A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Dungeon Crawl Classics #97: The Queen of Elfland’s Son

Dungeon Crawl Classics #97: The Queen of Elfland’s Son 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 1 characters.

The supplement is available as a 24-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $6.99 and is also available in printed form from sites such as Amazon. The PDF is the version reviewed, although it was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, two pages are ads, one page is the front matter and one the Open Game License.

The opening paragraph explains that this adventure can be a gateway to Elfland, for the judge or future DCC modules.

Background explains that the King of Elfland became infuriated with a human duke for hunting the King’s unicorn herd and withdrew the borders of Elfland. The duke is now dead, but the King has now been usurped – a regular occurrence – by the Queen of Elfland, turning Elfland from Seelie to Unseelie. The Queen has sent her son to conduct a campaign of terror.

A sidebar considers the relationship between elves and Elfland, which does depend on the campaign. The judge will need to determine what the relationship is, for essentially there are Celtic sidhe interacting with Tolkien elves; not a great combination, as Tolkien elves derive more from Norse folklore.

Starting the Campaign explains this is a good adventure for those who have completed a 0-level funnel. The characters arrive at the village of Eng and it’s explained what the troubles are.

Part 1: Marrow’s Farm has the characters go to the farm, which is the closest to the faerie mound, to speak to the farmer about the problems. This doesn’t have to be done but gains useful information.

Part 2: The Faerie Mound has the characters enter into the mound where they will likely come in conflict with the Prince.

Ending the Adventure wraps things up, including determining how much time passed underhill.

Appendix A: The Queen of Elfland’s Letter is a handout.

Dungeon Crawl Classics #97: The Queen of Elfland’s Son in Review

The PDF lacks bookmarks and really could have done with them. Navigation is poor. The text maintains a two-column black and white format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a number of custom black and white illustrations, as well as maps, up to full page in size. Presentation is good.

The adventure has some interesting twists to it, as well as some problems, and a successful conclusion will not be easy to achieve. Outright use of force throughout could result in problems. Regarding the conflict between what elves are like and what Elfland is like, the judge might simply be better off calling Elfland Faerie. For one thing, that probably fits better with its depiction. Dungeon Crawl Classics #97: The Queen of Elfland’s Son is not an easy adventure and it can be found by clicking here.