Although I had some awareness of B3 from way back, I first learned what B3 was about when I bought B1-9: In Search of Adventure, a compilation of the early Basic D&D modules. It was edited and shortened, so B1-9 by necessity of limited space only had the two actual dungeon levels, with a short introduction about the Eye of Arik, pruning a 36-page module down to 15 pages. For many years I accepted that was it. However, recently I have acquired a PDF of the orange cover printing of B3. For those of you who do not know, there were 2 versions of B3 Palace of the Silver Princess. The first one had an orange cover, the second had a green cover. The orange version was recalled after concerns about it's content, best explained here. But copies survived and somehow someone created the PDF that I now have. I actually don't have a copy of the green-cover version but I am assuming that it contained the material that appears in B1-9.
This version has some black and white illustrations by the likes of Erol Otus and Roslof, including some that are definitely old-school, such as the questionable Illusion of the Decapus and the downright weird ubues (three headed hermaphrodites!).
In my readthrough I also noted that some encounters were left blank, in a way very similar to B1: In Search of the Unknown, discussed previously. The DMs were expected to fill these in as they saw fit. Referring back to B1-9, these blank encounters have been filled in and I expect B1-9 uses the contents of the green cover version.
The Lands Around the Palace
The orange cover version was written before the release of the Expert set and the establishment of the Known World (south-east Brun). There is a map of the surrounding area, which does not neatly fit into the Known World - later on the Mentzer Expert set would place the palace in the eastern half of Karameikos, north of Rugalov village, in the hills southwest of Penhaligon. However, the orange-cover map shows "The Princes of Glantri" in the south-east. If we take this to be true it radically changes the location to the other end of the Known World map.
Another question that has sprung to mind is what about the realm of Haven? Is it only the small area immediately surrounding the palace? Or the whole of this map? I like the idea that Haven was most of what is on this map, up to the escarpments that lead to Glantri. Since the fall of the palace to chaotic forces, the vicious and chaotic ruler of Gulluvia now controls the areas marked out on the map by the border of territory. The ruler, a sorceress called Dh'mis, was trained in Glantri and is in league with the forces of Chaos, perhaps steering higher authorities in Glantri away from the palace and the toe-hold the forces of Chaos have in this area, and I would say she at least tolerates the cult of Chaos if not actively embraces it.
Expanding the Palace
Outbuildings and other ruins: the two maps of the palace, the upper and lower levels, are assumed to be the whole palace. This is up to the DM - the maps provided in the module could just be for the central keep - there could be curtain walls, towers and a courtyard with stables, smithy and the like.
Deeper levels of the dungeon: What if the passages in areas 1D and 1E were not completely caved in, or perhaps the rubble blocking the passage could be cleared?
The Cult of Chaos certainly has an influence within the Palace itself. The cleric in the upper level, Carathandamus, is chaotic and I imagine him as being the cult representative in the palace. How much influence and control he can exert on other inhabitants is up to the DM - he has his own retinue of two dwarves and a werebear, but beyond that he may give other residents of the palace a wide berth, particularly the less intelligent ones.
One thing I have noticed in the differences between the B1-9 version and this orange cover version is that the orange one has no mention of The Eye of Arik, a cursed gem that has spread its chaotic influence through the palace, attracting monsters and sending residents mad. Instead there is just a very valuable ruby, “My Lady’s Heart”. Although it is worth 10,000gp to those who find it, it does not have magical properties. The B1-9 version has destroying the Eye of Arik thereby lifting the curse as the mission, the main reason for entering the palace. This choice of versions is really up to the DM - are his players noble heroes or greedy treasure-hunters? Of course, having just one version of the module may make this moot.
New Monsters of the Orange Cover version
- Archer Bush
- Baric
- Bubble
- Decapus
- Diger
- Ghost
- Jupiter Bloodsucker
- Marble Snake, Giant
- Marmoset, Giant
- Poltergeist
- Purple Moss
- Ubue
A number of these are not native to Brun but from Davania - the Jupiter Bloodsucker, the Giant Marmoset, the giant Marble Snake and the Decapus all have populations in that dense jungle far to the south. This raises questions of what are they doing so far from home - I suspect they were brought here as biological curiosities by an academic expedition funded by a Prince of Glantri . They were temporarily held at the palace but before they could be forwarded to Glantri City, disaster struck the palace and they escaped into the rooms and hallways where they remain.
In terms of using these monsters elsewhere they are a mixed bunch. Some, like the Decapus and Poltergeist seem very reusable. Others I find difficult to take seriously. The Ubues are notoriously odd while bubbles just don’t seem like monsters, more like they should be a magical hazard.
cool
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