''When a Star Falls'' 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 ...

for the first edition 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

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 ...

published by

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

in 1984. It was written by Graeme Morris and is intended for 6–10

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 between levels 3–5.

Plot summary

''When a Star Falls'' is an adventure in which the

s search for a fallen star, meeting challenges along the way which requires the PCs to deal with greedy derro, deceptive Sverfneblin and treacherous

clerics Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. The characters need to give the fallen star to its rightful owner, and the star's secrets are revealed as they journey. The PCs have an encounter with a monster called a memory web on the moors south-east of the Tegefed mountains, and learn of a falling star that reached the earth. They are encouraged to find it and bring it to Shalfey, an Elder Sage of the Tower of the Heavens.

Publication history

''UK4: When a Star Falls'' was written by Graeme Morris, and published by TSR in 1984 as a 32-page booklet with two outer folders. This module, like all those of the U and UK series, was developed by the TSR UK division. A remastered version of the adventure was published in the anthology '' Quests from the Infinite Staircase'' for ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 5th edition on July 16, 2024.

Reception

Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'', appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote '' The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin' ...

reviewed the adventure in ''

The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...

'' #73. Swan felt the entire UK series of modules had been high quality, and that this one was no exception. He suggested that the little "UK" symbol in the corner of certain TSR modules must be their secret code for quality. Swan felt the story of ''When a Star Falls'' is "rich enough to stand on its own," adding that designer Graeme Morris "goes out of his way to avoid the usual clichés ... the complex plot is easy to follow thanks to his crisp writing." Swan concluded that the adventure would hold the attention of even the most restless group of players, and that the adventure was "definitely worth checking out." Chris Hunter reviewed the scenario for ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

'' magazine. He started by pointing out his possible conflict of interest, given that the module was developed by his colleagues at TSR UK (which also published ''Imagine'' magazine). Hunter felt that the module was very good, providing a sound and interesting storyline and a suspenseful plot. Moreover, according to him, the module provides the dungeon master with all the information needed and it is presented in a clear and concise way, with errors minor or nonexistent. Looking hard for something to criticize, Hunter noted an "excessive use" of non-standard monsters (i.e. those from the ''

Fiend Folio ''Fiend Folio'' is the name of three separate products published for successive editions of the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). All three are collections of monsters. The bulk of the material in the first edition c ...

'' and ''

Monster Manual II ''Monster Manual II'' is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy roleplaying game. ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' ''Monster Manual II'' was a 160-page hardcover ...

''). He concluded the review by saying that "It may no longer be true for many products but as far as the UK series of ''AD&D'' modules goes, British is best!"

References

External links

United Kingdom Series (UK1 - UK7)
at the Acaeum.com {{DEFAULTSORT:When A Star Falls Dungeons & Dragons modules Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1984

Plot summary

Publication history

Reception

Further reading

References

External links