Cave
Encyclopedia
Beyond the Crystal Cave is a Dungeons & Dragons
module set in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting
. It is unusual among Dungeons & Dragons modules in that it encourages a non-violent approach (mainly parleying and true role-playing tactics) to achieving the module's goals. It is set in an old English milieu
on Sybarate Isle in the Hold of the Sea Princes.
s are hired to rescue a recently elope
d couple that has fled into the Cave of Echoes. The heroes must solve the mystery of the Crystal Cave to enter Porpherio's Garden, a magical place located on the island of Sybarate where it is summer all year long. Experience points are gained by dealing with encounters verbally and intelligently, rather than through unnecessary violence.
, and published by TSR in 1983 as a thirty two page booklet with an outer folder.
In 2005, Kenzer and Company published a HackMaster
module based on the adventure named Porpher's Enchanted Garden. It was originally solicited as Yonder Crystal Caverns, but was changed due to substantial lateness in gaining authorisation from Wizards of the Coast
. The new version required less talking and more action, making it more typical of the game system. The module was hacked by James Butler, a freelance writer from the United Kingdom.
In 2011, Wizards of the Coast updated the module for 4th Edition and added combat situations for their Encounters line of pre-made adventures.
magazine. The reviewer, Jim Bambra, noted that Beyond the Crystal Cave was "an interesting and thought-provoking adventure" more appropriate for characters level 3–6. Bambra mentioned that players would be treated to a lot of interesting encounters and puzzles after reaching Porpherio's Garden, and felt that the authors have sought to reward thoughtful solutions to dilemmas rather than hack-and-slash ones. He noted how the authors set out to discourage players from attacking everything in sight, concluding that this module "makes a refreshing change from the more normal combat orientated adventure for its emphasis is very much on role-playing and problem solving".
Lawrence Schick, in his 1991 book Heroic Worlds felt that the UK series of modules "are typically heavier on atmosphere than their American-designed counterparts, though they do like to use those ridiculous monsters from the Fiend Folio
.
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...
module set in the 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...
. It is unusual among Dungeons & Dragons modules in that it encourages a non-violent approach (mainly parleying and true role-playing tactics) to achieving the module's goals. It is set in an old English milieu
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
on Sybarate Isle in the Hold of the Sea Princes.
Plot summary
In Beyond the Crystal Cave, the player characterPlayer 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 are hired to rescue a recently elope
Elope
To elope, most literally, merely means to run away with a girl and to not come back to the point of origination. More specifically, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving hurried flight away from one's place of residence together...
d couple that has fled into the Cave of Echoes. The heroes must solve the mystery of the Crystal Cave to enter Porpherio's Garden, a magical place located on the island of Sybarate where it is summer all year long. Experience points are gained by dealing with encounters verbally and intelligently, rather than through unnecessary violence.
Publication history
Beyond the Crystal Cave was written by British designers Dave J. Browne, Tom Kirby, and Graeme MorrisGraeme Morris (game designer)
-Career:Graeme Morris was working for TSR UK. He has designed for Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Mystara, generic AD&D, and Star Frontiers...
, and published by TSR in 1983 as a thirty two page booklet with an outer folder.
In 2005, Kenzer and Company published a HackMaster
HackMaster
HackMaster is a role-playing game produced by Kenzer & Company, being a revised expansion of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It started out as a fictional game, a parody of the most ludicrous aspects of D&D played by the characters of the Knights of the Dinner Table comic strip by Jolly R. Blackburn...
module based on the adventure named Porpher's Enchanted Garden. It was originally solicited as Yonder Crystal Caverns, but was changed due to substantial lateness in gaining authorisation from Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
. The new version required less talking and more action, making it more typical of the game system. The module was hacked by James Butler, a freelance writer from the United Kingdom.
In 2011, Wizards of the Coast updated the module for 4th Edition and added combat situations for their Encounters line of pre-made adventures.
Reception
Receiving 9 out of 10 overall, the module was positively reviewed in issue No. 48 of 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...
magazine. The reviewer, Jim Bambra, noted that Beyond the Crystal Cave was "an interesting and thought-provoking adventure" more appropriate for characters level 3–6. Bambra mentioned that players would be treated to a lot of interesting encounters and puzzles after reaching Porpherio's Garden, and felt that the authors have sought to reward thoughtful solutions to dilemmas rather than hack-and-slash ones. He noted how the authors set out to discourage players from attacking everything in sight, concluding that this module "makes a refreshing change from the more normal combat orientated adventure for its emphasis is very much on role-playing and problem solving".
Lawrence Schick, in his 1991 book Heroic Worlds felt that the UK series of modules "are typically heavier on atmosphere than their American-designed counterparts, though they do like to use those ridiculous monsters from the Fiend Folio
Fiend Folio
Fiend Folio is the title shared by three products published for successive editions of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons...
.