The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons comic series lasted for 36 issues and one annual, but I would argue that the main story of the series ends with issue #22, which concludes the “Phases of the Moon” story. Not that the comic shouldn’t have continued after that–as we will see, there are certainly some more fun stories to tell–but after this story all the plot hooks that appeared back in “The Gathering” get largely wrapped up.

The actual storytelling in “Phases of the Moon” is messy and has a few plot holes that go unexplained. Nonetheless, it’s probably my favorite story in this series because it deals with my favorite character of the bunch: the innkeeper Luna.

A Strange Night in Waterdeep

Our story begins with Onyx prowling the streets of Waterdeep. I bet he’s looking for a new pub because Luna cut him off again. Reasons notwithstanding, he literally runs into someone who, along with many others, heeds the call of a strange and beautiful woman.

The woman appears to be none other than Selûne, goddess of the moon. Remember that Onyx doesn’t know what practically everyone else has clued in on: that the real Selûne is tending bar in the guise of an old woman.

Meanwhile, at Selûne’s Smile, the real Selûne watches as Kyriani, now in her new form, shows off some magic to Timoth and finds that a simple bloom spell goes terribly awry.

Vajra mentions that lots of spells have been going awry like that lately, and Timoth wonders openly if it has anything to do with rumors that the gods are unsettled and now walk among mortals in the Realms. This is a reference to the Time of Troubles, the original Realms-shaking event that heralded the change between 1st edition and 2nd edition AD&D.

Onyx says that the rumors are true, because he saw Selûne in the city. Everyone else points out that he’s wrong, because everyone else has figured out the truth.

I absolutely love how Selûne is so surprised that her “clever” disguise of calling herself Luna, running a bar called Selûne’s Smile, and occasionally throwing out major magic was fooling anybody.

Well, I guess it did fool Onyx…

Divine Doubts

Luna resolves to confront the false Selûne and decides to show the adventurers her inner sanctum, which contains…

The empty room gives Onyx some ammunition to doubt Luna’s word, although he’s also keen to let everyone know that he totally, definitely knew she was Selûne and absolutely was never fooled.

The other Selûne has all the trappings of the divine that Luna currently lacks. The ruse is so good that it even makes the real Selûne doubt herself.

Vajra and Luna observe “Selûne” and get called out as nonbelievers. Luna chooses to step forward and face the impostor. Vajra tries to stay at her side but gets beaten up by a fanatical crowd. The confrontation features some impressive magic, but the false Selûne emerges victorious when she pulls out the very wand that was supposed to be stored away in Luna’s inn.

Despite the bold words, the false Selûne doesn’t destroy Luna. Instead, she has another fate in mind…

“Those the gods wish to destroy they first drive mad…” So maybe this woman is really a goddess…

A Fine Night for a Party

Back at Selûne’s Smile, tempers are running hot between Vajra and Onyx.

Onyx’s suspicions about Kyri are one of the reasons I liked the outcome of “The Ostus Legacy.” In short order, Kyriani seems to have put together a whole collection of suitors, and she uses one of them to get the group into a party that will bring them close to the false Selûne. The 90s frequently used the idea that flirtiness was a malevolent trait in women, and it’s nice to see Kyriani subvert that without being too fanservice-y about it.

Of course, there’s no accounting for taste. Kyri’s choice of escort leaves much to be desired in the brains department, as Piergeiron, one of the Lords of Waterdeep, notes.

Kyri boldly states that the Selûne at the party is a false goddess, and her statement that the gods are in turmoil draws the attention of Khelben. So it’s time for Kyri to say goodnight to her date.

Kyri’s conversation with Khelben mostly serves to inform the reader as to the brewing Time of Troubles that will soon engulf the Realms. Unfortunately, the conversation–and the party–gets interrupted by servants of Shar, Selûne’s evil twin.

Darkness and Light

Selûne and Shar are two of the oldest gods in the Forgotten Realm, and their rivalry gets brought up time and again. They’ve been fighting for eons, ever since Selûne brought light to the endless dark void. By now, it’s reached the point where I think the relationship needs to change somehow in order to break the redundancy of the conflict, although Baldur’s Gate 3 did seem to do a pretty good job at bringing it up in a relatively new way.

Regardless of my philosophizing, Shar’s agents are out to get Selûne. Khelben should easily be able to defeat them, but his magic goes a bit haywire.

This is more foreshadowing of the Time of Troubles, and I wish this type of work had gone into the actual RPG products. Instead, we got three adventures that came more or less out of nowhere, with little foreshadowing ahead of time.

Of course, the archmage is the least of the assailants’ problems. If you’re going to kidnap a goddess, you’d best be prepared to deal with the consequences.

The ease with which “Selûne” dispatches her enemies seems to win over some of her doubters, but Kyriani is not so easily swayed…

Confrontation

“Selûne” wants to be left alone after the attack, but Kyriani will have none of it.

The art does a lot of good storytelling work here. This is the first real outing we’ve seen of the new Kyriani, and she looks and acts much more confident now that she’s whole. “Selûne,” on the other hand, is maddeningly glib, with the pencils managing to catch a smile that is definitely both smug and fake.

Kyri’s accusations push the right (or wrong) buttons, leading “Selûne” to attack her. However, Piergeiron intervenes and stops the fracas.

The battle would land Kyri in jail, but Khelben is nearby to “take care of” the prisoner. He does so by opening a passage in the castle walls so Kyri can escape. And escape she does, right into the arms of another paramour of hers.

I don’t know how Kyri has managed to collect so many lovers so quickly, but I’m definitely here for it.

The Rescue Mission

The adventurers return to the temple the next night in a coordinated attempt to rescue Luna. Step One is to have Onyx sneak in and create a distraction…which he does, in Onyx style.

The term “panty” didn’t come about on Earth until the 19th century, and “panty raid” is almost certainly 20th century slang. I’ll give a pass for the apparent anachronism because the Forgotten Realms is such a sex-crazed place that slang probably got turbocharged.

After the distraction, Onyx opens the front door for Timoth, who gets a splash panel entrance which is probably his most badass moment in the entire series.

Onyx and Timoth overcome the guards, then do the old trick of taking their clothes so they can walk around in cognito. Of course, that plan is not quite so smooth when it’s a centaur and a dwarf stealing robes from a pair of humans.

Onyx and Timoth find Luna’s room, where she was counting the days of her imprisonment by marking the changing phases of the moon on the wall. Meanwhile, Kyriani and Vajra take a different approach, using yet another one of Kyri’s “contacts.”

Machinations of Shar

For a person who is relatively new in Waterdeep, Kyriani certainly has made a lot of friends and lovers. She and Vajra speak to Thestus, a man who has served many gods, including Selûne’s arch-nemesis Shar. Thestus informs the pair that he has felt Shar’s magic at work around the House of the Moon, implying that the evil goddess of loss is involved in Luna’s kidnapping. For his aid, he gets a kiss from Kyri.

The implication in those last two panels is that Kyri gets around with a lot of non-human lovers, but through a modern lens it could also imply that she has had more than a few pansexual escapades. Hm…I wonder if she knows the drow twins from Baldur’s Gate 3…?

Back in the House of the Moon, Onyx and Timoth fight off some hell hounds–certainly an odd choice of pet for the supposedly good goddess. Onyx takes a nasty bite but shrugs it off, stating, “They don’t call me Onyx the Invincible fer nuthin’.”

Onyx and Timoth overhear the false Selûne boast that Luna’s power is under her control. The pair are attacked from behind by some followers of “Selûne” clad in white garb who knock them out of the temple and into the streets of Waterdeep. Kyri and Vajra arrive just in time to help in the fight, and despite some magical chaos disrupting Kyri’s spells, they capture one of the self-described lunatics.

This comic (and one I’ll go over in the near future) makes me wish that the Time of Troubles lasted longer as an event. It would have been nice to have more stories of the gods finding themselves in a uniquely vulnerable position.

Against a Goddess

Her head messed up or not, Luna is still a goddess and more than a match for our heroes. How do they overcome her long enough to get her to come to her senses? Well, in D&D fiction, that usually involves relying on some of the “weaker” magic out there.

Honestly, though, I rarely see that work in an actual tabletop session. Usually the powerful bad guys make their saving throws, or things otherwise unravel to force the group to think of a Plan B, C, or X.

Then again, a tabletop session can last for hours, and a comic book is limited to 22 or 23 pages. So sometimes a plan has to work faster, and in this case Vajra is able to get Luna to see the truth.

The truth is that the false Selûne is Shar. Anyone who is familiar with the Forgotten Realms as they have existed over the past 40 years probably already guessed that, but this comic served as many people’s introduction to the setting–and their first glimpse at the eternal war between Selûne and Shar.

Magical chaos buys the group some time to escape, but Shar follows after them and soon faces a weakened Selûne in battle. Luna is in no condition to defeat her evil sister, but she has some mortal aid.

Kyriani distracts Shar with spells that the goddess easily shrugs off, while the rest of the group builds a humanoid ladder to reach the hidden closet.

Despite Onyx possibly needing to go on a diet, he opens the door and unleashes Luna’s true power.

Selûne Reborn

With the door opened, Selûne’s full power returns.

The battle which follows is short, but not decisive. Selûne at her full power doesn’t have the ability to totally defeat Shar. Rather, she can merely counter her, keeping the balance between light and darkness intact. Shar relied on her deception to sow doubt in Selûne’s mind. With the truth revealed, she has no choice but to retreat.

So once again, the goddess of loss takes an L.

The story ends rather abruptly, with Selûne once more returning to human form and messing with Onyx.

I would gripe about things wrapping up so quickly, but this four-issue story packed a lot into its pages. The tale managed to provide a very epic event where the heroes managed to turn the tide despite dealing with beings that were far beyond their power.

If this comic were to be converted into pen and paper, I would probably break it into a series of skill challenges rather than a major climactic battle. In that regard, this adventure has a lot–an investigation, and infiltration, and finally a blind scramble for survival as cataclysmic forces war in the skies above Waterdeep.

With our heroes having faced their biggest challenge yet and now in the process of rebuilding the inn they call home, it’s a good time to explore other parts of the Realms. Next time, we’ll see what Agrivar has been up to and meet a whole new crew of adventurers active in another part of the Forgotten Realms…

_{Images: DC Comics}