I was very excited when I finally got this copy of M5: Talons of Night (1987). For starters, it is Jennell Jaquays’ first D&D module, and I am always down for some Jaquays. Second, that Daniel Horne cover has long intrigued me. What on earth is that creature? Is it just a floating head, like a beholder? Is all that lightning some kind of energy attack, or is that how it moves or is the lightning limbs? How effed are those knights? Why do I get such a strong War of the Worlds vibe from it? All these questions would finally be answered!
Except, spoilers: they weren’t. I still have no idea what that cover depicts, because there isn’t anything in the module that that mirrors it. Which, fine. The module itself is still pretty great.
Another weird thing, though – it is meant to be be inserted in the other Alphaks related M-series modules, but it is unclear where exactly, thanks to typos. Regardless, the events involve the peace conference to end the wars started in M1 and M2, essentially ending the larger plot that was playing out since CM1: Test of the Warlords (1984). As such, there is an all-star cast of important Known World NPCs. The two most important are the rules of the the two warring nations, Aphatia and Thyatis. The pair are inconveniently whisked away to another dimension where, thanks to a Chronicles of Amber-like time differential, they are long dead by the time the PCs arrive to rescue them (it turns out that they fell in love and forged a new empire together – awwww, what an imperialist meetcute), resulting in the need to clone them. Huh.
To get to that point, though, the players have to hop their way through several outer planes, which are delightfully strange compared to the rigidly ordered multiverse over in AD&D at the time. Jaquays just gets to make up a bunch of weird stuff and it is great.
Jaquays is one of my favorite designers because her stuff is never boring. This one is jam packed with odd. The M-Series overall seems extremely uneven to me, largely thanks to how wobbly the D&D rules seem when scaled to ultra-high level play, but this one ends the series on a high note.
