M1 "Into the Maelstrom" (1985) by Bruce and Beatrice Heard is a D&D adventure for a party of four to eight characters of levels 25 to 30.
M1 "Into the Maelstrom" (1985) by Bruce and Beatrice Heard. Cover illustration depicting the immortals Alphaks, Koryis, and Vanya, by Jeff Easley.
The PCs embark on a naval expedition in the Sea of Alphatia, while a trio of immortals seek to manipulate events to promote their individual goals.
Creative Team:
M1 "Into the Maelstrom" is credited to husband and wife team Bruce and Beatrice Heard,* while Anne Gray McReady is listed as editor.
*X9 "The Savage Coast" (1985) was likewise credited to Merle and Jackie Rasmussen, along with Anne C. Gray (McReady's maiden name)
A while back, Bruce was asked about the module's origins:
Actually never ran it. There was no time to even playtest this. I got an urgent request to handle this module (as a freelance assignment). For this, I was handed a somewhat faded, more or less organized dot-matrix printout of Frank's unedited manuscript, which was nowhere near as user-friendly as a modern laser printout or the real thing. I had very little idea how to put this together, so M1 really was my ad-hoc effort to come up very quickly with something that might work with the Master Set without fully understanding all its contents--more like a shot from the hip into the dark! I was NOT happy with this. I'm glad it worked out. Phew...
Bruce Heard on Facebook (December 1, 2016)
The Setting:
King Ericall of Norwold has been provoked into invading the Barony of Qeodhar, an island realm allied to the Empire of Alphatia.
Sea of Alphatia
The cities of Aasla, Sundsvall, and Trollhatan in Alphatia coincide with Oslo (Norway), Sundsvall (Sweden), and Trollhättan (Sweden). The northern Alphatian mainland corresponds to the Scandinavian Peninsula (note the fjords north of Aasla), although the cities are not situated in relation to their real-world counterparts.
Farend is the major city of Qeodhar, which corresponds to Iceland (Norlan's title is "Kjavik of Norzee". The southern coast benefits from a rare micro-climate permitted by the proximity of high mountains, a warm ocean stream coming from the east, and a profusion of hot water springs, while the northern side is a semi-permanent polar climate.
The Immortals:
Alphaks, Patron of Chaos and Revenge, is a chaotic temporal from the sphere of Death. Centuries ago, he was a despotic Alphatian emperor on the path to immortality as a paragon. His reign culminated in mass revolts, leading to the destruction of the Alphatian civilization.
Koryis, Patron of Peace and Prosperity, is a Lawful temporal from the sphere of Thought. He opposes wars and violence.
Vanya, Patroness of War and Conquerors, is a Neutral temporal from the sphere of Time. She is solely interested in history, glory, and heroism.
Update (November 25, 2024): In considering possible real-world sources of inspiration for Koryis and Vanya, I wonder about Freyr (Norse god of kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest) and Freyja (Norse goddess of love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future)
The Sea Machine:
The PCs join King Ericall's fleet, as heroes or commanders, to invade the Barony of Qeodhar and bring its ruler back, dead or alive.
A set of war machine rules, modified for naval warfare, are included.
Into the Maelstrom:
The PCs' fleet is drawn into a huge whirlpool, created by a gate opened by Vanya to another part of the galaxy.
Flight to the Star Kingdoms. Illustration by Valerie Valusek
Although traveling through space, the atmosphere is breathable:
Many centuries ago, the Alphatians ruled a planet in this area. However, they were divided into two factions affiliated to a specific school of magic. One was based on the Element of Air, the other, ruled by the Paragon Alphaks, worshipped the Element of Fire. The followers of Air once opened a gate to fill this area of space with air. It is now enclosed in a huge bubble of breathable air.
Humiliated, Alphaks started a war against the followers of Air. The schools of Fire and Air waged a crippling war that ravaged their entire world. About to be destroyed by Alphaks' fire minions, the school of Air fled the planet shortly before unleashing their last weapon, a spell of utter power that disintegrated the planet...
"Into the Maelstrom" pg. 8
A Space Odyssey:
The next section borrows inspiration from Homer's Odyssey as the PCs' fleet is carried by solar winds in a descent towards the remnants of the Alphatian's home world.
Paradise Island - zzonga-eaters (lotus-eaters)
The Isle of the Eye - gargantuan beholder (cyclopes)
The Keeper of the Sky Winds - King Leosus (Aeolus)
The Gentle Giantess - Kenatha (daughter to King Antiphates)
The Palace of the Cloud Giants - (Laestrygonians)
The Isle of the Turkeys - Kersy (Circe)
Journey to the Underworld - Theyraz (Tiresias)The Great Sea in the Sky - the Great Sea Spiral
The Wandering Rocks - broken remnants of Alphatia
The Voice of Death - sea hags (siren)
Whirlpool and Stone Jaws - (Charybdis and Scylla)
The Plane of Water - vortex
Vanya's Flock - (Cattle of Helios)
An Immortal's Storm
The Star Kingdoms:
Three realms (and two cities) occupy the area beyond the Wandering Rocks, across the Great Sea Spiral.
Republic of Belthar. Illustration by Valerie Valusek
Republic of Belthar (Neutral) - represented by General Secretary of the Republic, Lord Rawn-Driz; occupies the top surface of a planetary shard
Magocracy of Gammar (Chaotic) - ruled by "His Radiance" Halzunthram, a powerful wizard assisted by a few lesser mages; occupies a tiny spherical planet; employ skysharks (phase ships)
Realm of Delthar (Lawful) - ruled by King Korwald and a powerful church council; island realm in a flattened, circular sea
Kabarkhand* - a large city enclosed in a fortress, on top of a small rock, in the neutral sky zone; Guild of Merchants, forces led by Merchant Prince Mohamed Abdulaziz Zhawat-El-Sh'razz XIV
*possibly inspired by Samarkand
Tortuga - a large city enclosed in a fortress, on top of a small rock, among the asteroids in Delthan air space; Sky Raiders
The Mountain of Death:
The last part of the adventure involves a return to the Alphatian Sea to face an undead fleet and infiltrate Alphaks' mountain, containing a vortex to the Plane of Death.*
*similar to CM2 "Death's Ride"
The final confrontation against Alphaks involves the PCs in astral form.
New Monsters:
The Keeper of the Underworld, a Roaring Demon, on his longship crewed by shadows. Illustration by Valerie Valusek.
*special thanks is extended to Frank Mentzer for the Roaring Demon
The prerolled characters from CM3 are included (another 8 levels higher):
Fergus the Justifier (F28) now a paladin.
Geoffrey of Heldann (C28) a wandering cleric from the Heldann Freeholds.
Weston the Tall (T28) a wandering thief (a "rogue").
Quillan Elm Grower (E10; now attack rank K.
Brogahn of the Steppes (F28) now a knight.
Claransa the Seer (M28) a wandering magic-user (a "magus") from Specularum
each has the following:
6-12 potions
1-3 magical rings
2-5 miscellaneous magic items
l-4 loyal henchmen (it the player wants them)
When asked about the 500,000 gp in gems, jewelry or coins:
... This might have had to do with not having yet a printed version of the rules back then, and guessing about the best way to set high-level pregens. No way today I'd ever give this much cash to pre-gens. You can be powerful... and also ungodly spendthrift, resulting in the chronic poverty necessary for such powerful characters to get off their legendary behinds and go do some amazingly mind-blowing adventuring before the eyes of immortals rather than sending some underlings to do it for them. But 30 years ago, I probably still nurtured the delusion that folks might find it perfectly natural to brave untold torments and nearly-assured death, while dragging along their very own dragon hoards, out of sheer eagerness for benevolent, earth-shaking, Kraken-slaying thrills.
Bruce Heard on Facebook (July 4, 2018)
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