''Death Ascendant'' is an adventure for the 2nd edition of the '' Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy

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Plot summary

''Death Ascendant'' is an adventure that takes place in the less civilized realm of Darkon, one of the domains of Ravenloft. The

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s come to Nartok, where public hanging and child-branding have become commonplace, and learn that a secret war is happening there between two sets of spies. The characters are warned about this goal by way of the fortune-telling

Vistani The Vistani are a nomadic ethnic group in the ''Dungeons and Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. They are based on depictions of the Romani people, and over time this depiction has been criticized as overly stereotyped and pejorative, and subject ...

using their Tarroka, and then rumors of war along with a new type of zombie push them to the location they seek; upon arriving, the characters are must resolve the crisis in Nartok.

Publication history

''Death Ascendant'' was published by TSR in 1996, and was designed by

Lisa Smedman Lisa Smedman is a science fiction and fantasy author and journalist. Her novel ''Extinction'', set in the Forgotten Realms universe, was a ''New York Times'' bestseller. Smedman first became known for gaming adventure novels, and later published ...

, with cover art by Fred Fields and interior art by

John Dollar John Dollar (born 1961 in Georgia) is an American artist best known for his contributions to a number of RPG settings during the mid-to-late 90s (TSR properties and White Wolf's Changeling). Biography John Dollar's illustrations have appeared i ...

. ''

Death Unchained ''Death Unchained'' is an adventure for the 2nd edition of the '' Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Plot summary ''Death Unchained'' is set in the merciless regime of Falkovnia. A horde of dark and sinister assassins pursue ...

'' was episode 1 of the ''Grim Harvest'' trilogy, and ''Death Ascendant'' is episode 2.

Reception

Trenton Webb reviewed ''Death Ascendant'' for ''Arcane'' magazine, rating it an 8 out of 10 overall. Webb felt that the "wheels-within-wheels" premise of Ravenloft's secret societies is what links ''

'' to this adventure. While he felt that ''Death Ascendant'' could work as a stand-alone feature, "this would be a waste" because the "continuity of the plot makes ''Ascendant'' far more satisfying as a sequel". He warns that with "a vast abbey as the central location and a less convincing climax than ''Unchained'', players need to bring recent histories to bear in order to get the most out of ''Ascendant''. If they've fought their way through the first installment they won't care about the slightly silly resolution." Webb concludes the review by saying: "An excellent sequel, ''Ascendant'' perfectly continues the events set in motion in ''Unchained''. But they do need to be played in sequence if the full effect of this series is to be enjoyed."

References

{{D&D topics Ravenloft adventures Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1996