''Rahasia'' is an

adventure module An adventure is a playable scenario in a tabletop role-playing game. These can be constructed by gamemasters for their players, and are also released by game publishers as pre-made adventure modules. Different types of designs exist, including ...

, self-published by DayStar West Media in 1980 and published by TSR, Inc. in 1983 and 1984, for the ''Basic Set'' rules of the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as 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 ...

. Its product designation is TSR 9115. It was designed by Tracy and Laura Hickman, and features artwork by

Jeff Easley Jeff Easley (born 1954) is an oil painter who creates fantasy Work of art, artwork for role-playing games, comics, and magazines, as well as non-fantasy commercial art. Early life Easley was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky in 1954. He spent time ...

and Timothy Truman.

Plot summary

In RPGA1 ''Rahasia'', the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), 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 tha ...

s seek to rescue an

elf An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...

maiden kidnapped and held in the Temple of the Sacred Black Rock, where they must break a curse, and take the evil Rahib prisoner. In the revised module B7 ''Rahasia'', the characters must rescue a group of elf women from the dungeons below a good elven temple that an evil cleric has taken over. An elven village is threatened by a dark Priest known only as the Rahib. He has kidnapped two of the village's fairest maidens and now demands that Rahasia, the most beautiful elf, surrender herself to free the others. The

s are drawn into this adventure when they find a plea for help from Rahasia. The only way to free the captured maidens is to enter an old temple, built upon the ruins of a wizard's tower buried under a mountain.

Publication history

The original ''Rahasia'' was written by Laura Hickman, and was first published in 1979 by DayStar West Media as a 32-page booklet. Daystar West Media was Tracy Hickman's private publishing company, and no more than 200 copies were ever printed. ''Rahasia'' was the first adventure published for the ''Night Ventures'' line. The Hickmans privately published the first two adventures that they wrote together, ''Rahasia'' and ''

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

'', which had become popular locally. However, the business associate Tracy was working with left the Hickmans to cover $30,000 in bad checks. They went into bankruptcy, and Tracy decided to sell their adventures to TSR, "literally so that I could buy shoes for my children". TSR decided not only to buy the modules, but hire Tracy as a game designer: "They said it would be easier to publish my adventures if I was part of the company. So, we made the move from Utah to Wisconsin." Tracy and Laura Hickman rewrote ''Rahasia'', which was published by TSR in 1983 as a sixteen-page booklet with an outer folder, with the code RPGA1, and was sold a limited edition available only to RPGA members. In 1984, TSR revised and compiled RPGA1 ''Rahasia'' and the second tournament module RPGA2 '' Black Opal Eye'', and published the combined adventure as B7 ''Rahasia'', a 32-page booklet with an outer folder, featuring cover art by

and interior art by Easley and Tim Truman. Rahasia (1979 Daystar West Media Edition)
/ref> This module was later featured in the compilation B1–B9 '' In Search of Adventure'' in 1987.

Credits

Design: Tracy and Laura Hickman
Editing: Curtis Smith
Cover Art:

Interior Art:

and Timothy Truman
Cartography: David S. "Diesel" LaForce and David C. Sutherland III
Art Direction: Ruth Hoyer

Reception

In Issue 73 of '' The Space Gamer'', Wayne Ligon commented "A nice story combined with an interesting temple complex makes this module a good one. The villains are well-portrayed and have definite objectives." Ligon felt that this was a good module because the emphasis is not on killing, and the adventure forces the players to think. The French RPG magazine ''La Gazette du Donjon'' gave this adventure a rating of 2 out of 5, saying "''Rahasia'' offers a delicate challenge to adventurers since they must avoid killing their bewitched opponents. Some encounters are interesting, but there are still some areas for improvement. Finally, let us note the classic introduction: the call to aid a captive princess."<

References and Footnotes

External links