From Nick Stefanski Available at DriveThruRPG
Fears and regrets take physical form to challenge players from 5th to 10th level in this four-hour adventure!
The famous archmage Mordenkainen has rubbed shoulders with many gods and monsters — from Strahd to Ed Greenwood himself. He created many spells and artifacts and even demiplanes. The Memory Palace is the first of those pocket dimensions and is laid bare for players to explore how they see fit. This module was written for D&D’s 50th anniversary and intends to showcase the future of the game through the lens of its past. NPCs from the original DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor are present, and inspiration from WG5 Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure is woven throughout.
Framed as a mnemonic device Mordenkainen used to remember incantations and somatic gestures, the demiplane outgrew its original purpose and manifested in the astral sea, filling up with memories and regrets the mage had collected. The players are hired by a gith named Kaye’dahn for the simple task of retrieving a magical trinket consisting of three interlocked rings that originated in Limbo and were loaned to Mordenkainen in his younger years. Sounds simple, right?
What follows is a three part arc as the players are allowed to explore the Memory Palace, starting with a portal to the Museum of Memory. The players will get to interact with fragments of the archmage’s past. This can be a mix of exploration and combat and puzzle-solving, trying to determine what’s important and what’s real. The module was designed for an Average Party Level of 8, but the author includes notes suggesting to scale this up or down as needed, so you can challenge the players without wiping them from memory. I always appreciate when I’m DMing and having some options outlined that I can use either to adjust scaling or to change things up when I’m running a module a second time. And with all the nooks and crannies included, this is certainly one module I think would be interesting to run multiple times to see how players investigate.
Once the rings have been recovered, all that’s left is for the players to escape and claim their golden reward! This is where the real meat of the adventure lies, as the players will encounter various versions of Mordenkanin if he had made other decisions. What if he had laid down his staff and focused on his family? Or if he had avoided politics to focus on magic exclusively? The players will get to interact with these various copies with the object being to recruit one of them to see them to the exit. Having several different paths to travel here, means you can really pick one that your table will resonate with instead of being railroaded down. Let them play to their own strengths and explore or fight their way to a solution.
The tale ends with bittersweet nostalgia. Mordenkainen in tow, the players can open the portal home, but have to face regrets from the illustrious wizard’s past. Many of these names will sound familiar to you and the players alike, giving you an opportunity to play with shadows of these epic figures. These range from friends betrayed to long-time foes, increasing the challenge depending on which approach you choose. These mythic figures include ways for them to engage the players either in direct combat, bad-faith diplomacy… or a game of Dragonchess.
Rewards are outlined based on the different options chosen, some of which could have far-reaching impact on campaigns. Stat blocks are included in the format familiar to Adventure League DMs making for quick reference. Handouts are included to cover some of the magic item rewards, as well as two versions of the map — one for players and one annotated for the DM.
Reading through this module, I think there are lots of options that make it interesting for any group to experience. The inline notes for scaling and DM Tips handout provide resources and suggestions on how to make it survivable by less hardy adventurers that want to enjoy a story-rich stroll and the multiple paths give you as a DM the option to throw multiple branches at the over-tuned party forcing them to adapt. So, drop some big names, enjoy the rich tapestry of some of Greyhawks finest heroes and villains, and (hopefully) make it back home to tell the tale!
Ginny Loveday 