I8 Ravager of Time (1e)

So this is the Ffenargh? Mile after mile of stinking bogs overlain by a swirling mist that clings to the skin and chills to the bone. Ahead, a decrepit causeway rises scant inches above the fetid waters and meanders its way through the twisted forms of stunted trees into the depths of this forsaken land.

For years, these blighted fens have been ignored by the outside world, but now an urgent summons brings you into the Ffenargh, to the Court of the Lords Spiritual at Eylea. A foul murder has been committed. Geoffrey D'Arcy, Lord of Myrkfast, has been slain by his own son and you are called upon to find out why.

Death has always hung heavy over this mire, but now an ancient evil has returned to haunt the mist - an evil whose icy fingers reach out to crush any who dare delve its secrets. You, who have faced death a thousand times, meet it now in its most terrible guise. Can you defeat it, or will you fall victim to the Ravager of Time?

An adventure for 6-10 characters of levels 8th to 10th.

*****

Product History

I8: "Ravager of Time," by Graeme Morris and Jim Bambra, is the eighth adventure in the "I" (Intermediate) series for AD&D. It was published in June 1986.

Not Quite the UK. The previous seven AD&D adventures produced by TSR UK were all published as part the "UK" series (1983-85). After that, TSR UK focused more on Basic D&D and other games like Star Frontiers, so the "UK" code went unused following UK7: "Dark Clouds Gather" (1985). However, "Ravager of Time" was a return to the AD&D game and thus could easily have been "UK8"... but TSR decided otherwise for reasons we'll soon discover. 

The UK Feel. Like most of the TSR UK adventures, this one is plot heavy, featuring numerous NPCs; a jury trial; and a life-draining sorceress, the eponymous "Ravager of Time." All of the adventuring occurs in towns or wilderness, without a dungeon to be found. This would all be much more typical of the TSR adventures of the 90s, but in the 80s it was almost exclusively the domain of TSR UK and (to a lesser extent) Tracy Hickman. Like many of the other TSR UK adventures, this one makes heavy use of monsters found in the Fiend Folio (1981) and the Monster Manual II (1983).

The Last (Official) TSR UK Adventure. In 1985, TSR was facing serious financial problems, which led to their TSR UK division being shut down. TSR UK's RPG magazine ended with Imagine #30 (September 1985), while "Ravager of Time" was the last mass-market adventure to be produced in the TSR UK offices. However, there are two other TSR UK-related publications from mid-to-late 1986 that are of note.

ST1: "Up the Garden Path" (1986) was produced around the same time for the Stoke-on-Trent National Garden Festival, which ran from May 1, 1986, to October 26, 1986. It's not clear which of "Ravager" and "Up the Garden Path" appeared first, as various sources date "Ravager" as appearing in April, May, or June of the year. (As usual, this history uses the official release date published in Dragon.) In any case, "Up the Garden Path" was not a mass-market release; it was published exclusively at the Garden Festival in the UK and is thus today one of TSR's rarest and most sought-after collectibles.

TSR UK's last hoorah was AC9: "Creature Catalogue" (1986), which was definitely edited by the TSR UK crew, but appeared many months later without the TSR UK logo. By that time, TSR UK was probably entirely shut down.

Monsters of Note. "Ravager of Time" features the brand-new slime golem, which amusingly is created from the crystal ooze found in Monster Manual II. The Slime Golem has not appeared since its debut in "Ravager."

About the Creators. Graeme Morris was involved with both "Up the Garden Path" and "Creature Catalogue," but afterward left the RPG industry. Jim Bambra also participated in the work on "Creature Catalogue"; after the dissolution of TSR UK, he joined Games Workshop to work on "The Enemy Within" campaign (1986-89) for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1986). He was joined there by Phil Gallagher (also of TSR UK) and Graeme Davis (who is sometimes mistaken for Graeme Morris, but is a different fellow).

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