The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
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''The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan'' is an adventure module for the ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...
'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game, set in the ''
World of Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''— Dave Arnes ...
'' campaign setting for use with the 1st edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' rules. It is the first in the C-series of modules, a set of unrelated adventures originally designed for competitive play, with the ''C'' representing the first letter in the word ''competition''. It is the first D&D adventure to use boxed, "read aloud" text. Originally printed for the 1979
Origins International Game Expo Origins Game Fair is an annual gaming convention that was first held in 1975. Since 1996, it has been held in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Origins is run by The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Origins was c ...
, the module was made available to the general public in 1980. ''The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan'' received generally positive reviews from critics and was ranked the 18th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by ''
Dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...
'' magazine in 2004.


Plot summary

The player characters explore a stepped
pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
deep in the heart of a tropical jungle—the ''Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan''. The characters must penetrate this Mayan-style temple, which is full of tricks and traps. Some of the traps include cursed items, firebombs, and triggered statues. The shrine is an ancient pyramid in the style of the Mayas and Aztecs, and the names, creatures, and characters in the adventure are also based on that time period. The adventure contains a booklet including fifteen illustrations of the shrine intended to be shown to the players when they arrive at the corresponding areas. Three pregenerated characters are also included which are designed to be used with the scoring system.


Publication history

This module was originally used for the Official ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' tournament at the 1979
Origins International Game Expo Origins Game Fair is an annual gaming convention that was first held in 1975. Since 1996, it has been held in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Origins is run by The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Origins was c ...
(Origins '79). The original printing consisted of forty loose-leaf pages in a zipper storage bag, with a light blue cover; only three hundred copies were printed for sale at Origins '79. In addition to 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.'' After Origins '79, unsold copies were put up for sale at the Dungeon Shoppe in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Surviving examples of this version are rare and prized by collectors. 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 book was written by Harold Johnson and Jeff R. Leason, was printed as a 32-page book and an eight-page book with an outer-folder and a two-color cover illustrated by
Erol Otus Erol Otus is an American artist and game designer, known internationally for his contributions to the fantasy role-playing game (RPG) genre, especially early in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' franchise. He is also known for his artwork on the multiple ...
, and featured illustrations by Otus and
Darlene Pekul Darlene Jean Pekul (born 1954, Wisconsin), now just known as Darlene (she legally dropped her surname in 1984), is an American artist and calligrapher whose artwork appeared in early ''Dungeons & Dragons'' works published by TSR. Her best-know ...
. The 1981 version consisted of a forty-page booklet with an outer folder and a color cover. The 1980 version featured a monochrome cover of a fire-breathing bat-monster, while the 1981 printing had a dark brown full color cover with cover art of a green giant. A separate booklet of artwork was included in the module, containing illustrations depicting what the player characters would see as part of specific encounters, including work by Otus,
Jeff Dee Jeff Dee is an American artist and game designer. He was the youngest artist in the history of pioneering role-playing game company TSR when he began his work at the age of eighteen. He also designed the ''Villains and Vigilantes'' superhero gam ...
,
Greg Fleming Greg William Edward Fleming (born 27 September 1986) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Annan Athletic. He has previously played for Livingston, Gretna, Oldham Athletic, Dunfermline Athletic, Galway United, ...
, David S. LaForce and
David C. Sutherland III David C. Sutherland III (April 4, 1949"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JT69-9Y8 : accessed 12 Feb 2013), David C Sutherland, 6 June 2005; citing U.S. Social Security Administra ...
. The module was the first to introduce players to the Olman culture of the ''
World of Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''— Dave Arnes ...
'', a society loosely based on
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
,
Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
, 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. In the 2006, 3rd Edition Dungeon Magazine modules series, the '' Savage Tide''
Adventure Path An Adventure Path is a series of interlinked adventures (campaign) for tabletop role-playing games which can be played in succession and lead characters to advance from lower to higher levels, through a particular path of events. While campaig ...
, the dungeon of Lost Tamoachan is revisited in the December 2006 ''Dungeon Magazine'' #141 'The Sea Wyvern's Wake' chapter. In 2017, Wizards re-released the adventure updated to the 5th Edition rules as part of the ''
Tales from the Yawning Portal ''Tales from the Yawning Portal'' is an adventure module anthology for the 5th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Summary ''Tales from the Yawning Portal'' is an anthology of updated modules and adventures from pr ...
'' collection.


Reception

Doug Traversa reviewed the adventure in ''
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'' No. 29. He stated that "This module is well thought out and is very detailed. The illustrations are accurate and add an extra dimension to the adventure. Reference sheets contain a combat matrix for the three characters included, and a monster index with the statistics of all the creatures in the shrine." He continued: "The shrine has two entrances, but the rules are written based on the assumption that you enter through the tournament entrance. If you choose to use the other, more obvious, entrance, the DM must read the rules from back to front, which can get confusing. Although the map and rules are detailed, they are also confusing. And parts of the scoring system seem less than logical. Traversa concluded his review by saying, "Of all the modules TSR has published (and I have read them all) I would rate this right in the middle. For those DMs who have trouble designing their own dungeons, I say buy it. For those who don't, save your
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and make your own shrine."
Jim Bambra Jim Bambra (born 1956)Jim Bambra: Director Summary
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is a Briti ...
reviewed ''The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan'' for the British RPG magazine ''
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'', and gave the module an 8 out of 10 overall. Bambra noted the adventure's "Central and South American flavour", and "setting... from Aztec and Mayan culture and mythology". He added, "the room descriptions portray this very well and the accompanying booklet of black and white illustrations enhance the atmosphere even more." He felt that the treasures were skimpy, and that Dungeon Masters running the adventure as part of a campaign would need to increase the total value to make exploration worthwhile to the players. He felt that the recommended levels of 5th-7th was a bit unrealistic, as the lower level characters would have a very hard time in the shrine, and felt that 6th-8th level characters would have a reasonable chance of success. He called the adventure "enjoyable and colourful", especially for players who think and act fast. Bambra said it would appeal more to gamers who like mental challenges and problem solving. ''The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan'' was ranked the 18th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by ''
Dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...
'' magazine in 2004. ''Dungeon Master for Dummies'' includes ''The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan'' in its list of the ten best classic adventures, noting the players' destination as a "Mayan-style temple full of surprising traps and devious tricks." Ken Denmead of ''
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'' listed the module as one of the "Top 10 D&D Modules I Found in Storage This Weekend". According to Denmead, "the whole dungeon is trap-o-palooza, and it's really important to listen, pay attention, and always assume that when something looks too good to be true, you're probably dead already, so go ahead and grab it."


References


External links


''The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan''
at the TSR Archive
''The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan''
at the Pen & Paper RPG Database

at the Acaeum.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, The Greyhawk modules Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1980