Right, now that the Grand Conjunction is over, I wanted to take a look at a couple other random Ravenloft modules. First up is RM3: Web of Illusion (1993), a module I love primarily for the art. Robh Ruppel is on the cover, delivering a delightfully wrong rakshasa. Arnie Swekel has the chance to correct it on in the interiors and…doesn’t. I get it! They look really wrong when you draw them the right way (rakshasa hands are attached backwards), like “mistake” wrong, not creepy wrong. But if the hands are on the right way, that’s just a picture of Tawky Tawny. Which is fine, I like Tawny.

Rakshasa and their illusions are great adversaries. This module puts them to pretty good use. The first half is a series of “scenes” that are followed by an exploration section, in which the players investigate the Rakshasa’s ruined temple. Unlike most Ravenloft adventures, there isn’t much in the way of conspiracies or macguffins to thread here — the players are here to kill the Rakshasa and that’s about it. It is kind of refreshing after all that metaplot!

The module does a good job of conveying a sense of being hunted, too, which is nice, as is the clear focus on Indian culture and aesthetics. On the other hand, it is a bummer that pretty much the only D&D module with a strong south Asian vibe is completely dominated by an atmosphere of suspicion, manipulation and deception. Even the good guy in Sri Raji is a bad guy, while the lone helpful character is a pale-skinned thief from another land. It isn’t quite so bad as Temple of Doom, but it is still pretty orientalist, regardless of the intentions stated in the introduction.