Expanding Touch of Death

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

I'm going to be running some classic AD&D for my group and I'm running through the Grand Conjunction. Bearing in mind I've not ran these adventures since I was 17 and now I'm a few months shy of the big 4-0, I started to re-read them.

NotWD, one of my favourite Ravenloft adventures, stands quite solidly and doesn't really need tinkering too much to run in the 2 weeks I've got for it, but I don't remember Touch of Death being so threadbare. There's the overarching plot:

• Isu finds the scroll

• Isu raises Semnet

• Semnet rages against his control

• Isu is killed by the party

• Semnet goes to Ankhtepot's tomb to steal his power

There's the interplay with Dulcimae and the Vistani, her sort-of-but-not-really tarroka reading and her eventual mummification, but that's it.

And the end says Ankhtehpot's tomb can't be opened without the magic ankh, and I may have missed it, but I'm sure after reading the adventure the magic ankh isn't mentioned anywhere else.

There's room for some improvements, obviously. I don't think ToD is the weakest of the Grand Conjunction adventures, that honour goes to Ship of Horror, but it definitely has a lot of room for improvement. I've only got 2 weeks for each adventure (until we're back around a table and off Roll20).

What suggestions do people have to add some more "oomph" to the adventure? I'm not adverse to sticking one of the CotN shorts in there, but this group have already met my favourite (Angel Pajaro from Werebeasts).

[alhoon]

I would start by making Har'akir larger and add the rest of the Amber Wastes in the game.
No Ankgh? Go get it from a tomb in Sebua. Perhaps using one of the Children as a guide. Face off some Pharazian slavers.

[DustBunny]

What suggestions do people have to add some more "oomph" to the adventure? I'm not adverse to sticking one of the CotN shorts in there, but this group have already met my favourite (Angel Pajaro from Werebeasts).

You could throw 'Ancient Dead' from Chilling Tales in there if you want them to meet RvR, or lift some of the sub-quests from module I3 'Pharaoh' to pad things out. Or if you are feeling particularly daring you could plug in the old Basic D&D module B4 - 'The Lost City'.

[Garudos Celestar]

One option mentioned in the adventure (but not further expanded) was an encounter with Nephthys, the mummy of Ankhtepot's estranged wife. As written, she's just a deus ex machina to appear if the PCs are about to be overwhelmed by desert zombies, but perhaps she could have the ankh to open her husband's tomb and the PCs could need to seek her out (not even necessarily for an ankh key - maybe as a member of the royal family she just happens to be one of the individuals who can freely open the tomb, even if she won't dare to enter it and get directly between Ankhtepot and Senmet).

Another aspect of Har'Akir is the water issue, which gets downplayed (I guess they presume that someone in the party is playing a cleric or druid who can use create water) but it is explicit that removing water from the oasis of Mudar/Muhar rather than drinking directly from the pond is a capital crime... perhaps a scene emphasizing this for flavor?

Finally, how are the PCs going to get to Har'Akir? One complaint I remember from old reviews (and one with which I agree) is that having Dulcimae botch her attempt to mist travel comes across as rather pathetic (even if she's an inexperienced raunie, it still takes away from the power and mystery of the Vistani). I recommend including the Jackal's Ruse (which also conveniently provides an alternate source of fresh water, as the stranded ship should have barrels of drinking water for its original sea voyage) and then having the PCs meet Dulcimae and her brothers as they scavenge the wrecks before they all travel to Mudar/Muhar together.

[The Lesser Evil]

Playing with Abu al Mir's background/timeline a bit, you could include his parents (as written, Abu al Mir is but a child in the module, having been born in 725 BC) , though in canon they would allied with Senmet for a single night before being immediately destroyed in the same night with the destruction of the hidden Anubis Temple. It's been a while since I've read ToD, but you could include the said hidden Anubis temple could feature in your game. The Anubis temple was still standing as of 737 BC when ToD takes place as per later placement in the Ravenloft timeline. The magic ankh could be placed there. (If you only have two weeks for each adventure, I wouldn't make the temple too big.)

Another option for ankh placement could be in the trapped temple featured in the adventure for Sheneya in CotN: Werebeasts, switching out the jade serpent for the ankh as the treasure Sheneya seeks. Or you could feature Sheneya or some other associated werecobra assassins as hitmen sent after the party at some point, perhaps sent by Isu or Senmet.