Halls of the High King (ISBN 0-88038-881-1) is an adventure module

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 fictional Forgotten Realms

Forgotten Realms

The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...

 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...

 for the second edition of the Advanced 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...

 role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

. The book, with product code TSR 9301, was published in 1990, and was written by Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...

, with cover art by Jeff Easley

Jeff Easley

Jeff Easley is an oil painter who creates fantasy artwork in the tradition of Frank Frazetta.-Early life:...

 and interior art by Tim Bradstreet

Tim Bradstreet

Timothy "Tim" Bradstreet , is an artist and illustrator, best known for his work on comic books , book covers, movie posters, roleplaying games and trading cards.-Career:...

 and Rick Harris.

Contents

The 64-page booklet is wrapped in a removable gatefold cover. The book includes a one-page introduction by Ed Greenwood, where he explains that this module takes place in the Moonshae Isles, which are ruled by Tristan Kendrick, High King of the Ffolk, and takes place after the Time of Troubles

Time of Troubles (Forgotten Realms)

The Time of Troubles, also known as the Arrival, Godswar, and Avatar Crisis, is a fictional time period in the chronology of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game...

 and the death of the god Bane

Bane (god)

Bane , is the god of hatred, fear, and tyranny and one of the main evil gods in the fictional Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, Forgotten Realms....

. The adventure, on pages 3–36, is divided into five chapters:

• Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins begins any port city of the Sword Coast, such as Waterdeep
  Waterdeep (city)
  Waterdeep is a fictional city-state that forms part of a popular Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game campaign setting called the Forgotten Realms. It is a port city that is located along the western coast of the Faerûn sub-continent...
  
   or Baldur's Gate
  Baldur's Gate (city)
  Baldur's Gate is a fictional city in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is a coastal city on the north bank of the river Chiontar, located in the Western Heartlands region of Faerûn...
  
  . A retired caravan master named Panthras hires 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 (or PCs) to deliver a shipment of swords to the Cantrev of Aithe in Callidyrr, a kingdom on the Moonshae Isles, on behalf of High King Tristan Kendrick; a powerful wizard
  Wizard (Dungeons & Dragons)
  The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.-Creative origins:...
  
   named Flamsterd will help in recruiting the PCs if needed. They set sail aboard the wooden merchant ship The Mermaid Sword, which is soon attacked by The Ghost Ship, a pirate ship whose crew is invisible. A member of the Risen Cult of Bane posing as a passenger sends undead
  Undead (Dungeons & Dragons)
  In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, undead is a classification of monsters that can be encountered by player characters. Undead creatures are most often once-living creatures, which have been animated by spiritual or supernatural forces....
  
   called lacedons
  Ghoul (Dungeons & Dragons)
  For the generic mythological creature, see Ghoul.In the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game, ghouls are monstrous, undead humans who reek of carrion.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
  
   to attack so that he may steal the cargo.
• Chapter 2: "Danger in Aithe" begins as the PCs arrive in the Moonshaes, in the port town of Aithelar. There, they are ambushed by archers and thugs hired by the Cult, before arriving at Aithe Keep to receive an audience with the town's Lord Cauldyth. He tells the PCs about the Cult and their devotion to the god Bane
  Bane (god)
  Bane , is the god of hatred, fear, and tyranny and one of the main evil gods in the fictional Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, Forgotten Realms....
  
   and that they can be found in the nearby Dernall Forest, usually called the Wild Wood. The PCs find Cult priests and their undead servants in the Dark Grove in the forest.
• Chapter 3: Against the Dark Druid begins with the PCs travelling to the small village of Dultann, where they learn that the Cult is using the ruins of Darkhold Castle as a base. The PCs uncounter a number of undead and Cult members while exploring Castle Darkhorn, but are attacked by the Cult as they exit, and assisted by Harpers after the battle. The PCs learn that the Cult plans to make the Moonshaes into the personal realm of Bane, and are striking at Caer Callidyrr, the High King's castle. The PCs are sent through a mystical teleportation gate to defend the castle and save the king.
• Chapter 4: The Halls of the High King begins as the PCs arrive, and the Cult immediately ambushes them. As soon as the PCs arrive in the throne room, 15 cultists have already infiltrated and begin their attack. The High King Tristan Kendrick and his bards
  Bard (Dungeons & Dragons)
  The bard is a standard playable character class in many editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The bard class is versatile, capable of combat and of magic . Bards use their artistic talents to induce magical effects...
  
   defend themselves, as the Cult's polymorphed orcs
  Orc (Dungeons & Dragons)
  In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, orcs are a primitive race of savage, bestial, barbaric humanoid.-Publication history:The orc was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game. The D&D orc is largely based upon the orcs appearing in the works of J.R.R...
  
   and animated suits of armor called battle horrors join the fight. The Cult employs a man-sized disembodied floating black hand that acts as a teleporting gate when touched, sending them to the House of the Black Hand temple.
• Chapter 5: The House of the Black Hand begins as the PCs use the black hand themselves to arrive in the Cult's temple. Exploring the House of the Black Hand leads the PCs into a number of battles with Cult members, eventually culminating in the destruction of their unholy altar.

The remainder of the book consists of several appendices:

• Appendix 1: Harping by Firelight (page 37) details a local custom in the Moonshaes of how anyone setting a campfire in the wilderness is duty bound to share their campsite with any approaching traveler.
• Appendix 2: The Risen Cult of Bane (pages 38–40) details the goals of the Risen Cult of Bane and its abilities, and described members the PCs are likely to encounter during the adventure. This section also gives statistics and details on the Son of Bane, the demigod Xvim.
• Appendix 3: Monsters of the Moonshaes (pages 41–47) details monsters the bonebat, the helmed horror, the nishruu, the nyth, the peltast, the shee, and the weredragon.
• Appendix 4: New Magic Items (pages 48–50) details new magic items
  Magic item (Dungeons & Dragons)
  In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it. These may act on their own or be the tools of the character in whose hands they fall into. Magic items have been prevalent in the game in every edition and setting, from the...
  
   that the PCs may discover, or that will be used by the Cult.
• Appendix 5: New Spells (pages 51–54) likewise details new spells that will be used by the Cult or that other characters are likely to know.
• Appendix 6: Campaign Adventuring in the Moonshaes (pages 55–56) presents some ideas for long-term adventuring in the Moonshaes, pointing at FR2 Moonshae
  Moonshae
  Moonshae is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting Forgotten Realms. It describes the Moonshae Isles of Faerûn.-Contents:...
  
  as a useful source of adventure ideas as well and an essential resource for the setting.
• Appendix 7: Sacred Groves & Moonwells (pages 57–61) details the properties and powers related to druidic
  Druid (Dungeons & Dragons)
  The druid is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Druids wield nature-themed magic. Prior to 4th edition, they gain divine magic from being at one with nature, or from one of several patron gods of the wild, while in 4th edition, they gain primal magic...
  
   groves, wooded gathering places dedicated to the Goddess, Chauntea.
• Appendix 8: Current Moonshae Rumors (pages 62–64) gives a number of side-adventure ideas that can be used at any time during the adventure. One of these rumors included an all-too-true tale of how the necromancer Velsharoon
  Velsharoon
  Velsharoon the Archmage of Necromancy, also known as the Vaunted, is a fictional deity of the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. Velsharoon is the undead demigod of necromancy, necromancers, evil liches, lichdom and undeath...
  
  was seeking demigodhood using the blood of adventurers.

This module also includes a fold-out color poster map of several locales encountered in the module, including the House of the Black Hand, The Mermaid Sword, a partial map of Caer Callidyrr, and portions of Darkhorn Castle. The inside front cover contains a map of Cantrev Aithe and its vicinity, while the inside back cover contains a map of the town of Aithelar. The inside gatefold cover contains a combined monster statistics table while the outside gatefold cover presents a color map of the Moonshae Isles.