Dungeonland

Code	EX1
Rules required	AD&D
Character levels	9 - 12
Campaign setting	Generic / Greyhawk
Authors	Gary Gygax
First published	1983
Linked modules
EX1 EX2

EX1: Dungeonland (EX1) is a module for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, written by Gary Gygax for use with the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules. It is an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with the various characters from the book translated into AD&D terms.^{[1][2] [3]}

The "EX" module code stands for "extension", as the adventure is designed to be inserted as an independent addition to another, ongoing scenario.^[4] In Gygax's own campaign, an early version of Dungeonland was an extension of Castle Greyhawk.^[3] In this module, the player characters are plummeted into a strange partial plane.^[5]

The adventure begins as the PCs find themselves falling down an earthern tunnel (it is suggested that the portal to Dungeonland be a barrel within the dungeon of Castle Greyhawk, but the DM may work in any premise to get them to this stage.)

Upon landing, the PCs find themselves in a surreal, odd hallway which contains The Pool of Tears and the entrance to a diminuative garden. Once they have explored these areas, they cross a fungi forest and arrive at The Wilds of Dungeonland, which is essentially a wooded area containing several connected clearings.

Over the course of the adventure, the PCs run into variations of Lewis Carroll's Wonderland creatures and characters, presented in a Dungeons and Dragons sense. For instance, instead of the Mock Turtle, a Mock Dragon Turtle is present. The March Hare is a lycantherope, and so on.

The point of the adventure seems to be diversion and novelty more than anything else. There is not much in the way of treasure, and there really is no overall plot. The PCs may leave Dungeonland when they choose, by returning to the Great Hall and wishing themselves back up the tunnel. However, the PCs may also explore The Land of the Magic Mirror, which adjoins Dungeonland to the West, but they must find the way.

Like its source material, the module is intended to be played in a "light-hearted and zany spirit"^[6], though, unlike Carroll's Alice, the player characters repeatedly face potentially lethal combat with monsters. (For example, the Cheshire Cat is a magical smilodon eager to eat adventurers.)^[3]

Dungeonland and The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror were designed to be placed as an extension of an existing 9th-12th level dungeon.^[5] In the afterword, Gygax mentions that Dungeonland was an early part of the Greyhawk dungeon, and that his players visited it multiple times. Dr. Joyce Brothers is mentioned as having played in a version of the scenario run at a convention.

The module is paired with The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror, which is based on Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. For unknown reasons, the scene on the cover is actually from the other module, and vice versa.

Receiving 9 out of 10, the module was positively reviewed in Issue 48 of White Dwarf magazine. The reviewer Jim Bambra enjoyed its sense of humour and exciting role-play, but criticised that it needn't have been written for such high level characters (a common problem in early modules), and could have been modified for lower level ones.^[5]

• Gygax, Gary. Dungeonland (TSR, 1983).

Reviews: Different Worlds #35 (1984) Fantasy Gamer #6 (1984)

• Article and download at Wizards of the Coast