Beyond the Crystal Cave

Greyhawk Source

Beyond the Crystal Cave
Type:	Adventure
Code/Abbreviation:	UK1
Edition:	First edition
Author(s):	Dave J. Brown, Tom Kirby, and Graeme Morris
First Published:	1983
Class:	canon

Beyond the Crystal Cave is an adventure for first edition. It is unusual among Dungeons & Dragons adventures in that it encourages a non-violent approach (mainly parleying and true role-playing tactics) to achieving the adventure's goals. It is set in an old English milieu on Sybarate Isle in the Hold of the Sea Princes. First published by TSR UK division in 1983, this adventure was written by Dave J. Browne, Tom Kirby and Graeme Morris.

Plot summary

Beyond the Crystal Cave, is in adventure in which the PCs are hired to save a recently eloped couple from the Cave of Echoes after they fled there. The heroes must resolve the secret of the Crystal Cave to enter Porpherio's Garden, a magical place located on the island of Sybarate, where it is summer all year long. Experience points are gained by resolving with encounters intelligently without unneeded violence.

Publication history

Beyond the Crystal Cave was written by British designers Dave J. Browne, Tom Kirby, and Graeme Morris, and published by TSR in 1983 as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder.

Updates

Greyhawk Source

Beyond the Crystal Cave
The cover of the D&D Encounters 4e version of Beyond the Crystal Cave (2011), art by Alexey Aparin.
Type:	Adventure
Edition:	D&D 4e
Author(s):	Steven Townshend
Editor(s):	Kim Mohan
Cover Artist(s):	Alexey Aparin
Interior Artist(s):	Jeremy Jarvis, De Leuw, Warren Mahy, Ben Wooten, and Jason A. Engle (cartography)
Publisher:	WotC
First Published:	2011
Class:	Officially published content

In 2011 Beyond the Crystal Cave was adapted to the Wizards of the Coast "D&D Encounters" program of pre-made adventures for fourth edition by Steve Townshend. That adaptation was later reprinted in Dungeon #211 (February 2013).

The Quests from the Infinite Staircase anthology (2024), updates Beyond the Crystal Cave, bringing it forward into fifth edition.

Both adventures specifically place Porpherio's Garden (Eternal Garden) accessed from Sybarate Isle as being in the Feywild.

Other versions

In 2005, Kenzer and Company published a HackMaster adventure based on the adventure named Porpher's Enchanted Garden. It was originally solicited as Yonder Crystal Caverns, but was changed due to substantial lateness in gaining authorization from Wizards of the Coast. The new version required less talking and more action, making it more typical of the game system. The adventure was hacked by James Butler, a freelance writer from the United Kingdom.

Reception

Doug Cowie reviewed Beyond the Crystal Cave favorably for Imagine magazine. He liked the clear layout, lucid descriptions and good maps and found it an adventure that tries to emphasize diplomacy and intelligence over force and is "more successful than most in achieving this aim". Cowie thought that it is possible to go through the adventure "without drawing a sword" and that the main setting, Porpherio's Garden, is "highly original and well thought out". His only criticism was that some of the denizens of the garden are too prone to random attack, but he felt that was a minor point, easily altered by the DM. Overall, according to Cowie, UK1 is a "refreshing change" which "gives the talkative sort of character a place in the limelight all too often filled by the brutish fighter or the powerful MU". He concluded the review by calling it "a good package" and suggested readers should "try it for a relaxing change".

Receiving 9 out of 10 overall, the adventure was positively reviewed in issue No. 48 of White Dwarf magazine. The reviewer, Jim Bambra, noted that Beyond the Crystal Cave was "an interesting and thought-provoking adventure" more appropriate for characters level 3–6. Bambra mentioned that players would be "treated to a lot of interesting encounters and puzzles" after reaching Porpherio's Garden, and felt that the authors have sought to reward thoughtful solutions to dilemmas rather than hack-and-slash ones. He noted how the authors set out to discourage players from attacking everything they encounter, concluding that this adventure "makes a refreshing change from the more normal combat orientated adventure for its emphasis is very much on role-playing and problem solving".

Lawrence Schick, in his 1991 book Heroic Worlds felt that the UK series of adventures "are typically heavier on atmosphere than their American-designed counterparts, though they do like to use those ridiculous monsters from the Fiend Folio."

Reviews

Fantasy Gamer #1 (1983)

External links

Disclaimer:Any lore presented through the following links does not necessarily adhere to established officially published content, and the views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki.

• Beyond the Crystal Cave at the Dungeon Masters Guild.
• Beyond the Crystal Cave at the TSR Archive.

References

Bibliography

• Browne, Dave J., Tom Kirby, and Graeme Morris. Beyond the Crystal Cave. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983. TSR9066
• Townshend, Stephen. "Beyond the Crystal Cave". Dungeon #211. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, Feb 2013.

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Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
UK1 Beyond the Crystal cave	Adventure	Located in: Sea Princes,	UK1 Beyond the Crystal Cave	All