Dwellers of the Forbidden City
Encyclopedia
Dwellers of the Forbidden City is an adventure module
, or pre-packaged adventure booklet, ready for use by Dungeon Master
s in the Dungeons & Dragons
(D&D) fantasy
role-playing game
. The adventure was first used as a module for tournament play at the 1980 Origins Game Fair, and was later published by TSR
in 1981 for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. The module was written by game designer David "Zeb" Cook
, who partly ascribes his hiring by TSR to his work on this module. In the adventure, the characters are hired to find an object taken to a lost oriental-style city, which has been taken over by a cult of snake-worshipers, the yuan-ti
, and their servants, the mongrelmen and tasloi. The module was ranked as the 13th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon
magazine for the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game in 2004.
s hear reports of bandits waylaying and attacking caravans in a jungle region. Most of the ambushed merchants and guards have been killed, but the few who have returned alive tell fantastic stories about deformed plants and deadly beasts in the jungle. The stolen goods taken from the caravans provide an impetus for the characters to enter the jungles in search of this lost treasure.
After a long and perilous journey, the player characters encounter some friendly native people and are invited to stay in their village. The characters learn from the village's chief about the dangers of creatures called the yuan-ti
and their servants, the tasloi, and that these creatures recently kidnapped the chief's son, taking him into the jungle. The chief and village shaman
tell the player characters about a "forbidden city" in the jungle which they believe houses the ghosts of their dead enemies, and they supply the characters with guides to show the party the way to this forbidden city.
The adventuring environment in this module allows for both action and intrigue. The player characters can recruit allies from the various power groups and factions within the city, namely the bugbears
, mongrelmen, and bullywug
s, or else help pit these factions against each other for their own benefit.
for the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules, and consisted of a thirty-two page booklet with an outer folder. The module was written by David "Zeb" Cook
, with cover art by Erol Otus
and interior art by James Holloway, Jim Roslof
, Harry Quinn, and Stephen D. Sullivan.
Dwellers of the Forbidden City is the first of the mostly unrelated and unconnected Intermediate series (I-series) of modules designed for characters at between 4th and 8th levels. The module was originally intended to bear the code S4, but the code was re-assigned to Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
before Dwellers was published. As published, the adventure bears the code I1. It was one of the first adventures written by Cook, and he attributed an early version of the module to his being hired at TSR. Cook would become the lead designer for the second edition of the AD&D rules, which debuted in 1989, and years later, he became the lead designer on the City of Villains
MMORPG
.
The adventure was instrumental in introducing the yuan-ti as a new species of antagonists. Much like the drow from the Queen of the Spiders
Series, the yuan-ti have been featured in a number of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Edition books for the D&D game, and are one of the few species that Wizards of the Coast did not keep open for the Open Game License. The yuan-ti have also been expanded from their introduction in this module to other game worlds, in particular the Forgotten Realms
campaign setting
. Other new monsters introduced to the game through this module include the aboleth
, bullywug, mongrelman, tasloi, and yellow musk creeper.
The module was set in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, and was later used to add detail to the continent of Hepmonaland in Greyhawk supplements. In the Greyhawk accessory The Scarlet Brotherhood
, by Sean K. Reynolds
, the Forbidden City was named Xuxulieto, and the mountains wherein it lies are called the Xaro Mountains.
described it as "a good buy", RPGnet gave it a slightly more favorable rating of nearly 6.8 ("Good"). Latter day D&D writer James Wyatt described it as the first "Super adventure", and lamented that with another hundred pages of fleshing out, it could have been as memorable as the landmark Temple of Elemental Evil.
Jim Bambra of White Dwarf
reviewed the adventure in the magazine's "Open Box" feature and gave it an overall rating of 5 out of 10, commenting that while presentation of the module was quite good (8/10), it seemed to be "hastily thrown together". Bambra gave the adventure playability and enjoyment ratings of 5/10, and skill and complexity ratings of 6/10. He felt the adventure was "very mundane" and "lacks any real cohesion". Bambra noted that parts of the adventure were created for tournament play. The tournament section deals with getting into the city, and he felt the rest of the module seemed to be tacked on to that. He did like the mini-campaign included in the adventure, and the ideas included on how to expand on it. However, he felt that any Dungeon Master
who used Dwellers of the Forbidden City would have to expend so much effort to make it more than "just a series of encounters," that they were better off "starting from scratch". Bambra concluded that this adventure was "just not worth considering" with all the other better quality modules available from TSR.
Dwellers of the Forbidden City was ranked the 13th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon
magazine for the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game in 2004. Judge Eric L. Boyd described it as a "classic adventure" in which Cook created a "lost city jungle in the great tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs
". The players "battle their way into the city through a labyrinth of traps and monsters or find their own way into the sprawling, jungle-cloaked ruins... Cook provides a host of backgrounds to motivate exploration of the city, but the map itself is motivation enough." Judge Wolfgang Baur
, editor of Dungeon magazine, described the adventures thus: "This adventure may be best remembered for its monsters—it was from Forbidden City that D&D gained the Aboleth, the mongrel-man, the tasloi, and the yuan-ti. The aboleth that guarded one of the entrances to the city was worshipped by the local mongrelmen as a god."
Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, an adventure or module is a pre-packaged book or box set that helps the Dungeon Master manage the plot or story of a game...
, or pre-packaged adventure booklet, ready for use by Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...
s in the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
(D&D) fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
. The adventure was first used as a module for tournament play at the 1980 Origins Game Fair, and was later published by TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
in 1981 for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. The module was written by game designer David "Zeb" Cook
David Cook (game designer)
David "Zeb" Cook is an American game designer best known for his work at TSR, Inc., where he was employed for over fifteen years.-Early life:...
, who partly ascribes his hiring by TSR to his work on this module. In the adventure, the characters are hired to find an object taken to a lost oriental-style city, which has been taken over by a cult of snake-worshipers, the yuan-ti
Yuan-ti
The yuan-ti are a fictional species of evil snakemen in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The species comprises a number of castes. In some campaign settings, the yuan-ti are descended from evil human cultists who mixed their bloodlines with those of serpents...
, and their servants, the mongrelmen and tasloi. The module was ranked as the 13th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon
Dungeon (magazine)
Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...
magazine for the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game in 2004.
Plot summary
The adventure begins when the player characterPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s hear reports of bandits waylaying and attacking caravans in a jungle region. Most of the ambushed merchants and guards have been killed, but the few who have returned alive tell fantastic stories about deformed plants and deadly beasts in the jungle. The stolen goods taken from the caravans provide an impetus for the characters to enter the jungles in search of this lost treasure.
After a long and perilous journey, the player characters encounter some friendly native people and are invited to stay in their village. The characters learn from the village's chief about the dangers of creatures called the yuan-ti
Yuan-ti
The yuan-ti are a fictional species of evil snakemen in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The species comprises a number of castes. In some campaign settings, the yuan-ti are descended from evil human cultists who mixed their bloodlines with those of serpents...
and their servants, the tasloi, and that these creatures recently kidnapped the chief's son, taking him into the jungle. The chief and village shaman
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
tell the player characters about a "forbidden city" in the jungle which they believe houses the ghosts of their dead enemies, and they supply the characters with guides to show the party the way to this forbidden city.
The adventuring environment in this module allows for both action and intrigue. The player characters can recruit allies from the various power groups and factions within the city, namely the bugbears
Bugbear (Dungeons & Dragons)
The bugbear is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.A bugbear is depicted as a massive humanoid distantly related to goblins and hobgoblins...
, mongrelmen, and bullywug
Bullywug
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the bullywug is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter. The bullywugs are portrayed as a violent race of marsh-dwelling frog-like humanoids. The bullywug was introduced in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons...
s, or else help pit these factions against each other for their own benefit.
Publication history
Dwellers of the Forbidden City was first used in Dungeons & Dragons tournament play at the Origins Game Fair in 1980. The module was published in 1981 by TSRTSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
for the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules, and consisted of a thirty-two page booklet with an outer folder. The module was written by David "Zeb" Cook
David Cook (game designer)
David "Zeb" Cook is an American game designer best known for his work at TSR, Inc., where he was employed for over fifteen years.-Early life:...
, with cover art by Erol Otus
Erol Otus
Erol Otus is an American artist and game designer, known internationally for his contributions to the fantasy RPG genre, most notably for the early Dungeons & Dragons franchise...
and interior art by James Holloway, Jim Roslof
Jim Roslof
James Paul "Jim" Roslof was an American artist and graphic designer particularly well known for cover art and interior illustrations of fantasy role-playing games published by TSR, Inc. during the "golden age" of Dungeons & Dragons...
, Harry Quinn, and Stephen D. Sullivan.
Dwellers of the Forbidden City is the first of the mostly unrelated and unconnected Intermediate series (I-series) of modules designed for characters at between 4th and 8th levels. The module was originally intended to bear the code S4, but the code was re-assigned to Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1982 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. The 64-page adventure bears the code "S4" and is set in the World of...
before Dwellers was published. As published, the adventure bears the code I1. It was one of the first adventures written by Cook, and he attributed an early version of the module to his being hired at TSR. Cook would become the lead designer for the second edition of the AD&D rules, which debuted in 1989, and years later, he became the lead designer on the City of Villains
City of Villains
City of Villains is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCSoft. Released on October 31, 2005 , the game is integrated with their previous release, City of Heroes...
MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
.
The adventure was instrumental in introducing the yuan-ti as a new species of antagonists. Much like the drow from the Queen of the Spiders
Queen of the Spiders
Queen of the Spiders is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 and is a compilation of seven previous related modules, often referred to as a "supermodule." Together, the seven adventures form an integrated campaign that...
Series, the yuan-ti have been featured in a number of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Edition books for the D&D game, and are one of the few species that Wizards of the Coast did not keep open for the Open Game License. The yuan-ti have also been expanded from their introduction in this module to other game worlds, in particular the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
. Other new monsters introduced to the game through this module include the aboleth
Aboleth
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, aboleths are a fictive race of malevolent, eel-like aberrations with potent psionic abilities...
, bullywug, mongrelman, tasloi, and yellow musk creeper.
The module was set in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, and was later used to add detail to the continent of Hepmonaland in Greyhawk supplements. In the Greyhawk accessory The Scarlet Brotherhood
The Scarlet Brotherhood
The Scarlet Brotherhood is a regional sourcebook for the Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The sourcebook was written by Sean K. Reynolds, and published by TSR in 1999 for 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons...
, by Sean K. Reynolds
Sean K. Reynolds
Sean K Reynolds is a professional game designer who has worked on and co-written a number of D&D supplements for Wizards of the Coast, as well as material for other companies. He does not put a period after his middle initial.-Background:...
, the Forbidden City was named Xuxulieto, and the mountains wherein it lies are called the Xaro Mountains.
Reception
While Different WorldsDifferent Worlds
Different Worlds was an American role-playing games' magazine, now defunct.-History:Different Worlds was launched in 1979 by Greg Stafford to promote the role-playing games from his own editing house, Chaosium...
described it as "a good buy", RPGnet gave it a slightly more favorable rating of nearly 6.8 ("Good"). Latter day D&D writer James Wyatt described it as the first "Super adventure", and lamented that with another hundred pages of fleshing out, it could have been as memorable as the landmark Temple of Elemental Evil.
Jim Bambra of White Dwarf
White Dwarf (magazine)
White Dwarf is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop. Initially covering a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing and board games, particularly the role playing games Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest and Traveller...
reviewed the adventure in the magazine's "Open Box" feature and gave it an overall rating of 5 out of 10, commenting that while presentation of the module was quite good (8/10), it seemed to be "hastily thrown together". Bambra gave the adventure playability and enjoyment ratings of 5/10, and skill and complexity ratings of 6/10. He felt the adventure was "very mundane" and "lacks any real cohesion". Bambra noted that parts of the adventure were created for tournament play. The tournament section deals with getting into the city, and he felt the rest of the module seemed to be tacked on to that. He did like the mini-campaign included in the adventure, and the ideas included on how to expand on it. However, he felt that any Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...
who used Dwellers of the Forbidden City would have to expend so much effort to make it more than "just a series of encounters," that they were better off "starting from scratch". Bambra concluded that this adventure was "just not worth considering" with all the other better quality modules available from TSR.
Dwellers of the Forbidden City was ranked the 13th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon
Dungeon (magazine)
Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...
magazine for the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game in 2004. Judge Eric L. Boyd described it as a "classic adventure" in which Cook created a "lost city jungle in the great tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
". The players "battle their way into the city through a labyrinth of traps and monsters or find their own way into the sprawling, jungle-cloaked ruins... Cook provides a host of backgrounds to motivate exploration of the city, but the map itself is motivation enough." Judge Wolfgang Baur
Wolfgang Baur
Wolfgang Baur is an American game designer, best known for his work with Dragon magazine. He designs role-playing games and also is known for his work at Wizards of the Coast.-Biography:...
, editor of Dungeon magazine, described the adventures thus: "This adventure may be best remembered for its monsters—it was from Forbidden City that D&D gained the Aboleth, the mongrel-man, the tasloi, and the yuan-ti. The aboleth that guarded one of the entrances to the city was worshipped by the local mongrelmen as a god."