The Assassin's Knot
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''The Assassin's Knot'' 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 ...
written by
Lenard Lakofka Lenard William Lakofka (January 10, 1944 - October 23, 2020) was an American writer of material for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Although never a formal employee of TSR, the company that published ''Dungeons & Dragons' ...
for the first edition of ''
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 ...
'' and published by TSR in 1983. It is designed for 6 to 10 novice and intermediate players with characters of levels 2-5. ''The Assassin's Knot'' is a sequel to '' The Secret of Bone Hill'', and is the second of three modules in the Lendore Isle series. It was ranked the 29th 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 derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...
'' magazine.


Plot summary

''The Assassin's Knot'' is a sequel to '' The Secret of Bone Hill'', picking up on themes from that module and shifts them to a new locale. The
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), 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 tha ...
s must solve the mystery of who committed the murder of the Baron of Restenford, with evidence pointing towards someone from the town of Garrotten. The scenario details both the town and its castle. ''The Assassin's Knot'' module is different from most of its contemporaries in that it contained no
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 derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...
or dungeon-like area. The longer the players take to find the murderer, the more unfortunate events occur in the village. The village, Garrotten, is reputed to be the place to go to have someone killed. The entire village shuts down when the Baron of Restenford is found dead, mutilated beyond the possibility of magical restoration. Three small clues are all the
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), 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 tha ...
s have to unravel the mystery.


Publication history

''The Assassin's Knot'' was written by Len Lakofka and published by TSR in 1983 as a 32-page booklet with two outer folders. It is a sequel to L1 ''The Secret of Bone Hill'', and the second module in the Lendore Isle series. This series was originally planned to be five modules. The third module in the series, L3 ''Deep Dwarven Delve'', was only available as a limited release as part of the ''Dungeons & Dragons Silver Anniversary Collector's Edition'' set released in 1999. In 2006, Lakofka announced on the ''Pen & Paper'' website that he would be releasing L4 and L5 through Dragonsfoot, introducing additional material and adventures set in the Lendore Isles. A subsequent
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on the Dragonsfoot forum gives the title of L4 as "Devilspawn". The adventure "Priestly Secrets" in ''
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 derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...
'' #71 (Nov/Dec 1998) was set in Restenford and took into account events from this module in Garrotten.


Reception

''The Assassin's Knot'' was ranked the 29th 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 derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...
'' magazine in 2004. In his description of ''The Assassin's Knot'' in ''Heroic Worlds'',
Lawrence Schick Lawrence Schick is a game designer and writer associated with role-playing games. Early life and education Schick attended Kent State University in Ohio. Career Schick, as the head of design and development at TSR, brought aboard Tom Moldvay ...
makes light of the module by noting the obviousness of the murderers being from a town named Garrotten: "A murderer from a town called 'Garrotten'? Nah..." Doug Cowie reviewed the scenario 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. He noted the high standard of production and the "well laid out, clear instructions" for the gamemaster as well as good maps and plans. However, Cowie was dissatisfied with the proof reading and found a number of typos, some of which could interrupt the flow of play, according to him. He praised the fact that most of the interaction is all human/humanoid with "hardly a monster to be seen". Cowie also liked the off-stage action that puts some time pressure on the players. He appreciated the excellent detail for the town of Garrotten and praised Len Lakofka for having successfully dealt with the special issues involved in a murder mystery adventure. Cowie ended his review by noting: "This is a good 'un. I like it." ''The Assassin's Knot'' received a fairly positive review by Dave Morris in issue No. 55 of ''
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'' magazine, who scored it 7 out of 10. Morris felt that the module was not in the same class as ''
Temple of Death ''Temple of Death'' is a ''Dungeons & Dragons'' adventure module designed by David Cook for use with the '' D&D Expert Set''. It was written by David Cook and published by TSR, Inc. in 1983. The module is intended for player characters of levels ...
'', lacking the sort of evocative background found in that adventure. He felt that it was "an entertaining murder mystery for ''AD&D'' characters", but added, "this module gives no feeling of being part of a real world with a real history... it is difficult to believe or be interested in the world of L2". He did feel that younger players may enjoy the module for its puzzle aspect.
Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'', appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote '' The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin' ...
reviewed the adventure in ''
The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...
'' No. 71. Swan felt that the characters on the cover of the module looked bored, and that players seeking to undertake this adventure had "better be ready to join them". Swan noted that the town in which the bulk of the adventure takes place and its occupants are well detailed, but that the
non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s encountered were not interesting, and that the murder mystery of the plot is "a very pedestrian affair". Swan called the adventure "just plain dull" and advised passing on it.


References

*


External links


L2 ''Assassin's Knot''
full module as a PDF file from the Wizards of the Coast website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Assassin's Knot, The Greyhawk modules Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1983