Isle of Dread - Publication History

Publication History

Isle of Dread was the first published adventure for any version of Dungeons & Dragons to focus on wilderness exploration as a major theme. This would go on to be an important element in many other adventures, including most of the rest of the X-series. It also introduced numerous creatures to the game for the first time, including the kopru and aranea, both of which went on to find a place in the Third Edition Monster Manual; the rakasta and phanaton, both of which would later appear as playable races in other Dungeons & Dragons products set in Mystara; and many others, including several types of dinosaurs.

This product marks the first appearance of the D&D world continent that includes places such as Darokin, Karameikos, Ylaruam, and Thyatis.

The adventure was loosely based on King Kong, and came with a fairly detailed (for its time) map of a setting then called the Known World, showing at least fifteen distinct nations on the mainland to the north, as well as much of the Sea of Dread in which the Isle of Dread could be found. These nations each received a paragraph or so of description near the beginning of the module.

Two very different-looking versions of this adventure were printed. The first edition was printed in 1981, and the second edition in 1983; both were thirty two page books in an outer folder which featured cover artwork by Jeff Dee. The Isle of Dread was included in every copy of the 1981 version of the D&D Expert Set as an example of an outdoor adventure and setting. This version is laid out in the style characteristic of early D&D adventures: it had no Dungeons & Dragons logo, a diagonal strip in the top left corner indicated which edition of the game it was for, and the back cover featured an illustration and a list of other D&D products of the time. It was available on its own and packaged with the original version of the Expert Set by David "Zeb" Cook. It was often sold already three-hole punched, and had several distinguishable printings of its own.

Isle of Dread was developed by Paul Reiche III, and edited by Jon Pickens with assistance from Harold Johnson, Patrick L. Price, Edward G. Sollers, Steve Sullivan, and David Cook. The module features art by Jeff Dee, David S. LaForce, Erol Otus, David C. Sutherland III, and Bill Willingham.

The second version, which first appeared in 1983, was packaged with the revised version of the Expert Set by Frank Mentzer, and featured cover art by Timothy Truman. Its cover featured a red-orange border. The revised version used the layout elements that were typical of mid-1980s Dungeons & Dragons adventures: the game's current logo was prominently featured on the cover, the diagonal strip was replaced with a horizontal one across the top, and the back cover featured no illustration but did have a text description of the adventure. There are a few minor differences besides appearance between this and the earlier version, including the replacement of a few monsters, and a mapping error that makes part of the final temple appear to be completely inaccessible.

Isle of Dread is ISBN 978-0-935696-30-1.