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D&D Flashback takes a look at old Dungeons & Dragons adventure modules from a modern perspective, pulling them apart to see what lessons modern DMs and players can learn from them.
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Originally released in 1978, Descent Into the Depths of the Earth serves as an introduction to the Underdark, the vast subterranean cavern system where all matters of foul creatures lurk. The module continues the central plot that started in Against the Giants, in which the drow organized an unholy alliance of giants to attack the above-ground kingdoms of mankind. In Hall of the Fire Giant King, the players discovered several drow envoys while invading a fire giant keep, and this adventure assumes that they pursued them into the underground tunnels hidden underneath the fire giant’s castle.
Unlike the Against the Giants modules, Descent Into the Depths of the Earth is primarily built around exploration instead of hack and slash adventuring. The module comes with a map of branching tunnels, many of which have optional combat encounters. There are few “mandatory” encounters – instead, the module is mostly concerned with acclimating players to the Underdark, its strange ecosystem, and its denizens. The module is also significantly easier than Hall of the Fire Giant King – the drow are significantly weaker than fire giants or frost giants, and that should give the players a false sense of security as they delve deeper and deeper into the unknown.
While the Underdark is considered one of the quintessential parts of Dungeons & Dragons, Descent Into the Depths of the Earth is actually the first time it was ever described in any detail in a D&D book. As a modern reader, I was a bit put off by how much of the encounter is spent describing the drow culture and general features of the Underdark, until I realized that this was essentially “new” information when it was first published. No D&D book had ever taken the time to explain that female drow were the true threats of any drow scouting party, nor had one ever explained just how many creatures live in the caverns deep in the earth. Although it’s not as robust as a modern campaign setting book, Descent Into the Depths of the Earth needed to take the time to explain how different the Underdark was from traditional dungeons, and the adventure lays the foundation for what would become one of the most beloved (and most explored) parts of D&D.
Descent Into the Depths of the Earth finds a careful balance between drow and non-drow encounters. While the main fight in the module is against a drow scouting party, the module also has lots of other creatures lurking in the underground caverns, not all of which are friendly to the drow. At one point, the party battles a pair of illithid torturing a drow merchant, and at other times the players may encounter a pair of hieracosphinx waiting for their drow masters. Each of these encounters provide players with items or information that will come in handy during the main drow plotline, but they provide players with fights against non-drow monsters, mainly to keep the drow from getting stale too quickly. As the adventure culminates within the secret city of the drow, I liked how this module (and its follow-up, Shrine of the Kuo-Toa) aren’t heavily focused on the drow. It keeps them fresh for later adventures, and also emphasizes that they’re more clever foes than the trolls, bugbears and other threats that stumble across the players’ path.
This module also has a fantastic side encounter against the lich Asberdies. The encounter itself is rather standard – the lich hides within its lair and only attacks should he see the players use magic – but his lair is one of those fantastic gems that will delight Dungeon Masters and frustrate players. To keep his magic items safe, Asberdies has lined his lair with 600 magic mouth spells, which prevents a player from using detect magic to find his hoard of treasure. Even if players manage to find the portable hole where the lich keeps his treasures, his most valuable treasures are all cursed. A player who takes Asberdies’ 80,000 gp crown will eventually wither and die and become a wight, and the curse can only be reversed by a Level 20 cleric…which players likely don’t have access to deep in the Underdark. If you’re looking to mess with your players, take a look at Asberdies’s fun side encounter, which is both dangerous and has some very questionable rewards.
Ultimately, Descent Into the Depths of the Earth is a fun introductory adventure that offers players their first look into the Underdark. While light on plot and challenging encounters, the adventure provides DMs with the tools they need to show how strange and different the Underdark is from the above-ground world, while holding back the main villains of the campaign for later on.
You can purchase Descent Into the Depths of the Earth from the DMs Guild. A novel version of the module was also released in 2000.
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