The C-series was dormant for a few years until C3: The Lost Island of Castanamir came out in 1984, sporting a pretty sweet Jeff Easley cover. The interiors are all Easley, too, which is a pleasure. I feel like his ink work was under-used at the time and under-appreciated now. I particularly like the initial illustration of the adventuring party unsealing the hatch in the dungeon, and the sneaky mage caught in the act of snooping around.

The module is by Ken Rolston, who would go on to by a key designer on Paranoia and would write some of my favorite Avalon Hill RuneQuest material. This adventure is…not on that level.

Like the other C-series modules, this one is meant for tournament play (and debuted at Origins 1982, long before its actual publication). Like Ghost Tower, it is in the fun house mode, with character proceeding in the dungeon through a series of one-way portals, which sounds amusing but gets confusing real fast (for players and DMs alike, I should think). The kitchen is pretty modern, with an oven and a walk-in freezer, which is a little odd. The module also introduces the Gingwatzim, ethereal servant spirits that come in six varieties, each of which can take one of three forms – their natural spirit form, or the form of either an inanimate or animate object. They are weird and a little confusing and I don’t believe they ever showed up again. Oh, and most of the pre-generated PCs have surnames that incorporate the word “house” for some reason. Oh, and the intro text refers to Castanamir as an 18-level mage, as if levels are a thing that exist in the fictional world, which I find pretty hilarious. Hi, Stu here, 12th-level writer, how are you?