Shangri La
Zoranu
AD&D 1e
Lvl 8-12
Pages: 41 + 7 maps
Classification: Battlecruiser
Whenever I think that we have peaked, you guys kick me in the teeth. Yeah we’ve had the platonic B/X tournament module, yeah we’ve had the gygaxian sequel to D3, yeah we’ve had the artisinal venture into the abandoned shrine of dark buddism, sure we’ve had ourselves the platonic starter domain adventure for ACKS, yes we’ve had an OD&D version of Elden Ring, ok we did indeed do Death Frost Doom II: Death Frost Doomer, yes we did a charming vampire lair, a night wolf inn by way of B/X, of course we did the ceremonial disqualified entry and sure we went into a giant cosmic space worm to fight a brain thing but somewhere, somehow, I figured you guys would be running out of steam right now. Oh no. We are doing what I think might be a damn fine Huso impression, to the point of copying his statt blocks and treasure notation and using a class from an obscure Dragon magazine article.
First thing to get out of the way. This thing is not quite in its final form. There’s stats missing for the Frostmen and for that matter, other creatures, some items, definetely some of the treasure needs to be labelled I have no idea if it quite breaks the NAP restriction but my hunch is YES PROBABLY PRINCE and its not always clear what leads into where. Also it would have to go through a pass to see if we aren’t STEALING DADDY WOTC’S IP. There’s some I’s needing to be crossed and some T’s needing to be Mistered. It is almost more of an outline then an immediately gameable thing. HOWEVER.
This is great. Exactly what a high level adventure needs to be. The distant valley of Shangri-La is said to offer peace and enlightenment, protected by the gentle hand of Asura. Emperors have beggared their realms searching for a means to escape the crushing wheel. THAT WAS THEN. Unbeknownst to the outer world, the Crown of the World has become the site of a titanic war between the powers of lawful good and the hordes of Tiamat. Draped in illusion, the monastary is now home to the cult of tiamat and her draconic and infernal retainers. For 8-12???
Proper overland component, think S4 or WG4 but COLD and 14.000 ft up. Level 8-12 so FORGET about taking a comfy shortcut. Attrition by the cold until you find a rare green valley. Not the excessive bullshit of the Wilderness Exploration Guide, but enough so that you have to plan. Encounter distance and placement (on the same ledge, ledge above etc.) is considered and given ample tables. Random encounters are pretty sick, managing to be both atmospheric and interesting on a gameplay level. There’s sights, different occupants of either Icy or green valleys, encounters on the trail, you name it. Someone infused Tibet with a dose of WAR IN HEAVEN. And its perfect. The forlorn mountain region is an analogy for another world, now made truly otherworldly by its location as a battleground for higher and lower powers.
There is shit to do in this valley also. Bands of giants to be plied or allied with (there’s five other factions in this area?), the accursed spirits of dead monks to contend with, horrible storms, a demonic skyburial shrine to loot, Ymir’s daughters to bang, herds of creepy human cattle to carry off and sell, shrines to otherwordly deities to visit. Its fantastic, grand, majestic. A mythic, deadly odyssey. The world is your motherfucking oister. There’s references to other locations that are left up to the DM to expand, say, the mysterious and secret Quiet Halls of Dumathoin. There’s a nod to G3 and a tie in to Nightwolf Inn. It feels HUGE.
The challenge is one of organization. There’s an order of battle right? This is a complex area with sentries, an alarm condition, minotaurs ferrying out of their minotaur pueblo, devils that can teleport at will, dragons that return periodically etc. You want to put all the critical information in a single location so the DM can refer to that when the shit inevitably hits the fan.
This thing is great. Effective use of illusions. Social component. There’s some sort of extraplanar gambling den that functions as neutral ground for all the neutral-evil potentates of the realm, there’s guys trying to sell their soul and get a good deal, there’s a gateway into an abode of HELL (certainly a legally distinct hell), a secret ENLIGHTENMENT demiplane somewhere in the monastary, factions of critters (xill) pulling all sorts of crazy shit, aliens, dragons, every type of devil, the whole shabang. You want a place of safety and refuge in the casino run by a Rakshasa, you go to the Highest Stakes table and you do a draw from the Deck of Many Things. Goes Hard. Little areas that are revealed if you enter the ethereal plane. The challenge is that you have to sort of extract it from the text, consider a way in which it might unfold if the players start exploring, and then apply that. You must READ. Mucho, or as you get to the tail end, No Es Suficiente texto. You want to play this? You put statblocks under every encounter. Also you explain your interpretation of what you can or cannot do in the Ethereal Plane since NO ONE KNOWS.
The rest of the review shall be rapped in characteristically ill-conceived yet undeniably rapturous fashion:
Hey yo sexy mama yo lets go to Shangri-La
I’ll show you all the keyed locations that you love
Put dat pressure on the playas like the boys been dreamin of
Boy dey got gp in the millions yeah you can never get enough
You want items we be stacking rangz o’ wishes, avengers, laser pistols and some ‘facts (Artifacts uh)
You want that extraplanar stuff, super lethal. Yeah you got it stack em Devils.
You say you wanna explorate. Yo lets explorate.
Environmental, heights, underwater yeah lets hex-plorate (inter-action)
You wanna hussle, open-ended yeah we get dem factions
Freeing prisoners, makin deals yeah you you get that attraction
In that secret dimension of Asura, were all the revelations be had
Through the brazen gates in Avernus, all dem devil haters be mad
Trapped in brimstone, seared to the bone, lava pocket yeah you better act quick,
Abishai nursery, Night Hag market, secret password yeah lets boat down the styx
This aint no monster hotel, funhouse or storygaming shit
This is that real old school E. E. O-TRIPLE-G GY-GIX
The items and monsters look above board, but I got some reservations
Can you look me in the eye, and say you abode by my legations
And if I ask you, did you playtest, will I see your palpitation
When you hop into my Artpunk Ride, and we ride out to conquer nations
Is it hard? Yeah its hard. Motherfuckah play smart
Bet it all, in and out quick and get that money or you motherfucking die hard
This aint no Socrates, Nietzsche, Evola or Descartes
We is Platonic motherfucker, High Level Gaming ah la carte
Rah.
Age of Dusk 
As a fellow contestant, I can only say how relieved I am to hear that this entry probably violates the contest rules. It’s not like I’m going to win, but I don’t want to be straight-up embarrassed. The text almost reads like haiku. It strikes me as if a legendary DM took his impromptu notes and assembled them for slightly-more general consumption. Bravo, Zoranu!
Speaking of haiku…Prince, how do I put this? Was that meant to be a rap? Your legendary eloquence does not lie in that direction.
LikeLike
For myself, I was fairly impressed with his rhyme-spinning.
; )
LikeLike
I think it passes, probably. I have no idea how I am even going to begin to make a choice between all this stuff. Insane.
Just wait until da album dropz. Grograp will live again.
LikeLike
Don’t give up the day job,
Rapping ain’t your way to earn an honest Bob.
It might just be the January blues but I’m not liking this as a whole. There’s some fine set pieces in there, eg: ancient red dragon as a sorceress, but it just seems as though there’s too much stuffed into the pie and even a single bite will leave me stuffed.
LikeLike
Is…is that what I think it is?!? You better remove Gargoth or Ed Greenweed will appear and force you to play one of his Forgotten Realms dungeons!
(FWIW I spent a considerable amount of time as a teenager making dungeons for the abodes of each of the archdevils, based on Ed Greenwood’s articles in Dragons #75, 76, and 91. They weren’t very good. I briefly entertained entering one of them or one of the other horrible modules for levels 14+ I made in junior high in this contest but that would be worse than Kent. I’m simply not that evil.)
Also, which obscure Dragon magazine class got used? Death Master or something else?
LikeLike
I was always partial to the sentinel.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I LOVE the sentinel.
LikeLike
“Also, which obscure Dragon magazine class got used? Death Master or something else?”
The Illrigger from Dragon #106
LikeLike
Thanks! I was wondering about that, ‘illrigger’ seemed to be the most likely indication of a class in the review. I’ll have to check that out. Issues #75-99 were my specialty so that one falls right outside the ones I know the best.
LikeLike
Oh interesting. I remember this issue, #106. I think I was more focused on the Ranger articles than the alternate paladins. Interesting.
LikeLike
All right. This one tears at my heart a bit.
I read “Shangri-La,” saw the picture, read “AD&D 1E” and my heart soared. OF COURSE, this would be a proper high level adventure…the quest for Shangri-La is the perfect subject matter, impossible of being screwed up.
And here we go: War in heaven come to earth! Devils! Monks! Meat men! Crucified giants! Dig it!
There are obvious issues. A scattering of random thoughts. Things not all working together. An 18th level half-elf. These are problems.
This sounds like Big Trouble in Little China (or…perhaps…The Golden Child) taken to the next level and written-up for AD&D. I kind of love it. And yet, I kind of…don’t?
Should this have been AD&D interpreted through Oriental Adventures? Not necessarily. And yet there’s very much a mishmash of eastern and western themes at work here. Which isn’t bad, for my taste. No more than the mixed SciFi…I absolutely love the quote from Bahamuz! Yes, please.
But is there a missed opportunity here?
I dislike the magic murals, the sphere of annihilation, the insane mind flayer. Kind of hate “DM’s discretion” for Gargoth’s motives and relationship to the adventure. Eye of the deep desiring sunglasses? 500K in silver? Random Stygian River rules? No, not really.
[Eye of the deep eggs? What?]
The scope of the premise here is VERY GOOD. The execution is a little…mm…half-baked. This was probably (in part) a time issue…certainly regarding the tightening of the theme. I sympathize. Other things need a bit more thought and (perhaps) some editing.
The task was obviously attacked with much gusto; Zoranu has verve, I’ll give him that! I wouldn’t mind reading this in its entirety, simply to purloin his ideas.
; )
LikeLike
I can grok the 18th level half-elf cleric as a sort of ascended champion of Tiamat. This adventure is pretty great. Edgewise will also have to stifle his disappointment because I think it passes the bar (I was informed Frostmen were FF entries). The theme should definetely NOT be tightened, as is this is a glorious blend of interwoven elements. Do not, under any circumstances, change those.
However, towards the end you can tell the context deadline was approaching, so towards the end descriptions are a bit less tight, treasure values begin to drop off, the night hag market is cool but also a bit ruffled. I love all the open-ends into the planes btw.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Disappointment stiffled. Not too hard because this one seems like a lot of fun.
LikeLike
Oh yes, Frost Men are from the Fiend Folio. In the early days of 3.x I wanted to run G2 and entertained replacing the frost giants with frost men to make it more level appropriate to my group. I’m glad I didn’t do that. G2 isn’t as fun as G1 so I lost interest.
LikeLike
I am a fan of the Frost Man and have used it to good effect, even in OD&D (I genuinely like MOST of the Fiend Folio monsters)…just not in huge numbers, since this invariably leads to awkward questions (re Frost Man ecology). Extra-planar shenanigans generally circumvent such inquiries, however, so…good!
I can understand “ascended champions,” BUT…is there a reason such a character need be a half-elf? I mean, I get it…”Tanis Half-Elven” is a poke at DragonLance (something you’ll see more of in my NAP entry this time ’round…). But in terms of the SCENARIO, is it necessary to tie the character to the race? Does he need the half-elf racial abilities? Are the NPC’s ties to both human and elf “culture” pertinent to what’s going on?
Having had some (emailed) conversations with Zoranu about adventure design, the guy seems to have some pretty solid ideas to steer by: that’s very much to the good. He’s also a little twisted (which I dig). These two traits don’t always complement each other. Threads don’t have to be terribly tight, but they can’t be too loose that pulling at one or two cause the whole thing to unravel.
As said, I wouldn’t mind reading this in its entirety. And Mr. Z has actually just emailed me a copy to peruse (thank you!). So, perhaps I’ll be changing my tune after I’ve been able to behold the thing in all its splendor.
; )
LikeLike
Another W for mock-Buddhist theming!
Also, rather incongruously, Dragonlance homages and ripoffs are strong with this one.
Also also, holy copyright infringement Batman! (Guilty myself by referencing Gruumsh and Corellon, covered by the fig leaf of “fan content”).
LikeLike
I’m not normally a fan of dragons, especially dragons in human form, but this adventure is so evocative and done so well thematically it’s awesome and makes me want to run it. I hope the author releases a more complete revised form as it does look like they ran out of time.
I’m also impressed with the variety of entries. Theres kind of something for everyone and all kinds of high level play styles.
LikeLike
So, Zoranu was kind enough to provide me a copy of his adventure for perusal. He also asked me to provide some (public) comments on it. Here’s what I’ll say:
– My initial thoughts/assumptions were pretty much confirmed after a full reading of the thing: it IS evocative and awesome-sauce. It is also half-baked and has mechanical issues.
– The good is the theming here; this is full-on, campaign level goodness; there is a LOT going on in the adventure, mostly good stuff. Lots of great ideas, very good flavor, much of which is taken from Z’s own campaign, which takes cues from near-eastern culture (northen Iran, Tibet/Nepal/Northern India). Quite cool, though it needs some interpretation for western eyes (an overview would have been helpful).
– Editing, however, is an issue. Not just rule/mechanic issues (Zoranu admits to being rather new to AD&D and it shows…even the pre-gens ignore normal class/level restrictions), but in terms of “information expression” (is that a thing?). Something to keep things straight. Here is an Adult black dragon. Oh, wait, no he’s an Old black dragon. Etc.
– Editing is also needed in terms of tightening the theme. There is a LOT going on…which is great. But it’s unfocused in terms of the scenario itself. There are multiple bits, each of which could be “its own adventure.” The secret dwarf stronghold (un-detailed). The different giant factions and their machinations. The Frost Men from space (with their unrelated motivations). The hotbed/nexus of regional rulers seeking favor from hell’s courtiers. The night hags etc. Too many ideas (good ideas!) in too small an area. The pocket hell shard is too small to be taken seriously, but too big to be a side area. There’s a certain amount of “oo, this would be AWESOME, let’s throw it in” that detracts from the whole. Players are already debating the morality of bringing “Meat Men” to market (or eating them) and then you hit them with something completely out of left field (like characters from Tolkien’s Silmarillion hanging around). Do that too many times and suddenly your campaign has gone from “cool/evocative” to “gonzo/weird.”
For me, this is multiple adventure scenarios, not a single one. Rather than a modular scenario that can be slotted into a campaign and approached from several angles, it is several scenarios with only a single hook/approach provided. It lacks a focus for the action. Other issues (usability issues, too many “new” items/monsters, mechanical inconsistencies) are all secondary considerations; despite being pertinent to Prince’s contest, THOSE are all things that can be cleaned up…rather easily…with a bit more time and attention.
There IS a very good adventure in here…more than one, really.
; )
OH, last thing: the scope and scale of this is off. It should be for higher level AD&D characters. 10th to 14th at least, and probably 12th+. Shangri-La will eat lower leveled parties for breakfast. The sheer amount of magic resistance alone will make it an INCREDIBLY frustrating romp (and a likely TPK) for lowered level characters.
LikeLike
Maybe I got my WordPress to work finally?
Prince thanks for the review and for hosting this challenge. This was awesome and all the entries are inspiring.
Edgewise thanks for the compliments it means a lot.
Blackrazor thanks for the read and the feedback.
I’ll put some thought into the Ethereal Plane rules, spacing out the HELL pocket dimension, and getting some better info design so it would be easier to run. Very helpful feedback!
Is there a magic phrase I can put in the document to save me from getting bad-touched by WOTC? If not I’ll do a scrub.
Excited to see the rest of these great high level adventures.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Try using the following fig leaf:
is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards
of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
LikeLike
OMG IT’S BEEN FOUR DAYS AND WE HAVEN’T RECEIVED ANOTHER ART PUNK III REVIEW. IEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!
LikeLike
Halfway through the next entry. We will get there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
In a fun instance of coincidence, there’s a very similar half elf character in the first official 5e campaign book, Horde of the Dragon Queen!
https://tolas.fandom.com/wiki/Talis_the_White
I dig everything that Zoranu is spittin’ here. Maybe not so much Prince’s ;P keep working on that rhyme life, it ain’t easy.
LikeLike
This is probably more then coincidence, and I suspect some white-washing might be advisable before the publish button is hit.
LikeLike
It’s a spoof of Tanis Half Elven from the original Dragonlance.
I’m confident that “Talis” from the new WOTC dragon series is a reference to Tanis as well
LikeLike
and yes will need to scrub some WOTC IP out of this thing.
LikeLike
Keep Tiamat if you can. Such a rad idea having a dragon cult invade Buddhist Garden of Eden.
LikeLike