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The official description from the module:
The official description from the module:


<blockquote>''The Grand Duchy of [[Geoff]] has recently been plagued by a rash of unusually weird and terrible monsters of an unknown sort. This western area, particularly the mountain fastness which separates the Grand Duchy from the [[Dry Steppes]], has long been renowned for the generation of the most fearsome beasts, and it has been shunned accordingly—save a handful of hardy souls with exceptional abilities. Within the last few months, however, a walled town not far distant from the area, and four small fortresses as well, have been destroyed by mysterious attacks!''}}
{quote|''The Grand Duchy of [[Geoff]] has recently been plagued by a rash of unusually weird and terrible monsters of an unknown sort. This western area, particularly the mountain fastness which separates the Grand Duchy from the [[Dry Steppes]], has long been renowned for the generation of the most fearsome beasts, and it has been shunned accordingly—save a handful of hardy souls with exceptional abilities. Within the last few months, however, a walled town not far distant from the area, and four small fortresses as well, have been destroyed by mysterious attacks!''}}


It is the adventurers' job to find the source of these monsters and, if possible, put a stop to them.
It is the adventurers' job to find the source of these monsters and, if possible, put a stop to them.

Revision as of 10:19, 10 June 2023

Greyhawk Source
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
Expedition to the
Barrier Peaks
Type: Adventure module
Code/Abbreviation: S3
Edition: 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
Author(s): Gary Gygax
Editor(s): David Cook, Allen Hammock, Harold Johnson, Frank Mentzer, and Jeff R. Leason
Cover Artist(s): Erol Otus
Interior Artist(s): Jeff Dee, Gregory K. Fleming, David S. LaForce, Erol Otus, Jim Roslof, and David C. Sutherland III
Series: S1, S2, S3, S4
Publisher: TSR
First Published: 1980
Pages: 30 + illustration booklet
ISBN: 0-935696-14-8
Class: Officially published content


Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is a 1980 module for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR, Inc.

Description

This module is the favorite of many D&D fans. While D&D is a largely a fantasy roleplaying game, S3 tweaks that a bit by introducing science fiction elements.

The adventure takes place on a crashed spaceship in the Barrier Peaks in the Flanaess.

The official description from the module:

{quote|The Grand Duchy of Geoff has recently been plagued by a rash of unusually weird and terrible monsters of an unknown sort. This western area, particularly the mountain fastness which separates the Grand Duchy from the Dry Steppes, has long been renowned for the generation of the most fearsome beasts, and it has been shunned accordingly—save a handful of hardy souls with exceptional abilities. Within the last few months, however, a walled town not far distant from the area, and four small fortresses as well, have been destroyed by mysterious attacks!}}

It is the adventurers' job to find the source of these monsters and, if possible, put a stop to them.

Many monsters made their first appearances in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, including the aurumvorax, froghemoth, and vegepygmy. Additionally, this module features robots and mighty powered weapons such as blaster rifles and laser pistols. This module also contains a fabulous suit of powered armor that allows characters to achieve almost god-like feats (characters have an 18(00) strength while wearing it). Many a Dungeon Master was dismayed to find players with characters wielding these genre-crossing arms, with some of the more conservative DMs (in terms of gameplay) banning them outright outside the confines of the module. Because of these special entities, the module is liberally illustrated to help aid players in understanding their mysterious encounters.

The adventurers discover this "dungeon" consists of part of a downed spacecraft, its inhabitants having succumbed to some sort of disease and died off. Many of the ship's robots are still functioning, however, and the players must either avoid or defeat them (a few are benign, however, and may be ignored). Wandering police robots and an overzealous weightlifting instructor are just two of the automatons that must be dealt with. One of the module's most curious encounters is a medical robot trying in vain to find a cure for the disease which has already killed off the ship's crew.

Unbeknownst to most, a second module of the ship landed in a nearby valley.[1] Because the invasive species of plants and monsters are found here, there was no further search for other sites. Several unique species of plants and animals are found there years later, including bonetrees, ragewings, razortails, and treeleg stranglers.[1] These creatures benefitted from the automatons of the crashed ship terraforming the valley to accommodate the creatures' environmental needs, including machines which made the weather more like the radioactive swamps of their homeworld and to emanate radiation the creatures need for survival. Because of their biological need for the radiation, the creatures are only found in this particular valley.

Artwork

Most of the artwork for this module, including the cover, was produced by Erol Otus. Several of his contributions were included in full color, highly unusual for modules of this era. His distinctive style permeates the module. Jeff Dee, Greg K. Fleming, David S. LaForce, Jim Roslof, and David C. Sutherland III provided additional illustrations for the module.

Reception

Early reviews found the module interesting but often too complex for starting DMs and Players alike.

Expedition to the Barrier Peaks was ranked the 5th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game.

In the August 1980 edition of The Space Gamer (Issue No. 30), Tim Byrd gave a favourable review, stating that it "successfully combines fantasy with SF" and that it was "extremely fun to play [...] one of the best modules TSR has published".[2] Six issues later, in the February 1981 edition of The Space Gamer (Issue 36), Kirby Griffis noted that the adventure was full of "surprises and new monsters", and felt that its one drawback was that Gygax presented standard D&D monsters as natives of other planets. In summary, he found it interesting and "full of spice and flavor", and recommended it to anyone interested in "something new" or wanting to include science fiction in their D&D game.[3]

In the August 1981 edition of White Dwarf (Issue #26), Marcus Rowland said he found the adventure "very enjoyable, with ideas and creatures eminently suitable for wider use". He gave it 9/10 overall, but complained that some of the maps were printed on both sides of the same sheet, making them useless as a Dungeon Master's shield[4] (a visual barrier that allows dice rolls and other activities to be conducted without the players knowing the outcome.[5])He recommended at least a week's study by the Dungeon Master before attempting to play it. He also noted that the cover "reveals the secret of the creatures".[4]

In 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the publication of D&D, Dungeon magazine published a list of The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time and ranked Expedition to the Barrier Peaks as 5th. Judge Bill Slavicsek felt the adventure was a "classic clash of genres". It was not something he felt should be done often, but it made a "memorable diversion". Judge Mike Mearls described how he felt the first time he read Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. "I had this terrible, terrible conflict within myself to immediately tell my friends about it at war with a maniacal, desperate drive to keep it hidden at all costs." Judge Keith Baker was most impressed with the adventure's art. He liked that it came with a separate book of art; in particular the before and after illustrations of the carnivorous plant with a "built-in bunny lure".[6] This was later featured in a Wizards.com "Ask Wizards" segment.[7] According to the Dungeon editors, the adventure's defining moment was its froghemoth creature, and its full page color illustration.[6]

According to Creighton Broadhurst, author of Exemplars of Evil: Deadly Foes to Vex Your Heroes, the adventure is one of the most popular "old time" Greyhawk adventures.[8] Game designer Daniel Kaufman remembers "the famous backward-firing guns" as one of the adventure's highlights.[9] Television personality Stephen Colbert, who played Dungeons & Dragons as a child, chose this adventure as his personal favorite.[10]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ a b "Invaders of the Barrier Peaks".  Dragon #280 (Feb 2001), p.96.
  2. ↑ Byrd, Tim (August 1980). "Capsule Reviews". The Space Gamer (30): 26. Steve Jackson Games.
  3. ↑ Griffis, Kirby (February 1981). "Capsule Reviews". The Space Gamer (36): 24. Steve Jackson Games.
  4. ↑ a b Rowland, Marcus (August 1981). "Open Box". White Dwarf (26): 11. Games Workshop.
  5. ↑ Dungeon Master's Screen. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. ↑ a b Mona, Erik (2004). "The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time". Dungeon (116): 78. Paizo Publishing.
  7. ↑ Ask Wizards: 05/05/2006. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. ↑ Broadhurst, Creighton. April Fools: Introducing Living GreyForce. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. ↑ Ryan, Michael. Book of Challenges Spotlight. Wizards of the Coast, June 7, 2002.
  10. ↑ Colbert, Stephen. Stephen Colbert on D&D. GameSpy, August 17, 2004.

Bibliography

  • Gygax, Gary. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980. TSR
  • Jacobs, James, "Invaders of the Barrier Peaks". Dragon #280. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
  • Mona, Erik, James Jacobs, et al. "The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time." Dungeon #116. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2004.
  • Miller, Steve. The Doomgrinder. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
  • Ratecliff, John D., and Bruce R. Cordell. Reverse Dungeon. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
  • Rowland, Marcus. "Open Box." White Dwarf #26. Nottingham, UK: Games Workshop, 1981.
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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

Expedition to the Barrier Peaks Adventure S1-4 Realms of Horror, Adventure Booklet SEE S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
Return Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (D&D 3.5e) Adventure Adventure - D20 Modern, Web Article
Return Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (D&D 3.5e) Adventure Adventure - Future Tech Meets Fantasy, D&D 3.5e Web Article
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks Adventure Located in: Barrier peaks, Dragon magazine #329 10
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks Adventure Located in: Barrier peaks, From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess 73
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks Adventure Located in: Barrier peaks, Return Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, D&D 3.5e Web
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks Adventure Located in: Barrier peaks, S1-4 Realms of Horror, Adventure Booklet 36-52
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks Adventure Located in: Barrier peaks, S1-4 Realms of Horror, Illustration Booklet 20-46
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks Adventure Located in: Barrier peaks, S1-4 Realms of Horror, Inscription and Map Booklet 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks Adventure Located in: Barrier peaks, World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) 30
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