X9: The Savage Coast

X9 "The Savage Coast" (1985) by Merle and Jackie Rasmussen, and Anne C. Gray is a D&D wilderness adventure for character levels 4-10, detailing the Savage Coast, the untamed frontier to the west of the Wild Lands.

Module X9 "The Savage Coast" (1985) by Merle and Jackie Rasmussen, and Anne C. Gray.  Cover illustration by Keith Parkinson.

The Adventure:

I posted a review of this module on Dragonsfoot, back in 2010.

The players are given four adventure hooks, one of which involves rival clerical brotherhoods.  A good way to extrapolate the authors' original intentions would be to make the Lost City of Risilvar the home base of the Brotherhood of Light.

I would flesh out a Chaotic Alliance including the aranea and the Brotherhood of Light and base them out of Risilvar.  Then I would stock those missing buildings in the Lost City and make tracking the Chaotic Alliance to the Lost City of Risilvar the climax of the module.

Since the adventurers are initially hired by the Brotherhood of Light to investigate the activities of the Lawful Brotherhood, this provides an opportunity for the party to be "played" by their original employers - something they would have to figure out for themselves.

See [BECMI] Extreme Makeover: X9 The Savage Coast on Dragonsfoot (June 23, 2010)

Design Origins:

Rasmussen reflected on the design origins in a post on Facebook:

The Savage Coast (X9) was an Expert Game Adventure for D&D. It takes place, you guessed it, on the Savage Coast.  It was more settings than plot line.  I studied the floor plan of a medieval monastery which became the Lawful Brotherhood Cleric Outpost.  I studied Central American pyramids that became the Lost City of Risilvar.  I remember hand drawing eight NPC/animal locations including Tribal Village, Pagan Teepees, Bark Lodges, Cay-men Compound, Phanaton Platforms, Arenea Webs, Tents, and Egg-Laying Grounds.  What was edited out became Tortles of the Purple Sage in two issues DUNGEON Magazine #6 & #7.  I may have outlined The Great Northway AKA Great Northway Lands in the 2 part Tortles adventure.

Merle Rasmussen on Facebook (October 6, 2015)

Plan of Saint Gall. Simplified view showing different structures.  (source: wikimedia)

In response to my question regarding the medieval monastery, he answered "I used the Plan of St. Gall which may never have actually been built until a recent reproduction."

Update (September 11, 2024) - a more comprehensive plan of the monastery of St. Gaul appears in the AD&D 2e "Charlemagne's Paladins" Campaign Sourcebook (1992)

The Lawful Brotherhood:

The Lawful Brotherhood represents the early/frontier church of the later Savage Baronies, and can be based on the religion of Narvaez (which seems to be inspired by Spain during the Inquisition).

Their temples have seven altar areas (one for each of the seven immortals in the pantheon of Narvaez: Ixion, the Inquisitor (Vanya), the Ambassador (Masauwu), the General (Thor), the Judge (Tarastia), Milan (Mealiden Starwatcher), and Valerias)

See Who were the Lawful Brotherhood? on the Piazza (June 28, 2010)

The Brotherhood of Light:

I like to regard the Brotherhood of Light as human worshipers of Menlil (aka Atzanteotl) and allies to the scorpion men of Nimmur, as described in Bruce Heard's article from Dragon #192 The Sting and the Sun.

Ixion and Atzanteotl are bitter rivals, hence the antipathy between the Lawful Brotherhood and the Brotherhood of Light, so-named because of their part to play in conquering the surface world for the followers of Menlil.

See Who were the Brotherhood of Light? on the Piazza (November 2, 2016)

New Monsters:

Amber Lotus Flower;* Amoeba, Giant;* Cay-men;** Decapus,*** Marine; Dog, Normal; Dragonne Monster;**** Giant River Serpentweed;** Lupin;* Pagan;* Sacrol;***** Tortle; Snapper; Strangle Vine******

*appeared in X2 "Castle Amber"
**appeared in AC2 "The Treasure of the Hideous One"
***appeared in B3 "Palace of the Silver Princess"

****appeared in XL-1 "Quest for the Heartstone"

*****appeared in M2 "Maze of the Riddling Minotaur"

******originally appeared as the Choke Creeper in the AD&D Monster Manual II

Coat of Arms of the Savage Coast, from Dragon #181 (May, 1992)

The Voyage of the Princess Ark:

Bruce Heard presented a richly detailed, Gazetteer-era version of the Savage Coast in a series of "Princess Ark" articles in Dragon magazine:

Part 21: The Savage Baronies (Dragon #174, October, 1991)
Part 22: The Savage Coast (Dragon #175, November, 1991)

Part 23: The Claw Peninsula (Dragon #176, December, 1991)

Part 24: The Kingdom of Robrenn (Dragon #177, January, 1992)

Part 25: The Kingdom of Eusdria (Dragon #178, February, 1992)

Part 26: The Kingdom of Renardy (Dragon #179, March, 1992)

Part 28: The Kingdom of Bellayne (Dragon #181, May, 1992)

Part 30: The Magocracy of Herath (Dragon #183, July, 1992)

Part 32: The Squamous Kingdoms (Dragon #185, September, 1992)

Part 33: The Land of Wallara (Dragon #186, October, 1992)

Part 35: The Land of Jibaru (Dragon #188, December, 1992)

He completed his update of the Savage Coast and beyond in a few additional "Known World Grimoire" articles:

The Kingdom of Nimmur (Dragon #192, April, 1993)

The Dark Jungle (Dragon #196, August, 1993)

The Kingdom of Eshu (Dragon #200, December, 1993)

 

Asked about his rationale, Heard explained:

I deliberately took liberties with the original settings.  In researching (Serpent Peninsula) and what obviously lay to the west (Hule and the Savage Coast), it quickly became clear that there was very little of interest there.  I didn’t think anyone would be particularly fascinated by thousands of miles of swamp, desert, and featureless plains with nobody around!  I made these changes in order to liven the place up, and so mercilessly grafted on geographical features and local cultures.  At this point, it would be safe to assume all these older modules took place at an earlier period in time.

Bruce Heard, Dragon #174 (October, 1991)

Conclusion:

Module X9 "The Savage Coast" provides an expansive canvas for the development of an epic campaign, rich in adventure and role-playing opportunities.