Dungeon Crawl Classics #85: The Making of the Ghost Ring by Michael Curtis is a role playing game supplement published by Goodman Games for use with Dungeon Crawl Classics. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result. This is an adventure for level 4 characters.
The supplement is available as a 24-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $6.99 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, one page is the front matter, around half a page is the Open Game License and one page is an ad.
The Introduction gives a rundown of some of what happens in the adventure, and also explains it’s an instructional adventure on just how difficult it is to make magical items in Dungeon Crawl Classics, as it’s not merely the expenditure of time and money followed by a skill check, but essentially a quest in and of itself. The adventure can then be used as an outline for enchanting items.
Background explains that the titular ghost is that of a spelluser who wanted to create a powerful magic item during her life, and made a bargain with a demon to help accomplish this. She died and now has only a limited amount of time left before the demon claims her soul.
Starting the Adventure has the characters encountering a ghost, who directs them to her home. There, she will explain what is needed to finish the task; most of it is already done. The characters will gain the ring as payment once it has been enchanted.
Completing the ring requires the characters travel to three very different locations; fortunately, the ghost has a means of transferring them to the destinations instantly. First, they will need to recover a halfling who has fallen afoul of the strange, and rather daftly named, Sinister Syndicate. Next, they will need to travel to a pharaonic tomb; there is a reference to The Tower Out of Time here. Finally, they will need to face off against a dangerous creature that becomes more dangerous with every round. The demon won’t stand idly by, either.
There are suggestions for further adventures once this is complete; for one thing, the characters will have been unable to empty the tomb of its treasures.
Appendix A: Lifthrasir’s Ring gives the ring’s powers.
Dungeon Crawl Classics #85: The Making of the Ghost Ring in Review
The PDF is bookmarked, but only the major sections are linked. Navigation could be better. The text maintains a two-column black and white format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a number of black and white illustrations, up to full page in size, all of which appear to be custom, as well as the maps. Presentation is good.
This adventure is a bit different to many of the Dungeon Crawl Classics adventures. It is a bit of a MacGuffin quest, though with three different MacGuffins to find, rather than a standard dungeon crawl, though one of the tasks is a dungeon crawl itself. It’s highly likely that, once players discover just how difficult it is to create magic items, that they are highly unlikely to want to do so themselves; far easier just to scoop up any found in loot, even if they are rare. This is not uncommon in D&D and derived games, though; even in those such as Pathfinder with item creation systems, it’s easier just to loot things. Or, in Pathfinder, buy magic. Dungeon Crawl Classics #85: The Making of the Ghost Ring is an interesting quest and it can be found by clicking here.
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