Slavers: A Greyhawk Adventure (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) [Paperback]

At last, a sequel to the epic story of modules A1-4, Scourge of the Slavelords! I was so excited to see this finally make it into print that I bought 7 copies. A brand new Greyhawk adventure, based on the modules of old, but an entirely new experience, with no rehashing! How long had I been waiting for this? The enthusiasm wore off a bit as I plowed through the module's 128 pages. I haven't had a chance to play this adventure yet, but I have a few reservations about the experience. The adventure begins well. The humanoid clans of the Pomarj, scattered into chaos once again by the heroic depredations of the adventurers of 20 years ago (A1-4), have once again been reunited by a Slavelord - this time, it is the grim, charismatic Turrosh, a half-orc princeling who shows ingenious savagery as both lord and conqueror. The dreaded yellow sails, not seen on any armada for years, have once again become the symbol of death and slavery throughout the Wild Coast, and even as far as the Nyr Dyv. It's time for a new generation of heroes to put an end to the menace! Things get a little sticky as the scenario continues. A bit more reading reveals that this isn't really a heavily-scripted adventure; actually, it's more of a sourcebook with detailed encounter keys. The PCs are given no single incentive to go from point A to point B - and although the work is impressive for its non-linearity, a bit of frustration sets in as the DM realizes that at least 10 hours of preparation will be required (after the preliminary reading) to make this adventure come to life. But don't let that throw you off! The more you read, the more you realize that the book is set up so that it can be perfectly customized to your campaign. Even better, it gives exhaustive, detailed, and imaginative settings, many of which are famous and well-known to long-time wanderers of Greyhawk: Hardby, Elredd, Highport (at last!), and more are revealed for the first time with well-planned encounters and many pages of lore. What's mostly lacking is the dungeon crawls - there's a few slaver outposts highlighted, but the book's pages are mostly spent detailing the settings of the adventures, rather than detailing the adventures themselves. One of the most impressive aspects of the sourcebook is the great ideas. We're treated to the ruined, shipwreck-dotted coastal village of Cantona, whose non-Euclidean angles and magical wardings prevent summonings and teleportation; the Yellow Tooth Kobolds of the Pomarj, who create makeshift floating villages with which to harass the unwary; the Temple District of Highport, where we get to read about the intriguing worshippers of Vecna, Iuz, Incabulos, and more; and the return of Stalman Klim, with his insidious plots to spread the Cult of the Earth Dragon throughout the heartlands of the Flanaess. The final "dungeon," the Temple of the Earth Dragon, is creative, fun, intense, and well-planned; but, this section is abysmally short. The hopeful DM is left with the idea that someone cackled, threw a handful of ingenious ideas into a cauldron, and then... forgot to stoke up the fire. If you're looking for flashing blades, sizzling spells, and piratical scenes of mayhem and drama, you'll likely be disappointed. But if you want an outstanding sourcebook that provides lavish detail on some of the most eternally mysterious corners of Greyhawk (which happen to be very close to the Free City itself), you'll find Slavers to be an excellent resource, with the seeds of many potential adventures. May it live long and free!

Don't pick up Slavers expecting a quick, easy-to-run module. It's not. But it can be much, much more. In fact, Slavers can serve as the basis for one of the most epic Greyhawk adventures you'll ever run.

For me, Greyhawk stands out as a campaign world for several reasons: the influence of history, great villains, and strong plot development (though not necessarily resolution). Slavers has all three. It starts with the background of the Slavelords, relating the role they have played in events throughout the Flanaess. We learn what motivates them and what they hope to achieve. They are greedy, ruthless, power-hungry, and above all, smart -- the perfect ingredients for memorable villains. As this story of intrigue develops, the players will discover plots within plots that go deeper than they ever imagined.

Apart from the adventure outline, Slavers holds its own as a sourcebook for the lands immediately surrounding Greyhawk. You'll find a detailed description of the Free City of Dyvers -- including its geography, government, economy, prominent citizens and more. Blackthorn, the humanoid lair hidden deep within the Gnarley Forest, is finally revealed. Slavers also does an incredible job of bringing Pomarj cities such as Highport to life, offering a realistic picture of how thousands of humans, orcs and others manage to co-exist.

Crafting this exhaustive material into a campaign will take some work. (Chances are, you'll spend a couple nights just reading through it all.) But it's definitely worth the effort. Slavers represents one of the best releases put out by Wizards of the Coast for D&D.

This ios a worthy publication for sure. A1-A4 will live on as some of the greatest adventures ever written. What this does is define what happened after the adventurers brought down the Slavers. It is less of an adventure and more of a guide through many of the cities of the Wild Coast and the Pomarj. It gives you an overview of an adventure, to be fleshed out by the DM as he/she sees fit. However, the level of detail is exceptional. You get a real sense for the current situation in that part of the world, and how the Slaver's are now affecting it. You also find out who Turrosh Mak is and what his motivations are. There are some defined "dungeons", but mostly, it is the setting and the NPC's that are fleshed out. For me, this is not only a great adventure, but also an excellent resource, and I'm glad to own it.

Enjoy!

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