Heart of Nightfang Spire (2001) is a 32-page adventure module written for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition by Bruce R. Cordell. It is intended for 10th-level characters.
It is the fifth work in a series of eight linked modules unofficially referred to as the Sunless Citadel adventure path. It consists of The Sunless Citadel (2000), The Forge of Fury (2000), The Speaker in Dreams (2001), The Standing Stone (2001), Heart of Nightfang Spire (2001), Deep Horizon (2001), Lord of the Iron Fortress (2002), and Bastion of Broken Souls (2002).
- Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers for a Dungeons & Dragons product.
Official synopsis[]
From Temple to Tomb
Nightfang Spire has long brooded in lonely silence, shadowed within the walls of a steep defile. A tall stone column, it resembles nothing so much as an enormous fang of some vanished, mythical beast. Once, a fervent religious order thrived here - before its god was slain. Embracing that death, Nightfang Spire was transformed into a massive, hollow mortuary filled with the restless dead.
"Heart of Nightfang Spire" is a stand-alone adventure for the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game. This adventure challenges 10th-level heroes who follow the rumor of a dragon’s hoard to the imposing edifice known as Nightfang Spire. When they arrive, the truth about the place is revealed in all its awful clarity.
To use this adventure, a Dungeon Master also needs the Player’s Handbook, the DUNGEON MASTER’S Guide, and the Monster Manual.
Plot[]
Background[]
The vampire Gulthias has returned to his historic crypt in Nightfang Spire, site of a cult to the ancient dragon Ashardalon. Now, he is awakening the cult who have waited centuries for Ashardalon's return.
Synopsis[]
The player characters seek out and explore Nightfang Spire, inhabited by cultists to the dragon Ashardalon who long ago transformed themselves into undead to await their draconic patron's eventual return. At the Spire's core lies the titular preserved heart of Ashardalon, drawn from his body in an ancient battle. There they must fight the cult's vampire leader, Gulthias.
Development and release[]
Development[]
Heart of Nightfang Spire was written by Bruce R. Cordell, with art by Jeff Easley and Dennis Cramer. Cordell had previously written the first in the series, The Sunless Citadel (2000), and would write the final instalment, Bastion of Broken Souls (2002).
Release[]
Heart of Nightfang Spire was released by Wizards of the Coast in August 2001 for $9.95 US or $13.95 Canadian.
It was released as a 32-page paperback in August 2001, for the price of US$9.95,[2] or initially $13.95 Canadian. It appeared under two product codes: WTC11847, and 882390000.[3] It included a map insert.[4]
On January 22, 2013, it was re-released in digital format. It is currently available on DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Masters Guild for $4.99. It does not include the map insert which was included with the original print release.
Reception and influence[]
Critical reception[]
Kevin Kulp praised Cordell's innovative monster design, using templated creatures and undead with class levels. He described this ability to put an innovative and unexpectd twist on known things as a hallmark of Cordell's design sensibility. He also praised the location for the module's final boss encounter. However, he noted that the dungeon was somewhat linear and deadly in innovative ways.[4]
As of 2023, Heart of Nightfang Spire reached the rank of Gold seller on DriveThruRPG.
Influence on other works[]
Heart of Nightfang Spire fifth in a series of eight adventure modules: The Sunless Citadel (2000), The Forge of Fury (2000), The Speaker in Dreams (2001), The Standing Stone (2001), Heart of Nightfang Spire (2001), Deep Horizon (2001), Lord of the Iron Fortress (2002), and Bastion of Broken Souls (2002). The concept of a series of linked adventure modules taking a character from level 1 to 20 would be come to be known as an "adventure path", a term first used by James Wyatt to describe this series in an interview in Dragon #281 (Mar 2001). Dungeon Magazine went on to publish its own adventure paths beginning in Dungeon #97 (Mar/Apr 2003). Following Dungeon's closure in 2007, adventure paths formed a core feature of Paizo Publishing's Pathfinder product line, which at one point surpassed Dungeons & Dragons in sales.
This module introduced the mooncalf to Dungeons & Dragons, which went on to appear in Monster Manual II (3e) (2002). It also introduced the ring of magic fang.
Nightfang Spire was mentioned under Ashardalon's entry in Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons (2008), p.232; and in the Monster Manual (5e) (2014), p.31, describing Gulthias' connection to the creatures called blights.
External links[]
References[]
| Sunless Citadel series |
|---|
| The Sunless Citadel • The Forge of Fury • The Speaker in Dreams • The Standing Stone • Heart of Nightfang Spire • Deep Horizon • Lord of the Iron Fortress • Bastion of Broken Souls |
| Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 |
|---|
| Core rules |
| Player's Handbook • Dungeon Master's Guide • Monster Manual • Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game |
| Supplements |
| Arms and Equipment Guide • Book of Challenges • Book of Vile Darkness • Defenders of the Faith • Deities and Demigods • Enemies and Allies • Epic Level Handbook • Fiend Folio • Ghostwalk • Hero Builder's Guidebook • Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Dungeons & Dragons Gazetteer) • Manual of the Planes • Masters of the Wild • Monster Manual II • Oriental Adventures • Psionics Handbook • Savage Species • Song and Silence • Stronghold Builder's Guidebook • Sword and Fist • Tome and Blood |
| Adventures |
| The Sunless Citadel • The Forge of Fury • The Fright at Tristor • The Speaker in Dreams • The Standing Stone • Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil • Heart of Nightfang Spire • Deep Horizon • Lord of the Iron Fortress • Bastion of Broken Souls • City of the Spider Queen |