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Castle Amber (Dungeons & Dragons)
Encyclopedia
Castle Amber is a Dungeons & Dragons
adventure module designed by Tom Moldvay
. This was the second module designed for use with the Expert D&D set
.
s explore the haunted mansion of the Amber family, and encounter new monsters such as the brain collector. The module is described as a medium to high-level scenario which takes place in a castle surrounded by a strange gray mist.
During their night's rest on their way to Glantri
, the player characters are unexpectedly drawn into a large castle surrounded by an impenetrable, deadly mist. This is the result of a curse the wizard-noble Stephen Amber (Etienne d'Amberville) put on his treacherous relatives for murdering him.
The only way to escape Castle Amber (or Château d'Amberville) is to explore the castle, putting up with the demented and at times insane members of the d'Amberville family and the other, often hostile, denizens, and open a hidden portal to the wilderness of the world of Averoigne, where the party can find the means to reach the inter-dimensional tomb in which Stephen Amber rests, in order to break the curse and return home.
In this world, magic is frowned upon, and spellcasters may come to the attention of the Inquisition.
stories of Clark Ashton Smith
. The main NPCs of the module, the Amber family (Amberville in French, as an option), are not actually in any of Smith's stories, and were created by the designer to provide a link to Averoigne. A selected bibliography is included at the rear of the module.
In addition to the Averoigne references, there are individual encounters within the module that have allusions to stories written by others.
One of the encounters in the module is an homage to (or copy of) the climax of Edgar Allan Poe
's short story Fall of the House of Usher
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.frp.dnd/browse_thread/thread/6d3fd6900ac58c37/2adbb24c4dbe9f9, involving a brother who can hear his dead sister, named Madeline in both cases, crying out from the grave where she was buried alive. The overall module has "a decidedly Edgar Allen Poe feel to it."
Many of the creatures also had a Lovecraftian feel to them.
. It was written by Tom Moldvay
and published 1981 as a thirty two page booklet with an outer folder and a cover designed by Erol Otus
.
The module was developed by Dave Cook
, Allen Hammack, Kevin Hendryx, Harold Johnson
, Tom Moldvay, and Jon Pickens
, and edited by Harold Johnson, Edward Sollers, and Steve Winter. It features art by Jim Holloway
, Harry Quinn, Jim Roslof
, Stephen D. Sullivan
, and Erol Otus.
Mark of Amber was a sequel/remake of the original Castle Amber. It was reprinted in 1995 in the form of a boxed set, complete with an audio CD, map posters, and player handouts. It was part of the short lived Masters series. The Castle was renamed Château Sylaire.
magazine in 2004, and was fondly remembered in Dragon Magazine the same year.
In an earlier review in issue No. 35 of White Dwarf
magazine, reviewer Jim Bambra rated Castle Amber 6 out of 10. Bambra saw the adventure as "an attempt to bring randomness back into D&D." Bambra considered Castle Amber a chaotic adventure and did not recommend it for purchase, noting that it "depends a lot on chance, leaving little room for skill, and at times can be deadly."
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...
adventure module designed by Tom Moldvay
Tom Moldvay
Tom Moldvay was a game designer and author most notable for his work on early materials for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons .-Career:...
. This was the second module designed for use with the Expert D&D set
Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set
The Expert Set is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1981 as an expansion to the Basic Set.-1981 printing:The D&D Basic Set saw a major revision in 1981 by Tom Moldvay...
.
Plot summary
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 explore the haunted mansion of the Amber family, and encounter new monsters such as the brain collector. The module is described as a medium to high-level scenario which takes place in a castle surrounded by a strange gray mist.
During their night's rest on their way to Glantri
Glantri
The Principalities of Glantri is a fictional nation located within the Mystara campaign setting, in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game....
, the player characters are unexpectedly drawn into a large castle surrounded by an impenetrable, deadly mist. This is the result of a curse the wizard-noble Stephen Amber (Etienne d'Amberville) put on his treacherous relatives for murdering him.
The only way to escape Castle Amber (or Château d'Amberville) is to explore the castle, putting up with the demented and at times insane members of the d'Amberville family and the other, often hostile, denizens, and open a hidden portal to the wilderness of the world of Averoigne, where the party can find the means to reach the inter-dimensional tomb in which Stephen Amber rests, in order to break the curse and return home.
In this world, magic is frowned upon, and spellcasters may come to the attention of the Inquisition.
Inspirations
The module's credits give special thanks to Clark Ashton Smith and Casiana Literary Enterprises, Inc., "for use of the Averoigne stories as inspirational material." Castle Amber (Château d'Amberville) draws from the AveroigneAveroigne
Averoigne is a fictional counterpart of a historical province in France, detailed in a series of short stories by the American writer Clark Ashton Smith. Smith based Averoigne on the actual province of Auvergne.- History :...
stories of Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith was a self-educated American poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne...
. The main NPCs of the module, the Amber family (Amberville in French, as an option), are not actually in any of Smith's stories, and were created by the designer to provide a link to Averoigne. A selected bibliography is included at the rear of the module.
In addition to the Averoigne references, there are individual encounters within the module that have allusions to stories written by others.
One of the encounters in the module is an homage to (or copy of) the climax of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's short story Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque...
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.frp.dnd/browse_thread/thread/6d3fd6900ac58c37/2adbb24c4dbe9f9, involving a brother who can hear his dead sister, named Madeline in both cases, crying out from the grave where she was buried alive. The overall module has "a decidedly Edgar Allen Poe feel to it."
Many of the creatures also had a Lovecraftian feel to them.
Publication history
Castle Amber was the second module designed for use with the D&D Expert SetDungeons & Dragons Expert Set
The Expert Set is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1981 as an expansion to the Basic Set.-1981 printing:The D&D Basic Set saw a major revision in 1981 by Tom Moldvay...
. It was written by Tom Moldvay
Tom Moldvay
Tom Moldvay was a game designer and author most notable for his work on early materials for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons .-Career:...
and published 1981 as a thirty two page booklet with an outer folder and a cover designed by Erol Otus
Erol Otus
Erol Otus is an American artist and game designer, known internationally for his contributions to the fantasy RPG genre, most notably for the early Dungeons & Dragons franchise...
.
The module was developed by Dave Cook
David Cook (game designer)
David "Zeb" Cook is an American game designer best known for his work at TSR, Inc., where he was employed for over fifteen years.-Early life:...
, Allen Hammack, Kevin Hendryx, Harold Johnson
Harold Johnson (game designer)
Harold Johnson is a game designer and editor, and an author of several products and articles for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game from TSR.-Early life and education:...
, Tom Moldvay, and Jon Pickens
Jon Pickens
Jon Pickens is a game designer and editor who has worked on numerous products for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game from TSR and later Wizards of the Coast.-Early life and education:...
, and edited by Harold Johnson, Edward Sollers, and Steve Winter. It features art by Jim Holloway
Jim Holloway (artist)
-Background:Jim Holloway was self taught in illustration, although he was able to study some oil paintings by his father.-Works:Jim Holloway has continued to produce interior illustrations for many Dungeons & Dragons books and Dragon magazine since 1981, as well as cover art for The Land Beyond the...
, Harry Quinn, Jim Roslof
Jim Roslof
James Paul "Jim" Roslof was an American artist and graphic designer particularly well known for cover art and interior illustrations of fantasy role-playing games published by TSR, Inc. during the "golden age" of Dungeons & Dragons...
, Stephen D. Sullivan
Stephen D. Sullivan
Stephen D. Sullivan is an American author, artist, editor, publisher, and radio host. Sullivan is well known in the gaming community for his work with TSR, the publishers of Dungeons and Dragons.-Career:...
, and Erol Otus.
Mark of Amber was a sequel/remake of the original Castle Amber. It was reprinted in 1995 in the form of a boxed set, complete with an audio CD, map posters, and player handouts. It was part of the short lived Masters series. The Castle was renamed Château Sylaire.
Reception
Castle Amber was ranked the 15th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by DungeonDungeon (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, and was fondly remembered in Dragon Magazine the same year.
In an earlier review in issue No. 35 of White Dwarf
White 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, reviewer Jim Bambra rated Castle Amber 6 out of 10. Bambra saw the adventure as "an attempt to bring randomness back into D&D." Bambra considered Castle Amber a chaotic adventure and did not recommend it for purchase, noting that it "depends a lot on chance, leaving little room for skill, and at times can be deadly."