I legit thought, for several minutes, that Avengers in Lankhmar (1995) was a reprint of Slayers of Lankhmar. After having never seen the manhunt-style scenario set-up, I was really confused to see it again, in what is essentially the last original publication for TSR’s Lankhmar line.

This is basically the same scenario with some details swapped around. Elad Edals is the target of the manhunt, which takes place inside the city instead of the nearby forest. There are fewer competing gangs, though all four were in the previous scenario. The search moves through quadrants of the city and races against a predetermined event timeline (which, the quads seemed the focus last time, where this time, the timeline seems to take on a greater focus). This iteration does seem better organized and easier to manage, and honestly more interesting, in that I’m just keener on a manhunt through the city of the Black Toga than some woods, you know? I think this also makes Edals bag of tricks more interesting. A fave: posing as a cook to lace the players’ food with ground glass. Brutal. On the other hand, Edals is still clearly a self-insert and I get some cringe energy learning that in addition to his other problems, his wife and kids have left him. Eesh. I really hope art isn’t reflecting life here.

Big art improvement. I like the cover Allan Pollack cover better (even though Edals is supposed to be one-eyed). And the interiors are by John T. Snyder, which is…amazing? I know JTS primarily as a Call of Cthulhu artist, so seeing him take a crack at Lankhmar is a real treat. Love the pyrotechnics and the rats. And that chase scene takes on an almost Russ Nicholson look.