 | |
| Code | EX2 |
|---|---|
| Rules required | 1st Ed. AD&D |
| Campaign setting | Generic / Greyhawk |
| Authors | Gary Gygax |
| First published | 1983 |
| Linked modules | |
| EX1 EX2 | |
The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror (EX2) is a Dungeons & Dragons module, written for use with the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, and set in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting.
Plot summary
In this module, the player characters are plummeted into a strange partial plane.[1] They meet the Jabberwock, the Bandersnatch, and The Walrus and the Carpenter, and also become involved in a giant game of chess.[2]
Publication history
This module, like its companion Dungeonland, is actually a close adaptation of a work of fiction by Lewis Carroll, in this case Through the Looking-Glass.[2] The module was written by Gary Gygax, with art by Jim Holloway, and was published in 1983 as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder.[2] Gygax adapted the module from his own D&D campaign.[citation needed]
To keep the surprise in the game, the module advises dungeon masters to keep the players in the dark about what is happening as long as possible, although well-read players will eventually recognize the monsters and situations.
In keeping with its sense of oddness and surprise, the cover of this module depicts a scene that appears in its companion adventure EX1 Dungeonland (a battle with a hangman tree). In the same way the cover image of EX1-Dungeonland shows an encounter that takes place in this module (the attack of the roc raven).
Dungeonland and The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror were designed to be placed as an extension of an existing 9th-12th level dungeon.[1]
Reception
Receiving 9 out of 10 overall, the module was positively reviewed in issue 48 of White Dwarf magazine. The reviewer Jim Bambra reviewed this module along with Dungeonland, and enjoyed the "rich vein of humour" that runs through the two modules, which "offer players an exciting and humorous time".[1] He felt that while the modules could be played individually, they are best played together as they interconnect in numerous places, and players adventuring in one module could suddenly find themselves in the other. Bambra felt that although the modules were humorous in tone, some encounters could turn nasty and that making them for high level characters makes them inaccessible for lower level ones. However, he concluded by saying that if players do have higher level characters available then "by all means play them, you won't regret it."[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Bambra, Jim (1983). "Open Box: Dungeon Modules". White Dwarf (48). Games Workshop: 10. ISSN 0265-8712.
((cite journal)):|format=requires|url=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b c Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books. p. 96. ISBN 0-87975-653-5.
Reviews: Different Worlds #35 (1984) Fantasy Gamer #6 (1984)