One Night Stands: Spire of Iron and Crystal
his module was written for play at GenCon 2009¸ as an introduction
to old style free-form adventure gaming. It uses the Swords & Wizardry
Core Rules¸ which are available as a free.pdf file at the game's website¸
www.swordsandwizardry.com. Swords & Wizardry is a "retro-clone"
game¸ mirroring the rules of the original 1974 fantasy roleplaying
game written by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. This original
edition¸ which consisted of three booklets and four supplements¸ is
often referred to as "0e." There are actually two versions of Swords &
Wizardry: the WhiteBox version uses only material from the first three
booklets¸ and the Core Rules (used here) make use of some¸ but by no
means all¸ of the material from the four supplements.
Background
For centuries¸ out in the wilderness beyond civilization's reach¸
there has stood an enigmatic tower known as the Spire of Iron and
Crystal. It is a bizarre and ancient structure; four massive¸ eggshaped
crystals are mounted into a twisting¸ ornate structure of
rounded metal girders¸ one crystal at the top and the other three
mounted lower down. Moving lights seen inside the huge crystals
suggest that they are hollow and even inhabited¸ but no one has ever
discovered the secret of how to enter them. This is not surprising¸ for
the tower is located on a broad stone ledge halfway up a sheer cliff
face¸ the glassy walls of which have killed several adventurers who
attempted to climb down to the tower almost a hundred feet below.
Over the course of the last few months¸ with considerable effort and some
highly questionable methods¸ the adventurers have assembled quite a bit
of information about the Spire - things not widely known¸ even among
the wisest sages of the lands. Most importantly¸ they believe they know
how to enter the structure safely. Once per year¸ the sun shines through an
ancient runestone at the edge of the great cliff upon which the Spire stands;
for a period of three days when the stars are aligned with the runestone¸ an
invisible causeway manifests¸ connecting the highest crystal of the tower
with the edge of the cliff¸ far above. According to the party's information¸
it is only during the first hour of evening¸ while the sun is visible through
the runestone that the ramp remains in being.
This information promises to allow the party access to the riches of
the tower¸ which are lavishly described in rumor and lore. They have
equipped a small expedition and made their way through the trails of the
wild borderlands to their goal: the tower and its still-unplundered riches.
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