CM7: Q & A with Bruce Heard

In preparation for yesterday's post on CM7 "The Tree of Life", I reached out to Bruce Heard with a few questions, which he kindly took the time to answer.

Illustration by Larry Elmore

Q. Can you tell us about what sources of inspiration or concepts led to the development of CM7 "The Tree of Life"?

The source came from Frank Mentzer’s Companion Set and his descriptions of the elves.  Much of the rest came from adventures I ran while I was still in France, in 1981-1982.  The funny thing is that I recycled the Basic D&D idea of sentient, magical trees at the center of forest-dwelling clans in my later Calidar game world describing an elven kingdom.  It all goes back to the Companion set.

Q. Were there any significant changes made to the module before publication, on advice of the editor, or through playtesting?

Surely, you jest!  Playtesting at TSR rarely took place.  There just wasn’t enough time for this, given everyone’s production schedules.  Typically, editors focused on text clarity, grammar, spelling, formatting, and copyfitting.  They did not often address pure design issues with a writer.  So, no to your question.  Once I turned in my design, it disappeared into TSR’s black box and came back out on the other side, not looking too bad!

Q. The Star Map is a nice feature of the module.  Did you provide a detailed sketch to the artist, or does it represent more of a collaboration?

Yes, I drew a diagram for the star map.  Unfortunately, I do not remember who produced the chart’s final artwork.  I suspect it was Larry Elmore.  I was too new in the company to grasp all the production ropes or to go snooping around to see what other staffers were doing on the module.  As I said earlier, for me at that time, it was a black box until the “tah-dah” moment came.

Q. Looking back at CM7, one of your earliest works, is there anything you would now consider doing differently?

Nah!  It was as good as I could have written it at the time.  I wish the Gazetteers had already been published which would have helped me position the adventure in the Known World specifically.  GAZ1 came in 1987… too late for CM7.  This was part of the reason I started pushing for these Gazetteers when I earned enough influence on the D&D product line to do so.

Q. Any advice for those considering running the adventure?

No, not really.  I wrote most of this more than 40 years ago.  Been a while.  A note in passing as I flip through my copy: Page 3 introduces a druid named Cucurbita Pepo.  This was the name of a PC in a campaign I ran back in France (based in Greyhawk, using AD&D first edition rules).

CM7: The Tree of Life

CM7 "The Tree of Life" (1986) by Bruce Heard is a D&D adventure for a party of high-level elves (the pregens are 10th level), accompanied by a 10th level druid.

CM7 "The Tree of Life" (1986) by Bruce Heard.  Illustration by Larry Elmore.

The Feadiel clan's Tree of Life is dying (see Demi-human Clans).  The PCs are sent on a quest by the elders of Alfheim to discover the source of its affliction.

Creative Team:

CM7 "The Tree of Life" was written by Bruce Heard, who previously co-authored M1 "Into the Maelstrom" (1985).

Heard was originally hired by TSR as a French translator, and found himself as the de facto BECMI product line manager after Frank Mentzer left the company (see this post on The Piazza).

The cover illustration is by Larry Elmore.  Interior illustrations are by Mario Maccari.  Cartography is by Tom Darden.

Selinar:

Location of Selinar, the eastern portion of Canolbarth Forest, home to the Feadiel Clan.

Alfheim is described as "a group of large clans allied under the authority of a sole king for the defense of the woodland and of their civilization.*  Many powerful druids live in Alfheim, helping the elves to maintain the sylvan realm."

*the ruler of Alfheim is given as King Doriath in X10 "Red Arrow, Black Shield" (1985)

The adventure begins in Feador, the Feadiel's clanhold in Selinar, described as a village.  From there, the party must discover at least one of two magical ways to travel to the Feadiel clan's ancestral homeland, far to the northwest.

(The northern part of Canolbarth Forest was previously detailed in O2 "Blade of Vengeance".)

The Magic Rainbow:

The Magic Rainbow is the common arch of our skies; however, very few people know that it is indeed magical and that it can reach any place a traveler is seeking, whether real or imaginary, if its secret is learned.  The inside of the rainbow is a dimension by itself, inhabited by powerful creatures. 

CM7 "The Tree of Life" (pg. 7)

In addition to serving as a means of transportation, the Magic Rainbow permits travel to "The Land of Colors", parallel worlds where everything is based on their respective colors, with entry points corresponding to locations in the Lands and Environs of the D&D Wilderness:

Scarletland  (entry point corresponding to location of Glantri City, infested with giant red ants and rust monsters)

Amberland (entry point corresponding to location of Ylaruam, featuring ochre jellies and many great cats of all sorts)

Goldenland (entry point corresponding to location of Specularum, contaminated with yellow mold)

Jadeland (entry point corresponding to location of Alfheim, contaminated by clusters of green slime)

Azureland (entry point corresponding to location of Norvik, a land of frost giants and creatures of ice)

Violetland (entry point corresponding to location of Thyatis, with poisonous ultra-violet rays)

The Star Map:

The Star Map, a rudimentary planisphere depicting twelve constellations and the names for the months of the year

Twelve constellations are depicted on the Star Map: the Manticore, the Eagle, the Chimera, the Centaur, the Griffon, the Warrior, the House, the Lizard, Justice, the Nymph, the Hydra, the Narwhal*

*symbols for each of these are given in Chapter 3 "The Elven Land", some of which are depicted in the illustration on the module's cover

The names of major stars in the various constellations are also given: Hunard (the Eagle), Celeb (the Chimera), Mantis (the Griffon), Rhax (the House), Wyrm (the Lizard), Coloth (Justice), Walinor (the Nymph), Sidon (the Hydra), Lith (the Narwhal)

Five planets* are indicated as parts of constellations on the Star Map: Alith (the Manticore), Zoar (the Eagle), Telax (the Centaur), Loth (the Warrior), Mym (the Hydra)

*the positions of planets in the night sky are not fixed ("planet" literally meaning "wanderer"), so regarding these as minor stars may be more appropriate

The 12 constellations are divided into 4 seasons, each of which is associated with an element: spring (earth), summer (fire), autumn (air), winter (water)

Finally, elven names for the months of the year are given: Frostend, Youngfire, Seedwell, White-Ewe, Rich-Sun, Sweetlife, Copperfield, Goldharvest, Redtree, Darkwood, Snowdrop, Gloomlight

The Elven Land:

The Elven Land, located in the northwest corner of the continental map in the D&D Companion Set.

The Elven Land, also referred to as "the Sylvan Realm", is the Feadiel clan's ancestral homeland.

The land of the ancients is a remote realm, bordered on the north by a huge swamp-forest, on the east and southeast by a chain of high mountains, and on the west by an ocean.  The south is open to vast steppes.  Most of the realm is covered with forest;

The forest was originally divided into four areas called Ietzirah, Beriah, Atziluth and Asiah, the four archaic terms for Water, Air, Fire, and Earth.

CM7 'The Tree of Life" (pg. 12)

The names for the different areas in the Elven Land are drawn from the Kabbalah, corresponding to the four elements as described above.*

*see Introduction to the Kabbalah – The Sefirot and the Four Worlds

Coincidentally, "The Tree of Life" is the name given to a diagram in the Kabbalah representing the process by which the universe came into being.

The Tower of Light:

The Tower of Light, illustration by Mario Maccari.

The Tower of Light was an elvish palace consisting of multiple towers, and represents a challenging three-dimensional environment for the DM to run.

Summary:

CM7 "The Tree of Life" seems like an epic module.  Although structured as a quest, the players must deduce their objectives using clues (such as the Star Map).

There are powerful monsters to fight, a devious adversary to defeat, and several puzzles to solve.

Upon seemingly achieving their goal, the players are confronted with an unexpected twist, followed by a war machine scenario.

This is a complex adventure for experienced players, a fitting Companion-level module.

Trivia:

Elven rations provide sustenance for 10 weeks, rather than one week.  They are normally not for sale, but on a human market are worth up to 300 gp.

A pre-rolled character named Miridor Feadiel, described as the nephew of a clan leader, appears in module X11 "Saga of the Shadow Lord" (1986).

The name of the druid, Cucurbita Pepo, was re-used for a young druid in Robrenn in "The Voyage of the Princess Ark" (Dragon #177, pg. 43).

The Magic Rainbow ("Path of the Rainbow") and Sylvan Realm (circa 500 AC) appear in "Dragonlord of Mystara" (1994) by Thorarinn Gunnarsson (Chapter 18).

A "Magic Mouth" spell effect (pg. 30) represents an AD&Dism, and may reflect the module's component origins as a AD&D adventure.