Throne of Evil

 
Throne of Evil is an adventure for fantasy role-playing games published by Mayfair Games in 1984.
Plot summary.
"Throne of Evil" is a scenario for character levels 4-6 set in 12th-century England. The adventurers are involved in the intrigues of the Norman court, which leads to their being sent to penetrate Castle Wraithstone and kidnap the evil March Lord. The book includes a details castle and dungeons.
In "Throne Of Evil", the characters meet at an inn and are sent to a castle to dispose of an evil lord, but the only access is through a cavern inhabited by monsters.
Publication history.
"Throne of Evil" was written by Stephen Bourne, with a cover by Rowena Morrill, and was published by Mayfair Games in 1984 as a 32-page book. The adventure module was part of the "Role Aids" line.
Reception.
Rick Swan reviewed the adventure in "The Space Gamer" No. 75. He called the adventure "little more than a by-the-numbers rewrite of a typical TSR hack-and-slasher circa 1978". Swan added: "Anyone who's even casually experienced with fantasy roleplaying will be in familiar territory with "Throne of Evil" [...] For what it's worth, there are plenty of well-rendered maps, including one just for the players (always a nice touch). At least you can sense the hand of a good editor at work as there is very little superfluous material to distract from the [...] adventure." He continued: "If Mayfair indeed felt compelled to add a simple hack-and-slasher to their "RoleAids" line, you'd think they'd have at least insisted on some new monsters or some new treasures or at least an interesting trap or two. Instead, we get the usual assortment of snoozers [...] the 'political intrigue' referred to in the introduction is little more than an uninvolving fluctuation of loyalties among some of the NPCs. Somebody ought to tell these guys that this approach to fantasy modules is hopelessly old-fashioned. Sure, it's got its place – it's a nice way to introduce young players to the hobby, if nothing else. But it's already been done to death and done much better elsewhere." Swan concluded the review by saying, "If you have an opening for a product of this kind, my suggestion is to pick up an old TSR "D&D" module. Just for old time's sake, I bought a half dozen of 'em at a book store recently for a buck and a half each. As for "Throne of Evil", let's let it go as an unfortunate misfire from the usually excellent "RoleAids" series. I mean, nobody's perfect."