''H2 The Mines of Bloodstone'' is an official game adventure or "

module Module, modular and modularity may refer to the concept of modularity. They may also refer to: Computing and engineering * Modular design, the engineering discipline of designing complex devices using separately designed sub-components * Mo ...

" for the

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...

(1st edition)

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and d ...

role-playing game.

Plot

The characters need to journey through a blizzard to get to the Bloodstone Mines, which lead to the duergar kingdom of Deepearth, and the Temple of Orcus. The adventure begins with a set of village encounters, before some further encounters in a big valley. The player characters then proceed into the Mines of Bloodstone, where the duergar and

svirfneblin In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, gnomes are one of the core races available for play as player characters. Some speculate that they are closely related to dwarves; however, gnomes are smaller and more tolerant of othe ...

are at war, and then on to the demonic temple of

Orcus Orcus ( la, Orcus) was a god of the underworld, punisher of broken oaths in Etruscan and Roman mythology. As with Hades, the name of the god was also used for the underworld itself. In the later tradition, he was conflated with Dis Pater. A ...

of the duergar. This is an attempt to gain an ancient treasure to help the belagured innocent citizens of Bloodstone Pass. The module includes two

Battlesystem ''Battlesystem'' is a tabletop miniature wargame designed as a supplement for use with the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. The original ''Battlesystem'' was printed as a boxed set in 1985 for use with the first edition ''AD&D'' rules. F ...

conflicts, between armies of

gnomes A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its character ...

and duergar.

Publication history

''The Mines of Bloodstone'' was written by Michael Dobson and

Douglas Niles Douglas Niles (born December 1, 1954, in Brookfield, Wisconsin) is a fantasy author and game designer. Niles was one of the creators of the Dragonlance world and the author of the first three Forgotten Realms novels, the ''Star Frontiers'' space ...

, with a cover by

Keith Parkinson Keith A. Parkinson (October 22, 1958 – October 26, 2005) was an American fantasy artist and illustrator known for book covers and artwork for games such as ''EverQuest'', '' Guardians'', '' Magic: The Gathering'', and '' Vanguard: Saga of Hero ...

, and was published by TSR in 1986 as a 48-page booklet with an outer folder. Cover art was by

, with interior art by

Graham Nolan Graham Nolan (born March 12, 1962) is an American comic book artist, best known for work for DC Comics on Batman-related titles in the 1990s and his work on ''The Phantom'' Sunday strip. He frequently collaborates with writer Chuck Dixon. Biograp ...

. It is a sequel to H1 Bloodstone Pass which although originally a stand-alone adventure, was now to be the first in the four part Bloodstone Pass saga. This module continued the generic campaign setting of H1, although later modules in the series

retconned Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

Bloodstone into the

Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as ...

. The modules contains options for use of the '' Dungeoneer's Survival Guide'' and ''

Wilderness Survival Guide The ''Wilderness Survival Guide'' is a supplement to the '' Advanced Dungeons and Dragons'' (''AD&D'') role-playing game, written by Kim Mohan and published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 (). Contents The ''Wilderness Survival Guide'' covers adventures ...

'' game manuals, both new at the time. It also includes two battles where players command an army using the

rules. For players without Battlesytem these battles can occur "off stage" while the players make a raid that otherwise occurs after the battles.

Reception

John Saunders reviewed ''The Mines of Bloodstone'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...

'' #88. The review was highly critical, with Saunders explaining that "Strong criticism requires justification in great detail." He called the encounters before the mines "time-wasting", the fight between the duergar and svirfneblin a "splatterfest", the temple of the duergar a "super-killer zoo dungeon", the adventure's climax "ultra-gross", and the whole adventure "just a gross dungeon bash". He also criticized the "well-stocked zoo" of many dozens of monsters encountered before the adventure's climax, and the fact that the many

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by supe ...

present cannot be turned. Saunders also felt the "treasure haul is equally gross", with millions of gold pieces and gems, noting that " Magical treasure is sprayed around like confetti." Saunders also complains that the module never tries to deal with the problems of high level play, such as how the DM should deal with powerful magic spells being used to upset the adventure's plot. He also felt it did not make sense for the script to assume that the players would attack the temple while the svirfnebli fight the duergar, as it is bad tactics to divide the forces and attack two sets of opponents simultaneously if the player characters can take them on sequentially. Saunders concluded the review by stating, "This effort is the best argument I've ever seen for retiring high-level AD&D characters. Quite appalling."

References and footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mines Of Bloodstone, The Dungeons & Dragons modules Forgotten Realms adventures Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1986

Plot

Publication history

Reception

See also

References and footnotes