Swords of Deceit
Encyclopedia
Swords of Deceit is a 1986 adventure module
for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
, for the Lankhmar
setting.
s become involved in intrigue among Lankhmar's nobles. The second scenario, "Return of the Rats", is a continuation of Swords of Lankhmar, in which Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
go missing and the PCs are recruited to find them. The player characters are shrunk and sent into the Rat Kingdom of the Undercity to find Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. The third scenario, "One Night in Lankhmar", begins in a gambling den. The scenario pits the player characters against gamblers, assassins, and illusions.
In the city of Lankhmar, the citizens cower at home. A fog enshrouds the streets. It is the Night of Fear and the ancient gods walk the street. The players venture onto the streets and are under watch right away.
This 10th to 15th level adventure is designed for the LANKHMAR City of Adventure setting and the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game. It cannot be played without the LANKHMAR City of Adventure book or the AD&D rules published by TSR Inc.
, Steve Mecca, and Ken Rolston
, with cover art by Keith Parkinson
, and was published by TSR
in 1986 as a 40-page booklet with a color map and an outer folder. According to the module cover, it is intended for 4-5 player character
s of levels 10-15.
CA2 is the second module produced for use with the Lankhmar - City of Adventure campaign pack. This module contains the 40-page scenario booklet, five pre-generated characters, and a copy of the full-color city map (including the main sewers).
reviewed Swords of Deceit for White Dwarf
#82. Davis felt that the suggested levels for PCs were too high, and should have been more like 7-10; he suspected that this was done "so that Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser could be used", and had "a sneaking suspicion that American produced modules are written with a few levels of slack in them, so that it's possible to take the Rambo
approach". Of the scenarios, Davis called "The Curse of Valinor" a "strong tale about skeletons in the closet coming home to roost, with a mini-dungeon which is slightly hackneyed and a bit too helpful", pointing out that the monster's tomb contains a book which explains the whole story. He found "Return of the Rats" excellent with good role-playing opportunities and nice NPC
characterization, although he found the sewer system in the scenario disappointing and illogical. Davis' favorite was "One Night in Lankhmar", stating that "No matter where your players have been or what they've done, they will never, ever forget this one. They'll probably never work out what's going on, either The whole thing is beautifully set up to leave them with the uneasy feeling that they've just clipped the edge of something really big." Davis declared Swords of Deceit to be very good, "for an experienced DM with a group who are used to demanding and thoughtful adventures with the accent on role-playing".
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...
for the Advanced 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...
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...
, for the Lankhmar
Lankhmar
Lankhmar is a fictional city in the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber. It is situated on the world of Nehwon, just west of the Great Salt Marsh and east of the River Hlal, and serves as the home of Leiber's two anti-heroes....
setting.
Plot summary
The module contains three magazine-sized scenarios for the Lankhmar setting, the first of which is called "The Curse of Valinor". In this scenario, 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 become involved in intrigue among Lankhmar's nobles. The second scenario, "Return of the Rats", is a continuation of Swords of Lankhmar, in which Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two seminal sword-and-sorcery heroes appearing in stories written by Fritz Leiber . They are the protagonists of what are probably Leiber's best-known stories....
go missing and the PCs are recruited to find them. The player characters are shrunk and sent into the Rat Kingdom of the Undercity to find Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. The third scenario, "One Night in Lankhmar", begins in a gambling den. The scenario pits the player characters against gamblers, assassins, and illusions.
In the city of Lankhmar, the citizens cower at home. A fog enshrouds the streets. It is the Night of Fear and the ancient gods walk the street. The players venture onto the streets and are under watch right away.
This 10th to 15th level adventure is designed for the LANKHMAR City of Adventure setting and the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game. It cannot be played without the LANKHMAR City of Adventure book or the AD&D rules published by TSR Inc.
Publication history
Swords of Deceit was designed by Stephen Bourne, Michael DobsonMichael Dobson (author)
Michael S. Dobson is an American author in the fields of Business , Alternate History novels and Role-playing game adventures .-Early life:At a young age, Dobson's family moved from North Carolina to Germany; his father...
, Steve Mecca, and Ken Rolston
Ken Rolston
Ken Rolston is an American computer game and board game designer best known for his work with West End Games and the hit computer game series The Elder Scrolls...
, with cover art by Keith Parkinson
Keith Parkinson
Keith Parkinson was an American fantasy artist and illustrator known for book cover and game artwork for games such as EverQuest, Guardians, Magic: The Gathering and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.-Early life:...
, and was 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 1986 as a 40-page booklet with a color map and an outer folder. According to the module cover, it is intended for 4-5 player character
Player 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 of levels 10-15.
CA2 is the second module produced for use with the Lankhmar - City of Adventure campaign pack. This module contains the 40-page scenario booklet, five pre-generated characters, and a copy of the full-color city map (including the main sewers).
Reception
Graeme DavisGraeme Davis (game designer)
Graeme Davis is a writer and editor. He has worked extensively in the gaming industry and was one of the original designers of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay....
reviewed Swords of Deceit for 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...
#82. Davis felt that the suggested levels for PCs were too high, and should have been more like 7-10; he suspected that this was done "so that Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser could be used", and had "a sneaking suspicion that American produced modules are written with a few levels of slack in them, so that it's possible to take the Rambo
John Rambo
John Rambo is an iconic fictional character and the basis of the Rambo saga. He first appeared in the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell, but later became more famous in the film series, played by Sylvester Stallone...
approach". Of the scenarios, Davis called "The Curse of Valinor" a "strong tale about skeletons in the closet coming home to roost, with a mini-dungeon which is slightly hackneyed and a bit too helpful", pointing out that the monster's tomb contains a book which explains the whole story. He found "Return of the Rats" excellent with good role-playing opportunities and nice NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
characterization, although he found the sewer system in the scenario disappointing and illogical. Davis' favorite was "One Night in Lankhmar", stating that "No matter where your players have been or what they've done, they will never, ever forget this one. They'll probably never work out what's going on, either The whole thing is beautifully set up to leave them with the uneasy feeling that they've just clipped the edge of something really big." Davis declared Swords of Deceit to be very good, "for an experienced DM with a group who are used to demanding and thoughtful adventures with the accent on role-playing".