Mad Monkey vs. The Dragon Claw

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Mad Monkey vs the Dragon Claw
OA5 TSR9242 Mad Monkey vs the Dragon Claw.jpg
The cover to Mad Monkey vs the Dragon Claw
Code OA5
Rules required AD&D (1st Edition)
Campaign setting Kara-Tur
First published 1988
Linked modules
OA1 OA2 OA3 OA4 OA5 OA6 OA7

Mad Monkey vs. the Dragon Claw is an adventure module published in 1988 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

Plot summary[edit | edit source]

Mad Monkey vs. the Dragon Claw is a scenario for use with Oriental Adventures, in which the player characters go in search of the lethal Dragon Claw school of martial arts and travel across T'u Lung to the headquarters of the Cult of the Black Leopard.[1]

In this first edition Oriental Adventures module, a group of PCs return to large quest-based adventures. This adventure has several features that make it stand distinctly from any other OA adventure. Some of these include being the only OA adventure based entirely on Kara Tur's mainland, and that it is one of the few modules that actually allows characters to multiclass who would not otherwise be able to do so.

Background[edit | edit source]

The background story is that the demon Dragon Claw in the celestial bureaucracy has convinced the Celestial Emperor to allow him to showcase his fighting style on Toril. It contends that its style is superior to all other forms, and if this turns out to be the case, it wants to rule an empire on the prime material plane. The Celestial Emperor has agreed, if only to see out the demons boast of its fighting style.

However, Dragon Claw has neglected to mention that its fighting style includes it giving all of its students magical weapons which, aside from making them fanatical devotees to its fighting style, also make them much tougher than your average fighter. In this way, Dragon Claw is stacking the deck in its favor.

Fortunately for Toril, an agent among the court, Monkey, has seen through the demons plot, and is determined to thwart it. Monkey chooses to teach his own fighting style to the PC's, owing to them being able to multiclass freely as monks, though they normally would not be able to. All this leads up to the final battle in Toril's version of Sigil.[2]

Publication history[edit | edit source]

OA5 Mad Monkey vs. The Dragon Claw was written by Jeff Grubb, with a cover by Jim Holloway, and was published by TSR in 1988 as a 48-page booklet with an outer folder.[1]

Reception[edit | edit source]

Reviews[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 109. ISBN 0-87975-653-5. 
  2. "Mad Monkey vs the Dragon Claw". candlekeep. August 12, 2006. http://www.candlekeep.com/bookshelf/products/9242.htm.