The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan is an adventure module for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, set in that game's World of Greyhawk campaign setting. It is the first in the "C" series of modules, a set of unrelated adventures originally designed for competition play ("C" representing the first letter in the word "competition").
This module was originally used for the Official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons tournament at Origins International Game Expo '79. As well as the adventure itself, the module contains a scoring system and pre-rolled characters for adventuring. The original Origins pre-publication version did not have a module code and was titled Lost Tamoachan: The Hidden Shrine of Lubaatum. Featuring a pastel blue paper cover, this version was only available at Origins 79, although unsold copies subsequently were put up for sale at the Dungeon Shoppe in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Surviving examples of this version are quite rare and are highly prized by collectors.[1]
The first version published for sale to the general public in 1980 was titled The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan and bore the module code "C1". This version featured a monochrome cover of a fire-breathing bat-monster by Erol Otus. Reprint versions dating from later 1980 to the middle of the decade had a dark brown full color cover with cover art of a green giant, also by Otus. A separate booklet of artwork was included in the module, including work by Otus, Jeff Dee, Greg Fleming, David S. LaForce and David C. Sutherland III.
The module was the first to introduce players to the Olman culture of the World of Greyhawk, a society loosely based on Aztec, Mayan and other sources. Most unusual for Greyhawk modules, the adventure therefore references Aztec gods such as Quetzalcoatl and others. The adventure itself takes place in the Amedio Jungle at a disused temple near the ruined city of Tamoachan.
The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan was ranked the 18th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game.
Bibliography
- Erik Mona, James Jacobs, et al. "The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time." Dungeon #116. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2004.
External links
- The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan at the TSR Archive
- The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan at the Pen & Paper RPG Database
- Lost Tamoachan / C1 Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan at the Acaeum.com