Friday Fantasy: Raiding the Obsidian Keep

The rumours have been spreading for weeks now. The Archbishop of Radiant Vitela has excommunicated the Duke and Duchess of Isla Requia, declaring them heretics and sorcerers, foul worshippers of Chaos, and most recently he sent a fleet to land an army on the island and assault the Obsidian Keep, home to the Duke and Duchess. Word has it that as the Radiant Fleet anchored in Isla Requia harbour, the only part of the island where it is possible to land, a great storm of strange, red lightning descended on the ecumenical ships and shattered one vessel after another. The Duke and Duchess of Isla Requia remain in the Obsidian Keep, protected by the weird storms that some say the Duchess is responsible for, the dark walls of Obsidian Keep, and the distance across the Sakeen Sea to the island. There have been calls put out by Archbishop of Radiant Vitela for brave adventurers to sail to the mouth of Isla Requia harbour and there a launch a rowing boat to explore the harbour and shore for survivors and relics—and if such adventurers put an end to the reign of Duke Avito and Duchess Forza (literally Duke ‘Ancestral’ and Duchess ‘Force’), then there will be an even bigger reward. Similarly, there have been whispers put out by Master Argento of Radiant Vitela for treasure hunters to break into the Obsidian Keep and steal its treasures, with a bonus if the treasures happen to belong to the Duke or Duchess.

This is the set-up for Raiding the Obsidian Keep, an ‘Adventure Module for Characters 2-4’ for use with Old School Essentials, the retroclone based on the 1981 revision of Basic Dungeons & Dragons by Tom Moldvay and its accompanying Expert Set by Dave Cook and Steve Marsh. Originally published as The Obsidian Keep by Dungeon Age Adventures for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, like the author’s well received Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow, this edition of the scenario has been expanded, adapted, and transformed by The Merry Mushmen—best known for the Old School Renaissance magazine, Knock!, and the excellent A Folklore Bestiary—following a successful Kickstarter campaign. And what a transformation it is! The digest-sized scenario comes as a thick, seventy two-page booklet in a wraparound card cover. The trade dress echoes that of classic TSR, though the artwork is more cartoonish. The cover has been purposely distressed and inside has been drawn the map of the temple, again in the style of classic Dungeons & Dragons modules. The cartoonish style of artwork continues throughout in a greyscale, depicting the devastation which has been wrought upon the Radiant Vitela fleet and the gothic weirdness that permeates the Obsidian Keep and its inhabitants.

Structurally, Raiding the Obsidian Keep is linear, organised into four stages, one after the other, but within those stages, the Player Characters have plenty of freedom of movement. These are in turn, ‘The Harbour of Death’, ‘Survivor Beach’, ‘At the Foot of the Obsidian Keep’, and ‘Inside the Obsidian Keep’. Each of these stages contains a mix of encounters with survivors—initially from the Radiant Vitela fleet and then from the Obsidian Keep, signs of the recent storm, and other strangeness. There is a distinct atmosphere to each of the four stages. ‘The Harbour of Death’ is a sea salt-encrusted battlefield, strewn with shattered and capsized hulls, with survivors desperate for help among the dangerous waters patrolled by harbour sharks and the leathery black and bewinged Vulgranes. ‘Survivor Beach’ is a shanty town of fishermen, Radiant Vitela sailors and soldiers washed ashore, and servants that have fled from the Obsidian Keep, the narrow area split down the middle by a lava stream. ‘At the Foot of the Obsidian Keep’ is a fractured courtyard split by lava filled vents, marching obsidian skeletons, and a floating cottage, all under an ash-laden sky. ‘Inside the Obsidian Keep’ is decadence and luxury smashed by lightning and Chaos, populated by the mutated lords and ladies of the ducal court acting as if everything was perfectly normal and littered with corpses, many with wrinkled skin, eyeless, and missing their left arms, robed in red.

Throughout Raiding the Obsidian Keep there are some fantastic encounters. some of the most notable include Angelica the Ursaloth, half-woman, half-octopus, in ‘The Harbour of Death’, who welcomes a kiss and gives a boon in return for the gift of a finger; on ‘Survivor Beach’ with the charred and frozen naked skeleton of Prince Orsino, who might tell you his story in return for a promise; in the stables ‘At the Foot of the Obsidian Keep’ with a shining back stallion with a skull for a head, that despite being Chaotic, just wants to be friends; and ‘Inside the Obsidian Keep’ where Pavnutia, vampire alchemist from outer space just wants to be rescued (so she can enthrall the world!). There is plenty of treasure to be found, all artfully designed, like billiard balls of sapphire in the games room or the individual model ships each sailing on a worked sea of silver in Prince Orsino’s room. That though, is just the treasure of artistic or monetary value, for there are numerous magical items to be found and delightfully, not a single one of them actually boring!

As the Player Characters progress through the adventure, both it and their focus will change. In ‘The Harbour of Death’, they will be rowing from wreck to wreck, rescuing people and learning about what happened in the bay, whilst on ‘Survivor Beach’, they will begin to learn about what happened in the Obsidian Keep before entering the courtyard of the keep and then the keep itself to really discover the truth of what happened. As a result, there is tonal shift from one half of the scenario to the other, initially an open water tale of bracing adventure and danger, and then a dark gothic story inside the ruined black castle with echoes of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death via Roger Corman and Vincent Price.

For all of its atmosphere and its details, where Raiding the Obsidian Keep disappoints is in the set-up. Unless starting the scenario en media res, right at the mouth of Isla Requia Harbour, being launched into the long boat, the scenario requires quite a bit of set up in terms of its back story and setting. All necessary to provide context to the reasons why the Player Characters might become involved. The given set-up in underwritten and there is a lot more going on in the scenario some of which the Player Characters will be aware of. Some of this can be facilitated via the included rumour table, but even that feels out of context. Also one thing that cannot easily be done with Raiding the Obsidian Keep is run it as a sequel to either of the earlier scenarios from the publisher, Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow or The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh, whereas The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh has links indicating that it could be could be run as a sequel to Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow. To be fair, Raiding the Obsidian Keep is not written as a sequel to either, but neither does it have links suggesting that it could be.

Physically, Raiding the Obsidian Keep is very well presented. The writing is succinct and laid out in an easy to grasp style, whilst the artwork is entertaining throughout. If there is anything disappointing it is that the cartography of both the courtyard and the keep is are clean, tidy, but dull. Especially in comparison to that of the harbour and the beach. That said, the descriptions of the various locations in the courtyard and rooms in the Obsidian Keep more than compensate for their uninteresting cartography. None will hinder the Game Master running Raiding the Obsidian Keep, but none really help their locations come to life either.

Raiding the Obsidian Keep is self-contained. This means that it is easy for the Game Master to drop into her own campaign world or an existing one she is already using. Similarly, although Raiding the Obsidian Keep is written for use with Old School Essentials, the scenario is easily adapted to the retroclone of the Game Master’s preference.

Raiding the Obsidian Keep is a scenario for more experienced players, being challenging and dangerous. It has a fantastic gothic atmosphere of ruin and tragedy in the face of overweening ambition. However getting to that ruin and tragedy will take some effort upon the part of the Game Master to set-up and get the players and their characters motivated. Once they are, they will discover that Raiding the Obsidian Keep is another fine scenario from The Merry Mushmen and the author of Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow.