The Demon Pits of Caeldo is sort of the reason Gamelords existed. Kerry Lloyd had written it as a companion to Mines of Keridav, but Phoenix Games folded before it was published. So Lloyd founded Gamelords with some friends. It took a few years to get around to re-publishing Mines and then getting Demon Pits on shelves.

Largely worth the wait. The ruins of Castle Caeldo were detailed in brief as one of the hexes in Mines. The castle is reputed to be haunted, but it turns out demons roost there, not ghosts; it fell in a single night thanks to a summoning gone wrong (I love this concept) and has stood in ruin ever since. The thrust of the adventure is simple: clean out the castle in hopes that the player’s can claim it, and the surrounding barony. Despite being a mid-sized dungeon complex, though, reclamation is no easy task thanks to the power of the infernal defenders and the schemes of many factions of interested non-player characters. And, once the players pass through the castle proper to the titular pits, matters get decidedly more difficult, and surreal — there is a room full of nooses, a cursed treasure chamber and stranger things to be found in the demon-warped cellars. A classic of the early day, if a largely forgotten one.

VM Wyman on the cover again. Bob Charrette and Larry Shade inside, delivering some really nice illustrations. I particularly dig that demon prince, Aryok, who seems to be knocking off every cool villain ever, simultaneously.