Review: The Tower of The Elephant/Malphyr

Having had our big catch last time, we’ll take a trip to the past this time it seems.

Author: J. Blasso-Gieseke (21^st Centaury Games)
System: Old School Essentials + Advanced Rules
Size and Range: 4 – 6 Characters of levels 6 – 8
No playtesters credited.

First impression
An ominous black cover with twin titles heralds a strange experience. Layout, structure and writing are clean, well ordered and easy to parse.

Structure and Layout
We start with the above mentioned coverpage in black with all relevant information to the adventure on there. Pages two and three are the text of the adventure, neatly laid out in clean and spacious two column format. Bolded headings, numbered entries and subtle but very good use of bolding round off that section. Page four is a clear map of the location. Page five finishes the module with monsters stats, a total count of all possible treasure, licensing and copyright information and a nice little nod to the Howard story “The Tower of the Elephant”.

A little intermission
I now break my usual form of reviewing these contest entries to address a specific thing about this entry.
That being the fact, that in the strictest sense this entry breaks one of the contests rules, namely the one about page count. As stated, there were to be two pages of adventure text and another page for the map. Here though more than 2 pages are used for adventure relevant text. Still we (the judges) will review the entry as it will still be in the competition, though in the final judging points may be deducted for this small transgression. The reasons for it not being disqualified are mainly that the author added a note at submission informing us right away about the added page and his intention in putting it in there.

If the Monster Stat page disqualifies it, just ignore it.
My thought was having quick stat access and treasure totals is a helpful resource for the time-pressed GM.
It also allowed me to put the legal stuff I put at the beginning at the end.

DMs need all the help they can get so this is considerate and thoughtful. Some of the monster stats are also for standard OSE monsters (lions for example), while the unique monsters listed there could’ve easily been placed on one of the earlier pages. As this whole thing should be a fun little contest, we decided not to be assholes and get on with it. (Not to mention that I also put some extra stuff on my map page regarding the adventure… so I shouldn’t throw stones here 😛 )

The Map

The map looks stunning, is crystal clear and a delight to use. Cardinal directions and sizes are given, every little thing (like couches, goblets or curtains) is noted down and even the positions of guards is shown. The general layout of the place is kinda simple, though that is no fault of the author of this module, as the layout is lifted straight out of the original Conan story. Even then, JBG added little details and flourishes wherever possible. While the tower is quite simple, being nothing more than a staircase with one room each level (except at the bottom where the guards live), this is not necessarily to the detriment of the adventure. The first and biggest focus of this adventure site will be to gain entry to it. When a party has then breached the tower in whatever way worked, the focus of the adventure will shift to careful exploration… mind you not to map the place, but simply to find their chosen goal.

The Story so far
Nearly a century ago a man named Robert E. Howard wrote a story called “The Tower of the Elephant” in which the hero Conan, with the help of Taurus of Nemedia, enters the tower of the evil priest Yara to steal the fabled gem called the Heart of the Elephant. Taurus dies and inside the tower Conan fights a pig-sized spider, converses with the elephant-headed elder alien Yag-Kosha (imprisoned there by Yara) and helps to get Yag-Kosha its revenge against Yara by killing it, infusing the mighty gem with its heartblood and then trapping Yara inside the gem. Everyone inside the tower then dies, except Conan who gets away scot-free… but sadly none the richer.
A little while ago a man named J. Blasso-Gieseke probably reread or remembered that story and thought:” That’ll do.” and then set out to write this Adventure Site.
This whole module is basically a retooling of the original Howard-story into a usable Adventure Site, as this time it’s the party’s turn to break and enter the fabled Tower of Yara. Not to be boring however, JBG added a few twists to this well-known story. Turns out, this time Yag-Kosha is the evil one, being a Malphyr feasting on evil deeds of mortals. It tricked Yara into creating the Elephant’s Heart, which is a soul snare here, and now is feeding of his evil, while residing in the tower. The giant spider is the dim-witted prince of Zamora, kidnapped and polymorphed by Yara. He is actually a good boy, just not the brightest. Taurus wisely keeps his distance from the tower, yet still covets the gem, thus maybe hiring the party to get it for him.

Theme and Atmosphere
The core theme is a classic heist or break-In Adventure. Your group wants to get into the tower to achieve some goal. Maybe they want to steal the fabled gem, maybe they want to kill Yara or they might even be sent to rescue the polymorphed Prince Elam. Whatever the reasons, the main drive of the adventure site is the wish to get inside the tower. The atmosphere is one of strangeness and tension, which works very well for this kind of situation. There is an inherent insecurity about what’s going on inside the tower. Less so for people who’ve read the original story, but here the added twists come to the rescue. I have to say though, that a lot of the heavy lifting regarding the atmosphere was done by Howard in the 1930s when he published “The Tower of the Elephant” and this adventure site profits from that immensely. Any DM wanting to run this would do well to read the original story (link at the end of this review), simply for the atmosphere they then can convey to their own table.

Language and Writing
The writing is clear and on point, getting information across to the DM very nicely. Still there’s flourishes and phrases here and there that elevate the whole thing away from the purely technical description style. Lions are stalking the shadows, a pungent stench fills a room and other terse, but evocative phrases help you immediately picture any room or situation with a life of its own.

Artwork
There is no artwork in this module. Anyone wanting to show their players the tower or the form of Yag-Kosha will readily find a multitude of material online.

The Situation
The basic situation as mentioned above is a planned heist. There are three rumors included in the entry to get going. Either the lame daughter of the king begs the party to rescue her brother (the polymorphed prince) or Balbek the vizier of the king wants them to assassinate Yara to end his evil influence on the king or maybe the thief Taurus of Nemedia will hire the party to steal the Heart of the Elephant. None of the three hooks are really “out there”, rather they’re all pretty standard stuff (rescue, kill or steal). They all drip with atmosphere though and give a DM more than enough to play-out a fine scene setting up the adventure. All three “employers” of the group are willing to give them 50000gp for their service, though in the case of Taurus, this is a bold-faced lie as he simply hopes the players don’t know the true worth of the gem. Stuff like this instantly transforms a rather bland rumor into an interesting one, as we now have a potential betrayal going on.

Usability and Complexity
The entries usability is quite high, owing a lot to the clear layout, the map and the writing.
Complexity then hovers somewhere in the middle, though paradoxically not necessarily because of what is in the entry. There is much stuff going on (guards, traps, …) though none of that is out of the ordinary and should be well manageable by any good DM. The real problem here, I feel, will be the “planning the break in”-phase of the adventure. Every good group will come up with crazy and insane plans to get into the tower, testing their ideas against the DM who will inform them what they might or might not find out. Here the complexity can rise quite quickly, especially as there is some information regarding the towers’ defenses against burglars, though depending on the players plans, there is also a lot missing. A party of level 8 characters with a Cleric and a Magic-User can have access to spells like Locate object, Polymorph others, Fly, Dimension Door and others. As written the tower seems to have no magical defenses at all, which might seem strange and trip a DM up. A few words here would’ve helped a lot, I think. Would’ve also been a good chance to explain a bit about that strange, silvery glass the tower and it’s guarding walls are made of. When the party is inside, the adventure slows a bit, essentially becoming a “one-room, one-event”-show. This again is not a bad thing, as a wizard tower ought to be strange and there’s some stuff here to unpack.
The usability could take a hit from the fact, that all of this adventure is very specific on certain details. The city Zamora, the King, the thief… all have names. The Tower of the Elephant is famed far and wide. his whole thing and it’s atmosphere might simply nit fit in your specific home campaign. One can always redesign of course, change names and such, but it would be kind of a shame to do it here. Still, I think if you drop this in your gameworld and place hints early enough (at lower levels) it will work out just fine.

Random Encounters
No Random Encounters in this Adventure site. There’s also really not much use for them in here. The outer part of the tower is described with guards and defenses, as to allow the heist part to play out nicely. The inner part of the tower is slower and more focused on exploring the strange new area.
It has often been said that an essential part of many a dungeon needs to be some sort of external factor applying pressure to the party. They need to move quick, act quick, get in, get out and use as little resources as possible (while still using as many as necessary). A time-tested method for that are Random Encounters. Here though they would probably ruin the excellent mood and design of the place… besides, the external pressure factor here is simply time. Sooner or later someone will discover the party, so best be quick about it.

NPCs and Monsters
We’ve got a nice mixture of NPCS and monsters in this. NPCS being folks you can talk to and do more than “overcome” them in battle or through trickery or clever play.
There’s a slave in the kitchen, though sadly he knows nothing of value. Missed chance here, as he would’ve made a nice source of information about what’s going on in the tower.
The tower guards are normal 3HD human veterans. Even though the adventure doesn’t mention it, they can probably be bribed, enchanted, or persuaded through other means. Again, a few words to this effect would’ve been welcome here. They’ve got some notes about calling each other and how long it takes for reinforcements to arrive though, so very good. There are six lions guarding the inner garden, so best prep a “Speak to Animals” and bring a steak for negotiations. Each of the three rumors also features an NPC of sorts, though they probably won’t matter much once the group is in the thick of it (Though there is a high chance for some unpleasantness regarding Taurus and his potential buyer). The polymorphed Prince Elam, now a Giant Spider in the uppermost floor, is a nice addition to the site. He really just wants to be rescued, but he isn’t the brightest bulb and will rush any heroes entering his chamber. This will end well for him in probably 1 in a hundred cases, but them’s the breaks.
The real heavy hitters are Yara and Yag-Kosha though. Yara’s a level 14 cleric (ouch!) with a magic staff that covers a target in swarming locusts, costing them their action and doing 20 damage flat. Ouch again.
The Malphyr Yag-Kosha is a 9HD monster, with 3 attacks per round, poison breath, immunity to mundane damage and the ability to move through any door locked magically or otherwise. He also sits surrounded by goblets of acid which he can throw and is, of course, immune to. Ouch the third. What dampens all these “ouches” a bit is the fact, that only Yag-Kosha needs to be fought at all. IF a clever party manages to deal with him, Yara (and by extension the Spider Prince) won’t be a problem anymore. Yara will in fact gift a group the Elephants Heart for their killing of Yag-Kosha.

Treasure
The adventure helpfully informs us that there are 453500gp of treasure to be found here. The math here is a bit wonky for my taste as this assumes that the party fulfills one of the quests from a rumor for 50000gp, get the Elephants Heart for another 250000gp and plunder everything of value in the tower.
A clever party (with a benign DM) could very well achieve the objective of all three rumors thus gaining another 100000gp, pushing the total possible treasure to 553500gp in all. A dumb party could be tricked by Taurus, thus losing 200000gp from their possible treasure, bringing them down to 253500gp. Whatever the case a party somewhere between level 6 and 8 will probably gain a level after this, or at the higher level at least make very good way towards the next one.
Another point that could trip up a DM is the fact, that values for object in rooms are always given for one object, even if there are multiples of them. There are four jewel encrusted carpets in room 6, though the text only gives a value of 10000gp. Nothing to bad, but could’ve been made clearer.
Treasure in all is good. We got golden chalices, jewel encrusted carpets, twice a party could remove decorations from doors… though everyone wants the gem in the end.

Interactivity/Traps/Puzzles
While there is a lot going on here, all of it is either in the NPC/Monsters or in the general situation and how it unfolds. No traps, puzzles or other tidbits in this entry. Like I wrote above, the main meat of the adventure will be the planning and execution of the break-in… and this is well supported by the guards, the lions, their order of battle, guard changes and such. Inside the tower each room can be seen as it’s own puzzle and the adventure will change quite a bit depending on which direction (top or bottom) the party enters and which rooms they enter in which order. It also doesn’t make sense for Yara to have traps and puzzles inside his own tower. Again the omission of a mention of magical defenses regarding outside intrusion are a bit of miss here.

Mechanics and Rules
This is pretty straight up OSE Advanced. Monsters are statted in the adventure, spells are those of the core books. There is a nice little mechanic regarding the corrupting influence of the Elephants Heart, where a character needs to make a hard Wisdom-save or have their soul snared by Yag-Kosha. Ther’S two items, the Yellow Lotus Incense in Yara’s chamber and the Purple Lotus Incense in Yag-Kosha’s. Both of these have nifty effects, Yellow extending the range of clerical spells, purple tricking eyes and mind to see evil as good and ugly as beautiful. Both are good effects, though I would’ve wished for some more mechanical information like duration of effect, how far the range of spells can be extended and such. Any good DM will add that themselves though, so no big loss here.

Highlights

• The brilliant idea to “adventurize” the Tower of the Elephant and the skill with which it was done
• The awesome twists, keeping the adventure fresh even for people who have read the original story.
• The multiple ways this could go down and how they are implied by the adventure.

Final Thoughts

• Do I want to DM this? Does the adventure site make me excited to try and run it?
  Yes and yes. I love Conan stories and the Tower of the Elephant is a timeless classic. To be able to play it out and experience all these little twists is awesome.
• Do I think it works at the table? Do I think I can run this for one of my groups?
  Yes to both. There is nothing here breaking the adventure and I think it will run like butter in a hot pan. Most of my players would probably enjoy this immensely, especially the Conan readers.
• Do I think players would have a blast playing through it?

It is a challenge, it is strange, it has twists and turns and in the end you’re either rich or dead… what’s not to enjoy. Good classic Sword & Sorcery Adventuring to be had right here.

That’s it again from my side.
Join me next time when we’ll look at:
St.Durham’s Home for Wayward Youths by Trent F. Smith

Thanks for reading

PS: I nearly forgot but you can read the original story on Wikipedia: The Tower of the Elephant