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"DA2 Temple of the Frog", TSR 1986
#1
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Quote:Green Death...
That's what old hands call the Great Dismal Swamp. For centuries, this tangled maze of sluggish watercourses, stagnant ponds, and festering marshes has defended Blackmoor's southwestern frontier. Large armies and smaller parties have disappeared altogether inside its vast, dripping, claustophobic corridors.
Among those who have dropped from sight in the arboreal hell is young Risa Aleford, one of Blackmoor's most important leaders. Carried off to the sinister City of the Frog, she is now being held by the eccentric Monks of the Swamp. By making the baroness captive, the deranged monks have seriously weakened Blackmoor at a time when enemies already threaten it from all sides.
Yet, even as the froggies gloat, the king of Blackmoor dispatches a small band of bold adventurers to the rescue. Deep into the Great Dismal Swamp they must go - far from sunlight and sanity - there to seek and save the captive baroness from the foul Monks of the Swamp. There to find - the Temple of the Frog.

Now available in Print on Demand and PDF formats from DrivethruRPG

-Havard
Currently Running: The Blackmoor Vales Saga
Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign
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#2
5 out of 5 smashed skulls!

The Temple of the Frog was the first adventure published by TSR. It first appeared in Supplement II (1975) and was based on Arneson's campaign. DA2 greatly expands on that adventure location and the backstory from Supplement II. Not only is the dungeon (Temple) itself presented, but DA2 also details the swamp and the city surrounding it. The main villain St Stephen is now connected to the City of the Gods which is next in line for the DA module series.

New in this 1980s style version is a an actual plot hook for getting the PCs to investigate the temple in the first place, introducing Rissa Aleford, as a damsel in distress. Also, as with the rest of the DA modules, there is a section on how to get the PCs back in time from the AC1000 Known World Setting (Mystara) if that is used, although this part can also be ignored. Unlike the other DA modules, DA2 does not have an NPC section detailing

Overall, this is a great treatment of what truly is a classic adventure which in my opinion deserves to be mentioned up there with the Keep on the Borderlands. The expansions added in this version complement the setting well and blends perfectly with the overall Blackmoor setting as detailed in the rest of the DA line providing possible connections back to DA1 and onwards to DA3. Should you only be interested in the dungeon itself, the rest can be ignored and the dungeon can be used multiple times if you want to play out scenarios where the temple has been rebuilt again, or assuming the Order of the Frog has several such structures.

In other words: great, high quality fun!


-Havard
Currently Running: The Blackmoor Vales Saga
Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign
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#3
DA2 review is up! Smile

-Havard
Currently Running: The Blackmoor Vales Saga
Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign
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#4
I often thought what other direction roleplaying could have taken if that time Mr. Arneson didn't find/spot/choose/get inspired by that ole frog-shaped piece of ceramic... This adventure module (or the generation of this adventure module) started a lot of things...
He's a real Nowhere man, sitting in his Nowhere land,
making all his Nowhere plans for Nobody.
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#5
Yep, that is true. Smile

The ceramic frog belonging to Arneson's mother was indeed the source of the Temple of the Frog, though the Monks of the Swamp probably predated this classic location. In a recent blog article I also speculated on the possible connection between the Temple of the Frog and the Moathouse from the Temple of Elemental Evil.

Great news for those missing a copy of DA2, it has now returned for sale in PDF format. Smile




-Havard
Currently Running: The Blackmoor Vales Saga
Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign
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#6
Is Temple of the Frog the only one of the DAs available so far? Has anyone picked it up, whats the quality on it?
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#7
Aegir Wrote:Is Temple of the Frog the only one of the DAs available so far? Has anyone picked it up, whats the quality on it?

I haven't seen any of the others yet. Not sure about the quality of the PDF for this one in particular, but from what I have heard, this new run of PDFs holds a much higher quality than the last time when WotC were selling PDFs.

If anyone knows more, I am also interested in hearing about it! Smile

-Havard
Currently Running: The Blackmoor Vales Saga
Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign
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#8
I have the original pdf, which means I could download this one for free. I can't remember offhand, but I think I posted over on the Piazza a while back that the new pdf has a map that is missing in the old one, but is itself missing one of the other maps. If anyone needs more details I can check it for you.
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Davey Carter Human Swordmaster
Tales from the Vales

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#9
Dave L Wrote:I have the original pdf, which means I could download this one for free. I can't remember offhand, but I think I posted over on the Piazza a while back that the new pdf has a map that is missing in the old one, but is itself missing one of the other maps. If anyone needs more details I can check it for you.

Do that please Smile I remember the discussion about missing maps. Would be nice to get that information out and maybe get them to fix it Smile

-Havard
Currently Running: The Blackmoor Vales Saga
Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign
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#10
WotC Classic Downloads! Now with even MORE missing maps Wink
Rob
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