Saturday, October 8, 2022

AC1: The Shady Dragon Inn

AC1 "The Shady Dragon Inn" (1983) by Carl Smith contains a roster of ready-to-use NPCs, along with a fold-out map of the Shady Dragon Inn, the first in the "AC" line of D&D game accessories (some of which are also suitable for use with AD&D).


Title page to "The Shady Dragon Inn" (1983) by Carl Smith


About the Author:

Carl Smith was a game designer at TSR in the early 1980s.

He also wrote N2 "The Forest Oracle" (1984), and "Guardians of the Tomb" in Dungeon #1 (Sept/Oct 1986), in which the following mini-bio appears:

Though his true love lies in Westerns, Carl Smith has been active in fantasy and science-fiction gaming for years.  He was a part of the DRAGONLANCE design team for TSR, Inc, and worked on CA1, Swords of the Undercity, an AD&D module set in the LANKHMAR universe.  He is currently a freelance writer and contributing editor for Model Retailer magazine.

Dungeon #1 (Sept/Oct 1986)


Smith wrote "Tin Star: Western Role-Playing and Miniatures Rules" (1980) published by Adversary Games, Jacksonville, Florida.


Design Origins:

Years ago, I asked Frank Mentzer on Dragonsfoot:

Where the heck did Carl Smith get all those NPCs to populate AC1 The Shady Dragon Inn? I've always wondered if they were from an old OD&D campaign of his, since the Dex and Con scores are reversed throughout.

There are a lot of tantalizing place names scattered here and there. Do you know if these were from an actual campaign or were they just pulled out of the air?

posted on Dragonsfoot, (October 7, 2009)


To which Frank replied "Thin air" (Dragonsfoot, November 17, 2009).

Smith definitely had a knack for names, and the mini-bios are gems.

A few years ago, a list of place names from AC1 "The Shady Dragon Inn" was posted on Dragonsfoot:

Clear Water, Sternmont, Glenroe, Black Coast, Stonehill, West Haven, Abbey Temaraire, Whitemount, Far Isle, Greendale, Wildwood, and Deep Hollow.

posted on Dragonsfoot, (January 27, 2018)


The feel is very similar to that present in N2 "The Forest Oracle".


Characters:

As mentioned above, ability scores are listed as Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity, and Charisma, which is the order used in OD&D and Holmes Basic.

Many characters are described to possess helmets, an item from the equipment list in OD&D and Holmes Basic (as well as AD&D) but not in B/X or BECMI.

Levels range from 1-14, as the D&D Companion Set would not be released until the following year.  However, it appears that various editions of the Expert Set rules were used.*

*see Which BECMI D&D Expert Rulebook do you have? posted on Wayne's Books, (October 28, 2019) for a comparison of the two versions

Saving throws are listed as per the 1983 revised/2nd edition Expert Set rules edited by Mentzer, but THACO progression is taken from the 1981 Cook/March edition.

Spell progression for clerics is taken from BECMI (the same in both versions), although spell progression for magic-users and elves are listed as per B/X.

Finally, thief skill progression is taken from the 1981 Cook/Marsh edition or 1st printing of the 1983 Expert Set rules (before thieves got "nerfed").

What to make of all this?

Perhaps Smith devised stats as per OD&D/Holmes, wrote a first draft using B/X, and someone updated saving throws and clerical spells using the 1983 revised Expert Set rules.


Special Characters;


From left to right: Zarak the evil half-orc, Raven the cleric, Kelek the evil sorcerer, Zargash the cleric, Skylla the evil magic-user, Fox Fingers the thief, and Warduke the evil fighter.  Artwork by Timothy Truman, Jeff Easley, and Larry Elmore


Although it's stated that all the characters in this section have figures in the D&D/AD&D toy line, Figgen the halfling, Raven the cleric, Zargash the cleric, Skylla the evil magic-user* and Fox Fingers the thief** were never produced.

*not counting the Skylla "bendy" toy
**the illustration for Fox Fingers is from the 1983 D&D Basic Set Players Manual (pg. 43)

The illustration used for Skylla is that of Charmay, a good enchantress (the character description for Skylla states that she has "silvery dark hair" and "always wears her golden demon headress and her golden demon girdle" and "carries a magical staff").

Some of the special characters in AC1 "The Shady Dragon Inn" appeared in Season 1 of the Dungeons & Dragons animated TV series:

Kelek appeared in episode 4 "Valley of the Unicorns" (October 8, 1983), Warduke appeared in episode 5 "In Search of the Dungeon Master" (October 15, 1983), and Strongheart appeared in episode 8 "Servant of Evil" (November 5, 1983).

Most of the special characters also appear in module XL-1 "Quest for the Heartstone" (1984) by Michael L. Gray, except for Raven the cleric and Fox Fingers the thief.

Mercion the cleric, Figgen the halfling, Peralay the elf,* Elkhorn the dwarf,** Ringlerun the magic-user,*** and Strongheart the fighter**** make cameo appearances as elderly, retired adventurers in module X10 "Red Arrow, Black Shield" (1985) by Michael S. Dobson.

*originally named "Melf", after Luke Gygax's player character
**possibly inspired by the nearby Elkhorn, Wisconsin
***featured on the "orange spine" AD&D 1e Players Handbook
****rides Destrier, a nihrain horse

Warduke***** appeared on the cover of Dungeon #105 (December, 2003), wherein the character was brought into Greyhawk lore and underwent a 3e update, in "Critical Threats".

*****name and character design a dark take on Mike Grell's "Warlord"

Finally, many of the special characters recently appeared in the "The Wild Beyond the Witchlight" adventure module for 5e:

The League of Malevolence: Kelek, Skylla, Warduke, Zarak, Zargash
Valor's Call: Elkhorn, Mercion, Molliver,* Ringelrun, Strongheart

*introduced in XL-1 "The Quest for the Heartstone"


The Shady Dragon Tavern:

The Shady Dragon Tavern is where all the members of the Adventurer's Guild meet. Members of the Guild gather here to swap yams, chat with old friends, or make contacts for the next adventure.  All classes and levels of members mingle freely, from novices to experts, and from fighters to halflings.

The Shady Dragon Inn (1983)


"The Shady Dragon Inn" by Carl Smith, from Polyhedron #16 (Jan/Feb, 1984).

A two-page article appearing in Polyhedron #16 describes the staff of the Shady Dragon Inn, along with a more complete description of the Inn itself.


Floorplan of the Shady Dragon Tavern, from Polyhedron #16 (Jan/Feb, 1984).

The original map is in 25 mm scale.*

*see also The Shady Dragon Inn (Dungeondraft Timelapse)


Quagmire!

The prerolled characters in module X6 "Quagmire!" (1984) by Merle M. Rasmussen are taken from AC1 "The Shady Dragon Inn", with minor modifications.*

*Magnus the Mage loses 3 hp and gains a sleep spell, Hugi Tunneltrue and Idris Darkelf change alignment from Chaotic to Neutral, and the latter gains a floating disc spell


Tower of Doom:

There's a Shady Dragon Inn located in the town of Nemiston in the Republic of Darokin, in the "Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom" video game (1994) by Capcom.


Credits:

Design: Carl Smith
Editing: Michael Williams
Product Design: Ray Silbersdorf
Art: James Holloway et al
Cover Art: Larry Day

6 comments:

  1. From day 1 playing D&D with a secondhand copy of Moldvay Basic in 1983 my group used character sheets where CON came before DEX. Even now that seems the 'right' way to me. I never realised its origins in Holmes and 0e.

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    Replies
    1. Yes! I believe the swap between Dex and Con originated in 1e and was replicated in B/X.

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  2. I didn't know about the Polyhedron article w Shady Dragon Inn material. Great write-up!

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    Replies
    1. Cool, right?

      And thanks for that post covering the differences between the two versions of the BECMI expert rulebook - it made writing this post a lot easier!

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  3. Fantastic work. Thank you so much for all of these well-researched write-ups on the old B/X and BECMI era modules. You're a hero!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks - I'm glad you're enjoying them! My goal is to capture a lot of this information before it disappears.

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