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

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Plot summary

''Death Unchained'' is set in the merciless regime of Falkovnia. A horde of dark and sinister assassins pursue the players from the moment they step out of the mists.

Publication history

''Death Unchained'' 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 Fred Fields is an American artist whose work has appeared largely in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game from TSR. Biography Fred Fields was born in northern Kentucky. He grew up in the small town of Burlington, Kentucky. Fiel ...

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 ...

Reception

Trenton Webb reviewed ''Death Unchained'' for ''Arcane'' magazine, rating it a 9 out of 10 overall. Webb commented, "without a shadow of a doubt TSR's ''Death Unchained'' is a great off-the-shelf ''AD&D'' Ravenloft scenario". He declares that the adventure has "plenty of

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-horror atmosphere, but this time it's more akin to the paranoid fears of ''

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'' than the schlock of ''

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''". He called it a "hard core horror-fest" that "doesn't let up" against the player characters in its "non-stop chase through grim city streets and a beautifully labyrinthe dungeon complex". He notes that, for the DM, "it's a well-balanced adventure guide - it's strict enough to maintain direction but with enough flexibility and troubleshooting options to be useful under game conditions". Webb felt that ''Death Unchaineds insight comes from "its more mainstream feel", as while he feels that many

Ravenloft Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a ''Demiplane, pocket dimension'' or demiplane, called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of la ...

scenarios "have a late-

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atmosphere in which demi-humans and magic feel a tad anachronistic", this adventure "revels in a far more medieval flavour, essentially being set in downtown Transylvania at the time of Vlad Tepes". Webb concludes the review by saying: "Pushed along at a frantic pace, filled with plenty of clues which are clear enough for players to find and follow, and with a varied cast of refreshingly different villains, ''Death Unchained'' opens a promising trilogy. What's more, with its mainstream feel it's ideal for other world parties to test the murky waters of Ravenloft. However, if this is your first foray into the Demiplane of Dread, be warned - it's a real character killer."

References

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