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Marco Volo: Journey
by Anthony Pryor
Table of Contents
Our Story So Far ...................................... 3
Cast of Characters .................................... 5
Chapter One ........................................... 10
Chapter Two ........................................... 19
Chapter Three ........................................ 2 4
Chapter Four .................................................. 29
Credits
Author: Anthony Pryor
Original Realms Design: Ed Greenwood
Editing: Elizabeth T. Danforth
Product Group Manager: Karen Boomgarden
Cover Art: John & Laura Lakey
Interior Art: Elizabeth T. Danforth
Cartography: Rob Lazzaretti
Typesetting: Nancy J. Kerkstra
Production: Dawn Murin
9450
ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, and FORGOTTEN REALMS are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. The TSR logo is a trademark owned by
TSR, Inc. All TSR characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any
real person, living or dead, is strictly coincidental. Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution rights in the book trade for English language
products of TSR, Inc. Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. This
book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited
without the express written permission of TSR, Inc.
Copyright ©1994 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
ISBN 1-56076-869-X
TSR, Inc.
POB 756
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120 Church End,
Cherry Hinton
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United Kingdom
2
Our Story
S o F a r
In which the author attempts, in his modest fashion, to refresh the readers memory
as to previous events. The reader is cautioned against using this simple synopsis as a
replacement for reading the first volume of our trilogy, and is strongly advised to
purchase said volume, if for no other reason than to further the fortunes of the hum-
ble author and his generous publisher.
arco VoloJourney
is the second volume of the Marco Volo
trilogy of adventures for the AD&D® 2nd Edition game. In
the first volume,
Departure,
the adventuring party met a
young and somewhat annoying rogue who called himself
Marco Volo. After disrupting a party at Mother Tathlorns
Festhall, Marco makes his escape after implicating the characters as his
accomplices.
The PCs are incarcerated by the Waterdeep city watch and rot in cells for a
few days before they are brought before Maskar Wands, patriarch of the ven-
erable Wands family. Marco Volo, they are informed, is Maskars nephew
Marcus, a neer-do-well thief, bard, and embarrassment to his family.
Maskar offers to have charges against the PCs dropped if they hire Marcus
as their guide for a journey to Shadowdale, in the hope that the experience
will teach his nephew some responsibility. Additionally, the journey will keep
him out of Waterdeep while the family uses its prodigious influence to cover
up his misdeeds. In addition, Maskar asks the party to carry a message to Lord
Mourngrym of Shadowdale, and offers them generous compensation for the
job. If they refuse, Maskar darkly suggests that the PCs might be sampling the
pleasures of Waterdeeps dungeons for some time to come.
The party accepts Maskars offer and finds Marcus in a low dive. After all
concerned have negotiated through a minor comedy of errors and misunder-
standings, he is eventually persuaded to guide them to Shadowdale.
Not surprisingly, the entire matter is far more complex than it appears on the
surface. Marcuss career as a thief has made him a number of powerful enemies,
among them the demented wizard Sabbar. With an unusually severe lack of
judgment, even for him, Marcus stole from Sabbar an extra-planar artifact
called the Dragonkings Eye. The little thief planted evidence pinning the
crime on the infamous Volothamp Geddarm, author of
Volos Guides
and the
suppressed work
Volos Guide to All Things Magical.
Marcuss ruse succeeded, but
only partiallySabbar accepts that Volothamp is the guilty culprit, but he has
incorrectly decided that Marco Volo is actually Volothamp incognito.
Sabbar has offered a rich reward for Marcus. To ensure Marcuss capture or
demise, Sabbar has obtained the services of the wizard-assassin Felibarr
Blacklance, an evil man of infamous reputation.
3
As the party attempts to leave Waterdeep, the
adventurers run afoul of Blacklance and his mercenar-
ies, but manages to escape his clutches. The charac-
ters take their leave of the city, more or less in one
piece. As their journey progresses, they are plagued by
Felibarrs agents, as well as other bounty hunters who
are also seeking Sabbars reward. Eventually, they
reach the Way Inn, battered and suspecting that
Maskar Wandss simple mission has turned into
something far more complex, confusing, and poten-
tially deadly.
The Course of the
Adventure
arco VoloJourney
follows Marcus and the
PCs from the Way Inn to the Stone Lands
north of Cormyr. As the adventure begins, the PCs
approach the Chauntean Monastery near Berdusk,
where Maskar Wands suggested they could seek shel-
ter. Arriving at the monastery, all is pastoral and
pleasant, and the monks offer an unmatched feast in
celebration of an exceptional harvest. Before long,
though, the adventurers discover once more that
things are not as they seem. The pacifistic Chauntean
Brothers have been replaced by the evil Black Monks,
servants of the Dead Gods, who try to dispose of the
adventurers and capture Marcus in hopes of winning
Sabbars reward.
After escaping from the Black Monks, the PCs
make their way to the Cormyrean frontier. There
King Azouns Purple Dragons are on the lookout for
the infamous thief, Marco Volo, and his accom-
plices a story carefully planted and spread by Sab-
bar and his agents to further impede the partys
movements.
A good deed (the rescue of a harassed gnome)
brings its own reward, albeit belatedly. When the Pur-
ple Dragons have the hapless adventurers at some-
thing of a disadvantage, they find themselves rescued
by the timely intervention of Heino and his Wood-
land Troupe. This band of wandering minstrels,
actors, dancers, acrobats, and similar entertainers is
on its way to a command performance in Shadowdale.
Once they have fallen in with Heinos troupe, the
PCs will have to earn their keep among the entertain-
ers, assisting and even performing. The characters
learn the joys of being in a traveling troupe, perform-
ing for a different audience each night. In the course
of the adventure, the PCs also learn more about Mar-
cus and his secrets. The adventure ends with Shadow-
dale in sight, and a final confrontation with the evil
wizard-assassin Felibarr Blacklance, who has been the
PCs foe since the first volume.
Like the previous volume,
Marco VoloJourney
is a
picaresque adventure with lots of action and intrigue.
Unlike
Departure,
however, there are extensive
opportunities for role playing, especially (but not
exclusively!) when the adventurers are traveling and
performing with Heinos troupe.
To prepare for the adventure, DMs might read or
locate a video of Shakespeares
Hamlet,
as well as
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,
a surrealistic
and comedic sequel to Hamlet written by modern
author Tom Stoppard. Both these tales deal, at least
in part, with traveling players and their practices. Karl
Edward Wagners
Dark Crusade,
a rousing sword and
sorcery epic in which the hero takes refuge with a
band of entertainers, is also a good choice for reading
material.
Previously-published AD&D® products will be of
use to the DM. These products include the
FORGOTTEN REALMS® Campaign Setting, The
Complete Bards Book,
and the various
Volos Guides.
The
Cormyr
accessory product describes much of the
partys route in great detail, and is especially useful.
The author wishes to express his gratitude to his
friend, Dale Ivan Smith, for assistance and inspira-
tion, and for the loan of Heino and his Woodland
Troupe.
A Last Word
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