5 out of 5 smashed skulls!

The Temple of the Frog was the first adventure published by TSR. It first appeared in Supplement II (1975) and was based on Arneson's campaign. DA2 greatly expands on that adventure location and the backstory from Supplement II. Not only is the dungeon (Temple) itself presented, but DA2 also details the swamp and the city surrounding it. The main villain St Stephen is now connected to the City of the Gods which is next in line for the DA module series.

New in this 1980s style version is a an actual plot hook for getting the PCs to investigate the temple in the first place, introducing Rissa Aleford, as a damsel in distress. Also, as with the rest of the DA modules, there is a section on how to get the PCs back in time from the AC1000 Known World Setting (Mystara) if that is used, although this part can also be ignored. Unlike the other DA modules, DA2 does not have an NPC section detailing

Overall, this is a great treatment of what truly is a classic adventure which in my opinion deserves to be mentioned up there with the Keep on the Borderlands. The expansions added in this version complement the setting well and blends perfectly with the overall Blackmoor setting as detailed in the rest of the DA line providing possible connections back to DA1 and onwards to DA3. Should you only be interested in the dungeon itself, the rest can be ignored and the dungeon can be used multiple times if you want to play out scenarios where the temple has been rebuilt again, or assuming the Order of the Frog has several such structures.

In other words: great, high quality fun!


-Havard

DA2 review is up! :)

-Havard

I often thought what other direction roleplaying could have taken if that time Mr. Arneson didn't find/spot/choose/get inspired by that ole frog-shaped piece of ceramic... This adventure module (or the generation of this adventure module) started a lot of things...

Yep, that is true. :)

The was indeed the source of the Temple of the Frog, though the Monks of the Swamp probably predated this classic location. In a recent blog article I also speculated on the possible connection between from the Temple of Elemental Evil.

Great news for those missing a copy of DA2, it has now in PDF format. :)




-Havard

Is Temple of the Frog the only one of the DAs available so far? Has anyone picked it up, whats the quality on it?

I have the original pdf, which means I could download this one for free. I can't remember offhand, but I think I posted over on the Piazza a while back that the new pdf has a map that is missing in the old one, but is itself missing one of the other maps. If anyone needs more details I can check it for you.

WotC Classic Downloads! Now with even MORE missing maps ;)