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Cairn of the Skeleton King is an adventure module written by Rob Kuntz and published through his own outfit, Pied Piper Publishing. It is available for order from the company’s website in limited quantities, signed and numbered by the author.
The aim of PPP is the creation of game material compatible with “Advanced FRP Games” (as the cover proudly states), basically 1st edition AD&D. Providing support for a game line which is commercially dead but still played all over the world is a challenging undertaking: reaching the intended consumers is a tricky issue, as is supporting both the publication effort and the writer behind the projects. Rob’s previous attempt at this, Creations Unlimited (which published five modules in the late 1980s) was short-lived - today, with large online communities dedicated to out-of-print or “old school” systems and the networking potential of the internet, it could be easier to market to these niche audiences by cutting out the middlemen and focusing on direct sales. How this market can be exploited and how many producers it can sustain in the long term is a good question – in any case, PPP appears to be a strong contender based on its initial offering.
In form, Cairn of the Skeleton King is strongly and intentionally reminiscent of AD&D modules published cca. 1980-1983. The booklet (shipped in a plastic sleeve for storage) comes with a detached cardstock cover with blue and white maps printed on the interior. From the size and position of the cover painting (done by Jim Holloway, who illustrated several TSR products before moving on to Paranoia) to the letter code in the upper left corner, this might as well have been a TSR product. This impression continues inside with the familiar Century Gothic font (albeit a bit larger than TSR used to use) and more Holloway illustrations. The quality of this artwork is top notch. It seems that Holloway’s style has matured in all those years; whereas I am not a fan of his early work, what we have here is simply outstanding: clean and evocative line art featuring bold contrasts and memorable portraits of various adventurers and undead.
Moving on to the contents, the good impressions continue. Cairn features two related but modular (and thus easily separated) dungeon levels, Cairn of the Skeleton King and Warren of the Ghools (a new monster described in the appendix). Both dungeon levels deal with the undead but differ in scope and play. They are suitable for levels 4-7; a party of six or more characters is highly recommended.
The first tests the players in their puzzle solving skills: Rob Kuntz’s speciality is creating highly complex and strongly evocative dungeon environments, and he doesn’t disappoint. While the PCs explore the underground tomb of a royal family, they have to deal with clever traps and discover the proper use of numerous magical tricks, from enchanted statues to objects providing hints for further adventures (either by PPP or of the DM’s own design). It is a major strength of the module that the puzzles go beyond rolling dice or simply solving a riddle (although both of these types are found as well). There are tricks within tricks, traps which could provide clever players with rewards, non-standard magic items with hidden purposes and powers, and numerous neat but easy to miss additions which give PCs a feeling of accomplishment when and if they figure them out. Of course, there is a fair amount of combat too - there are few enemies but they are usually pretty powerful for a mid-level party. There are the usual spectres and wights, new monsters, and two monstrous NPCs with their own histories and agendas.
If I had to point to a weakness, I would mention the level’s linearity - some sections may only be reached after accomplishing X at location Y, which is a gentle but nevertheless irritating example of railroading. The amount of things to do, however, makes this complaint a light one indeed.
The second scenario, Warren of the Ghools, describes a small cave system inhabited by a horde of undead. The “ghools” (who are more closely related to the Arabic desert-dwelling ghouls than the usual D&D monster) are an organized society ruled by their own monarch. Accordingly, much of the action here is going to be dedicated to combat. If the players are reckless, they may easily face well over one hundred opponents, not to mention the various “lords”, “earls” and “dukes” or the ghool spellcasters. The key to success is avoiding being surrounded and dealing with the opposition groups individually - a good test of strategy, when the first level was more about the tactics of eliminating a small number of individually powerful antagonists.
Beyond offering a combat challenge, the level is notable for evoking a sense of wonder. In most fantasy games, magic and monsters are hardly “fantastic” elements since they are being taken for granted by the players. Rob Kuntz possesses a gift for providing glimpses into esoteric otherworlds and places of enchantment - here, he uses this gift to good effect. It is a long held opinion of mine that the fixation on “dungeon ecology” or “realism” has harmed the wondrous aspect of dungeoneering and that this has been unduly neglected. Well, Warren of the Ghools has more than enough to engage and occupy the imagination: demonic involvement, conduits to the Underworld, not to mention links to further adventures (again, to be provided by either PPP or designed by the DM).
In conclusion, Cairn of the Skeleton King is a highly original and potentially very entertaining dungeon module. Had it been published in 1980 or thereabouts, it would be just as fondly remembered as Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure (recently republished in Dungeon Magazine as Maure Castle and expanded with new levels in subsequent issues) or Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.
Of course, even a great adventure like Cairn has its share of flaws. Although the production values are good, more attention should have been paid to minor hiccups such as a few left-aligned text blocks or spelling errors – all of them could have been easily corrected with a little bit more care and an hour or two of extra work. On a more serious note, although Cairn is easy to insert into an average D&D campaign, the DM should exercise caution when considering the material rewards found therein. There are easily more than a dozen magical weapons on the first level alone, not to mention miscellaneous magic items – even if imaginative ones. It is probably best to reduce this wealth to a more sane level and even save some of the newly designed goodies for another haul.
None of this should be taken as a questioning of Cairn’s merits. It is just what the doctor ordered if you are looking for an old school dungeon adventure that can be run in a few sessions, plus if you are playing an out-of-print D&D edition, Castles&Crusades or Tunnels&Trolls (maybe other games with an ampersand in the title, too), you simply can’t go wrong with it. Myself, I feel my modest investment has been recouped and I look forward to the next module in the line.
Style: 4 Substance: 5
