Ah, 1976. A time when disco was king, Star Wars hadn’t yet changed cinema forever, and the original Dungeons & Dragons was still a newborn, just a few years old. It was also the year the world saw the first-ever standalone adventure module for D&D: Palace of the Vampire Queen. Published by Wee Warriors and distributed by TSR, this was a historic milestone in RPG history. It was also, as the title suggests, a terrifying little dungeon crawl featuring everyone’s favorite bloodsucking aristocracy.

So grab your garlic, sharpen your wooden stakes, and let’s take a deep dive into this old school horror adventure!

A Mysterious Origin Story Before Palace of the Vampire Queen, D&D adventures were mostly self-made, with Dungeon Masters crafting their own perilous labyrinths and nefarious villains. But in 1976, Wee Warriors (a small company founded by Pete and Judy Kerestan) published this five level dungeon in booklet form, and TSR seeing the potential, helped distribute it.

What made this module so special? It was the first published adventure module, meaning DMs could buy a ready-made dungeon crawl rather than painstakingly designing every corridor and trap themselves. This set the precedent for the countless D&D modules that followed.

Oh, and if you’re wondering why it wasn’t officially a TSR product, it’s because it wasn’t fully licensed at the time. Wee Warriors was an independent outfit, but that didn’t stop their work from being one of the most influential in the game’s history.

The Plot: Damsels, Vampires, and Classic Dungeon Crawling The premise of Palace of the Vampire Queen is gloriously straightforward. The titular Vampire Queen (yes, capitalized) has kidnapped the princess of the land, and the local rulers are desperate to get her back. Naturally, this calls for a team of brave adventurers (that’s you) to storm the queen’s palace, fight off her monstrous minions, and rescue the princess.

It’s a classic “go into the spooky castle and save the damsel” setup, reminiscent of fairy tales, if fairy tales had giant spiders, skeleton warriors, and a vampiric ruler waiting to drain you dry. While later adventures would embrace more intricate narratives, this one kept things simple: go in, fight monsters, save the day.

The Dungeon Design: Brutal, Random, and Deadly If you’re used to modern, well balanced modules, Palace of the Vampire Queen might come as a shock. It was designed in the old school “here’s a dungeon, figure it out” style, offering little in the way of storytelling or hand holding.

Here’s what you’d find:

• Five Floors of Horror: The palace consists of five distinct levels, each more dangerous than the last. Expect to face everything from goblins to wights to the dreaded Vampire Queen herself.
• Sparse Details: Unlike modern modules that give DMs rich descriptions and boxed text, this one was more of a skeleton framework (pun intended). Rooms were often described in a single line, like “Room 7: Three skeletons. Treasure: 10 gp.” It was up to the DM to fill in the gaps, which could lead to wildly different experiences between groups.
• Brutal Encounters: This was an era before “balanced encounters” were a thing. Players had to be smart, or they’d be dead. This was the kind of dungeon where walking into the wrong room could mean instant death if you weren’t careful.

The Vampire Queen Herself: A Formidable Foe Unlike Dracula, who at least has some charm, the Vampire Queen is pure, undead evil. Descriptions of her vary depending on the version of the module, but she’s generally depicted as a cruel, powerful vampire ruling over her gothic domain with an iron (and very cold) fist. Her stats were impressive for the time, making her a genuinely terrifying boss fight.

Defeating her wasn’t just a matter of swinging swords and throwing spells. Vampires in early D&D were seriously nasty. They drained levels, not just hit points, but actual experience levels, meaning that one unlucky bite could turn your high level fighter into an underwhelming commoner.

And even if you managed to stake her, she could just turn into mist and retreat to her coffin unless you followed through with the proper anti vampire precautions. In short, if you didn’t come prepared, she was more than happy to make you her next undead servant.

Legacy: Why It Still Matters Today So why should you care about Palace of the Vampire Queen? Well, aside from being the first ever published adventure module, it laid the groundwork for what a D&D module could be. Here are just a few ways it shaped the future of RPGs:

• It Paved the Way for Future Adventures: Without this module, we might not have classics like The Keep on the Borderlands or Tomb of Horrors.
• It Embraced Player Driven Storytelling: With its open ended design, DMs had to bring it to life in their own way, encouraging creativity.
• It Proved People Wanted Pre-Made Adventures: Before this, TSR wasn’t sure if modules were a viable product. Palace of the Vampire Queen helped prove there was demand for them, leading to decades of adventure modules.

Final Thoughts: Should You Play It Today? If you’re a fan of old school dungeon crawls, Palace of the Vampire Queen is a fascinating artifact worth checking out. Just be ready for its bare bones design and ruthless difficulty. It’s a reminder of how much the game has evolved and how much it hasn’t, because let’s be honest, we still love fighting vampires in spooky castles.

So if you ever find a copy, gather your bravest adventurers, light a torch, and descend into the palace. Just don’t forget your wooden stakes. And maybe a cleric. You’re really going to want a cleric.

What are your thoughts on Palace of the Vampire Queen? Have you ever played an old school module like this? Let’s chat in the comments!