Classic 'Dungeons & Dragons' Isle of Dread Adventure Returns in Reincarnated Form

A classic Dungeons & Dragons adventure is returning to bookshelves as the second in a series of 5th Edition conversions.

Earlier this week, Goodman Games announced it would be republishing The Isle of Dread as the second in its "Original Adventures Reincarnated" line. The Isle of Dread is a classic D&D adventure set on Mystara, an early campaign setting for D&D. The adventure is notable in that it was the first D&D adventure that prominently featured wilderness exploration as a game feature, something that would later become a major part of D&D in later settings.

The plot of Isle of Dread is relatively simple, as it's meant to teach new DMs how to handle wilderness exploration. Players travel to the Isle of Dread, seeking treasure and eventually encountering villages, monsters, pirates and even a mysterious temple. Eventually, players discover that the kopru (a race of aquatic creatures with mental powers) were the source of much of the problems on the island, and the adventure usually ends with a climactic battle against the kopru inside the temple they occupy.

Isle of Dread introduced several popular D&D monsters to adventurers, including the rakasta (a race of cat-men) and the spider-like aranea. It also added several types of dinosaurs to the game and teased the world of Mystara, which was then called "the Known World."

Goodman Games will re-publish both original versions of The Isle of Dread in their upcoming publication and will write a third version that converts the adventure for Fifth Edition play. The book will also contain interviews with the original creators and illustrated hand-drawn maps meant to mimic the original style of classic D&D maps.

This is the second collaboration between Goodman Games and Wizards of the Coast to re-print and collect classic adventures. Goodman Games previously reprinted In Search of the Unknown and The Keep on the Borderlands in their first Original Adventures Reincarnated book.

Original Adventures Reincarnated: The Isle of Dread will be released in November of 2018.