The Blackmoor campaign setting was featured in Dragon #315's review of classic campaign settings in January, 2004.
Illustration by Bob Steinman
The article by Ari Marmell describes a branch of halflings, known as the Docrae (or "warrior-born"), who left their ancestral home of Booh to settle in the nearby peaks.
DA4 "The Duchy of Ten" includes several new NPCs, as well as a few previously described in DA1 "Adventures in Blackmoor" and DA2 "Temple of the Frog":
Captain Hieronymus Castagere
Captain Hieronymus Castegere (F10, Neutral)
captain of the BlossomDost Suwat (F7, Chaotic)Gerry Categere (T7, Neutral)Gregor Mendicamp (C12, Lawful)
Gul Hadda - the Mad Fakir
Gul Hadda - the Mad Fakir (M14, Chaotic)
Sher Yakub (F12, Chaotic)
Sir Kay Degern - Baron of Oktagern (F13, Lawful)
Stout Robin Goodfellow
Stout Robin Goodfellow (T14, Neutral)
The remaining entries cover NPCs previously described in DA1 or DA2:
Fletcher William, the Fetch (F14, Lawful; Ken Fletcher)Jallapierie (M17, Lawful)Stephan Rocklin - Saint Stephen (F10, Neutral)
Zugzul the One. Illustration by Dave Dorman.
DA4 "The Duchy of Ten" was published after the D&D Master Set (1985) and Immortals Set (1986) rules, and so refers to Zugzul as an immortal:
Though the Afridhi worship Zugzul as a god, he is in fact something less than that. At one time a mortal man, he has long since passed from the ken of lesser folk to become one of the Immortals. These superbeings are described in part in the D&D® Master Set Rules and in full in the D&D® Immortals Set Rules. If you have those rules, you may want to use the material found in them to enrich play of this adventure.
Zugzul serves the Sphere of Energy, which is closely related to the element of fire. His purpose is to create more energy and activity. Energy is highly active, dynamic, and excited. It seeks to alter and transform things, consuming Matter, slowing Time, and exciting Thought to release more Energy. Energy represents disorder, uniqueness, and the Chaotic alignment.
Given his description as an immortal, it's surprising that Zugzul was not mentioned in the Codex of the Immortals (1992) by Aaron Allston (Book One of the "Wrath of the Immortals").
The Afridhi (or, the "Children of Fire") are a tribe of savage hill-men who dwelt for centuries in the Goblin Kush, a frozen mountainous land, west of Blackmoor.
Their warrior culture was built upon the raiding and looting of the adjacent lowlands, and the indiscriminate slaughter of any who were not of their kind.
Most Afridhi men are short and square-bodied with curly black hair and long beards.
Afridhi warriors (Lance & Laser Miniatures)
Fire is venerated as a gift of their god "Zugzul the One", since it permitted the Afridhi to survive in their frozen, harsh environment.
The high priestess of Zugzul is the Afrdihi head of state, also known as "the Mistress of God" in recognition of her special relationship with Zugzul.
The worship of other gods is forbidden, as are usury, displays of public drunkenness, dancing (except on religious holidays), and secular art.
The Handmaidens of Death:
The Handmaidens of Death are an elite cadre of male soldiers, who serve as bodyguards for the Afridhi leadership as well as for key religious installations.
They are extremely ferocious and virtually incorruptible - religious fanatics who are forbidden to marry or have children until released after 20 years of service.
Handmaiden of Death, illustration by Dave Dorman.
Their oath forbids them to grow hair on their faces or cut their hair (which is usually plaited into a single long braid, coiled inside a headcloth).
They dress in long, brightly colored silk kaftans and slippers, and wear lots of jewelry (such as heavy drop earrings and thick gold necklaces).
Their "dance of death" is a combination sword dance and ritual combat in which each dancer allows himself to be wounded at least once.
The Sisters of Fire:
The Afridhi are governed by female judges, known as the Sisters of Fire, recognizable by their flame-red, hooded robes of office.
The Sisters of Fire live apart, alone or among themselves, and take vows of piety, poverty, and chastity. All possess a natural resistance to fire, a gift of their god.
The Children of Zug:
The Children of Zug are a secret society of Afridhi males, who seek to undermine the present matriarchal form of government.
They believe that the current worship of Zugzul in his "Zul" aspect ignores the dual nature of the god as both "Zug" (ice) and "Zul" (fire).
* * *
Zeitgeist Games version:
The Afridhi were modelled after fire giants in the Zeitgeist Games core campaign book (pg. 185), where they are described as:
"a dark-skinned people with flaming red hair" who are "slightly shorter than other humans, only 5 feet on average, but make up for their vertical shortcomings with great physical power."
Module DA4 "The Duchy of Ten" involves a mission into the lands west of Blackmoor, recently conquered by the Afridhi.
The lands west of Blackmoor (red box) as depicted on Map 1 "The Northlands" from DA4 "The Duchy of Ten" (1987).
The map in DA4 is the same as the map in DA1, with a few additions:
Geography of the West:
The module provides descriptions for each of the following regions:
The Duchy of Ten
The Plains of Hak*
*see also the "Riders of Hak" (2007) sourcebook, part of the Zeitgeist Games d20 series of Blackmoor supplements
The Empty Lands
The Barrens of KarshThe Barrier SwampThe Duchy of TenThe EavesThe Empty LandsThe Gargoyle HillsThe GlensThe Great Dismal Swamp/Brushy FenThe Hills of TenThe OceanThe Plains of HakThe Wilds of Ten
DA4 "The Duchy of Ten" (1987) by David Ritchie is a 48 page supplement, part D&D adventure/part campaign expansion for character levels 10-14.
Module DA4 "The Duchy of Ten" (1987) by David J. Ritchie. Cover illustration by Clyde Caldwell, from Dungeon #2 (Nov/Dec 1986)
Creative Team:
*additions to the version from DA1 were made, with a change in scale from 24 miles/hex to 12 miles/hex (as per the correction in DA2, pg. 12)
Design Origins:
As mentioned above, the Afridhi religion and culture as depicted in DA4 were conceived by Deborah Ritchie.
The Adventure:
The PCs are the only ones who can destroy a powerful artifact, the Well of Souls, to stop the Afridhi from conquering Blackmoor and altering the course of world history.
The adventure begins with a sea voyage to the town of Robinsport,* followed by an overland trek to the Forge at Tor Kurram, the location of the Well of Souls.
*a Chase Flow Chart is used for the town of Robinsport, a device previously used for the town of Akesoli in X10 "Red Arrow, Black Shield" (the chart is labeled, this time)
Geography of the West:
New Monsters:
David Cook was acknowledged with special thanks for use of the soul eater, as were other contributors to the Creature Catalog for the dolphin, dragon turtle, gakarak, gator man, lava lizard, roper, and sollux (although neither the dolphin nor dragon turtle appeared in AC9).
Rogues, Regents, and Rascals:
Prerolled Characters: