PROOFREADERS VERSION

DARK TOWER VOLUME 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

JAQUAYING THE DUNGEON BY JUSTIN ALEXANDER ........................................3

MORE THAN A DUNGEON BY JAMES MALISZEWSKI .........................................10

DARK TOWER LEVEL CONNECTIONS BY JUSTIN ALEXANDER .....................12

“RICHES, POWER, GLORY AND DEATH! ALL ARE IN DARK TOWER

BY STEPHEN NEWTON ..............................................................................................15

DARK TOWER BY JENNELL JAQUAYS. JUDGES GUILD #88, 1980

BY JOHN D. RATELIFF.................................................................................................17

DARK TOWER LEVEL 1 EXPANSION: THE BUNKER BY JON HERSHBERGER 19

RETURN TO THE DARK TOWER BY ERIK MONA ................................................23

JUDGES GUILD DARK TOWER REPRINT ...............................................................25

PROOFREADERS VERSION

JAQUAYING THE DUNGEON

by Justin Alexander - Revised for Dark Tower

I
believe that dungeons should always be heav- players are experiencing the thrill of truly exploring the
ily jaquayed. dungeon complex.
Okay, it’s true. I’m just making up words now. By contrast, many dungeons—particularly modern
In the case of jaquaying, the term refers to Jennell Jaquays, dungeons—are extremely linear in their design. Their
who designed Caverns of Thracia, Griffin Mountain, and, maps are beautifully rendered and gorgeous to display
of course, Dark Tower, along with dozens of other old school on a virtual tabletop, and they may even, at first glance,
classics for Judges Guild, Chaosium, Flying Buffalo, and appear quite convoluted, with corridors that twist and turn
TSR before transitioning to video game design. In the latter every which way.
capacity she wrote several essays describing how she designed
But as you follow those “twisting” corridors, you will more
maps for Halo Wars. For example:
often than not discover that there are no choices to be made.
Memorable game maps spring from a melding of design A hall may turn, but ultimately it has only one destination.
intent and fortunate accidents. In these linear dungeons, the pseudo-choices the players
make will lead them along a pre-designed, railroad-like
Jennell Jaquays – Design Notes for “Crevice”
route—sometimes because the designer doesn’t know any
That’s timeless advice, and a design ethos which extends better, sometimes because they want to force the players
beyond the RTS levels she helped design for Halo Wars and through a predetermined sequence of contrived set pieces.
reaches back to her earliest works. In a jaquayed dungeon, on the other hand, the choices the
What Jaquays particularly excelled at in those early Judges players make will have a meaningful impact on how the
Guild modules, and continues to excel at today, was non-lin- adventure plays out.
ear dungeon design. Some would argue that a railroaded, linear design is “easier
For example, in Caverns of Thracia, Jaquays includes three to run.” But I don’t think that’s actually true to any appre-
separate entrances to the first level of the dungeon. And ciable degree. In practice, the complexity of a jaquayed
from Level 1 of the dungeon you will find two conventional dungeon emerges from the same simple structures that make
paths and no less than eight unconventional or secret paths up a linear dungeon. The room the characters are currently
leading down to the lower levels. (And Level 2 is where in has one or more exits: What are they going to do in this
things start to get really interesting!) room? Which exit are they going to take?

The result is a fantastically complex and dynamic envi- The choices the players make will have complex and unpre-
ronment: you can literally run dozens of groups through dictable results that will cascade through the entire adven-
this module and every one of them will have a fresh and ture, but the actual running of the adventure isn’t more
unique experience. complicated as a result.

But there’s more value here than just recycling an old On the other hand, the railroad-like quality of the linear
module. That same dynamic flexibility which allows multi- dungeon is not its only flaw. It also eliminates true explora-
ple groups to have unique experiences also allows each indi- tion, for the same reason that Lewis and Clark were explor-
vidual group to chart their own course. In other words, it’s ers, whereas when I head down I-94, I am merely a driver.
not just random chance that’s resulting in different groups It can significantly inhibit the players’ ability to make mean-
having different experiences. Each group is actively making ingful strategic choices. It is, frankly speaking, less interest-
the dungeon their own. They can retreat, circle around, ing and less fun.
rush ahead, go back over old ground, poke around, sneak All right, but even if it’s just as easy to run a jaquayed
through, interrogate the locals for secret routes… the possi- dungeon as it is to run a linear dungeon, then surely it must
bilities are endless because the environment isn’t forcing be much more difficult to design such a dungeon, right?
them along a pre-designed path, and throughout it all, the
No, actually!
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 PROOFREADERS VERSION
Once you understand the basic principles of jaquaying, it’s LOOPS
actually quite easy to use a handful of techniques to add its Branching paths in a dungeon allow for choice, but are still
dynamic strength to your dungeon design. In fact, you’ll functionally linear in their design. (In practice, you will
discover it’s even quite trivial to take a linear dungeon and follow a branch to its end, backtrack, and then go down a
rapidly jaquay it with just a few simple tweaks. different branch. But each branch still presents an independ-
ent linear experience.) Where things get interesting is when
THE JAQUAYS TECHNIQUES you grab a couple of those branches and hook them together
into a loop. These loops are the basic building blocks for
Let’s start by looking at some of these basic techniques non-linear dungeons: they provide real strategic and tactical
employed by Jaquays. choices; make exploration meaningful; and allow players to
Some of these techniques are designed to offer complex find alternative routes around or through potential threats.
geographic relationships (out of which meaningful choices
can naturally arise). Others are designed to confuse the MULTIPLE LEVEL CONNECTIONS
mapping of the complex (or, even in a game without player If there is only a single route leading to the next level of the
mapping, to confound their general understanding of the dungeon, the complexity of the current level collapses into
complex). The point is not (necessarily) to create a maze- a chokepoint. But if you introduce multiple connections
like environment, but rather to create an environment of between the dungeon levels you create a synergy between
sufficient complexity that the “hand of the author” and complex level designs. Just as you create new structural loops
the underlying structure of the dungeon environment by including multiple entrances to the dungeon, each addi-
become obfuscated. tional connection you draw between levels creates new loop-
ing paths through the dungeon.
MULTIPLE ENTRANCES
Multiple entrances give the players an immediate strategic DISCONTINUOUS LEVEL
choice as they approach the dungeon complex. Hidden CONNECTIONS
secondary entrances also reward exploration both inside In a linear design, the levels of a dungeon must proceed in
and outside the dungeon, allowing for favorable approaches their predetermined order. Level 1 leads to Level 2. Level 2
and quick escapes. In terms of structure, multiple entrances leads to Level 3. Level 3 leads to Level 4.
effectively create an additional “loop” (see below) through
the surface above the dungeon. But once you introduce multiple connections between
levels, you are free to have some of those connections skip
• In Dark Tower, for example, there are a half dozen levels. For example, there might be an elevator on Level 1
entrances to the dungeon scattered around the village that takes you down to Level 3. Or a hidden tunnel on Level
on the surface: 4 that takes you back to the surface a half mile away from
• The trapdoor in Cornelius’s hovel (V-2, leading to 1-1) the dungeon’s main entrance.
• The trapdoor beneath Avvakris’s manor (V-5, leading
to 1-18) SECRET & UNUSUAL PATHS
These are fairly self-explanatory. They reward curiosity and
• The shaft in the pit trap beneath Avvakris’s manor (V-5,
exploration, and can also breathe fresh life into areas of the
leading to 1-42)
dungeon that have already been traversed.
• The cellar entrance from the Overlord’s Inn (V-7, lead-
One thing to note is that not every secret path needs to take
ing to 1-21)
the conventional form of a camouflaged doorway. Multiple
• The trapdoor under the constabulary (V-10, leading variations exist. Tunnels that have suffered cave-ins. Traps
to 1-46) that drop you to lower levels. Archaic teleportation systems
• The tunnel from the old tower (V-11, leading to 1-45) that must be decoded. Rope bridges that cross over caverns
that can also be explored from below. A submerged bypass
• The shaft in the old tower (V-11, leading to 1-36) connecting two seemingly unrelated lakes.
Each entrance allows the characters to engage the dungeon in And here, too, you benefit from the non-linear design of
a different way; but each also represents a different method the jaquayed dungeon. Because there are other viable paths
of retreat should the dangers of the dungeon threaten to for the players to explore, you can include truly esoteric,
overwhelm them or otherwise cut off their escape. Many of unusual, and flavorful paths that may be missed by the
these entrances are, in fact, hidden (see “Secret & Unusual unwary (and, therefore, appreciated all the more by those
Paths,” below), rewarding or even requiring exploration. who do discover them).

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As an extreme example of this, consider area 1-33 of Dark
Tower. In this chamber, a mysterious black pyramid is, in
fact, the capstone of Set’s Tower. There’s no obvious means
of egress here, but clever characters may find a way to pass
through the tower’s walls or create an entrance of their own.

SUB-LEVELS
The distinction between a “level” and a “sub-level” is some-
what arbitrary, but perhaps the defining characteristic of
a sub-level is that it departs from the main “sequence” of
the dungeon. It may be smaller than the other levels of the
dungeon, it may be more difficult to reach, or both. As
such, sub-levels serve as boulevards of discovery or elaborate
shortcuts (or both).

DIVIDED LEVELS Thus, one can broadly think of the towers as forming a
Similar to the concept of a sub-level is that of the divided large “U,” with the characters most plausibly journeying
level. While existing within the main “sequence” of the down through Mitra’s Tower, crossing the fourth level of
dungeon, a divided level cannot be completely traversed the dungeon, and then ascending Set’s Tower. (Any number
without going through the levels above or below it. of factors, not to mention the intersecting dungeon levels,
will likely confound this in practice!)
For example, on the second level of the dungeon one might
find two staircases leading down to the third level. But on MINOR ELEVATION SHIFTS
the third level itself, there is no path that connects the two
staircases. (Or, if there is such a path, it may be incredibly When the characters come to a staircase, they may naturally
well hidden or difficult to traverse.) assume they are going up or down to a new level of the
dungeon. But by including minor elevation shifts within
You can see an example of this on Dungeon Level Three of the topography of a single dungeon level, you can confound
the Dark Tower dungeon, where Haffru-ng Helleyes’ apart- their expectations. Here’s an example from the Temple of
ment (3-16 through 3-19, 3-23, and 3-24) can be fully Elemental Evil:
navigated only by passing through areas 4-13 and 4-14 on
Dungeon Level Four. Here’s an example from Dyson Logos’ Underhive:

NESTED DUNGEONS
Nested dungeons are like sublevels or divided levels on ster-
oids. Imagine designing two distinct dungeon complexes,
then linking them at selected locations. (For example,
we might design the Lost Temple of the Gorgons and
the Obsidian Caverns, both as fully developed dungeon
complexes and each with multiple levels and sublevels. You
could nest the Lost Temple within the Obsidian Caverns by
creating two links between the complexes: a long passage on
the first level of the former might lead to the third level of
the latter, while a teleportation pad on the sixth level of the
latter might lead to the fifth level of the former.)
Of course, you don’t actually need to imagine this. You hold
in your hands one of the best examples of a nested dungeon
ever published:
In Jaquays’ Dark Tower, both Set’s Tower and Mitra’s Tower
are nested into the four primary levels of the dungeon.
Broadly speaking, you can enter Mitra’s Tower at the
top of the dungeon and exit it at the bottom, while Set’s
Tower is most easily entered at the bottom level and then
climbed to its top.
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In addition to short stairways and misleading slopes, you be accessed deep below Castle Greyhawk. I’ve read about
can also include tunnels that loop under each other while another GM incorporating the lost island of X1: The Isle of
technically remaining on the same “level” of the dungeon. Dread as a similar demi-plane within their megadungeon.
It’s also important to “think vertically” within rooms, too.
While such excursions can certainly breathe a little air into
These techniques aren’t just a matter of confusing your play- a claustrophobic dungeon delve, I think it remains an open
ers’ mapping. You are disrupting their ability to intuit the question where the distinction between an extradimensional
organization of your maps by analyzing the reality of the space that “belongs” to the dungeon and a teleportation
game world. While maintaining clean and simple maps for effect that entirely takes the characters out of the dungeon
your own use and reference, you are creating a world that lies. In practice, the line between the two is probably more
not only seems more dynamic and complex, but actually is a blur than a distinct demarcation.
more dynamic and complex.
Laying aside these broader questions, I include extradimen-
Basically, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that just because sional spaces in the list of jaquaying techniques because they
your map is two-dimensional that the world should be also allow you to superimpose multiple areas into a single
two-dimensional. geographic space.

MIDPOINT ENTRY
I don’t think Jaquays ever used this technique, but you can
THE PHILOSOPHY OF
also complicate the players’ approach to the dungeon by
creating immediate bilateral exploration. In other words,
JAQUAYING
T
characters entering a dungeon are usually only faced with here is a temptation to think of the complex-
one navigational question at the macro-level: “How do we ity arising from the Jaquays techniques as being
get down to Level 2?” inherently chaotic—a “funhouse dungeon” that
doesn’t make any logical sense. But while that certainly can
But if the characters instead enter in the middle of the be true, the reality is that these techniques often result in
dungeon—with levels above and below them—then they’re more realistic designs.
first faced with a tougher question: “Which way do we go?”
To demonstrate this, we’ll use Melan diagrams to quickly
Note that this decision point is similar to the one faced analyze the topographical design of “dungeons.” These
by characters who have “skipped” a level as a result of a diagrams were originally developed by EN World user Melan
discontinuous level connection, or those who have taken during a discussion in 2006. As he wrote in his original post:
advantage of a hidden entrance leading to a lower level of
the dungeon. The distinction of the midpoint entry is that [They are] a graphical method which “distils” the
it’s the expected, default entry point to the dungeon. (And in dungeon into a kind of decision tree or flowchart by
classic dungeon arrangements, where difficulty corresponds stripping away “noise.” On the resulting image, mean-
to dungeon level, the difficulty of the dungeon would dering corridors and even smaller room complexes are
increase in both directions away from the midpoint entry.) turned into straight lines. Although the image doesn’t
create an “accurate” representation of the dungeon map,
and is by no means a “scientific” depiction, it demon-
NON-EUCLIDIAN GEOMETRY
strates what kind of [navigational] decisions the players
If you want to have some real fun, consider using non-Eu- can make while moving through the dungeon.
clidean geometry. These Escher-inspired designs can result
in counter-intuitive navigation and may even result in the On these diagrams:
characters moving between levels without realizing that • Straight lines depict a sequence of rooms or hallways
it’s happened.
• Dotted lines indicate a path accessible only via a secret
You can find examples of non-Euclidean design in two of my entrance
own modules: The Lost Hunt, published by Fantasy Flight
• An end-capped gap in the line indicates a level transition
Games, and the award-winning Halls of the Mad Mage.
(stairs, ramp, etc.)
EXTRADIMENSIONAL SPACES For example, this simple dungeon:
Sections of a dungeon complex may lead into areas
completely beyond the dungeon itself while still remaining
intimately tied to the dungeon’s topography and/or expe-
rience. For example, the classic module EX1: Dungeon-
land detailed a Wonderland-inspired demi-plane that could

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Would be rendered like this as a Melan diagram:

It’s complex almost to the point of being un-gameable.

(Although I take that as a challenge even as I type it.)

SIZE
Thus, for example, we can also look at a Melan diagram of My decidedly non-palatial house also makes the point that
the layout of my house. Ignoring windows (which effectively dungeons don’t have to be large in order to take advantage
turn every room in a modern house into a potential point of jaquaying. For example, when I designed the Darkwoods’
of entry), it looks like this: Secret adventure, the dungeon map only featured a dozen
locations, but the flow of the dungeon looked like this:

I (tragically) don’t have much in the way of secret paths,

sub-levels, or non-Euclidian spaces, but even in this simple
structure we can see multiple midpoint entries and looping This smaller scale actually highlights the gameplay impact of
paths. I think if you take a moment to consider the archi- non-linear dungeon designs. It becomes very easy to see the
tecture in the world around you, you’ll discover that linear many different ways in which the dungeon can be played:
paths are by far the exception and not the rule. Can certain dangers be avoided? Will the characters or the
And yet, how often do we see adventure modules featuring a monsters determine the field of engagement? Where will
giant mansion without any windows? (Because if there were reinforcements come from? What viable lines of defense
windows, the characters would be able to break through can be held?
them and ruin the GM’s carefully orchestrated railroad.)
Nor is this effect limited to human-made structures.
BEWARE THE SPRAWL
Consider, for example, this map of Mammoth Cave in None of this, however, is to say that you should never use
Kentucky, complete with secret and unusual paths: branching paths or create chokepoints for accessing the
lower levels of the dungeon. (Any more than it is to say that
every single means of egress should be secret or unusual.) It
is merely to say that such features should be used to effect

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and not simply by default. Variety is the spice of dungeon This quote is taken from a different context, but Jaquays
design, after all. once again provides the solution. In order to successfully
navigate the dungeon, the players will need distinct, memo-
It’s also important to realize that there really can be too
rable landmarks to orient themselves.
much of a good thing: There’s a point at which endless loops
and countless connections within the dungeon result in If you’re designing a dungeon with lots of unique, interest-
meaningless choice instead of meaningful choice. In jaquay- ing features, this problem will generally take care of itself:
ing the dungeon it’s important to beware this featureless the players will glom onto whatever details particularly reso-
sprawl of ever-looping corridors. nate with them and use those details to guide themselves.
On the other hand, it can never hurt to do another quick
STRUCTURE IN THE DUNGEON pass on your design and add in a few deliberate landmarks: A
A comprehensive guide to effective dungeon design is large bloodstain. A unique statue. A room of strange runes.
beyond the scope of this essay, but there are a couple of Of course, players may also provide their own landmarks.
useful barometers you can use in the process of jaquaying. “Hey! It’s that ogre we killed last week. Awesome!”
Difficult vs. Easy: Looking at your map, there should be On the other hand, you may also be able to use landmarks
areas of the dungeon that are difficult to reach and areas that to mess with your players. Some landmarks could easily
are easy to reach. In saying this, I’m not specifically referring disappear (like an ogre’s corpse that gets dragged away by
to isolated secret rooms (although there’s nothing wrong scavengers). Those unreliable landmarks open up the ques-
with those), but rather to large sections of the dungeon. tion of how a missing landmark should be interpreted.
In making this assessment, you’re diagnosing whether you’ve (The runes are missing. Does that mean we’re in a different
made the dungeon too boring by making the choice of path room? Or have the runes vanished?) And some landmarks
through the dungeon irrelevant. You want the dungeon to that seem unique could easily prove otherwise. (There’s the
benefit from being interconnected, but if everything in the golden statue of a cyclops in a hexagonal room… but I
dungeon trivially connects to everything else then naviga- thought that was on the other side of the complex. Did we
tion becomes meaningless. get turned around?)

Far vs. Near: Similarly, have the interconnections made your To flip it around one last time, particularly crafty GMs
dungeon too shallow? Look at where the characters will be might hide reliable navigation information into seemingly
entering the dungeon. There should be areas of the dungeon unreliable landmarks.
that feel far away from those entrances. If everything in the
dungeon feels equidistant, break some of those connections JAQUAYING FOR FUN AND PROFIT
or delve a little deeper into your dungeon. In 2010, Jennell Jaquays gave an interview at Grognardia:
Note that “near” and “easy to reach” portions of the dungeon The core inspirations for Caverns of Thracia were threefold.
aren’t problems to be eliminated. What you’re looking for The first was to ally the various “beast” races of AD&D as a
is an effective balance in the mix between all four of these unified force. The second was to build encounters that took
design elements (difficult, easy, far, and near). place in multiple levels of a cave, where the open upper areas
were situated above open lower areas. The final inspiration
LANDMARKS (that I remember) was the rather primitive, but unique
Finally, the complexity of connections within a properly plate armor used by Mycenean soldiers. These became the
jaquayed dungeon can also leave the players feeling some- human guards of the upper reaches of the cavern.
what adrift. In some cases, this can be taken advantage of. Of obvious interest here is Jaquays’ second inspiration. I can
In other cases, it’s a problem that needs to be solved. personally testify to the effectiveness of these open caverns
I started map development by literally copying a large chunk in transforming the typical dungeon crawling experience.
of the Alpha Base ruins into one corner of the map. This They immediately force the players to think in three dimen-
established a particularly unique landmark in that corner. sions, while their ubiquity significantly contributes to the
These large landmarks in skirmish maps help players imme- memorable layout of the dungeon.
diately know where they are and let them navigate from The important revelation to be had here, in my opinion, is
point to point by in-game visual references. Ideally, each the effectiveness of clearly delineating a small list of concrete
“corner” of any skirmish map is visually unique, and this creative goals before beginning your dungeon. But notice
was my design goal with Terminal Moraine. that Jaquays’ list includes lots of other elements. Jaquaying
Jennell Jaquays – Design Notes for “Terminal Moraine” a dungeon isn’t the be-all and end-all of dungeon design.
Arguably it isn’t even the most important part, because you’ll
also need a strong concept, well-designed challenges, cool
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PROOFREADERS VERSION
locations, and so forth. But it is the essential part: the often When you’re actually running the Dark Tower, pay atten-
invisible foundation on which every other experience in the tion to how the jaquayed maps affect the players’ experi-
dungeon is built. ence. Then run it again and see how the entire experience
is transformed.
Building on that point, also notice that Jaquays only speci-
fies a single non-linear design technique in her list of creative Once you’ve drunk deep from this well, the bland and linear
goals. (And it’s actually a very specific variation of a gener- designs of other dungeons will become obvious to you. The
alized technique.) Although that is not the only non-linear next time you’re confronted by one of them, notice how
technique employed in the Caverns of Thracia, Jaquays’ riffs simple it would be to jaquay it. Add a second entrance. Add
on that theme are a definitive aspect of the module. an alternative staircase. Slip in a secret passage.
Here’s my point: earlier I listed a dozen jaquaying tech- If it takes such little effort to break the shackles of linear
niques. Next time you’re designing a dungeon, don’t feel design in a dungeon that already exists, think how utterly
like you need to cram ‘em all in. Instead, pick one of them effortless it will be to do it in your own dungeons.
and try to explore it in as many ways as possible while you’re
Jaquaying your dungeons is easy. It’s also fun. And this is
designing the dungeon. (If you want a more focused experi-
true of both the designing of the dungeon and the playing
ence, follow Jaquays’ example and try to narrow your design
of the dungeon. Nothing is more exciting for me as a GM
theme down to a specific variant of one technique—just
than to sit down at the table and know that I’m going to
like multi-level caverns are a specific form of unusual level
be just as surprised by my players as I hope that my players
connectors.)
will be by me.
As you’re reading through the Dark Tower and peering at
And when it comes to dungeon design, that’s the unique
its peerless maps, take the time to think about how Jaquays
and exciting experience that jaquaying unlocks.
has designed the flow of her dungeon. Dungeon Level Two,
for example, is a master class of level connections. Both — Justin Alexander is an actor, playwright, freelance writer
Dungeon Level One and Level Three of the dungeon loop (over 200 books, articles, and reviews), and RPG Producer
through Level Two, which also means they loop through for Atlas Games. His blog, The Alexandrian, is a site for
each other. Instead of being three separate experiences, they news, updates and a repository of his reviews, stories, and
are a single, unified experience, through which thrust the thoughts. It is agreed he coined the term “Jaquaysing the
discontinuous levels of the enigmatic towers. Dungeon” specifically when referring to Dark Tower. Check
out his upcoming book, So You Want To Be A Game Master.

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MORE THAN A DUNGEON

By James Maliszewski

O
f all the things I will write in this essay about similarly inspired, and it partly explains why this second
1980’s remarkable Judges Guild product Dark aspect of the book is so compelling. The other reason, of
Tower, I’d like to begin with a fact that I think course, is that the introduction of competing factions helps
is often overlooked. If you study its cover, you’ll see that, make the Tower more than just a place where the characters
in addition to noting that it is “created for & approved can explore, fight, and loot—no matter how fun all three of
for use with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons,” it proclaims those activities are. The characters now have the opportu-
Dark Tower to be a “fantasy game aid”—not an adventure nity to make and break alliances of their own, pitting one
or a scenario, but a game aid. I wish to be clear: Dark Tower Chosen Son of Set against another, as they make their way
is not unique in this regard. A great many Judges Guild through the four levels of the buried structures.
products use this same turn of phrase on their covers. What
Third, there’s the layout of the place itself, which is an exam-
it reflects—and what, in my mind, Dark Tower exempli-
ple of the same non-linear design for which Jaquays is regu-
fies—is a perspective on the purpose and role of a prepack-
larly (and rightly) praised. Though the book is called Dark
aged module, namely that it should be more than simply a
Tower, it features not one but two towers: the Tower of Set,
“dungeon” to be used once and then cast aside.
which provides the book’s title, and the White Tower of
Dark Tower has three noteworthy features that, I believe, Mitra, which stands beside it. Taken together, these two
demonstrate this. First, there’s the village of Mitra’s Fist, the buildings form the environs into which the player charac-
small settlement located not far from the eponymous Dark ters fling themselves. The connections between the levels
Tower and that might serve, temporarily at least, as a base for are many, with numerous stairs up and down, ascending
the player characters as they begin their explorations. Unfor- and descending passages, shafts, tunnels, and more. I’ll be
tunately, with a few notable exceptions, it’s largely inhabited honest: I often find it hard to keep track of them all. That’s
by nefarious individuals in the service of the dark god Set. not a criticism but rather a hallmark of locales designed
It’s an interesting subversion of the trope of the sleepy little by Jaquays, which typically make good use of verticality
village at the edge of Chaos and its presence contributes to to convey a sense of space that’s frequently lacking in the
Dark Tower’s overall feeling of lurking evil. designs of other creators.
Second, there are the factions contending both within and Taken together, these three elements make Dark Tower a
without the Tower, reflecting the divine rivalry between the challenging product to use, both for the referee and the play-
gods Mitra and Set. Back in 2010, I interviewed Jennell ers. As I said at the start of this essay, this is not a dungeon
Jaquays on my blog, Grognardia, where she spoke about to be used once and then cast aside. Rather, it requires—
the origins of this aspect of the book: nay, demands—to be explored slowly and carefully over
the course of many sessions, perhaps forming the basis of
“The whole Set vs. Mitra theme was greatly inspired by
an entire campaign, in line with the oldest traditions of
Conan the Barbarian fiction. I think the Conan story, ‘Red
the hobby. The GM needs to pore over the contents of
Nails,’ may have had some influence on the theme also, with
Dark Tower, getting a handle on how the levels relate to
its rival bands warring within an ancient, enclosed space.
one another, their contents, and the ambitious NPCs and
I’ve always been fascinated by archaeology and the idea of
factions that dwell therein. It’s not for nothing that the
excavating ancient ruins and finding them nearly intact. So
original Judges Guild version of the book included space
I extrapolated that to a pair of opposing towers dedicated
for the GM’s notes! Similarly, the players won’t have it any
to opposing gods and then buried by some catastrophe.”
easier. Though not utterly devoid of the forces of good, the
“Red Nails” is certainly one of Robert E. Howard’s best Dark Tower is an unforgiving place, stocked with deadly
Conan yarns and, for that reason, has served as the inspi- monsters, traps, and power-mad demigods jockeying for
ration for other roleplaying game products, such as Tom position against one another. If they don’t proceed with
Moldvay’s The Lost City (recently reprinted as part of Good- caution, the characters may end up dead—or worse.
man Games’s Original Adventures Reincarnated series).
Consequently, I’m not at all surprised that Jaquays was

10
PROOFREADERS VERSION
Dark Tower is regularly mentioned on lists of the greatest — James Maliszewski started roleplaying in the late Fall of
adventures ever written for fantasy roleplaying games, and 1979, when he opened a copy of the Dungeons & Dragons
with good reason. In terms of both its design and the play Basic Set edited by Dr. J. Eric Holmes originally purchased
it engenders, it’s clever and sophisticated, a cut above the for his father. More than 40 years later, he is still playing.
kinds of material we saw in the first decade of the hobby. As James is best known for his blog Grognardia, which was the
I have noted several times now, Dark Tower truly deserves focal point of the Old School Renaissance movement in its
to be called a “fantasy game aid,” because it offers so much early days. This blog is where James collects his memories
more than a mere space populated with monsters and treas- and musings about roleplaying games and related nonsense,
ures. Instead, it offers a situation—and a combustible one at as well as articles about the history of the hobby from its
that!—that could easily occupy players and GMs alike for earliest beginnings to the present day.
many enjoyable weeks or months. That’s a worthy accom-
plishment and a fitting testament to the skills and imagina-
tion of Jennell Jaquays.

11
 PROOFREADERS VERSION

DARK TOWER
LEVEL CONNECTIONS
by Justin Alexander – August 28th, 2021

able. (It may also be of some passing curiosity to those who

have read Jaquaying the Dungeon.)
The dungeons of Dark Tower are incredibly ingenious in
their design, with myriad and varied connections between
their levels. In practice, however, the presentation of the
dungeon can be somewhat murky, and a GM may easily
find themselves trying to riddle out the basic layout of
the dungeon.
Below, therefore, you’ll find an encyclopedic listing of every
level connection in the dungeon.

DUNGEON OVERVIEW
If you look at the side view of the dungeon above, there are
a few key features and clarifications to immediately note.
First, there are multiple entrances leading from the village

D
ark Tower (1980) is a classic adventure module by into the dungeon below.
Jennell Jaquays. Originally published by Judges Second, there are four levels to the dungeon. There are
Guild, it was one of several titles by Jaquays that multiple connections between these levels, but the progres-
revolutionized the genre. sion is linear (Dungeon Level One has entrances to Level
In the hinterlands of the world where civilization grows Two, which has entrances to Level Three, which has
dim, an isolated and seemingly innocent village has become entrances to Level Four). However, although this is true
dominated by cursed cultists of Set. of the GM’s maps, it is likely that the players will struggle
to cleanly intuit this due to the dungeon’s design, which
Beneath the village lies two towers—Mitra’s Fist, the first
includes split levels, minor elevation shifts, and, of course,
temple of the great god of good; and the Dark Tower, super-
the nested towers.
naturally raised by the black might of the serpent god Set
as his forces overthrew Mitra’s temple. The titanic forces Third, let’s consider the two towers. Broadly speaking, you
of this deific cataclysm triggered an avalanche that buried can enter Mitra’s Tower at the top of the dungeon and exit
the two towers. it on the bottom. The entrance to Set’s Tower, on the other
hand, is most easily entered from the bottom level and then
Centuries later, a new village was founded on the site and
climbed to its top.
began excavating the old temples… only to discover that
something inside had been digging its way out. Thus, one can broadly think of the towers as forming a large
“U,” with the PCs most plausibly journeying down through
The Dark Tower module consists of four devilish dungeon
Mitra’s Tower, crossing the fourth level of the dungeon,
levels beneath the village, pierced through by the twin towers
and then ascending Set’s Tower. (Any number of factors,
that still stand as stalwart bastions of two faiths locked in
not to mention the intersecting dungeon levels, will likely
eternal hatred.
confound this in practice.)
What we have in this post is a very specific tool that I believe
GMs looking to run Dark Tower will find absolutely invalu-
12
PROOFREADERS VERSION
Finally—and this is of particular importance!—the side 1-9 Tunnel to 2-2/2-7
view of the dungeon is incorrect! Although Level Two is
1-18 Trapdoor to V-5
depicted as intersecting Levels K and C of the towers, it
actually intersects Levels I and D. The actual side view 1-21 Cellar Door to V-7
should look like this: 1-27 Teleportation Gate to E-19 (one-way)
1-30 Window to L-22
1-31 Teleport Trap to 3-10 (one-way)
1-32 Stairs to 2-23
1-33 Capstone to L-20A (very secret, must break
through capstone)
1-36 Shaft to V-11
1-41 Teleporting Mist to C-7 (two-way)
1-42 Shaft to V-5
1-43 Teleporting Mist to 2-1 (one-way)
1-45 Tunnel to V-11
1-46 Trapdoor to V-10
NE Tunnel Tunnel to 2-18

LEVEL CONNECTIONS Note: On the original map there is a “To 2nd Level” that ap-
pears to indicate a tunnel coming from area 1-13. This tunnel
On the list below: is, in fact, a dead-end. The text should properly be located next
• X/Y indicates that the unkeyed level connection lies to the tunnel from area 1-9 (as indicated above).
between area X and area Y.
LEVEL TWO – EXITS
• L-20A refers to the empty version of the top level of Set’s
Tower described in the keys for areas L-20 and L-22. 2-2/2-7 Tunnel to 1-9

• One-way connections (teleportation traps, etc.) are indi- 2-5 Hole to 3-2
cated only from their point of origin. 2-12 Stairs to 3-19
• Tower stairs are indicated in only one direction but are 2-14 Cave to 3-5
traversable in both (unless noted otherwise).
2-15 Teleportation Hall to 3-11 (two-way)
ENTRANCES TO LEVEL ONE 2-18 Tunnel to NE Level One
V-2 Trapdoor to 1-1 (secret) 2-22 Stairs to 3-12
V-5 Trapdoor to 1-18 (secret) 2-23 Stairs to 1-32
V-5 Shaft to 1-42 (secret)
LEVEL THREE – EXITS
V-7 Cellar Door to 1-21
3-1 Rafters of 4-10
V-10 Trapdoor to 1-46
3-2 Hole in Ceiling to 2-5 (not indicated in key)
V-11 Tunnel to 1-45 (secret, tower’s door has been
3-5 Cave to 2-14
buried)
3-6 Stairs to 4-8
V-11 Shaft to 1-36 (very secret, must break through
motar) 3-7 Stairs to 4-9
3-8 Shaft to 4-29 (not indicated on map)
LEVEL ONE – EXITS
3-10 Hole to 4-25
1-1 Trapdoor to V-2
3-11 Teleportation Arch (West Wall) to 2-15 (two-
1-1 Door to A-1/A-2
way)

13
 PROOFREADERS VERSION
3-11 Teleportation Arch (North Wall) to 3-16/3-17 WHITE TOWER OF MITRA
(two-way) A-1/A-2 Door to 1-1
3-11 Stairs to 2-22 A-1/A-2 Straight Stairs to B-3/B-4
3-13 Stairs to 4-18A B-4 Curved Stairs to C-5
3-16/3-17 Teleportation Arch (North Wall) to 3-11 C-5 Spiral Stairs to D-9
(two-way, not indicated on map
or in key) D-9 Spiral Stairs Up to C-5, Down to E-15/E-19
3-16/3-19 Stairs to 4-14B E-15/E-19 Spiral Stairs Up to D-9
3-19 Stairs to 2-12 E-17 Teleportation Ritual to F-20
3-20 Open to 4-16 E-19 Teleportation Arch to 1-1 (one-way)
3-22 Stairs to 4-15 F-20 Teleportation Ritual to E-17
3-24 Hole to 4-13 F-20 Door to 4-1/4-2
Note: On the original map, there is a shaft indicated in area
SET’S TOWER
3-3. This is not indicated in the key, nor are there any corre-
sponding connections on Level 2 or Level 3. It is omitted here G-2 Stairs to H-6 (NE Stairs)
as an assumed error. H-6 South Stairs to I-11 (South Stairs)
I-11 North Stairs to J-12
LEVEL FOUR – EXITS
4-1/4-2 Door to F-20 J-14 Stairs to K-17

4-5 Door to G-1 K-18 Teleportation Ritual to L-20

4-8 Stairs to 3-6 K-18 Trapdoor (Ceiling) to L-20A

4-9 Stairs to 3-7 L-20 Teleportation Ritual to L-20A

4-14B Stairs to 3-16/3-17 L-20A Trapdoor (Floor) to K-18 (secret)

4-15 Stairs to 3-22 — Justin Alexander is an actor, playwright, freelance writer

4-16 Open to 3-20 (over 200 books, articles, and reviews), and RPG Producer
for Atlas Games. His blog, The Alexandrian, is a site for
4-18A Stairs to 3-11 news, updates and a repository of his reviews, stories, and
4-25 Hole to 3-10 thoughts. It is agreed he coined the term “Jaquaysing the
4-29 Shaft to 3-8 (not indicated on map)

14
PROOFREADERS VERSION

“RICHES, POWER, GLORY AND

DEATH! ALL ARE IN DARK TOWER”
By Stephen Newton

not only in terms of the factions but the locations them-

selves. Dark Tower was more like a “campaign” than an
adventure. But mostly, I would have just said, “Because
that adventure is awesome!”
Now that I’ve reread the adventure with older, more expe-
rienced, game-designer eyes, I have a new appreciation its
elements, which my younger self would have struggled to
articulate:
• The Background: The adventure presents enough
history for the GM to understand the rise and fall of
the temple of Mitra, the incursion of Set, and how the
White and Dark Towers came to be buried on Mitra’s
Fist, but the writing does not get so bogged down in
world-building that it’s hard to read.
• The NPCs: Avvakris, Merth, Haffrung Helleyes, and
others are more than just one-encounter antagonists.
Instead, they represent an ongoing threat throughout
the adventure. Even the minor players, such as Rufo
the Ugly and the members of the ill-fated caravan, are

W
ith that promise on the back cover, I was woven masterfully into the story.
hooked on what would become one of my
favorite adventure modules of all time. At the • The Artifacts: By including the artifacts of Mitra
time I’d picked up Dark Tower in 1980, most of my GMing (including Mitra’s Favor, the Girding of Mitra, and
had centered around the early TSR adventures: In Search of Mitra’s Eye), as well as the various soul gems, Jaquays
the Unknown, the giant series (G1-G3), Tomb of Horrors, and creates an endless set of quests for gamers of any taste
The Village of Hommlet. By contrast, when I started reading to pursue. Even players who are not interested in stop-
Dark Tower, I remember thinking: This adventure is huge! ping the forces of evil or freeing the imprisoned paladins
Not just in terms of the number of pages, but also in the might be motivated to collect these powerful artifacts.
scope of its story and number of characters. The grandness • The Map: The adventure’s map, despite putting a strain
and ambition of Jennell Jaquays’ Dark Tower holds up as a on my youthful GMing skills, is nothing short of imag-
masterpiece to this day. inative genius. The way the dungeon levels interconnect
If you’d asked me a few years ago—before I reread the ad- makes for exciting adventuring and conjures images
venture when it was republished by Goodman Games— of how the adventure might play out at the table. The
what I remembered about the adventure and exactly why dungeon can be explored in numerous ways, while still
I considered it one of my favorites, I would have said that providing a powerful buildup to the final lich encounter.
this was the first adventure I’d read where the NPCs (the • The “Old-School Sensibilities”: By this, I mean that
evil denizens of Mitra’s Fist) played such a prominent role while there is a great setup for the NPCs and story,
in the setup for the rest of the adventure. And how, once there’s also some bits of the adventure where “dungeon
inside the dungeon, the forces of good and evil interacted, ecology” just doesn’t make sense—and that’s fabulous!
15
 PROOFREADERS VERSION
Of course, there’s a room of howling apes in it. And
sure, there’s a flooding-room trap at the entrance to the
second level. Reading those locations now is gaming
gold. Jaquays’s creative use of traps, illusions, false walls,
secret doors, and creatures sets the standard for challeng-
ing even the cleverest of players.
Matt Murdock, one of the friends I ran this adventure for
back in the `80s, said this to me about Dark Tower: “It’s
amazing. It’s a GM’s module. Skeletal and detailed at the
same time… detail where you need it but a lot of space for
a GM to make it their own.” He’s not wrong.
I believe this adventure set the bar against which later,
campaign-style “supermodules” like The Temple of Ele-
mental Evil and Egg of the Phoenix would be measured.
Indeed, one can draw a straight line from Dark Tower to
the still-common adventure trope of “You have entered
a small town where things don’t seem quite right. You’re
not sure which NPCs you can trust, but they all speak
of a nearby evil which needs to be investigated and put
down…” (And, full disclosure, this is a trope I have will- — Stephen Newton is the author of several DCC and
fully employed in my own published adventures, because MCC adventures for both Goodman Games and Thick
it’s so effective!) Skull Adventures including They Served Brandolyn Red,
Sadly, I must admit I was never able to finish GMing this Creep Skrag Creep, and Tomb of the Savage Kings. He has
adventure when I played AD&D regularly in the `80s. also penned By Mitra’s Fist, Meet Thy Doom, a DCC ad-
I’ve probably started running this adventure more than venture set in the Dark Tower setting, coming soon from
any other AD&D module I’ve owned. But given its size, Goodman Games. Stephen was introduced to RPGs with
the real-world challenge of coordinating enough gaming “Holme’s Basic” before moving on to AD&D. Stephen
sessions to complete the adventure proved to be more dif- cites Dark Tower as a primary example on how to design a
ficult than the adventure itself. I hope that with this latest great adventure with its use of colorful NPCs, rich back-
release I will finally be able to finish my own quest as a story, and open-ended dungeon design.
GM to uncover the riches, power, glory and (PC) death
promised within the Dark Tower.
— Stephen Newton
P.S. As a parting thought let me tell you this: if you would
have told 13-year-old Stephen that he would be involved
with a reprint of Dark Tower four decades in the future, he
would have been ecstatic and never believed you!

16
PROOFREADERS VERSION

DARK TOWER BY JENNELL

JAQUAYS. JUDGES GUILD #88, 1980
By John D. Rateliff

W
hen I first discovered D&D back in Febru- to buy, the 8-page Steading of the Hill Giant Chief at $4.49
ary 1980, the biggest problem a new gamer or the 72-page Dark Tower, costing just $5.50?1 After a
faced was finding a group to join. Like many, comparison of the two, I opted for Jaquays over Gygax.
I played in the local hobby shop, the fondly remembered
One feature that drew me to Dark Tower was the cast of
House of Hobbies on Dickson Street (back then the student
characters. The village of Mitra’s Fist, the four-level dun-
strip in Fayetteville, just down the road from the University
geon, the Shrine of Mitra, and the Tower of Set were pop-
of Arkansas main campus). It was a chaotic scene: crowds
ulated with a vast array of characters, along with details
of hopeful gamers would show up on a Friday night hoping
about their interactions with each other and the intruding
to join one of the three or four groups running that night,
adventurers. Steading of the Hill Giant Chief has just two
the personae of which changed every week.
named characters, one of whom remains offstage, while
If that first hurdle—finding a place to game—was over- the whole Giant series has only eight. By contrast Dark
come, the next was finding someone to run the game. Tower has some 30 named NPCs just in the opening
GMs were in high demand and short supply and, frankly, section, the Village, many of whom (like the bartender
of variable ability. There was also the problem of what rule- Melkor Stoneteeth) are presented with motivations, his-
set to use. D&D? AD&D? The photocopied binder of ta- tories, and distinctive quirks. Many more NPCs appear in
bles and charts I later learned was known as the “Cal-Tech the dungeons beneath the town. Who can forget Haffrung
rules”? I wound up opting for the original three hardcover Helleyes, who takes advantage of a magic jar to engage in
books (the Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dun- some gender experimentation? Or Xor the Evil One, an
geon Master’s Guide), soon joined by the fourth (the Deities anti-paladin if ever there was one (even though the an-
& Demigods hardcover, complete with Cthulhu Mythos) ti-paladin NPC class did not appear until a little later,
when it came out later that year. making its debut in the July 1980 issue of The Dragon)?
There were also more artifacts than I remember seeing in
Having the rules was one thing: finding an adventure to
any other single adventure, a number of them bonded
play was more difficult. I knew one GM who only ran an
with a supernatural ally, the spirit of some great champion
endless string of random encounters; he was particularly
of Mitra from centuries past. Essentially, these were angels
proud of his napalm dragon. Some disdained pre-gener-
who could be summoned to the adventurers’ aid.
ated scenarios, feeling that they were a poor substitute for
custom dungeons created by individual GMs. More would Of course, an adventure with high-powered supernatural
have gladly run published modules if they could have aid available to the PCs had to be balanced with equally
found them—for example, if they were fortunate enough potent foes—because who doesn’t want a climax pitting
to stumble across The Dragon. Into this gap stepped Judges their 7th- through 11th-level characters against a 21st-lev-
Guild, which offered a subscription service whereby the el clerical lich? Once again Jaquays did not skimp, intro-
gamer received a module, as well as the current issue of the ducing the Sons of Set, who come with evocative names
Judges Guild Journal (which went by several names over such as Vrednii, Eater of Corpses; Konah the Dissenter;
time, including The Dungeoneer and Pegasus). Manahath the Chosen; Balaar the Shaker; and Pnessutt,
Scion of Evil. The theme of Law versus Chaos is stressed
Unlike most Judges Guild releases, which were ephemeral
throughout the adventure, even on a trivial level—witness
in the extreme, Dark Tower made it onto the shelves of
a pair of intelligent doors, at odds with each other, who
hobby stores—including Fayetteville’s House of Hobbies,
try to ensnare the party in their endless and pointless feud.
where it was shelved beside its main competition, TSR’s
little mini-modules of the Giant series (G1, G2, G3). This
posed a dilemma to a poor grad student like myself: which

17
 PROOFREADERS VERSION
DARK TOWER: LEGACY — John D. Ratliff is an independent scholar specializing
In short, Jaquays deserves credit for not being afraid to in the study of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien with a focus on
pull out all the stops when the occasion called for it. Her his Middle-earth writings and earned his Ph.D. in 20th
adventure is what we might have gotten if Gygax had com- Century British Literature from Marquette University.
bined the G series and The Village of Hommlet into a single He has written extensively on Tolkien and the Inklings,
module. And the all-out effort paid off. Lawrence Schick, including his detailed commentary on The Hobbit called
in his exhaustive listing of all RPG releases up to 1991, The History of the Hobbit. He also worked for TSR and
states that Dark Tower was Judges Guild’s best-selling re- Wizards of the Coast contributing to an array of products
lease (Heroic Worlds 92). When Dungeon magazine ran a as both an editor and designer. John has a blog called Sac-
retrospective, in which a group of industry professionals noth’s Scriptorium, and was an esteemed panelist for the
voted on “The 30 Greatest D&D adventures Of All Time” DUNGEON Magazine 30 Greatest Adventures of All Time
(Dungeon #116, November 2004), 29 of the modules cho- article published in 2004.
sen had been published by TSR/WotC. The sole exception
was Dark Tower, which came in at #21. There’s a reason it
was fondly remembered.
The point is not to claim that Dark Tower is better than
the classics of D&D and AD&D’s early days, but that it is
their peer. As a member of that 2004 panel, I was proud to
have the chance to nominate it for the list, and glad to see
that enough of my fellow panelists agreed that it made a
good showing on the published list. I’m also pleased to see
it given a second life as it is introduced to a new generation
of gamers with this adaptation to Fifth Edition.
— John D. Rateliff
January 2022
Note 1. Indeed, the entire G series totaled just 32 pag-
es and cost $13.96—more than the Player’s Handbook or
Monster Manual (both $12.00 each).

18
PROOFREADERS VERSION

DARK TOWER
LEVEL 1 EXPANSION: THE BUNKER
By Jon Hershberger

INTRODUCTION A Note from the Publisher

D
ark Tower was one of Jennell Jaquays’s “holy tril-

W
ogy” of adventure books for fantasy roleplaying hen we reached out to Jon to pen this essay, we
discussed several concepts on what the topic could
games, along with The Caverns of Thracia and The be. We quickly settled on his experiences judging the
Book of Treasure Maps. The elder, darker, more complicated adventure for his players. Jon started writing the essay, but one
sibling, Dark Tower set the standard for published adventure thing led to another and he began fleshing out the encounters to
design in 1980. Jaquays crafted a rich, immersive adven- further illustrate the points in his essay. The end result was essen-
ture setting that provided tremendous opportunities for tially a fully designed sub-level, written in the “voice” of Dark
traditional dungeon exploration, tactical planning, and Tower, using OD&D rules! We could not resist the temptation
of converting his efforts to 5E or DCC RPG so the modern gamer
guerrilla warfare for part-time miniatures gamers, as well
could utilize it. And as if he were a Paladin of Mitra himself, Jon
as more story-driven roleplaying, all wrapped up in a nice, blessed our efforts. Appendix F is a 5E or DCC RPG conversion of
neat package. Jon’s The Bunker. Enjoy!
As I have written elsewhere, I didn’t own a copy of Dark
Tower for a long time. Somehow, this elusive gem escaped
LEVEL 1 EXPANSION: THE BUNKER
my grasp until the mid-1990s. But over the years since pick-
ing up my first copy, I’ve devoured its maps, traced and In the village of Mitra’s Fist, at Location V-11, there is a
retraced the connections between the levels, gotten to know heavily walled tower perched atop a hill overlooking the
the multitude of NPCs, and ran Dark Tower in both my village. The room key tells us that the gray stone tower is 50
long-running AD&D home campaign and at numerous feet tall and was built many years ago to protect the devel-
conventions I’ve attended. oping village. The tower is rarely used and is now home to a
nest of giant rats. The tower is also mentioned once in Room
Whereas some published adventures need a bit of flesh- 1-36, with this small nugget of information:
ing-out by the GM to bring the adventure to life, Dark
Tower never seemed to me to need that sort of advanced The 5 foot square closet in the northwest corner of the room
work. Dark Tower is a tightly-constructed adventure envi- is disguised by a permanent illusion. It is a vertical shaft
ronment, complete with a village and its dark history, going up to the fortress tower in the village. The top is
rumors that tie in to the adventure and support varying mortared shut, and it will take 60 points of damage (AC
styles of play, NPCs that drive the plot forward, complex 14) to break through.
and wonderful level maps, and a foundation for a campaign And that’s it! Nowhere else have I found another reference
arc that could take years of play to bring it to a conclusion. to this fortress tower.
Dark Tower does, however, require that the GM invest a
The expansion I present here extrapolates these bits of infor-
good deal of time reading and digesting the adventure’s
mation about the fortress tower in the village and posits that
many layers and nuances.
the village might have had a small bunker or underground
So when I consider Dark Tower, my first thought isn’t about hideout to house the local militia and their equipment, and
needing to flesh it out to make it seem complete. That heavy to provision them in extreme emergencies. With the tower
lifting was done by Jaquays in 1979-1980. That being said, fortress located on the edge of the village, and atop a small
there was one area I thought could use more development. hill at that, it made sense to me to locate their weapon stor-
So gather round, and I’ll share my little Dark Tower expan- age facility and the related bunker near the fortress tower,
sion with you… where the weapons could be handed out to the guards expe-
ditiously. I chose to locate the Mitra’s Fist Bunker almost
directly underneath the tower itself, and in close proximity
to the bottom end of the access shaft. Without further delay,
I present to you, The Bunker.

19
 PROOFREADERS VERSION
THE BUNKER ROOM KEY racks support dozens of old but serviceable long-
bows, short bows, and crossbows. In the center of

N
ote that the scale of the Level 1 map is 40 feet to the room are crates with arrows and crossbow bolts.
the inch. On the Bunker expansion map, which Some of the crates are unopened, while others have
uses graph paper with six squares to the inch, each been open for a very long time. The room is unlit.
square on the map equates to 6.667 feet. Also, the ceiling
The bow strings are all very old and very dry, result-
in this complex is about 7 feet overhead, unless otherwise
ing in a 30 percent chance of a mishap if any bows
noted. The walls, floor, and ceiling are worked stone. Finally,
are used without replacing the bow string. Most of
remember that this area of the dungeon begins approxi-
the bows in this room are normal, but at the GM’s
mately 40 feet underground.
discretion, there is one of each type of bow stored
On the east wall of Room 36, in the southeast corner of here (longbow, short bow, crossbow) that is either of
Level 1, I’ve added a secret door that leads to the small masterwork quality or is of a +1 enchantment. The
complex of rooms and hallways called The Bunker. I arrows stored here are all normal arrows.
purposefully kept the secret door plain and ordinary, as it’s The apparition of the weapons master’s former
meant to be found with normal searching methods. At the apprentice guards the storeroom. He died guarding
GM’s discretion, this new secret door could be harder to these bows, and his spirit refuses to leave his assigned
find than normal, suggesting that something interesting is post. Of course, he is insane and attacks “unauthor-
located beyond the hidden portal. ized trespassers” without provocation.
36-A The secret door from Room 36 leads to a narrow, dark Apparition
hallway to the east. The hallway isn’t level; rather, the
hallway rises gently as one travels west to east. HD 4+1
AC 14
36-B This roughly circular chamber has three distinct Attk 1-2
sections: the western 13 feet, the center 13 feet, and Dam 1-6/1-6
the eastern 13 feet. The flat ceiling is higher in this SA cause fear
room, rising to 10 feet. An iron portcullis spanning
from floor to ceiling separates the western section 36-D The locked, iron-bar door leading into this room
of this room from the center section. There is also uses the same key as the door to Room 36-C. This
an open doorway on the eastern wall. The cham- weapon locker features numerous weapons racks
ber is unlit. along the walls, each holding swords, hammers, and
hand axes. The room is unlit.
The western third of this chamber has the same,
slight change in elevation found in the hallway at Nearly all of the weapons stored here are in ques-
Room 36-A, rising from west to east. The center tionable condition, but there are two short swords
third of the chamber has a level floor. The eastern that, at the GM’s discretion, are either masterwork
third resumes the gradual rise in elevation, from west weapons or are infused with magic that afford them
to east. This sloped floor ends at the doorway to the the following properties: +1/+2 vs. evil creatures.
east, where the floor becomes level. Behind the weapon racks on the west wall is a
The portcullis has a single iron door built into it. The locked secret door leading to Room 36-E. This
door is centered in the room and is lockable without door has a unique key (different than the keys
a key from the east side, or with a key from the west mentioned already); the captain of the guard and
side. The captain of the guard and weapons master weapons master have the only two copies of this
each had a key for the door (see Room 36-J). key. The weapon racks must be moved to access the
secret door.
This chamber served as a meeting hall and mustering
locale for the village’s militia, in the event the village The apparitions of the two squires who once main-
came under assault. Defensive plans would be made tained the weapons guard this locker. Like the guard-
here and orders issued to the village’s defenders. The ian of Room 36-C, these apparitions refuse to leave
chamber also served as a choke point for defending their post. These apparitions are not insane, but they
the bunker; the elevation changes served to give the generally attack without provocation.
defenders higher ground, should an invading force Apparition (2)
push this far into the complex. HD 4+1
36-C A locked, iron-bound door leads into this weap- AC 14
ons storeroom. (Both the captain of the guard and Attk 1-2
weapons master had a key for this door.) Numerous

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Dam 1-6/1-6 If the apparitions are not persuaded of the just nature
SA cause fear of the characters’ cause, the weapons animate, tele-
36-E This semi-circular chamber is lit by an eerie blue light port from the sarcophagus, and join the battle with
that originates from three wall-mounted fixtures the apparitions against the intruders. The weapons
holding magic-imbued gemstones. The light-emit- attack as if wielded by level 4 warriors! What happens
ting gemstones have been here for some 400 years. after that is left to the GM’s discretion.
At the north, west, and south compass points are 36-F The locked, iron-barred door leading into this room
three human-sized, stone sarcophagi, arranged in a uses the same key as the door to Room 36-C. This
roughly crescent shape. The crypts bear ornamental weapon locker features numerous weapons racks
carvings, as well as the following inscription: along the walls, each holding shields of various sizes,
shapes, and weights. There is also a narrow passage-
Here rest the Heroes of Mitra’s Fist, way leading away from this room to the west. The
Defenders of The Three Gates. room is unlit.
May they find peace in the next life.
The shields stored here are mundane and range in
North Gate - Reginald condition from well maintained to poor and of
West Gate - Humphrey almost no defensive benefit, save a single round,
South Gate - Gideon iron-bound shield. This shield, Splitter, is a unique
item of no small repute. It was once carried by a Lion
The apparitions of the three heroes guard this cham-
of Mitra but became lost in one of the battles against
ber and its contents. These apparitions are stronger
Set’s minions. Splitter is actually constructed of gold
than the apparitions presented earlier. However,
and mithril, not iron, but an illusion masks its true
unlike the standard apparitions, these apparitions
nature. The shield is a +2 shield and has the following
do not attack without provocation. If the sarcoph-
magical properties: twice per day, Splitter’s wielder
agi are disturbed or opened, 1d3 of the apparitions
can cast levitate and fly, merely by thinking of the
materialize and question the intruders. If the appa-
action. Also, once per day, Splitter can be used as a
ritions can be persuaded that the characters’ cause is
cleaving or bashing weapon against the wielder’s foes,
noble and just, they allow the characters to use (or
as the wielder brings the shield down from a high
keep, at the GM’s discretion) the weapons and armor
guard position onto the head of the unsuspecting
in the heroes’ sarcophagi. If the apparitions can’t be
foe. In this way, Splitter acts as a +2 great axe, deliv-
persuaded that the characters’ cause is just and noble,
ering a whopping 2d8 damage upon the foe’s dome!
well…. (see below)
A giant boa constrictor has found its way into this
Hero Apparition (3)
room in search of an easy meal. Unfortunately for the
HD 6+1 characters, the boa is not a very competent hunter:
AC 16 it hasn’t found much to eat and so is very hungry.
Attk 1-2 Giant boa constrictor, HD 5d8, AC 18, Attk 1,
Dam 1-6+2/1-6+2 DAM 1-6 + 1d6 for constriction.
SA cause fear
The doorway to the west leads to a narrow passage-
Each sarcophagus contains the remains of their way that terminates at a cave-in , which blocks the
respective hero, as well as their most prized posses- passageway completely.
sions as heroes of Mitra’s Fist.
36-G The locked, iron-bar door leading into this room
North Gate sarcophagus – Reginald uses the same key as the door to Room 36-C. This
+1 chainmail shirt weapon locker features numerous racks mounted on
masterwork helm the walls, as well as several floor stands, each of which
masterwork or +1 longsword (GM’s choice) holds pieces of armor of various sizes and shapes.
Most of the armor is human-sized, though there are
West Gate sarcophagus – Humphrey
a few larger breastplates and a few smaller mail shirts.
+1 breastplate All are old and showing age: dust covers most of
masterwork or +1 great hammer the armor, and here and there rust can be seen. The
(GM’s choice) armor hasn’t been oiled in a long time.
masterwork shin guards
Unlike the other weapon lockers, none of the armor
South Gate sarcophagus – Gideon in this room is masterwork or magical. The rewards
+1 elven mail from this room are actually in Room 36-E.
+1 short sword
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This room’s current occupant is a giant boa constric- Attk 1
tor, which attacks without provocation. The boa may Dam 2-8
well be the mate of the one in 36-F. HD 5d8, AC SA poison bite (save or die), web
18, Attk 1, DAM 1-6 + 1d6 for constriction. 36-J A wooden, iron-bound door leads into this room.
36-H The doors leading to this room are wood bound The door has a keyhole where one would expect it.
with iron. The doors have keyholes where one The door is closed and locked. The key to this door
would expect them but are both ajar; whether they is different from the previously mentioned keys. The
are locked is irrelevant. only known copies of the key are in the possession
The doors lead into a long, narrow room that features of the captain of the guard and the weapons master.
dining tables and short, squat benches to either side. The room looks much like the other storerooms in
At one end of the table are tall stacks of iron plates this area (36-C thru 36-G). It is unlit and smells of
and bowls, as well as dozens of iron cups. No food- rotted meat.
stuffs have been left behind. The room is unlit. Deep shelves filled with old foodstuff containers line
Clearly, this was a dining hall for the militia stationed the walls of the room. All the containers are empty,
in the bunker. At the west end of the room is a small and many have been broken into pieces. In the center
cookstove. A smokestack once rose from the stove of the room are about a dozen tall, lidded vessels
to the ceiling, but little of the stack remains. The that were once used to store liquids—water, olive
cookstove is cold and doesn’t appear to have been oil, wine, and the like. Several of the vessels are still
used for several hundred years. sealed, while others no longer have their lids and
A nest of giant fire ants has dug its way into the room stand empty.
through a crack in the wall in the northwest corner. Lying on the floor between the shelves and the
The ants are aggressive and attack any humanoids vessels, locked in what appears to have been a phys-
that intrude upon their new lair. They can come and ical struggle, are two human skeletons. The skeletons
go from this room as they please have been dead for centuries and are devoid of any
There isn’t any meaningful treasure or loot stored flesh or connective tissue.
in this room, but there might be a chance of some The skeletons each brandish a long dagger, and both
mundane, non-magical loot, thanks to the ants. clutch a ring of iron keys in their opposite hands. The
Giant Fire Ants (36) skeletons animate and attack if the door is opened.
HD 2 (9 hp each) Of course, these skeletons were once the captain
AC 17 of the guard and the weapons master. For reasons
Attk 1 unknown, both found themselves in the bunker’s
Dam 1-6 larder one night, and a disagreement ensued. Was it
because of a lover’s tryst? Did each have some secret
36-I The doors leading to this room are the same type hidden in the larder that they died to protect? What-
as those leading to Room 36-H: standard wooden ever the reasons, their disagreement ended in a fight
doors bound with iron. These doors are swung wide that led to both of them delivering killing blows.
open into the room. The room is unlit. An extensive And since they held the only keys to this room, their
network of spider webs obscures the ceiling. fate has never been discovered…. until now.
This long, narrow room features numerous bunk
beds (about 20 pairs of beds, if the players must — Jon Hershberger is a behind-the-scenes supporter of
know) and small shelves beside each pair of beds. Goodman Games and DCC, since the mid-2000s, attend-
The beds have been stripped of bedding, and the ing Gen Con and running DCC adventures for over 15
shelves are bare…. except for one at the north end years. Jon started playing D&D in 1980 with an amal-
of the room. At the GM’s discretion, this shelf has gamation of Original Edition D&D, the AD&D Monster
a small but detailed map of the rat tunnels else- Manual, and the AD&D Player’s Handbook, and he is still
where in this dungeon carved into the bottom of playing AD&D to this day. Among Jon’s projects for Good-
the shelf itself. man Games and DCC are the AD&D conversion of DCC
#12.5 Iron Crypt of the Heretics, the AD&D conversion of
A trio of giant poisonous spiders hide in the network DCC #17 & 17.5 The Saga of the Witch Queen, and the first
of webs near the ceiling. 5 years of the Gongfamer’s Almanac Zines. Most recently,
Giant Poisonous Spiders (3) Jon has been helping his local Boy Scout Council host an
HD 4+4 (hp 30, 26, 22) annual gathering of Scouts for tabletop gaming, called Scout
AC 16 Con. 2023 marks the 7th year for Scout Con.
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RETURN TO THE DARK TOWER

By Erik Mona

I
n 2004, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of tion series (#6), Ravenloft (#2, again), Castle Amber (#15),
Dungeons & Dragons, I found myself in the pres- Dwellers of the Forbidden City (#13), and the Lost Caverns
tigious role of Editor-in-Chief of Dungeon Maga- of Tsojcanth (#22).
zine, the game’s monthly source for official D&D adven-
Noted J.R.R. Tolkien scholar and then-D&D editor John
tures. As part of a year-long celebration of the anniversary,
Rateliff commented in the article, “This massive 80-page
I gathered a large group of D&D writers, editors, and other
book raised the bar on dungeons, providing not just a
luminaries to submit their picks for the Top 10 Dungeons
compelling adventure hook (set in what is still one of the
& Dragons adventures released to date. With enthusiastic
creepiest villages in D&D), but also two opposing factions
responses from more than a score of these authors in hand,
struggling over a multilevel dungeon, ending in a truly
I aggregated their votes to create a formal list of the 30
horrific final encounter (for those who made it that far).”
Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time, which we ran as
an extended feature in the November issue of the magazine. Several respondents noted the adventure’s innovative qual-
ities, especially when compared to the fairly loose pres-
As one might expect, the list contained a wide variety
entation of the tournament-originated adventures released
of universally beloved adventures, such as Gary Gygax’s
alongside it. Along with a massive dungeon encompassing
sprawling Queen of the Spiders series (#1), Tracy and Laura
more than 150 encounter areas, Dark Tower came complete
Hickman’s beloved horror classic Ravenloft (#2), Lawrence
with a starting village—a staple of many (if not most) of the
Schick’s White Plume Mountain (#9), and others that have
most popular D&D adventures of any era. Jaquays intro-
since become synonymous with the history of the game and
duced us to the village of Mitra’s Fist, a time-locked place
the identity of the Dungeons & Dragons brand (several of
of dark secrets and big personalities, a perfect home base
which have been reprinted in the years since 2004, and I
between forays into the massive subterranean caverns where
suspect many would remain on similar lists generated for
the bulk of the adventure plays out. In an era where most
the 40th or even 50th anniversary of the game). The list also
NPCs were simply names and statistics that relied on the
contained a few surprises, including modern classics like
GM to bring to life, Dark Tower provided several bits of
Rich Baker’s Forge of Fury (#12) and Monte Cook’s Dead
alluring characterization, giving the GM hooks to actually
Gods (#14). But the biggest surprise on the list came in at
run the characters at the table. From the fretful, forgetful,
#21, the nature of the surprise being that it was never an offi-
old prefect Cornelius, to the bartender Melkor Stoneteeth
cial D&D adventure at all—Dark Tower, by Jennell Jaquays.
(who never fully recovered from being petrified by the beak
Originally published by Judges Guild in 1980, Dark Tower of a cockatrice), to the drunken Beldar the Sodden, the
is the only adventure published by a company other than NPCs of Mitra’s Fist begged for their moment to shine on
TSR or Wizards of the Coast to make the list. With several the tabletop, and the interplay between village and dungeon
years of hindsight, I can admit that the selection committee became a template that would go on to much official success
had a strong bias toward official adventures, given the way in later adventures like Against the Cult of the Reptile God
the question was phrased, so for even a single adventure like (#19), The Assassin’s Knot (#29), and The Temple of Elemen-
this to make the list was quite an achievement, and Dark tal Evil (#4).
Tower is quite an adventure.
Along with Mitra’s Fist, Dark Tower featured an extensive
For a bit of historical perspective, Dark Tower was written introduction, with a complete background of the village
in 1979 and released the following year, making it more and dungeon, offering the sort of context one usually had
or less contemporaneous with official Dungeons & Drag- to read an entire adventure to appreciate. This intro also
ons adventures like The Keep on the Borderlands (#7), the introduced several potent artifacts central to the action in
four Slave Lord adventures (#20), The Hidden Shrine of the dungeon, notes on powerful goodly allies known as the
Tamoachan (#18), The Ghost Tower of Inverness (#30), and Lions of Mitra, and a similar section on important villains
other classics, most of which started their lives as conven- known as the Sons of Set. This latter inclusion is notable
tion-based tournaments. It predates the Desert of Desola- for the extensive charts available to customize these unique
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villains—perhaps a hint of things to come in Jaquays’s So here you have it. A true “superdungeon” from the classic
later masterpiece, Central Casting: Heroes of Legend, which era of the game, presented in the era of its most power-
presented countless such charts players could use to custom- ful modern renaissance. The wonders and terrors of Dark
ize their characters’ backstories. Tower await a new generation of adventurers, and it’s sure
to remain a classic of this or any future era—truly one of
When reviewing an adventure originally published more
the Greatest Adventures of All Time!
than 40 years ago, it’s common to say something like “it
was good for its time.” Dark Tower is good, period. Its inno- — Erik Mona is Editor Emeritus of Dragon, Dungeon, and
vative, “down one side and up the other” dungeon design Polyhedron magazines. He co-founded the Living Greyhawk
should prove to be a hit in any edition of the game, and its organized play campaign and edited the Living Greyhawk
encounter area outlines (which must have required a fair Journal. After leaving Wizards of the Coast, Mona co-cre-
amount of pre-game prep to get everything right back in ated the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and its Lost Omens
the `80s) work just as well no matter what system the GM campaign setting, and is the Chief Creative Officer and
is using. Helpfully, this new edition from Goodman Games Publisher of Paizo, Inc.
does much of the work for folks running the current version
of the game, while retaining the original text—truly the best
of both worlds. (The new edition should also address the
original’s most glaring flaw—its quality of editing seldom
matched the heights of its brazen creativity.)

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