 | |
| Authors | Pete Kerestan and Judy Kerestan |
|---|---|
| First published | 1976 |
Palace of the Vampire Queen is a fantasy role-playing game adventure published by Wee Warriors in 1976 that uses the rules of Dungeons & Dragons , despite not being licensed by TSR, the creators of D&D. It is notable for being the first stand-alone role-playing adventure to be published.
Palace of the Vampire Queen is a simple scenario for TSR's D&D game set on the isle of Baylor in the Misty Isles archipelago. [1] A vampire queen has kidnapped a dwarven princess, and the heroes must rescue the princess. [2] The vampire's palace is a five-level dungeon; some rooms contain monsters, while other rooms are empty. The adventure includes a complete map for the gamemaster, and a blank map for the players to fill in as they explore. [3] As RPG historian Stu Horvath noted, "Everything is static; the occupants of the rooms wait for the players to arrive in order to react. Several rooms have detailed descriptions of furniture and other contents, implying that the rooms labeled 'Empty' are literally empty." [2]
Palace of the Vampire Queen was written by Pete and Judy Kerestan, with art by Brad Schenck under his pseudonym "Morno". It was published as 15 loose-leaf sheets and an outer folder. [3] The authors sold their product out of the trunk of their car to begin with, [2] but soon negotiated an arrangement with TSR where, although it was an unlicensed product, TSR exclusively distributed it to promote sales of D&D. This made Palace of the Vampire Queen one of the first four Wee Warriors products to be widely sold as a result. [4] : 28 Occasionally copies of the adventure would arrive at TSR missing a page, and TSR staff would add a photocopy of the missing page to the package. [1]
Palace of the Vampire Queen was the first published standalone role-playing game adventure. [5] : 152 Although TSR's adventure Temple of the Frog had been published a year prior and thus was the first published RPG adventure, it was included in the D&D Blackmoor expansion booklet, and was not a stand-alone adventure; TSR did not publish any stand-alone adventures until 1978.
Wee Warriors published a second edition in 1976 that consisted of either 17 or 24 loose-leaf sheets — sometimes pages were printed double-sided, sometimes only single-sided. [1] The third and fourth printings in 1976 were 13 double-sided loose-leaf pages.
Wee Warriors followed up in 1977 with a second adventure set on Baylor, Dwarven Glory, which was also distributed by TSR.
However, late in 1977, the rapidly growing TSR stopped distributing third-party merchandise, and the fifth printing of Palace of the Vampire Queen took the form of a pamphlet-sized 30-page center-bound book that was distributed by Wee Warriors. [1] The sixth and final edition, also distributed by Wee Warriors, was a 28-page pamphlet-sized book with a cardstock cover. [3]
A third D&D adventure, Misty Isles, also set in the Misty Isles archipelago, was released in 1977 and was also distributed by Wee Warriors. [1]
Wee Warriors ceased publication in 1978. In 2019, Precis Intermedia acquired the Wee Warriors product line, [6] with a re-release of Palace of the Vampire Queen as a remastered reprint.[ citation needed ]
In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath noted, "In Palace of the Vampire Queen, nothing makes sense. The only context is provided in a one-page background that boils down to a couple of key facts, most of which were established by the title ... As with many novice dungeons designs, the palace seems to be populated the way it is because it might be neat, or might be fun, or in the case of the garlic garden, probably useful for the players." Horvath concluded, "Palace of the Vampire Queen proves that extremities of strangeness are really a baseline of the [role-playing game] hobby." [2]
Spelljammer is a campaign setting originally published for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastic outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included Spelljammer content; a Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition setting update was released on August 16, 2022.
Arduin is a fictional universe and fantasy role-playing system created in the mid-1970s by David A. Hargrave. It was the first published "cross-genre" fantasy RPG, with everything from interstellar wars to horror and historical drama, although it was based primarily in the medieval fantasy genre.
Count Strahd von Zarovich is a fictional character originally appearing as the feature villain in the highly popular Advanced Dungeons and Dragons adventure module I6: Ravenloft. Later, this character and his world would be explored in follow-up modules, novels, and the Ravenloft campaign setting. Within this setting, Strahd is the first and best-known of Ravenloft's darklords. He is a powerful ancient vampire. He is also a master necromancer, a skilled warrior, and the unquestioned ruler of the domain of Barovia.
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, an adventure or module is a guide for managing player knowledge and activities within a specific scenario. Commercially, a published adventure comes as a pre-packaged book or box set that is used exclusively by the Dungeon Master. It typically contains background information for the plot or story, maps, vignettes of interesting locations, site inventories, creature descriptions and statistics, player visual aids, and suggested rules for evaluating events and likely player actions.
Wee Warriors Ltd. was a game company formed shortly after the birth of role-playing games (RPGs) in the mid-1970s to publish RPG accessories. It was notable for publishing the first stand-alone adventure for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, and for publishing the first character sheets for an RPG. The company thrived for several years while TSR distributed their unlicensed products. When TSR stopped distributing unlicensed materials, Wee Warriors tried diversifying, but ultimately ceased publication in 1978.
City State of the Invincible Overlord is a fantasy role-playing game supplement originally published by Judges Guild in 1976. It was the first published fantasy role-playing game city setting, designed for use with Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), and officially approved for use with D&D from 1976 through 1983. It was later republished under license by Necromancer Games.
Thomas Steven Moldvay was an American game designer and author, best known for his work on early materials for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).
The Ruins of Undermountain is a boxed set for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The set was written by Ed Greenwood and published by TSR. It featured box cover art by Brom. and was published in 1991.
Hall of Heroes is an accessory for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The 128-page book, with product code TSR 9252, was published in 1989, with cover art by Jeff Easley and interior art by Ned Dameron.
Ravenloft: Realm of Terror is a boxed set accessory published in 1990 for the Ravenloft campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Dark Tower is an adventure module published by Judges Guild in 1980 for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Free RPG Day is an annual promotional event by the Tabletop role-playing game industry. The event rules are fairly simple: participating publishers provide special free copies of games to participating game stores; the game store agrees to provide one free game to any person who requests a free game on Free RPG Day.
The Caverns of Thracia is an adventure for fantasy role-playing games published by Judges Guild in 1979. Written by Jennell Jaquays, it was compatible with Dungeons & Dragons. A revised edition—compatible with Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition—was published in 2004.
Tegel Manor is a 1977 fantasy role-playing game adventure published by Judges Guild.
The Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set is a category of companion accessories across multiple editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In general, the Starter Set is a boxed set that includes a set of instructions for basic play, a low level adventure module, pre-generated characters, and other tools to help new players get started.
The First Fantasy Campaign is a supplement for fantasy role-playing games written by Dave Arneson and published by Judges Guild in 1977.
The Book of Monsters is a supplement for fantasy role-playing games published by Little Soldier Games in 1976.
The Book of Demons is a supplement published by Little Soldier Games in 1976 for fantasy role-playing games.
The Endless Dungeon is a supplement for fantasy role-playing games published by Wee Warriors in 1977.