''Horror on the Hill'' is an

adventure module An adventure is a playable scenario in a tabletop role-playing game. These can be constructed by gamemasters for their players, and are also released by game publishers as pre-made adventure modules. Different types of designs exist, including l ...

published by

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had been ...

in 1983, for the Basic Rules of the '' Dungeons & Dragons''

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

. Its product designation was TSR 9078. This 32-page book was designed by Douglas Niles, and features cover artwork by

Jim Roslof James Paul Roslof (November 21, 1946March 19, 2011) was an American artist who produced cover art and interior illustrations of fantasy role-playing games published by TSR, Inc. during the "golden age" of ''Dungeons & Dragons''. As Art Director a ...

. It is intended for beginning gamemasters and 5–10 player characters of levels 1–3. The module contains around 20 encounters on the surface, a monastery, three dungeon levels and three new monsters.

Plot summary

''Horror on the Hill'' is an adventure in which the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

s assault a three-level dungeon in a cavernous labyrinth to stop a growing army of

goblins A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...

and

hobgoblins A hobgoblin is a household spirit, typically appearing in folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. William Shakespeare, Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck (A Mi ...

. The scene of the action is Guido's Fort, located at the end of a road, with only the River Shrill, a mile wide, separating it from "The Hill". At the Fort, hardy bands of adventurers gather to plan their conquests of The Hill, the hulking mass that looms over this tiny settlement. They say the Hill is filled with monsters, and that an evil witch makes her home there. No visitor to The Hill has ever returned to prove the rumors true or false. Only the mighty river Shrill separates the

s from the mysterious mountain. A series of caves awaits, full of

and

. At the lowest layer lies a young red dragon. It is set on a volcanic island in the midst of a river.

Publication history

''Horror on the Hill'' was written by Douglas Niles, with a cover by

and interior art by Jim Holloway, and was published by TSR in 1983 as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder. This module is designed for use with the D&D Basic Rules. Included in the module are 11 maps, 3 new monsters, and a complete set of prerolled characters. This module was later featured in the compilation B1-B9 ''

In Search of Adventure ''In Search of Adventure'' is an abridged compilation adventure module published by TSR, Inc. in 1987, for the '' Basic Set'' of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Its product designation was TSR 9190. This 160-page ...

'' in 1987.

Reception

Chris Hunter reviewed the module for ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

'' magazine, giving it a fairly balanced review. He criticized the quality of the surface map of the hill and noted several small errors in the text, including discrepancies between the text and the maps. On the plus side, according to him, the module contains many helpful hints for the novice gamemaster. As for content, Hunter noted that it gives little detail on the Fort itself, so that it can be easily incorporated into an existing campaign. Overall, Hunter rated the module as "balanced and logical", with the notable exception of one key encounter which he thought "unbelievable". In total, Hunter expected the module should yield 3-4 sessions of play, with "the last one producing a few deaths" if all characters are 1st level. His conclusion was that: "Apart from the hill map and the awful title, ''Horror on the Hill'' is a worthwhile addition to the Basic scenario range."

References and Footnotes

External links

*http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_4118.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Horror On The Hill Dungeons & Dragons modules Mystara Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1983

Plot summary

Publication history

Reception

Further reading

See also

References and Footnotes

External links