''Avengers in Lankhmar'' is an adventure for the 2nd edition of the ''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

Plot summary

''Avengers in Lankhmar'' is an adventure in which the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

s, and three competitor teams of

non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...

s, search the city of

Lankhmar Lankhmar is a fictional city in the ''Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser'' stories by Fritz Leiber. It is situated on the world of Nehwon, just west of the Great Salt Marsh and east of the River Hlal, and serves as the home of Leiber's two antiheroes ...

for the fugitive assassin Elad Edals, using a timeline of events provided with the adventure that can be cross-referenced against street maps. The rogue has set traps for his pursuers, which the characters must contend with. The path and location of Edals at any time is fixed based on the timeline, but the characters can explore the city for clues or involve themselves in activities in Lankhmar. The adventure outlines specific events that will occur if the characters locate Edals or the other search teams, but all other events are left to random chance and the decision of the Dungeon Master.

Publication history

''Avengers in Lankhmar'' was published by TSR, Inc. in 1995.

Reception

Trenton Webb reviewed ''Avengers in Lankhmar'' for ''Arcane'' magazine, rating it a 9 out of 10 overall. He compared the adventure to the chase between the characters played by

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' T ...

and

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

in '' The Fugitive''. He cautioned that running an open system as found in ''Avengers of Lankhmar'' would be "fraught with danger, as even parties who have found all the clues can easily miss the finale. It's a risk worth taking, though, to experience ''Avenger's'' interwoven mini-scenarios running simultaneously." He also commented on Lankhmar itself, noting that it "offers a quality cast of extras and, since everybody in Lankhmar knows a secret, is plotting something and has a deadly enemy, there is a ring of authenticity to the hubbub of suspicious whisperings that make the scenario a success". He considered Edals the "star" of the adventure: "His traps range from killjoying through plain annoying to the inspired, so characters never know if opening the next door will trigger a fireball or cause manure or some love potioned citizen to fall on them." Webb concluded his review by saying: "With strong characters and combat, ''Avengers'' is a hectic and often confusing chase. The referee will be hard-pushed to keep track of who's where and who's doing what at which time, but then he knew the risks when he took the job. For players it's a refreshingly open scenario that is great fun to explore."

Reviews

* ''Dragon'' #227

References

Dungeons & Dragons modules Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1995 {{D&D-stub