View source for The Lost Island of Castanamir

{{Italic title}}
{{Source
|name             =  
|image            = [[File:C3 LostIslandofCastanamir Cover.png|250px]]
|caption          = Cover of C3, art by Jeff Easley {1984).
|type             = Adventure
|code             = 
|edition          = 
|author           = Ken Rolston
|editor           = Marlene Weigel
|publisher        = TSR
|cover_artist     = Jeff Easley
|inter_artist     = Jeff Easley, Elizabeth Riedel (Graphic Design), David S. "Diesel" Laforce (Cartography)
|first published  = 1984
|series           = C 'Competition' Series|preceded_by = C2: [[The Ghost Tower of Inverness]]
|pages            = 32
|isbn             = 0-88038-189-2
|class            = 
}}'''C3:''' '''The Lost Island of Castanamir''' is an adventure for first Edition AD&D, for 5 to 8 players of levels 1 to 4.

C3 was not originally set in the Greyhawk Campaign Setting but was a generic module. It was later added into the Greyhawk setting by a few references:

The lost island of Castanamir (the geographical location) was brought into Greyhawk properly in 2000, Living Greyhawk Journal #05, under [[Beit Castan]]: {{quoted text|Once considered part of the Bakhoury Coast, this town came fully under [[Zeif|Zeifan]] administration following the self-exile of its famed Last Amir two centuries ago (...) At least one visiting sage believed the inscriptions that he read foretold the reappearance of the ''Last Amir's island lair''.|{{cite lgj|5|17-18}} }}  This is a reference to the lore in this adventure, and the "Lost Island of Castanamir".

Castanamir himself was first referenced in a Greyhawk-specific sourcebook in 1990, WGR1 ''[[Greyhawk Ruins]]'', in connection to summoning gingwatzim.{{csb|WGR1||s.v. Gingwatzim}}  It stated, "the Lost Spells of Castanamir ... are probably at least 7th level,"{{csb|WGR1|91}} This aligned with his original appearance in C3 ''The Lost Island of Castanamir'', which was not explicitly set in Greyhawk.{{csb|WGR1|28}}

This was later confirmed to be the same person as the 'Last Amir', in ''[[Living Greyhawk Journal]]'' #11 (in [[dragmag|Dragon Magazine]] #295)—"the gingwatzim were first bound by the legendary Last Amir of Beit Castan" and "the legendary Last Amir of the [[Zeif]]an city of Biet Castan first discovered the means by which gingwatzim can be summoned and bound."{{cite lgj|11|94}}  Thus, the "last Amir of Beit Castan" is the "Castan Amir", or Castanamir.

== Blurb ==
"''It is terribly cold. You swam for your life to this mysterious island, losing most of your provisions in the process, only to find it barren of all but grass. A biting wind from the north drives through your wet clothes, chilling you to the bone. Night is falling and promises even colder temperatures; you wish this place had even a bush to burn as firewood. Your stomach has just begun to complain about the lack of dinner, when one of your companions calls, and you rush to his side, hoping he's found a way to turn grass into a sandwich. Instead, he points to the ground in front of him. "Look there."''

''Set in a shallow depression in the ground is a stone door. Your friend reaches down and gives a tug, and the door swings slowly open on creaking hinges, revealing a descending stair. The first thought that crosses your mind is whether it would be better to freeze to death up here in the wind or fall into the hands of Castanamir the Mad, the unpredictable.''"

==Plot summary==
In this scenario, the adventurers pass through magical portals into a series of interlinked chambers.<ref name="HW">{{cite book
 | first=Lawrence | last=Schick | year=1991
 | title=Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games
 | publisher=Prometheus Books | page=88
 | location=Buffalo, New York | isbn=0-87975-653-5 }}</ref>

The characters are encouraged by a young scholarly mage to voyage into the Sea of Pastures, to explore a mysterious island connected with a number of recent shipwrecks and disappearances. The island is grassy and windblasted, but eventually the characters discover a stone door leading into a subterranean complex. There, they discover 18 rooms linked by secret passages and magical portals. Most of these rooms have been ransacked by a variety of other survivors, human and monstrous. These survivors are likewise trapped within the labyrinth and are either eking out a miserable existence there or else desperately searching for a means of escape.

Also within the building are a number of extraplanar creatures, collectively known as gingwatzim, who can shift between various forms: an energy form (glowing ball of light), an inanimate form (usually a magical weapon), and an animate form (an animal or monster). Eventually the characters may find the exit and are once again deposited on the dreary islands to await rescue.

== In ''Living Greyhawk'' ==
{{LGsection}}
As mentioned above. the ''Living Greyhawk'' campaign drew C3 into GH lore.   ''A Guide to the Ethereal Plane'' and ''[[dragmag|Dragon]]'' #295 described the [[gingwatzim]] being bound by the Last Amir of [[Beit Castan]], who was [[Castanamir]].  ''[[Living Greahawk Journal]]'' #5 went on to correlate the Last Amir also being the former ruler of Beit Castan on the Bakhoury Coast.

==Publication history==
C3 ''The Lost Island of Castanamir'' was written by [[Ken Rolston]], with art by [[Jeff Easley]], and was published by TSR in 1984 as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder.<ref name="HW"/>

The "C" in the module code represents the first letter in the word "competition," the name of C1 - C6 module series.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wizards.com/dnd/dnddefinitivefaq.asp |title=Dungeons & Dragons FAQ |access-date=2007-03-29 |publisher=wizards.com}}</ref>

==Reception==
Chris Hunter reviewed the module in ''[[Imagine (AD&D magazine)|Imagine]]'' magazine, giving it a mixed review.<ref name="Imagine28">{{cite journal  | last = Hunter| first = Chris| title =Game Reviews | type = review  | journal = [[Imagine (AD&D magazine)|Imagine]]  | issue = 28  | pages =42  | publisher = TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.  |date=July 1985  }}</ref> He wrote that, as a competition module, it is "so tough that not everyone survives" and thus when used with regular characters Hunter suggested the use of higher level characters.<ref name="Imagine28"/> He described the module as disjointed and difficult to DM, as many encounters were not fully thought through by the designers. As this module introduces an "interesting class of creatures", it could also have major long-term consequences for a campaign.<ref name="Imagine28"/> According to Hunter, C3 is "good buy" for those looking for a competition module.<ref name="Imagine28"/> However, he did not recommend it for an ongoing campaign.

[[Lawrence Schick]], in his 1991 book ''Heroic Worlds'', called ''The Lost Island of Castanamir'' "a tricky competition module".<ref name="HW"/>

== Contents ==
=== Art ===
* '''Jeff Easley''': Adventurers finding the way down<sup>(p3)</sup>, The Game Room<sup>(p.7)</sup>, The Fantasy Room<sup>(p.8)</sup>, Gingwatzim Room<sup>(p.10)</sup>, The Library<sup>(p.12)</sup>, Eight Character Portraits<sup>(p.13-20)</sup>, The Trophy Room<sup>(p.24)</sup>, Feral Slasher<sup>(p.30)</sup>, Fremlin<sup>(p.30)</sup>, Iron Man<sup>(p.30)</sup>

=== Characters ===
* '''[[Arriflex Mordel[['''- a blind magic user who uses his crow familiar to see<sup>(p.25)</sup>.
* '''[[Bradvig]]''' (Simulacrum)- a Chaotic evil and powerful mage brought to justice by Castanamir, who then made a simulacrum of Bradvig to serve as a library assistant<sup>(p.21)</sup>.
* '''[[Castanamir]]'''- a level 18 wizard of the Eleventh Circle in the Magicians' Guild<sup>(p.2)</sup>. He was a hero of the [[Goblin Wars]]<sup>(p.4)</sup> and led the council of twelve. However, he grew more and more eccentric and reclusive, building a strange island sanctuary that then disappeared<sup>(p.4)</sup>. He discovered how to bind the Gingwatzim.
** '''Monne and Kleko'''- two dead goblin servants of Castanamir.<sup>(p.11)</sup>
* '''Doblin and Joblo'''- Two human thieves trapped in the tower.<sup>(p.5)</sup>
* '''[[Shadrakir]]''', a seer who has sealed himself into a magical stasis, to await the end of the world. If the players ever manage to get him to speak he answers questions with prophetic statements, such as; "Fire and plague will come in a month of moonless nights" or "Two Brothers will unite four great nations; the one shall slay the ther, and the four nations will fall in a single hour" <sup>(p.23-24)</sup>. Shadrakir is also mentioned in the Living Greyhawk Journal #05, during a description of a garden The Last Amir built in his honor{{cite lgj|5|17-18}}<sup>(p.18)</sup>.
Pregenerated Player Characters<sup>(p.31)</sup>:

These characters reappear throughout the art work in the series. The cover art pictures Porall Frehouse, Gro Mekadet and Relek Noshouse, along with one companion having been turned into a poodle by the Naranzim.
* '''Abnir Mremhouse''', human male magic user.<sup>(p.13-14)</sup> 
* '''Relek Noshouse''', human male magic user. <sup>(p.13-14)</sup>
* '''Genton Stlindhouse''', human male cleric. <sup>(p.15-16)</sup>
* '''"Beetle" Farhills''', male halfling thief. <sup>(p.15-16)</sup>
* '''Watim Berestane''', dwarven male thief. <sup>(p.17-18)</sup>
* '''Porall Frehouse''', elven male fighter. <sup>(p.17-18)</sup>
* '''Gro Mekadet''', dwarven male fighter. <sup>(p.19-20)</sup>
* '''Paterno Stlindhouse''', human male paladin.<sup>(p.19-20)</sup>

=== Creatures ===
Creatures in bold made their first appearance in this module.<div style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
* '''Feral Slasher (p.6,30)'''
* '''Fremlin (p.9,30)'''
* Ghoul (p.25)
* '''Gingwatzim, Eoluzim (p.25, 28-29)'''
* '''Gingwatzim, Graegzim (p.9,28-29)'''
* '''Gingwatzim, maronzim (p.7,9, 28-29)'''
* '''Gingwatzim, Naranzim (p.22,28-29)'''
* '''Gingwatzim, Pakim (p.9,27-29)'''
* '''Gingwatzim, Tim (p.9,28-29)'''
* Golem, Cleaning(p.4)
* Golem, Flesh (p.23)
* Hippogriff (p.23)
* Hobgoblin (p.6)
* Human (p.5,6,23,25)
* '''Iron Men (p.26,30)'''
* Leprechaun (p.5)
* Lizardmen (p.11)
* Ogre (p.6)
* Rat, Giant (p.6)
* Simulacrum (p.21)
* Wolverine, Giant (p.23)
</div>
=== Events ===
The module mentions that 200 years prior, the '[[Goblin Wars]]' happened. It also mentions that the island was first seen reappearing five years prior to the module start.<sup>(p.4)</sup>

Living Greyhawk Journal #05 is set in [[591 CY]], and mentions the Last Amir disappeared two centuries before.{{cite lgj|5|17-18}}<sup>(p.17)</sup>. It also mentions a sage 'several years ago' set out to find the island and never returned. These are references to [[Castanamir]].

=== Locations ===
* Sea of Pastures ([[Bakhoury Coast]]{{cite lgj|5|17}})

== External Links ==
* [https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17033/C3-The-Lost-Island-of-Castanamir-1e Drivethrurpg]
* [https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/48253/lost-island-castanamir RPGGeek]
* [https://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?editionid=2698 RPG.net]
* [http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11744.phtml RPGnet review]
* [https://www.acaeum.com/ddindexes/modpages/c.html Acaeum].
* [http://www.canonfire.com/cf//modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=3680 Canonfire discussion on Competition modules in Greyhawk]

== References ==
=== Notes ===
<references group="note" />
=== Citations ===
<references />
=== Bibliography ===
* [[Blake Mobley|Mobley, Blake]] and [[Timothy B. Brown]]. WGR1 ''[[Greyhawk Ruins]]''. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1990. Item code TSR9292. {{ISBN |0-88038-860-9}}
* {{BibliographyMagazine|magazine=Living Greyhawk Journal|issue=11|article=Enchiridion of the Fiend-Sage (Seventh Report)|firstname=Sean K.|lastname=Reynolds|coauthors=|date=May 2002}}
* {{BibliographyMagazine|magazine=Living Greyhawk Journal|issue=5|article=Zeif: Rock of the West|firstname=Fred|lastname=Weining|coauthors=|date=Jul 2001}}
{{wikipedia}}
{{FRwiki}}
{{index|title=Castanamir}}

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