''Zienteck'' is an adventure for

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 ...

s published by

Judges Guild Judges Guild is a game publisher that has been active since 1976. The company created and sold many role-playing game supplements, periodicals and related materials. During the late 1970s and early 1980s the company was one of the leading publish ...

in 1981.

Plot summary

''Zienteck'' is an adventure scenario intended for characters of level 5-9 which takes place inside a vast dungeon complex. The book includes detailed tables for generating wandering monster encounters and descriptions of several wilderness encounters around the area. Legends tell that what is left of the stronghold of the wizard Zienteck lies beyond the infamous Black Angel Woods, and that his books of magic and treasure may have survived the destruction caused by Griendal the Dragon. This adventure also includes encounter tables for locations such as the Black Angel Woods and the Dragon Mountains, game statistics for two new monsters (black angels and fire chameleons), maps of the wilderness and the lair of the dragon, and details of the Zienteck dungeon with an optional map for the players.

Publication history

''Zienteck'' was written by

Mark Harmon Thomas Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor, writer, producer, television director and former American football, football player. He is best known for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs on ''NCIS (TV series), NCIS'' ...

, and was published by

in 1981 as a 32-page book. TSR chose not to renew its ''Dungeons & Dragons'' license with

when that license expired in September 1980. Judges Guild was able to keep their ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' license for another year, allowing them to publish adventures like '' The Illhiedrin Book'' (1981), ''Zienteck'' (1981), ''

Trial by Fire Trial by fire may refer to: Law * Trial by fire (law), a form of trial by ordeal Film and television Films * Trial by Fire (1995 film), ''Trial by Fire'' (1995 film), a 1995 television film starring Keith Carradine * Trial by Fire (2008 film), ' ...

'' (1981), and '' Portals of Twilight'' (1981) before ending that line.

Reception

Anders Swenson reviewed '' The Illhiedrin Book'' and ''Zienteck'' for ''

Different Worlds ''Different Worlds'' was an American role-playing games magazine published from 1979 to 1987. Scope ''Different Worlds'' published support articles, scenarios, and variants for various role-playing games including ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Rune ...

'' magazine and stated that "Both of these books are cheap, showing a lack of the careful editing which is becoming characteristic of the major FRP houses these days. It would seem that Judges Guild has simply failed to advance their standards to keep pace with the other established publishers of adventure gaming material. Few other line, however, offer such inexpensive products, and there probably lies the tale." W. G. Armintrout 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 ...

'' No. 55. He commented that "There are a few bright spots – a monster custom-designed by old Zienteck himself, and murals in the dungeon that clue the adventurers in as to what originally went on there. A DM will have few problems running this adventure." He called it "Just a hack-and-slash adventure. All clues are worthless, the wilderness map is 80% unexplained ..and the narrator's idea of wit makes my gorge rise. The only NPCs are the dragons themselves." Armintrout concluded the review by saying, "What a bore! An intrepid 12-year-old could do just as well, and perhaps better. Don't buy ''Zienteck''."

References

{{reflist Judges Guild fantasy role-playing game adventures Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1981