X8: Drums on Fire Mountain

X8 "Drums on Fire Mountain" (1984) by Graeme Morris and Tom Kirby is a D&D adventure for character levels 5-8.

Module X8 "Drums on Fire Mountain" (1984) by Graeme Morris and Tom Kirby.  Cover illustration by Brian Williams.

Creative Team:

Graeme Morris and Tom Kirby collaborated on several AD&D modules in the UK series (starting with UK1 "Beyond the Crystal Cave" (1983), on which they shared a design credit).

Production was overseen by Phil Gallagher and the TSR UK Design Team.

Cartography was by "Paul Ruiz" (aka Geoff Wingate) with interior black-and-white illustrations by Wingate and Brian Williams.

Design Origins:

Final round of the first British AD&D Open Championship, held at GamesFair '81 at Reading University in July

The scenario was originally used as the basis for the first British AD&D Open Championship at GamesFair '81 at Reading University in the UK (where it was titled "Teki-Nura-Ria: The Mountain of Death") according to the Acaeum.*

The tournament was held in three rounds over two days, involving three separate raids on the "Island of Death" (see D&D Players Association News #4 (Sept. 1981) for a con report).

*other UK modules originating as tournament scenarios:

GamesFair '82 AD&D Open: UK6 "All That Glitters" (1984)

GamesFair '83 AD&D Open: UK2 "The Sentinel" (1983)

GamesFair '83 AD&D Open (final round): UK3 "The Gauntlet" (1984)

GamesFair '84 AD&D Open: UK4 "When a Star Falls" (1984)

The Adventure:

The adventure begins in the capital of Thyatis, where the PCs are hired by the Seafaring Merchants' Guild to disrupt pirate activity by the green-skinned kara-kara.

The party travels to the island of Teki-nura-ria, where the kara-kara partake in a days-long, annual ceremony, beating drums in their underground temple.

A network of ancient tunnels beneath the island's twin volcanic peaks leads the PCs to the new leader of the kara-kara, who must be defeated if their raids are to be halted.

Teki-Nura-Ria:

Location of Teki-nura-ria, southeast of the Empire of Thyatis, in the Sea of Dread

Teki-nura-ria does not appear on previous maps of the Sea of Dread (in modules X1 "The Isle of Dread", XSOLO "Lathan's Gold", or X7 "The War Rafts of Kron").

The map of the island in the module bears a passing resemblance to the Big Island of Hawaii, in keeping with the Polynesian theme.

Anne Gray McCready also drew upon Polynesian cultures for another part of the Sea of Dread in Gaz 4 "The Kingdom of Ierendi" (1987).

The Kara-kara:

- We Kara-Kara - Greatest of All Tribes - Children of Tapu God of Pigs -
- Long Time Gone - Du-Arna - The Sea-Wife of Tapu - Made an Island for Kara-Kara - Named It Teki-Nura-Ria
- Deep in Island Heart - There Were Born Our Ancestors - They Lived in Darkness - Growing
- Then Tapu Called Loud - All Earth Burst Open - Out Came Ancestors From Darkness - Kara Kara Were Born
- Tapu Gives Us Pigs - Du-Arna and Her Great Fog - Kal-Muru - Bring Us Ships - Our Sons Are Strong
We Are Kara Kara

Kara-kara creation myth

The depiction of the kara-kara as a green-skinned, humanoid race with a Polynesian-inspired culture, distantly related to orcs, is problematic.

(Much has already been written about this, to which I have little substantial to add).

The island was previously home to an elder race of "Ancestors" depicted in statuary (including the cover) as having long chins, high foreheads, and long, dangling ears.*

*the illustration on pg. 17 also depicts the Ancestors with six-fingered hands

New Monsters:

Agarat; Fundamental (Air, Earth, Water, Fire); Kal-muru (Ship-bane); Kara-kara; Topi

There are also variations of some previously described monsters, including special crystal statues (pgs. 21, 22), and special, small juggernauts (pg. 25).

Maltese Falcon:

One of the treasures on pg. 26 is a statuette of a black falcon (apparent value - 200 gp) which is, in fact, made of gold painted with black lacquer (true value - 15000 gp).

Alternate Staging:

The island of Teki-nura-ria can be dropped into any seafaring campaign without using the plot hook provided in the module.

The party's ship may be attacked by the kal-muru, or they might alternately become shipwrecked attempting to run before a gale in the Sea of Dread.

Exploration of the deserted island, without the kara-kara, could focus on discovery of the ancient underground tunnels of the Ancestors.

Conclusion:

Module X8 "Drums on Fire Mountain" is the only Expert module based on a tournament adventure, and features several new monsters.

While certain elements render the scenario almost unusable, their elimination results in a mysterious tropical island, which could be repurposed into a "Lost" TV series theme.