Publication:Castle Amber

[  Castle Amber]

System: Dungeons and Dragons 1e Levels: 3 – 6  Author: Tom Moldvay  Publisher: TSR  Publication Date: 1981  Format: Paperback  Page Count: 32

Product Blurb Trapped in the mysterious Castle Amber, you find yourselves cut off form the world you know. The castle is fraught with peril. Members of the strange Amber family, some insane, some merely deadly, lurk around every corner. Somewhere in the castle is the key to your escape, but can you survive long enough to find it? This module contains referee notes, background information, maps, and exploration keys intended for use with the D&D Expert rules. Be sure to look for other D&D modules! For characters level 3-6. This text is quoted from promotion material. Text and images are copyrighted by the original publisher.

Plot Summary

The player characters explore the haunted mansion of the Amber family, and encounter new monsters such as the brain collector. The module is described as a medium to high-level scenario which takes place in a castle surrounded by a strange gray mist.

During their night's rest on their way to Glantri, the player characters are unexpectedly drawn into a large castle surrounded by an impenetrable, deadly mist. This is the result of a curse the wizard-noble Stephen Amber (Etienne d'Amberville) put on his treacherous relatives for murdering him.

The only way to escape Castle Amber (or Château d'Amberville) is to explore the castle, putting up with the demented and at times insane members of the d'Amberville family and the other, often hostile, denizens, and open a hidden portal to the wilderness of the world of Averoigne, where the party can find the means to reach the inter-dimensional tomb in which Stephen Amber rests, in order to break the curse and return home.

In this world, magic is frowned upon, and spellcasters may come to the attention of the Inquisition.

Publication History

Castle Amber was the second module designed for use with the D&D Expert Set. It was written by Tom Moldvay and published 1981 as a thirty two page booklet with an outer folder and a cover designed by Erol Otus.

The module was developed by Dave Cook, Allen Hammack, Kevin Hendryx, Harold Johnson, Tom Moldvay, and Jon Pickens, and edited by Harold Johnson, Edward Sollers, and Steve Winter. It features art by Jim Holloway, Harry Quinn, Jim Roslof, Stephen D. Sullivan, and Erol Otus.

Mark of Amber was a sequel/remake of the original Castle Amber. It was reprinted in 1995 in the form of a boxed set, complete with an audio CD, map posters, and player handouts. It was part of the short lived Masters series. The Castle was renamed Château Sylaire.

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