No, rest your fears - this is not about making the ultimate party-killer NPC and if that is a good or bad thing. This post - and hopefully thread - is about making the most out of your time spent on DMing, or to be more precise, about how to spend the least amount of preparation time (and money) for your campaign. This is for those among us DMs who can't spend hours upon hours on preparing each week anymore yet still demand (and have the players expect) the best of their campaign.

So, here is my take on DMing as a lazy DM:


Check what you have to do

First thing you have to do in order to be able to spend just enough time on your campaign is to take a look at what your players want and like.

If you have no one interested in dungeon crawling then you can drop all that mapping out and outfitting of the ultimate dungeon/cavern system and cancel those orders for the latest meat grinder mega adventure. If you have no player interested in puzzle solving or bypassing/disabling traps, don't spend time on thinking about puzzles and traps. If you have no one interested in intrigue and politics, don't spend hours making up a complex system of checks and balances. If no one really likes extended combat, don't prepare countless encounters.

So, take stock of what your players like, then concentrate on those points and wing the rest.


Start out small, then let it grow

I know, most will assume that buying a campaign setting is much easier than building one, but IMHO, this is not so clear. When you buy a campaign setting you have to read it, and often study it carefully to be able to run it efficiently. When you build something up from scratch odds are you know it better, which means less time spent rereading a book.

No matter if you buy a published campaign setting or build your own homebrew, start small. Concentrate on one region, and flesh it out/read it through so you know how it is supposed to work. Then look where the campaign goes, and keep adding as it is needed. Epic campaigns which are plotted out from the start require lots of work, and lots of adjustments during the campaign, in effect doubling your time spent on it. Much easier to just sketch a rough outline and then detail it as it fits.

This also goes for rules. It is much easier - and better for your mental health - if you don't allow every rule from all d20 books published. Especially if it concerns prestige classes and feats. You will have a much easier time preparing if you don't have to check up on dozens of books each time - much easier on your purse as well. A good rule is to force your players to type anything they want use down and give it to you so you have it handy. So, here as well, start the players with a small choice of extra material, and then add as you feel comfortable with.


Reduce to the essential

NPCs don't need to be statted out, especially at low levels. Odds are, no matter in what role they appear - combat, cannon fodder, services - they will never have to use all their skill points. So you can just use (level+3+X) for their "good" skills, X being stat adjustments and maybe Skill focus, and half that for average skills. During combat you can decide on the fly if your mook has power attack or dodge. To start you only need to know his weapon armor and level. Here you can cheat - if you got a name and a short description the NPC will appear much more "complete" than if it is just a detailed amount of stats and numbers.

Locations do not need to be mapped out either unless your players are compulsory explorers - just keep a basic outline in your head and steer the players to the locations you want them to visit. And if you map them out, don't fret over details - add them as needed during a game. A map only serves to make it easier to imagine the layout of a place, and sometimes to conduct combat easier. It does not have to be a piece of art.

Plots do not need to be detailed that much either - just decide who wants what, and then let the NPCs involved act and react during the campaign. This works for the Epic plot outline as well as for the thief trying to rob a party member.


Make the most of what you do

If you do spend the time on statting out an NPC or mapping out a lair, make sure you can use it as much as possible. Even if the NPC you painstakingly built with classes, feat, skill points and money spent to the last copper does not survive its first combat you can often have an evil necromancer make him into an undead, or an evil cleric raise him, and have another go at the party. Then, drop the description and background, and throw him in your NPC file - a couple levels later the one-man-threat will make a good, detailed set of stats should you need that new NPC statted out on the fly.

Same goes for maps - that one castle you mapped out can be revisited later, many times if you do it right, or can be altered a bit and reused.

Reuse plots and encounters that were not used - and even some that were used, with a twist.

Also make sure you keep track of the NPCs involved in an adventure - not only is it easier to reuse an NPC than build another one from scratch, stats and background and motivation and all, but it also adds to the players' immersion if they do not fight and rescue strangers they never meet again each adventure, but may meet people they know, friends and foes alike, from time to time, sometimes in different roles. Yes, this means, make notes during the game.

Finally, if you have a detailed campaign going, keep it going. Don't restart another campaign in a totally different setting each month. Don't TPK and end it. Milk the campaign for whatever it is worth, and the payoff for any work spent on preparing the region or world will be that much greater.


Wing it when possible

Be ready to open sideplots and twists when the situation allows for it, even if you did not plan for it. If you got a solid framework of stock NPCs, plots and notes you will be able to DM such things on the fly, taking an adventure in directions you did not plan ahead for without stumbling or railroading. The players get into trouble with the watch? Look if you can use this to get them into contact with that thieves guild you had outlined a bit, or as a start up to get them on the track of the corrupt mayor plotting against the king.


Steal, borrow, copy - from others and your players

Many people think you have to do all on your own, or it is cheap, bad or both. This is not true. If you truly want to be the best lazy DM there is you will have to drop false pride and take whatever you can from others. Again, this is about efficient use of your time - if you spend an hour searching the web for a map you could have drawn yourself in 20 minutes you are doing something wrong. This works best if you just keep and open mind, and note down a link when you see something you need (or are pretty sure you will be able to use later).

One of the best sources for tactics to steal from are your players. Look what tactics they use, and what feats, and make notes - what works for them works for you. If one of your players likes to summon monster you will get an insight in the efficient use of monsters, and their capabilities. A little time spent on EN world is also a very good source of tactics - as long as you can stay away from the discussion threads about roll-playing, gender in game and Magic.

Plots and NPCs you can get from anywhere - movies, books, story hours, web files. Don't be shy to adjust, and don't fixate on fantasy. That obnoxious police inspector playing the fool can make an interesting city watch official. Even that soap opera you zapped into by mistake can offer interesting plot twists.

Cultures and traditions you can take from history and contemporary countries as well as books and movies. Just having such an image makes it easier to decide how works the culture, and having such a role model also will enable you to use a fitting name list for your NPCs.


Let others work for you

This does not mean buy stock adventures - I found those are often more trouble than they are worth to adapt to my playing group's style and preference - but mainly, let your players do their part. If you have a player playing a cleric, let him add details to the church, add an order of paladins etc. - you can adjust those as you see fit.

It also works in game. Encourage players to start their own goals and plots, and go with it. Less work for you, both in and out of game.


Keep it all together

Making notes during a game is one thing, but I found that (at least in my case) as important is reviewing those notes, and organising them after the game. When I prepare each session I go through the notes I penned for and during my last game, and write a short synopsis of the game session - adjusting the notes for the NPCs involved, adding new NPCs I made up on the fly to my files, transferring dead NPCs to the "mook stats" file and tallying up what loose ends are left, and what consequences the party faces. Often, most of my preparation is finished after I have done this - hooks and ideas for the next adventures are often already there as a result of this.


Hope this helps a DM with time constraints.

(Originally posted in 2004 in the general forum)

Fenes

Recently, I was looking over some old threads, and came across a brief debate I participated in. I'd postulated that there'd be a number of "off-color" and even largely useless (from a combat perspective) spells in a campaign world, simply due to human nature, and how ubiquitous magic is. Another person disagreed, saying that just because something could exist doesn't mean it must. While I agree with that principle, it seems silly to suggest that certain spells won't exist in a campaign world when magic itself operates like a science, and spells are a commodity. To that end, I'm going to crunch some numbers here to try and estimate the number of different spells that exist in a campaign world that holds to the standard 3.5 d20 rules. In several places some things are assumed, but I think the conclusions that can be drawn here are fairly logical, and offer a good guideline for such a campaign.

Before I begin, I want to mention that this is largely my own take on a similar essay found in Distant Horizon Games's superb book, The Practical Enchanter. I got some different numbers than they did (largely because it doesn't seem as though they took the community modifiers into account), and wanted to show my results. I HIGHLY encourage people to go download the book via the link above, as it's not only one of (in my opinion) the best d20 books out there, it's also free to download!

So how does one determine the number of unique spells in a campaign world? Well, the most obvious place to start is with the people casting them. The section on NPCs in communities in the DMG (pg. 138-139), lets us determine the highest levels of NPCs, and in turn calculate their numbers. To establish a baseline, let’s say that the majority of the world's population lives in hamlets (population ranging from 81-400). Just so there’s a fixed number to work from, let's say that the average hamlet has a base population of 200 people.

Now, the next step is to determine the classes and number of people living in the hamlet. Though the DMG already has a sample breakdown of NPC in a hamlet of two hundred people, let’s run the numbers anyway to see what our results are. Using the demographics rules and tables in the DMG (pg. 138-139), lets us start determining everyone who has PC class levels. For the sake of expediency, assume that every die roll on the Highest Level Local Table is average (what happens with the .5 aspect to the average numbers is discussed below), and take the community modifier (-2 in this case) to generate the results. For the PC classes, these are the results:

Barbarian: None.
Bard: One 1st-level bard.
Cleric: One 2nd-level cleric, and two 1st-level clerics.
Druid: One 1st-level druid.
Fighter: One 3rd-level, and two 1st-level fighters.
Monk: One 1st-level monk.
Paladin: None.
Ranger: None.
Rogue: One 2nd-level rogue, and two 1st-level rogues.
Sorcerer: None.
Wizard: One 1st-level wizard.

While the method of determining these levels is explained in the DMG, the results generated here require some explanation. All of the average dice results result in a number that ends with a .5 aspect to it. This slightly skews the data, because it means half the time the number will be 1 greater than it will be the other half of the time, and this does affect the numbers generated for this community. As such, what I’ve done here is take two classes that roll similar dice, and assign the higher part of the average to one class, while the other gets the lower average. For example, to find the highest levels of both barbarians and monks, roll 1d4 (average 2.5) and subtract 2 (the community modifier). The result is 0.5 for each. Hence, I assign one class (monks in this case) to have a result of 1 (thus resulting in the hamlet having a single level 1 monk), and the other class (barbarians) to have a result of 0, meaning that there are no barbarians in this community. The classes that I “paired off” this way to equalize the average dice rolls were: barbarians and monks, clerics and druids, fighters and rogues, paladins and rangers, and sorcerers and wizards. In the case of the bard, the remaining .5 for its average was ported over to the adept.

NPCs with NPC class levels in a community are generated the same way that NPCs with PC class levels are, save for determining 1st-level characters. Thus, determine the higher-level characters first:

Adepts: One 2nd-level adept.
Aristocrat: N/A (generated using rules for level 1 NPCs with NPC class levels).
Commoner: One 8th-level commoner, two 4th-level commoners, and four 2nd-level commoners.
Expert: One 6th-level expert, two 3rd-level experts.
Warrior: One 3rd-level warrior.

Again, in several places the averages were moved between different classes. The adept, as mentioned previously, received the remaining .5 average from the bard, raising its 1.5 result to a 2. The aristocrat, which had a result of 0.5, gave its average to the expert, lowering its result for this stage of NPC generation to 0. Finally, the commoner and warrior had no 0.5 averages to move, since both had average results that resulted in whole numbers.

Finally, take the remaining number of individuals in the community, and populate them with the percentages given in the DMG. Since our results have generated a grand total of twenty-five individuals thus far, that leaves one hundred seventy-five left to generate. Based on the percentage figures given in the DMG (91% commoners, 5% warriors, 3% experts, 0.5% aristocrats, and 0.5% adepts, all 1st-level), we get (with some rounding) the following figures:

Adept: One 1st-level adept.
Aristocrat: One 1st-level aristocrat.
Commoner: One hundred fifty-nine 1st-level commoners.
Expert: Five 1st-level experts.
Warrior: Nine 1st-level warriors.

Thus, we now have the entire population of an average-size hamlet. This is significant because, as mentioned above, we’re assuming that – since the average campaign world is roughly similar to medieval Europe – this represents the population breakdown of the majority of the world. More specifically, (again using medieval Europe as a rough guideline) we’ll assume a world population of about 70,000,000 people, of which 80 to 90% (we’ll use a baseline of 85%) live in hamlets, and thus are defined by the numbers we generated above. This makes it significant that only 4% of the hamlet can cast spells – eight people out of two hundred – and 75% of those are divine spellcasters. (To be clear, the “world population” is, in this context, limited to creatures of the Humanoid type. If you want, however, you can limit it to the races, including their sub-races, from the PHB. E.g. dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, and humans of all types.)

(Just for fun, let’s see what other assumptions we can make about this hamlet based on the data we’ve generated. For example, the 2nd-level cleric is probably the local spiritual counselor, who together with the two 1st-level clerics who most likely serve as his aides, maintains a small church. It’s not too much of a stretch to suggest that this religion has a monastic order as well, which would make the 1st-level monk part of the church order as well. This forms the pillar of the religious part of the community. The 2nd-level adept might be an old wise woman, perhaps thought of as a witch, at the edge of town, together with her 1st-level apprentice. Even further afield, the 1st-level druid might keep watch over the surrounding wilderness, while the 1st-level wizard is conducting his self-taught magical research in relative isolation. The ten warriors in town would probably be the local militia, keeping bandits and goblins away from the community, while the contingent of fighters – having a different fighting style from their fighter bonus feats – would probably be a small group of archers, or perhaps cavalry. And administrating over the town is the mayor, the 1st-level aristocrat.)

What about the other 15% of the world population, then? Well, we can chart their statistics also. However, even using an abbreviated listing for the remaining types of communities is very long and very dry. As such, we’ll just use the results gathered from generating averages for those community levels.

Refining the world population numbers even further than the above becomes very pedantic, but does help us generate a more accurate look at the population breakdown of the average fantasy world. I said before that 85% of the world’s population lives in hamlets, and ran my figures based on the demographic breakdown of the population of the average hamlet. In order to get more accurate totals regarding the remaining 15%, just repeat the initial community demographic figures with each of the other types of communities available. Since it’s best to be conservative, let’s stagger the population towards smaller communities, and assume that the remaining global percentages breakdown like so: 3% live in thorps (population 20-80, average 50 people), 3% live in villages (pop. 401-900, avg. 600 people), 3% live in small towns (pop. 901-2,000, avg. 1,500 people), 2% live in large towns (pop. 2,001-5,000, avg. 3,000 people), 2% live in small cities (pop. 5,001-12,000, avg. 8,000 people), 1% live in large cities (pop. 12,001-25,000, avg. 18,000 people), and 1% live in metropolises (pop. 25,001 or more, avg. 40,000 people).

Since it’d be a bit too tedious to list all the numbers and processes here, I’ll just post the results, using the same calculations that were done to find the demographic breakdown of the population of an average hamlet:

Alzrius

The "sandbox" setting, in which players are not only allowed but encouraged to make their own fun by exploring and interacting with the setting, is, in my opinion, a fundamental requirement for satisfying, rewarding D&D play. Adventures and setting that force players along certain paths -- or worse, away from certain paths -- cannot hold a candle to sandbox play. No DM's or designers story has a hope against the story that the plyers themselves create through their actions and the coinsequences of those actions (with a healthy dose of DM input and dice-based uncertainty,to boot).

Here are seven essential elements for a good "sandbox" setting.

1. Big, but not Too Big: A sandbox setting should cover a relatively large geographic area, with room for varied terrain and environments, as well as multiple politicl entities. However, one of the things that makes a sandbox game so enjoyable is the players' ability to engage it as a whole, to see all four corners and to uncover its nuances and secrets. Too big a sandbox makes each part indistinct -- the DM likely doesn't have time to flesh out every aspect of a whole world; nor do players likely have time, or even interest, to visit it all. By limiting the scope of the setting and containing it geographically, the Dm has the opportunity to delve into the whole setting and so do the players. Something on the order of the British Isles works well, size and scope wise.

2. Lots to Do, Lots to See: As stated above, a sandbox needs to be diverse in regards to where the players can go and what they can do when they get there. It isn't enough to litter the place with 100 dungeons. Rather, there should be a handful of dungeons, a handful of towns, a handful of active fotresses, a handful of mytic locations, etc... This applies to political, religous and mercantile groups, as well. A monolithic nation that covers the whole setting won't do. At the very least, there should by various states or provinces with different cultures and conflicting interests. Even better, numerous small nations or city states work well. In addition, even if the DM chooses to have a dominant religous entity, schisms and sects within the church, with their own temples and own interpretations of scripture are necessary. Players should want to explore the setting to see what is around the next bend or over the next hill.

3. A Life of its Own: The setting should "live" like a real place. The diverse locations and groups discused above should interact and those interactions should be both internally consistent and produce movement within the setting. Groups that are opposed might be moving ever toward open conflict. The heir to a city state might try and hasten along his inheritence. A lowly peddlar might slowly climb to the top of the mercantile heap. A dark cult might be waiting for a soon approaching celestial event to unleash their dark master on the setting. It isn't that the setting ignores the players and their characters' actions. Rather, there's something of a timeline or assumed evolution to the setting that the players can interact with and disrupt. Knowing what would happen in a given situation without the involvment of the players allows the DM to better interpret what happens when they do get involved, as well as allowing the DM a plan if the PCs dont bother with a particular setting element or subplot.

4. No Scaling: The sandbox should not scale to the level of the PCs. If there's a "12th level" monster in the Darkenwood when the game begins, that monster remains there -- barring its involvement in the above -- whether the players choose to go to the darkenwood at 2nd level or 20th (or both). A scaling setting breaks versimilitude and suggests to the players that whatever growth they have is irrelevent. instead, the setting should include a wide array of "levels" of adventure locales, NPCs and monsters, disrubted throughout the setting in a plausible and internally consisten manner. This is not to say that the setting can't include "zones' that are geared toward certain levels of play, but too much of this inhibits the open nature of the sandbox. Mix it up instead. But make sure that there aren't too many "invisible" major threats. Powerful creatures and chaarcters produce legends and runors and even innaccurate information will give players a glimpse into what lies ahead, allowing them the opportunity to make a meaningful choice as to where to go and what to do.

5. Wandering Monster Tables and Random Encounters: One of the key conceits of the sandbox is that players are free to go where they will, do what they wish and engage the setting through their characters without being pulled or prodded into the DM's "story". This requires a lot of work on the part of the DM, creating many adventure sites, placed encounters, NPCs and organizations before play even begins. But even with all the work done, there's still a good chance the players will go somehwere the DM hasn't thought too much about or had a chance to flesh out. This is where the value of random encounter charts comes in. With such tables, built specifically for the setting and informed by the detail the DM has done, can provide fun for everyone even during those sessions where the players simply strike out down the road. These random encounters shouldn't simply be a collection of mansters listed by terrain type. Instead, the charts should include elements of the setting, little glimpses into the setting. What tribe are those orcs from? Who are the bandits? Where is the merchant caravan heading. By making specific encounter charts for the setting, the DM ensures that more of the work he has put into the setting sees use. By exposure, players are given hooks to choose for themselves to investigate and engage aspects of the setting.

6. New Blood: Characters die. They retire. Players get bored or want a break from the usual. Inevitably, a player is going to need a new character, or a new player will join the group. It may seem obvious, but it is often overlooked: the setting must allow for the introduction of new heroes (i.e. PCs) without breaking plausibility. As such settings that are mostly wilderness or wastelands with few settlements don't work as well as those that provide a diverse selection of races and classes within the population. As a related aspect, this means the setting must be adventurer friendly and reasonably wide ranging in regards to which races and classes are available. While it is okay for the DM to establish some limitations to better suit the genre or setting he has in mind, too many restrictions hampers the introduction of new characters and should be avoided.

7. Meaningful Choices and Meaningful Consequences: Most important of all, the actions of the players should have direct, noticible impact on the setting, at least insofar as the PCs degree of influence. Information should be plentiful enough to allow the players to choose which actions they will take, and those actions must have consequences. Who the players ally with, and with whom they make enemies; what meta-setting secrets they uncover, and which they bury; those monsters they kill and those that they merely enrage: these all should change the setting to some degree or another. If the players feel their adventures and explorations within the sandbox have a real impact, they will be both more inclined to engage the setting, and more thoughtful of the consequences of their actions.

Reynard

It is a sad fact of gaming that sometimes the players within a gaming group play their characters as complete sociopaths. In such cases, they see the whole world surrounding the characters as little more than sources of XPs and loot, and their interaction even with NPCs they were supposed to deal peacefully with can rapidly go downhill as long as the PCs see the opportunity for more loot.

This is not necessary the sign of deep character flaws on the part of the players. People new to gaming often start out this way, and even more "experienced" gamers might act like this if they haven't had a good DM to show them the way. Still, this state of affairs is generally unsatisfactory to most DMs, as just providing a steady stream of encounters without any real plot development is, at least in my opinion, a deeply tedious and boring affair (if you actually enjoy this, then read no further and I wish the best of luck to you and your gaming group). So what's a frustrated DM to do to change this?

Simply acquiescing and giving the players what they want is a bad idea in such a case. Sure, entertaining the players is part of the job of the DM. But think about it - as the DM, you are putting far more work into the campaign than any of your players. You deserve to be at least as entertained by the antics of the player characters as the players are entertained by your campaign. So you need to teach them a lesson - show, not tell them why the behavior of their characters is a bad idea. Trust me, there is plenty of entertainment to be had here - and along the way, your players might start enjoying the act of role-playing as well, and thus enjoy the game without engaging in sociopathy.

However, many DMs fall into the trap of making such "lessons" rather heavy-handed. For example, if the PCs have robbed a tax collector in the middle of a a forest, the militia in the next village will somehow magically know everything about the incident. And they will be led by a 20th paladin for some reason.

Avoid such immediate and excessive reprisals for misbehavior at all costs. These kinds of punishments might work for puppies (and PARANOIA campaigns), but less so for D&D campaigns. They are widely implausible (as in most cases of railroading), and they will only cause the players to see the world not as a "real" place with "real" people to interact with, but as a stage made out of cardboard with NPCs as marionettes which only exist as mouthpieces for the opinions of the DM. In other words, this will only reinforce their view that the game is all about "the PC against the world" - or rather, "the players against the DM". And all role-playing in such a world would be pointless.

You don't want to be seen as their enemy. The message you want to send is that they are their own worst enemy - and thus, maybe, change their behavior. For this, you need to give them enough rope to hang themselves. This only works if they believe that their actions have real, meaningful consequences for the campaign at large - so you need to empower the player characters enough to make their actions meaningful. But how do you do that?

Read on. And bring plenty of rope.

Stage 1: Free Lunch

If you notice that the player characters may have sociopathic tendencies, don't try to take away their opportunities for amoral behavior. This way, these tendencies might be repressed, but they won't be cured.

Instead, offer them opportunities to indulge in such activities. Stage plausible incidents which seemingly allow them to cheat, murder, and steal without any immediate consequences. Make them choose between doing the right thing and the easy thing, and allow them to profit handsomely from the latter.

At the same time, drop hints that their actions do not occur in a vacuum. For example, if they murder another adventuring party in cold blood that had just emerged from a dungeon with lots of loot, the leader of the militia back in town may ask them if they had seen the other party, "since they left in the same direction." But if they lie about this, don't press the issue. Make them think that they have successfully evaded the consequences for their action and that they are free to enjoy their immoral spoils. Watch as they mock the blindness of those around them.

And say nothing. But take notes of every immoral act they have committed for later reference.

Stage 2: Shaming

After a while, it's time to show them that their actions did have consequences - not for them, but for the other people in the world. Let them watch as good, decent people suffer because of them. Show them the people who go hungry or suffer from disease because they robbed a merchant on the way to their town. Make them encounter the destitute widows and orphans of those they have slain. Throw in a few real tear-jerkers.

But don't make the NPCs suspicious of the party yet. Allow sufficient time for the PCs to develop and display a conscience. If they try to make some sort of amends - openly or in secret - then the characters might yet find redemption. But if not, proceed to the next stage.

Stage 3: Web of Lies

At this stage, the PCs will likely have become powerful enough to attract notice as "mighty heroes". The authorities will likely hire them to deal with all sorts of problems - including a few that they themselves have caused. So what do they do when the local ruler wants them to investigate the death and robbery of one of his tax collectors if the PCs have caused that death in the first place? Likely murder and lie even more to cover their tracks.

And their status as "mighty heroes" also means that other people will want to hear more about their "mighty deeds". The PCs might very well revel in the attention at first. But since they need to continue lying to their audience to cover up their crimes, it will soon become difficult to keep their stories straight among all the player characters.

Keep careful track of what which PC said to whom, and take note of any inconsistencies. Over time, it will become harder and harder to maintain their appearances. Give them plenty of opportunities to commit further sins (such as the disposal of inconvenient witnesses and other people who have figured them out) - but all this will only be delaying the inevitable. Sooner or later, their web of lies will collapse.

And they won't be able to blame anyone but themselves for it. They had plenty of opportunity to move away from the path of Evil, but they choose not to. What happens in the next stages is entirely their own fault.

Stage 4: Pariah

Once their true nature has been exposed, all their lies will quickly collapse. People will remember all the places they have traveled to, and connect their presence with various nefarious deeds that happened during their stay. They will be reviled throughout the land, and bards will sing songs about their depravity. Children will scream at their sight, and streets will empty themselves whenever they enter a town.

Some players might see this as a perverted sign of "respect", so you need to make sure that their descriptions in the tales are anything but flattering. Add tales of utterly vile crimes to the stories about them that the PCs didn't actually commit. This should be rather frustrating for the PCs as they can no longer control their own reputations. Protesting this is unlikely to work - saying "I didn't poison that village/slaughter those nuns/eat those babies" will sound unconvincing, considering all the evil deeds the party did commit. While they can try to argue with others that they are not responsible for those other atrocities, they will soon sense that others will only agree with them because they are afraid of the PCs instead of any real conviction. They will never be able to clear their names.

For some time, the local militias and guards will attempt to stop them whenever they enter a town. Don't bother to play those combats out. Just tell the players: "You defeat them - they are just a bunch of level 1 minions and a level 3 brute, and thus no challenge to you. Just tell me how you defeat them and what you do with them afterwards." Allow them to plunder the town at their leisure if they want. Soon, the towns and villages along their path will react to them similar to how people throughout the ages have reacted to invading armies - read up on such times for examples. Maybe it will give them pause if villagers commit suicide rather than fall into the hands of the PCs...

Now, the greatest heroes of the kingdom and the greatest champions of Good will seek out the PCs to take them down (possibly with a few choice monologues hurled their way if these people knew the PCs from the days when their cover was still intact). These fights will be infrequent (there aren't that many people around who could be a real challenge to the party), but devastating when they do occur. If the PCs manage to survive through all those, eventually the realm will run out of heroes - and it is time to proceed to the next stage.

Stage 5: Anathema

The PCs are now blights upon the land. With the champions of Good struck down, monsters begin to overrun the land and prey on the population. Civilization begins to crumble. Trade slows down to a trickle, and then stops entirely. The cities begin to starve. The rulers that remain fearfully huddle in their castles, not daring to offend the PCs because of their power. The PCs could likely take over their rule - but there is little left worth ruling over.

Significantly for the PCs, money and gold become pretty much worthless by this stage. Basic goods and services - what little of them are still available - will likely be given to the PCs for free in the hopes of staving off their wrath. But the magic items that the PCs are likely to be most interested in become unavailable now - while they might have had luck finding enchanters on the black market during the previous stage, by now all such people have likely fled to far-away hiding places. The mere presence of the PCs either scares them away, or all of their potential customers. And even if some of them had stayed behind for the PCs to find, where would they find the necessary ritual components for the creation of the items the PCs want? Thus, the PCs are reduced to making use of only the magic items they can loot, and any piles of gold and jewels they might carry with them are nothing more than useless, worthless junk.

There are likely to be some remaining fights with powerful, celestial entities and the like. But they may find that they have unexpected allies in such fights - demons or devils who claim that the PCs represent their lords' "most faithful servants". Being told that their souls are fated for the Nine Hells or the Abyss might give the PCs pause. Any attempts at redemption at this stage will be incredibly difficult, if they even try to make the effort.

Final Stage: Doom

As the PCs search yet another old, crumbling ruin in search of powerful treasures, they come across a lengthy inscription chiseled into a stone wall. It tells of a prophecy about the so-called "Harbingers of Doom" who will lead humanity into a dark age. Deciphering it, they realize that this prophecy is about them, and it includes a lengthy list of their most nefarious deeds. It states explicitly that they have slain all the Champions of Light who might have staved off the coming Darkness, dooming humanity to become slaves of monsters forevermore.

And with this, the campaign ends.


Such an end is frustrating for the player characters, since it makes them appear as being fated servants of Evil with no control over their destiny, and no chance of averting it. Yet the message to the players is clear - they, and only they decided to commit one evil deed after another, and their choices alone doomed the world. Hopefully they will have learned that their choices matter, and that maybe they should choose a different path for their next campaign.


And if not... maybe then it is time to seek a new group.

Jürgen Hubert

Attention: Jack99's Ultrashort Reviews has moved to http://4eultrashortreviews.blogspot.com/ - All reviews are now indexed by company and rating.
This blog will no longer be updated.

Short reviews explaning what I think about a product. If you think it is a stupid concept, let me know. Well, if you like the concept, feel free to let me know as well.

All products are graded with stars, from * to ******.
*: For the love of God and all that is holy (and I do not even believe in God), do not buy this product.
**: I wasn’t impressed, but maybe other people could find it interesting.
***: It has some decent things, but overall there is room for a lot of improvement.
****: Good solid product.
*****: Great product, a must buy. You shouldn’t be playing 4e without.
******: If you haven’t bought it yet, you are a fool

One thing worth noting about my system is that the numbers of stars given is relative to the type of product. For example, if you make an awesome class, with great fluff and interesting mechanics and release it on PDF, you might get 5 or 6 stars. On the other hand, if the same class is released within a 240 page product which is really bad, the class will probably be mentioned but the final rating will still be much lower. On the other hand, I also realize that it is far harder to make a 240 page product than making a 10 page PDF that is useful. In short, the smaller a product is, the higher are the expectations of a "flawless" product.

I am in no way involved in the making with any of the products reviewed, and should it ever happen, it will be clearly stated in the individual review.

Keep on the Shadowfell (WotC) – The Darkness of Shadowfell Keep is looming over the surroundings lands. All clues concerning foul things happening to the region lead the heroes there, where they battle kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins and undead, in order to stop the nefarious high priest of Orcus from opening a portal to the Shadowfell.
Not the greatest adventure ever made, even by a long shot. The dungeon is way too big to get through in anything but many days, requiring the heroes to rest either inside, or go in and out multiple times. There are too few opportunities for great non-combat interaction. However, some truly lethal fights earn it a star more, just because I like deadly adventures.
Rating: ***

Thunderspire Labyrinth (WotC) – Following the trail picked up in KotS, our heroes are led to an ancient underground minotaur complex, now a semi-secret tradepost run by a group of wizards. The heroes pursue the trail of a renegade wizard attempting to size control over the small community, through 4 distinct dungeons, where they battle hobgoblins, duegar, gnolls, demons, evil wizards, and of course a dragon.
The dungeons in TL are of a much more manageable size than in KotS, with plenty of interesting fights, and via The Seven-Pillared Hall, there are plenty of opportunities to create some great roleplaying moments.
Rating: ****

Pyramid of Shadows (WotC) – Following TL, the heroes are drawn towards the Pyramid of Shadows, an ancient pyramid that has entrapped Karavakos, a tiefling of considerable arcane ability. PoS has a kind of old-school feeling to it. You have a lot of very different monsters, in a very small area, just like in the good old days. At least the writers have tried come up with an explanation as to how it is possible, but I must admit that the whole non-stop dungeon-crawling doesn’t appeal to me another. There are however plenty of very interesting encounters to steal and use in your homebrews. So all in all, worth buying for inspiration and the encounters, but it would require too much work to make a great adventure.
Rating: ***

Adventurer’s Vault (WotC) – AV should have been the 4th core book. There is no way around this book, and even though it does have it flaws with some items that can cause problems in the game, this is simply a resource that is too good to pass up. It brings new weapons, new armors, mounts, vehicles and alchemy (non-magical rituals) to your table. Not to mention hundreds and hundreds of magical items. And when I say hundreds, I do mean it. The index of magical items is 24 pages long!
Rating: *****

Advanced Player’s Guide (XRP) – Written by Ari Marmell aka Mouseferatu, this book brings the monk, the barbarian, the bard, the druid and the illusionist to our tables. The 1e feel promised is delivered to the best of my knowledge, and apart from the barbarian the savage warrior, the classes are awesome, and ready to be used in your campaign. Definitely one of the best third party products made for 4e at the time of writing.
Rating: *****

Plague (XRP) – Everything you ever wanted and needed to run a plague in your 4e games. Lots of great fluff and information on plagues, as well as the crunch needed to make them truly lethal, even for epic level characters. Buy it and release death in your campaigns!
Rating: *****

Lands of Darkness #1: The Barrow Grounds (XRP) – The Barrow Grounds is basically a cemetery you can put anywhere in your campaign, more or less. The idea is great; however the result is less than stellar. They have 12 encounters, and most are pretty boring. Rats and undead! I dunno, but a product such as this, which basically is a list of encounters, should give me more than I can think up in 20 seconds. There was some good stuff in there though. As the place is made for levels 1-3, each crypt/area has its encounter(s) adjusted depending on what level your players are when they arrive. One of the encounters, with a guardian golem could also lead to some great roleplaying. This saves the product from being a *.
Rating: **

Forgotten Heroes: Fist, Fang and Song (Goodman Games) – I think this was easily the biggest disappointment yet. Goodman Games are to me one of the best 3rd party publishers out there. It’s not that FH:FFaS is a bad product. It’s just not what I had expected. You see, they had the opportunity to make some great versions of the old classes, more than 5 months before WotC does their version. However, instead of making real 4e versions, their classes feel like 3.5 versions, with 4e rules; needlessly complicated. I am sure some (lots of) people will enjoy those versions, but to someone who really has embraced the smoothness of the classes in 4e, they are a disappointment.
Rating: **

Anointing the Seer (Unicorn Rampant Publishing) – AtS is an adventure, where the heroes are pursuing an evil family (the mother: the witch, the son: the warlock, the father: the dragon!) that have kidnapped the beautiful priestess and turned many villagers into pigs. They go from the town, to the mother’s hideout, to the son’s hideout, ending in the father’s hideout. It is simple and straight forward. There are some interesting opportunities for roleplaying and skill challenges, so with a little work, it could be a decent adventure. However the editing is atrocious. In fact, I will go as far as say that anyone asking money for a product, should be ashamed delivering one of such quality. Not only is the spelling bad, but it is full of 3.5-isms, and it is quite clear it was written as a 3.5 adventure, and then hastily converted in order to cash in on the October 1st date. Now, $5 isn’t much, but it is the principle. When you ask people to pay for your stuff, certain things are expected.
Rating: *

Noble (Alea) – Noble is a multiclass, with a class that doesn’t exist. The idea is brilliant, and my bet is that we will see many of those in the future. However, when I read this the first time, I wasn’t sure if it was a joke, or merely of poor taste. Names like “Tongue Lashing” and “Courtier’s Retort” didn’t help I guess. However, as I read more, I realized that the names didn’t really matter, because the noble multiclass is a great way of handling such things. Noble comes with a full set of powers (38) ready to buy with your feats. Also included in the pdf, are power cards, ready to print out. That’s just great.
Rating: ****

Peasant House (Alea) – Peasant House is not really a 4e product, since it works equally well for all editions of the game. However, it was listed under 4e products, so I bought it. And I wasn’t disappointed. The first two chapters, who describe how the different classes and races interact with serfdom and peasants, were a bit weak. Not poorly written or anything, just not interesting. However, the next chapters, describing the day to day life of the peasants, the atmosphere of their home and such, made it worth buying. I have always had problems with describing accurate peasant homes, and this product really gives a good picture of how they lived.
Rating: ***

The Apelord (One Bad Egg) – Have you ever wanted to play an intelligent animal in D&D? I haven’t; in fact, I have never allowed such races in any of my campaigns during the 20 years I have been running them. However, this is about to change. The Apelord is simply full of win.
Rating: *****

Sellswords of Punjar (Goodman Games) – SoP is a dark urban adventure that pits the heroes against a possessed Beggar-King and his shadowy allies, in order to avoid the spread of a shadow-plague. Goodman Games have here created a solid adventure with a distinct old-school feel. It has an interesting plot and some good set pieces. There is some innovation with regards to the rules, for example with regards to the shadow-stuff toxin which worsens your condition each time a save is failed, up to 5 times. It’s a mix of the normal poison rules and the disease track. Good stuff.
Rating: ****

Isle of the Sea Drake (Goodman Games) – The heroes find themselves stranded on a jungle isle, and find themselves in the middle of a small war between two ancient tribes. One tribe is since recently in control, after striking a deal with an evil wizard and his pirates. The wizard is there to gain control of a magic item that would allow him to control the local sea-drakes. Overall IotSD is a decent adventure with a great tone, and some opportunities for role-playing. It’s also fairly different from the standard urban or dungeon feel that we encounter in 90% of all adventures.
Rating: ****

Phrenic Shards (Dreamscarred Press) – Much like the Noble multi-class from Alea Publishing, Phrenic Shards uses a wide array of feats in order to simulate a class that does not exist. In this case, it is the psion. While the idea has merit, and there is definitely possibilities (Alea proved that), Phrenic Shards falls short. Way short. This is mostly because they are so many broken feats in there. “As One” gives you +2 to hit and +2 damage with your shard when you use a martial power. Two other feats buy you an aura (50’ radius) that gives you a surge or an AP every time an ally uses an AP or a surge within your aura – seriously?
Rating: *

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (WotC) – After reading this book was the first time in more than 10 years that I have considered running a campaign in what was one THE campaign of choice for me. The book does a great job at describing the Realms, in a short and to the point way. It gives you an awesome framework for a campaign, with lots and lots of plot hooks, without going so much into detail that you have no room to maneuver. If you are one of those who think a campaign book should tell you everything, down to the price of inns in the different wards of Waterdeep, or the color of Manshoon’s underwear, this is not a book for you.
Rating: ****

Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide (WotC) – I am one of those people that the idea of breaking campaigns up in a book for the DM and a book for the players is a great idea. The FRPG gives the players all the information they need to create a character in the Realms. You get two new races (Drow and Genasi), a new class (Swordmage), Realm-specific feats, and a host of paragon paths, also specific to the Realms. You also get an overview of all the major areas of the Realms, and the knowledge someone native to those parts should have. Even if you do not run a FR campaign, the book is worth the money. The drow and genasi could appear in any campaign, and the Swordmage is an awesome gish-class, even better when multi-classing into wizard. The paragon paths are easily made more generic to fit any campaign.
Rating: *****

Reviews continue in the next blog, due to wordcount.

Attention: Jack99's Ultrashort Reviews has moved to http://4eultrashortreviews.blogspot.com/ - All reviews are now indexed by company and rating.
This blog will no longer be updated.

Jack99

Attention: Jack99's Ultrashort Reviews has moved to http://4eultrashortreviews.blogspot.com/ - All reviews are now indexed by company and rating.
This blog will no longer be updated.

Short reviews explaning what I think about a product. If you think it is a stupid concept, let me know. Well, if you like the concept, feel free to let me know as well.

All products are graded with stars, from * to ******.
*: For the love of God and all that is holy (and I do not even believe in God), do not buy this product.
**: I wasn’t impressed, but maybe other people could find it interesting.
***: It has some decent things, but overall there is room for a lot of improvement.
****: Good solid product.
*****: Great product, a must buy. You shouldn’t be playing 4e without.
******: If you haven’t bought it yet, you are a fool

One thing worth noting about my system is that the numbers of stars given is relative to the type of product. For example, if you make an awesome class, with great fluff and interesting mechanics and release it on PDF, you might get 5 or 6 stars. On the other hand, if the same class is released within a 240 page product which is really bad, the class will probably be mentioned but the final rating will still be much lower. On the other hand, I also realize that it is far harder to make a 240 page product than making a 10 page PDF that is useful. In short, the smaller a product is, the higher are the expectations of a "flawless" product.

I am in no way involved in the making with any of the products reviewed, and should it ever happen, it will be clearly stated in the individual review.

Wraith Recon (Mongoose) – Wraith Recon is a supplement for all that want the opportunity to run a different campaign. With Wraith Recon, your players will be able to play a different brand of heroes. Here nothing matters beyond the next mission. No one cares who you kill, as long as you get the job done. Looting every creature or running around searching every single room is a thing of the past, as all you need will be provided. All you need to worry about is putting together a kickass team, and getting ready to follow orders.
Wraith Recon provides a really good framework for making a campaign where the players are part of an elite strike team. With some sort of game-mechanics innovation in it, it would have scored higher, but sadly there is none. Also, do not expect too much from the art…
Rating: ****

The Linotaur (Adamant Entertainment) - Maybe it is just me, but, as mentioned when I talked about the Apelord, I have always had a thing against talking animals as player races. The Apelord won me over, so I thought, why not expand that even more. However, four legged talking animals are just not doing it for me, apparently. I never was a fan of the centaur as a player race. I guess there is nothing wrong with the Linotaur per say, aside from the fact that I would probably not have chosen to copy-paste the gnoll’s racial power, ferocious charge. Originality is a great thing. While I won’t allow my players to play one, I kinda like the fluff and feel of the race, so I will most likely use it and create some barbaric tribes roaming the savannahs of the south.
Rating: ***

Anthropophagi (Alea Publishing Group) – As I see it, there are several issues with these monsters. First of all, the crunch seems a bit off. Maybe it is just me (I haven’t compared to other than a few monsters), but 1d8+4 and 1d6+4+weaken for a mere level 4 brute seems nasty. Also, the aura will be a killer, for players that go below 0. The Marauder is also a bit odd, with an immediate reaction that is a bit cryptic. Also, I find the fluff hard to swallow. I mean, in what kind of world are official papers granted to undead, so that they can prowl the battlefield, looking for corpses. Maybe it fits Alea’s world, but it seems hard to fit in a “normal” campaign world.
Rating: **

Forges of the Mountain King (Goodman Games) – FotMK is an oldschool dungeon crawl if there ever was one. No roleplay, many rooms, many monsters in small rooms (9 monsters in a 3x5 room!!) and extremely lethal traps, all of it sprinkled with a riddle and an ancient evil. Liking that is a matter of taste I guess. I <3 the lethal traps, which incidentally are very fitting with the whole dwarven theme, but the lack of room to move around during many of the fights create some very static encounters in 4e. There are some random editing (?) issues, like an item power that should be a free action and not an immediate reaction, and also a referral to the wrong room at a point, but overall, I didn’t notice any huge problems on my first read-through.
I must however mention how very impressed I was with the int 1 zombies’ ability to perform a circling move, in order to be able to ambush the players from behind. That’s putting very little to very good use
Rating:***

The Unbroken (One Bad Egg) – I have two words for you guys. Must. Have. The Unbroken is a paladin paragon path simulating a paladin that has broken with his god, but wants to do things that must be done, be they good or evil. Thematically, it’s hardly breaking new ground, but it is IMO a very important option to have in your campaign. But the best thing about this short PDF is that it gives you a smart way to not only handle the paladin code introduced, but that you can easily use it with the normal paladins and their relationship with their god. Hell, it could fit for any character that wants some sort of code. At $1.49, it’s worth every penny several times over.
Rating: ******

King of the Trollhaunt Warrens (WotC) – Following the Pyramid of Shadows, but not really linked in a significant way, WotC finally get their adventure-writing together and brings us one of the best adventures in many years. The premise is simple. A little town is threatened by trolls and their new troll king. The heroes arrive and must find the secret warrens, kill the troll-king only to haste back to town to foil an attack by the troll-king’s “army”. After the attack, they find out the troll-king is not dead, and return to the warren, killing the troll king again, only to have to follow him into the Feywild, where he has now been reborn as the ancient troll-king Vard, first king of Vardar. Good stuff all around. Skill challenges, fights and role-playing opportunities are all there in good amounts, with seeds for much more.
Rating: *****

Punjar - The Tarnished Jewel (Goodman Games) – While made for their 4e OGL DCC line, PtTJ is easily adapted to any game system, as it has absolutely no crunch in there. The only 4e-ism in there is one mention of the dragonborn. This large city (75k) is run by a former thief turned Overlord is a haven for scum, bribery, murder and other nefarious pursuits and beings. Even the council-seats are as default buyable. Aside from the council, there is little centralization. Each of the wards of the city is run in it’s own fashion, with a common theme of brutality and hopelessness permeating them. Goodman Games and Mr. Stroh have created the basis for something truly great, and this appetizer has definitely let me wanting for more information about the Tarnished Jewel.
Rating: ****

The Demigod (LPJ Design) - Hi, my name is Jack, and I am an 11th level demigod fighter, and I can't die.. what? No seriously, The Demigod race has it's moments. Three things really annoy me though, when I read it. First of all, divine nature? C'est quoi? Well, one must assume that it's mr LPJ dodging the GSL. Fair enough I guess, it just annoys me that the terminology changes from product to product. Second thing that annoys me, is the name. I mean, come one, DEMIGOD? I realize that it is what they are, but in D&D, when someone says demigod, you immediately think of someone extremely powerful. Not to mention the epic destiny from the core rules. So Jack the 11th level demigod fighter/vanguard becomes Jack the 21th level demigod fighter/vanguard/demigod? Say what? Last, but not least, can you spell B-R-O-K-E-N? Well, not the race in itself, but rather one of the paragon feats. Treat any roll of 10 or lower on a death save as a 10? First of all, there is no limit to this, so I guess that makes me pretty hard to kill, unless someone beats me down to below minus bloodied. Also, why would I need a feat to treat a roll of 10 as a 10? Hmm... There is some good stuff in there, I like the feel they got going, but it needs some work.
Rating: ***

The Half-Dead (One Bad Egg) - It had to happen I guess. With The Apelord and The Unbroken One Bad Egg had raised my expectations to a unreasonably high level. Yet, there is something intriguing about the Half-Dead.The concept and flavor really appeals to me, but I am never going to use it as a full player race. I think that is the biggest hurdle of the Half-Dead. I do not see it as a race that many will use. I will however use it at some point, where one of my players die, as some plot device. We will have to see. Overall it's a well designed race, but I do have some concerns about the racial ability. +5 to all death saves is too much (I think, but haven't had time to do the math yet).
Rating: ****

The Death-Mother (One Bad Egg) - "A mockery of motherhood, the death-mother appears a rotting, clawed zombie with an enormous, bloated abdomen that splits open to reveal rows upon rows of sharp, needle-like teeth. A single long tentacle emerge from that maw on occasion; striking a foe, the death-mother exerts a momentary control over the victim’s mind and feeds its gestating get with leeched life-force" - If that just sounds cool, nay awesome, it is because it is. Between producing undeads during combat and devouring more corpses during combat to produce even more undeads, this monster can be a truly horrifying experience for your players. Do not deprieve yourself of the pleasure of using this against them!
Rating: *****

Critter Cache: Big Bugs (Blackdirge Publishing) - So, finally we got us some more monsters! And they even have descriptions! Okay, I must admit I have never been the biggest fan of bugs, but there are some real gems in this product, as long as you do not look too much at the art. It looks like 1e stuff. Okay, I guess some people might dig it, I sure as hell didn’t. We got ant soldiers that frenzy (get more attacks when they are bloodied), we got an ant queen whose pheromone burst has not one, not two, but three different applications, both offensive and defensive, making it an awesome controller/leader hybrid. There are a few places where the author went a bit overboard, such as a beetle (level 6 brute) which does 2d10+10 damage when it has a target grabbed. Ouch. All in all, a good solid product, filled with some nasty critters to dispense of your pesky players. If you feel that 4e is just incomplete without these kinds of monsters, add another star.
Rating: ****

Tankard Tales: Willowbark (Myth Merchant Press) - Okay, so Willowbarks is a tavern at the edge of civilization. It is an interesting, if not completely innovative concept. The PDF describes the owner and his employees, as well as sets up some rumors and adventure hooks and some small adventure ideas. While I think that the author should have included stats for the owner and his friends, I like parts of the adventure seeds and the small adventures in Willowbarks. One sees the players being stuck in an alternate pocket-plane/dimension, due to a gnomish device gone awry. They must repair the device to return to their own plane, but unfortunately a portal to the Feywild is acting up and monsters are literally pouring in through the portal. Fun times, except that if the players fail, we are told that they just wake up unharmed, back at the inn. That’s kind of weak.
Rating:***

Lands of Darkness #2: The Cesspools of Arnac (XRP) - I think I won’t buy any more of the Land of Darkness series. Either they are extremely boring, or the whole concept just doesn’t suit me. The encounters seem repetitive and the new monsters seem without soul. Don’t get me wrong, there is some good, most notably a nasty level 5 disease which leaves you perma-dazed with a hefty penalty to AC and Fortitude defense. I am however not a fan of assured TPK’s which is what has been put in there. Sure, there is a skill challenge which allows you to avoid the encounter, or rather, resolves the encounter without bloodshed. A failed skill challenge is however a sure TPK. Against a level 3 a level 12 controller, 91 hps, insubstantial, flies, phases, and every 3rd round on average, he can make a close burst 6 attack that does 2d8+1 damage, pushes 5, and immobilizes (save ends). Of course, they can flee, I guess, but still...
Rating:**

Paths to Prestige: The Fell Knight (Blackdirge Publishing) – First of all, despite the price tag of $1.50, you aren’t getting a whole lot. A prestige class, the corresponding template for monsters, and an example of a MM monster with the template slapped upon, along with a little fluff. Or maybe I am just spoiled. Anyway, the idea of the fallen paladin is fine, because we do not have it per say. We have the evil paladin via the core books, and the paladin that has given up on the gods via the Unbroken of One Bad Egg. So it’s filling a gap, although a very small gap. The problem I have with the Fell Knight is the implementation. For example, at 11th level, all powers you have that deal radiant now deal necrotic; except (because it is a class feature and not a prayer) your divine challenge. Then at 16th level, targets that are affected by your divine challenge take ongoing necrotic takes some ongoing necrotic damage. So your DC deals radiant damage and necrotic ongoing. Not really smooth in my book. Why not have DC do necrotic damage instead?
Rating:***

Gods of the Shroud (One Bad Egg) - Let me start out by saying that if what you are looking for is a replacement pantheon for your high-magic campaign, this is probably not a product for you. It is however the perfect set of gods for a gritty, dark world on the edge of civilization or humanity. Baring running such a campaign, the Gods of the Shroud should be perfect as Ancient gods, still worshipped by barbarians, various humanoid tribes or really anyone living on the fringe of society. I must admit that I would have liked more fluff, but the fluff gotten was very evocative and sparked a lot of great ideas - just as it should be. The Channel Divinity feats are mostly great, and quite fitting. Overall a product I will be using a lot.
Rating:*****

Martial Power (WotC) – Expectations from my side were both high and low at the same time. High because it is the first real splatbook of 4e, low because it is a splatbook. I was not disappointed. I was not let down by what some claims to be a corporation of evil money-grubbing suits without soul. Martial Powers promises more options for my martial powers, and options it delivers in spades. Sure, not all are equal, and there might even be something horribly broken, but from a first quick read-through, Martial Power is just made of win. You get many new powers, many new class features, and quite a few new builds for greater variety. At a glance, I can easily see the beastmaster ranger becoming a favorite. I know I would like to play a ranger now. I can’t give it 6 stars, but since it is all crunch, I do not feel that I can do that without extensive testing. When that is said, this is a must have, if not only to give your players more options with regards to powers and feats.
Rating:*****

The Kroola (Poison Ivy press) - Okay. I knew I shouldn't have bought it. I mean, jolly but aggressive crocodiles that walk upright, live in swamps or play pirates on the Seven Seas? Maybe it is just me, but it just didn't do anything for me. Fluff aside, one could hope for some decent crunch, but alas. While they probably fit some world, the Kroola are just too powerful for your average campaign. The "no-granting-CA-while-prone" and "the improved unarmed attack" are nice and fit thematically, the Kroola's racial power is just.. well powerful. As an encounter power, spend a healing surge for con modifier + ½ level regen that lasts for the encounter as long as you are not "not-bloodied" or unconscious. Sure, there will be times where you waste it, if ennemies disengage you soon after you are bloodied, but often it will be godsent. Imagine a Kroola Infernal Warlock (I actually have a hard time imagining that, but anyway...). 20 con and at 2nd level that's 7 hp regen per round. He could almost easily play tank with that.
Rating:**

Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons(WotC) - The 4e version of the Draconomicon is here. As opposed to the 3.5 version, it is only about the chromatic dragons. Now, this may not please everyone, just as the omission of the metallic dragons in the Monster’s Manual did not please everyone. Want to know everything about the psychology and physiology of the chromatic dragons? Want help on integrating dragons into your campaigns? Want dragon traps? Want dragon rituals? Want page after page of dragon lairs and a large variety of dragons? The Draconomicon is however full of all sorts of all the goodies you will need for running evil dragons. I can’t wait for Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons.
Rating:*****


The Quintessential Wizard (Mongoose) - QW is essential a book of crunch. While it does have some decent fluff here and there, I am evaluating it based on the crunch. All I can say is that not much have changed. The Q-series had a reputation of being unbalanced, and even though it is a completely new group of designers, not much has changed. This book has more broken feats than all other 4e books put together. Several of the PP's are also really, really good (trying to avoid using the word broken again). The powers vary more, but seriously, sleep as an encounter power at level 5? Sigh. Oh and what the hell is the "held" condition (I understand what it is, but I shouldn't have to make even educated guesses)? Arguably there is stuff you could find useful in the book, but considering the size and the number of broken stuff, I cannot recommend it in any way shape or form. I expect more, and so should you!
Rating:*

Heroes Handbook: The Dragonborn (Goodman Games) - A lot of people have been complaining that 4e lacks fluff, myself included at times. Well, if it’s fluff you want, it is fluff you will get. The dragonborn are here described as an ancient races steeped in tradition and honor. A sort of samuraiesque-indian hybrid race, divided into very distinct clans, each with their own history and traditions, each with their own interpretation of the Code of the Dragon, the cornerstone of dragonborn society; Courage, loyalty and integrity.
Each clan (8 are described in detail) comes with it’s own paragon path and feats. There is also a whole chapter of feats fitting any (well, there are prereqs) dragonborn character. Overall, it is great stuff, and while there are a few feats you as DM might need to take a look at (as well as a few PP’s), overall the stuff appears to not be completely unbalanced. Not everything has been the subject to the dreaded power-creep, and there are plenty of options for those who wish to build on their dragonborn character, making him even more distinctly dragonborn.
The book has around 60 pages of almost 100% fluff, 10 pages on how (tables) to make a engaging and interesting family history for your dragonborn, 20 pages of monsters (mostly different dragonborn) and finally around 10 pages of new magical items.
While I am 100% sure you could play 4e without this book, I would definitely not be without it.
Rating:*****

Scions of Punjar (Goodman Games) - Scions is a 4th-6th level urban adventure crawl where players are hired by a minor noble family to find out how a pendant, which is supposed to be entombed in the family tombs, has made its way to a local pawn shop. Soon the heroes find themselves embroiled in a tale of revenge, because the slighted and thought-to-be-dead deranged daughter of the family has returned, now an insane necromancer. She has amazed a secret army of undead in the depths of the city of Punjar, and wants her family dead.
As usual, Goodman Games gives an adventure full of deadly traps and nasty combats. However, and this is a big plus, many of the encounters have a non-violent solution, so it’s not all hack and slash. There are a few twists, and room to expand the adventure significantly, if that is what you want. They are also kind enough to provide a flowchart of the major encounter areas, since not all encounters need to be taken in a definite order.
Sadly, there is some editing that really annoys the hell of out me. Wrong xp for some monsters and some 3.x-isms in the fluff, like the rogues having a few wizard or warlock levels to enhance their abilities. Maybe it’s just copy-pasting that hasn’t been caught by the editor, but none the less. I expect more from GG. There are also some parts of the adventure that can’t be copy-pasted, what’s with that. But worst of all is their use of the skill challenge… 6 diplomacy checks and nothing else in a skill challenge? 8 intimidate checks and nothing else in a skill challenge? My advice would be to subscribe to DDI and thus be able to read the advice Mearls gives on skill challenges, or read the DMG. Because that’s just poor use of a great system. Anyway, if you are willing to look past the crunch, add another star.
Rating:***

Critter Cache: Prehistoric Beasts (Blackdirge Publishing) – Yeah. More monsters. One can never get enough monsters. Blackdirge brings us 11 brand new spanking dinosaurs, with 3 variants of each. And as a bonus, at least one of each type of dinosaur is suitable as a mount, and they still all come with a description. Yes thank you. Overall I would say there is little groundbreaking, but the monsters have cool thematically appropriate powers, although, if someone would like to be critical, there seems to be a little issue of damage-inflation. Some of these monsters do quite a lot of damage. But who wouldn’t want a mount at 5th level that can daze and stun (save ends). I know my rogue would .
Rating: ****

Manual of the Planes (WotC) – The 4e MoP follows the trend started with the 4e FRCG. WotC provides the structure, with enough info to set the correct tone, and leave enough room for the DM to stretch his creative muscles and make it his own. If you are the type that needs to have books with answers for every single question, then this probably isn’t the book for you. If you on the other hand want a framework on which to base your own stuff, to help those C-juices get flowing, then the 4e MoP is an invaluable tool. I am not going to give it six stars, mostly because you can get by without, if you have a lot of material from prior editions. But it’s a damn good investment, if you ask me.
Rating:*****

Demon Queen's Enclave (WotC) - The heroes find themselves (depending on which hook you use) heading to a drow settlement in the Underdark in order to stop a greater evil brewing. An rebellious drow has been lured to the dark side (as if Lolth doesn’t qualify as the dark side already) by Orcus. The drow, now a vampire, has taken over a domain in the Shadowfell which used to be ruled by an exarch of Orcus. From there, it has launched an attack on the drow settlement, breaching it defences.
So when the players arrive, they find a town-battlefield, infested by undead and demons. And drows, of course. The goal might be to stop the nefarious plans of the Orcus worshipping vampire-drow, but how do you do that. Do you ally with the lone drow necromancer, with the failed drow commander that thinks of himself as dead man walking, or do you see out the matron mother in the temple of Lolth, and strike a deal with the most unholy of all. Or maybe you just plow through everything. That would of course be a pity. Once an alliance has formed, how do you proceed to enter the realm of Orcus? There is also a personification of the plane that has its own agenda, and an artefact that doesn’t quite want what everyone assumes it wants.
The adventure is choking full of interesting encounters, awesome settings, meaningful choices, cool application of skill challenges and interesting NPC’s.

DQE (P2) is by miles the best adventure WotC has ever produced. In fact, I will go so far as to say that it is probably one of the best adventures made for D&D in many years. Buy now!
Rating:******

Wyvern Mountain (Goodman Games) - Wyvern Mountain is the latest adventure from Goodman Games. It is an extremely linear adventure that sends the heroes to Wyvern Mountain to investigate what shenanigans are afoot. They follow the road (and monsters on the road) to the former dragon lair, now occupied by a goblin tribe. They kill the goblins, solve the riddle to enter the real lair that has been in temporal stasis, and defeat the guardians and master of the lair. Game over.

Overall I am disappointed. While there are some cool (read nasty) traps (7d10 at 4th level – OUCH), they are never part of an encounter, so unless players die from it, they are never really in any danger. There are some crunch issues, as well as some odd suggestions of tactics (like a monster starting by using a close burst power that makes its allies regain hit points). Worst of all is the lack of interesting terrain or features in combats with high level/high hp opponents. On the positive side, there are some nice puzzles and we get two new cool monsters, the vargouille and the barghest – yeah, when I say new, I mean 4e-style obviously.
I get that DCC's are supposed to have that oldschool hack and slash feel. Screw the roleplaying etc, but where is the harm in making interesting combats, if combats is all there is. Way too often they resort to using one type of monster in their combats. Only once in the whole adventure do they meet more than 2 different monsters at the same time, and that's when they encounter a ranger with his pet dire wolf and eagle. Diversity FTW.
Rating:**

The Shroudborn (One Bad Egg) - The Shroudborn gives us a new multi-class option full of flavor and role-playing abilities that any semi-sane DM should at least consider to introduce in his campaign. Now, not all DM’s will feel that The Shroud fits in his campaign, but no problem there either. The Shroud could really be anything. You could simply be attuned to the Spirit-World. Or you could be cursed by the Gods. Or yet again, you could be touched by the Fey. (Okay, maybe not that one, but you get the idea I am sure). Oh and it works great for NPC’s as well! It's a good way to inject some flavor into that boring Orc chieftain or Hobgoblin captain.

So what does it mean to be touched by the Shroud? Well, first of all, you can swap one of your +2 stat modifiers for a +2 Int modifier and one of your racial skill modifiers for a skill for a +2 stealth modifier. You also acquire some minor physical changes, like milky white skin or pale eyes. After spending a feat, you get to choose another ability (from a very short list, based on race), and qualify for further multi-classing. Which is probably a good idea, if you want to expand on your character’s connection to the Spirit-World.

The powers are cool, thematic and flexible. None seem obviously broken, and OBE even introduces a new key-word: Arena, which pulls you, your target(s) and possibly your allies to a closed off demi-plane sort of place, where you can continue to fight. What can I say? Yet again, OBE delivers.
Rating:*****

Pact of the Vermin Lords (Adamant Entertainment) – The idea is good, no doubt about it. For the most part, the power s fit well thematically, and there are some great ideas in the fluff. AoE spells become a spreading contagion, healing becomes shedding the husk, zone spell becomes a cloud of nasty tomb insects, ongoing damage a parasite worm etc, etc. Overall some very cool fluff for a very dark character. The issues I have with PotVL come from the crunch. First of all the at-will is extremely controllerish. I know that the warlock is strike with a tad of controller, but that at-will should be a controller at-will. Oh and did I mention that it is very good? There are also a few powers that look broken and/or weird (You Are My Host, I am looking at you), but overall, it’s fairly solid.
Rating:****

Pact of the Angelic Choirs (Adamant Entertainment) – I was very much (okay moderately) looking forward to this one. I have a thing for angels, and if done right, it would definitely be something that would be incorporated very quickly into my campaign. But alas, it wasn’t. There are some decent ideas in the fluff, but the crunch is just horrible. Some of the issues are small, things that annoy more than anything, but when you couple that with a good deal of powers that look horribly broken, it’s kind of hard to ignore. Small stuff includes the at-will dealing radiant damage, despite being described constantly as a fire attack. The constant use of willpower instead of will. Then again, that’s probably because it’s not released under the GSL. Also, Truename. Good idea, poor implementation. I mean, why give penalties to monsters’ defenses (and thus give the DM more work) when you can give the player unnamed bonuses that stack with everything else. Anyway, as I said, mostly small stuff, so let’s move to the bigger issues. How about a level 2 utility that gives 1+int mod to AC, all defenses and resistance 1+int mod vs. fire, acid, radiant and lightning. For 5 minutes… Or how about a level 6 utility that as a minor action gives 1+cha (main stat) modifier to a roll. But it can be any roll used within the next 5 minutes. Or how about a level 10 utility (immediate reaction) that when used gives you temp hit points and an action point. Or how about an immediate interrupt that “rewinds the clock” to before the event, and lets you cut in with a minor, move and standard action. Seriously? A level 5 close burst for 3d10+modifiers+ knock prone? Or a level 29 burst 5 that can do 10d10 (of no less than 3 different types of energy) + knocks prone? Sure, you might have to hit yourself, but still? Too much work in this one, in my opinion.
Rating:*

Attention: Jack99's Ultrashort Reviews has moved to http://4eultrashortreviews.blogspot.com/ - All reviews are now indexed by company and rating.
This blog will no longer be updated.

Jack99

Attention: Jack99's Ultrashort Reviews has moved to http://4eultrashortreviews.blogspot.com/ - All reviews are now indexed by company and rating.
This blog will no longer be updated.

Short reviews explaining what I think about a product. If you think it is a stupid concept, let me know. Well, if you like the concept, feel free to let me know as well.

All products are graded with stars, from * to ******.
*: For the love of God and all that is holy (and I do not even believe in God), do not buy this product.
**: I wasn’t impressed, but maybe other people could find it interesting.
***: It has some decent things, but overall there is room for a lot of improvement.
****: Good solid product.
*****: Great product, a must buy. You shouldn’t be playing 4e without.
******: If you haven’t bought it yet, you are a fool

One thing worth noting about my system is that the numbers of stars given is relative to the type of product. For example, if you make an awesome class, with great fluff and interesting mechanics and release it on PDF, you might get 5 or 6 stars. On the other hand, if the same class is released within a 240 page product which is really bad, the class will probably be mentioned but the final rating will still be much lower. On the other hand, I also realize that it is far harder to make a 240 page product than making a 10 page PDF that is useful. In short, the smaller a product is, the higher are the expectations of a "flawless" product.

I am in no way involved in the making with any of the products reviewed, and should it ever happen, it will be clearly stated in the individual review.


Wrath of the River King (Wolfgang Baur, Open Design) – If you read this and wonder why the review has changed, it's because I lost this review to the evil overlords of the interweb. With no backup. Anyway, WotRK is a tale of greed, love and revenge, where the heroes start off trying to find the miller's wife, but quickly find themselves embroiled in a game of thrones amongst 3 factions of Fey. They end up making their way towards the castle of the River King in order to prevent a Fey attack on the mortal realm. The adventure is very flexible (sandbox style) and stuffed full of interesting skill challenges, combat and more than anything else, roleplaying encounters and opportunities. The Queen's Birch Fair especially shines in this regard and is so full of adventure hooks that you can probably use it basis for half a campaign. For the more combat-minded, there is plenty as well. Several of the encounters even look positively deadly. All in all, this is by far the best 3PP adventure written for 4e. And not only is it a great adventure, but it is also an awesome inspiration and a must have for any DM who ever plans to bring his players to the Feywild. You can still purchase this if you sign up for Halls of the Mountain King, else you are probably SOL.
Rating:*****

In Search of Adventure (Goodman Games) - ISoA is a collection of 6 1st-2nd level adventures. Overall I am not too impressed. Adventures 2-4 are all three set in a desert, which is an almost automatic turnoff for me (and the ones presented did nothing to change my mind). The 1st, 5th and 6th adventure have some great background and interesting ideas for encounters, but the execution is just boring. Too often they use 4-5 of the same monster and nothing else in a combat. Variety is the spice of life, and of 4e. Lots of new monsters, but I am a bit (okay, a lot) concerned about the balance of these monsters. It seems quite a bit off, at times. In general, they seem way too happy about solo monsters as well – I mean; two solos in a 10-page level 1 adventure? That’s not how 4e works at its best, IMO.
Rating:**

Hard Boiled Cultures (One Bad Egg) – Apparently, Mr. Hicks and co. can do no wrong. Hard Boiled Cultures is a DM’s guide to making the standard races of your campaign more diverse. They deconstruct the basics of the races (stats, feats, abilities) and show us how to twist that into distinct sub-races ready to populate and enrich your campaign world. While they use the PHB races as examples, there is no reason that their theories can not be applied to any and all 4e races. I think it is a brilliant (trying not to use awesome here) idea that every DM should embrace. Doing so offers true flexibility and choice for your player characters. No longer will every rogue be halfling, every fighter be dragonborn, or every cleric be elf. By creating sub-races using HBC, your players will no longer have to choose between making the character they want and making an “optimized character”. The only thing missing (IMO) are tables of alternate abilities. OBE tells us how to evaluate each ability and power, but all examples are based on already existing abilities. Which works great, mind you. I just wish there had been a few tables with lists of cool ideas for abilities for each race. It’s still an awesome product though.
Rating:*****

Poisoncraft : Venomous Villains - The Syrallax (One Bad Egg): The Syrallax, a distant cousin of the male medusa, is an evil subterranean race using nasty-looking weapons fashioned from the bones of their victims. They excel at tactics and mind-control, and they are in general just plain nasty. I find them a good and refreshing alternative to the evil overlord race from below to add to my campaign. And the art by Kev Crossley is just perfect. Like really awesome. Aside from two examples of the Syrallax (1 or 2 more wouldn’t have hurt), we are treated with a fully fleshed out encounter with a Syrallax Overlord (level 20 elite controller) and his multiple minions, taking place around a defective poison refinery. The refinery can blow up (treated as a hazard) and so can many of the barrels of poison (obstacles) that have been placed around the encounter area. Definitely a great encounter that shows just how interesting and dynamic 4e combats can be, if done by the right people. We are also treated with a little preview of the upcoming Codex Venenorum IV in the form of the Evershroud, a very nasty level 22 poison. Watch out for the aftereffect – it’s not a typo, the poison deals the same damage after the first made save. I think that’s a great way to increase potency of poisons without merely pilling on the base damage. All and all it is a great product, its biggest problem being that it leaves me wanting to know and read more about the Syrallax.
Rating:*****

BlackDirge’s Dungeon Denizens (Goodman Games) – Overall, I have to say that DD holds a horde of very flavorful monsters, most of which look solid (crunch-wise) and definitely interesting enough to use in my campaign. The art is very 1e’ish, and in general, the monsters are a (good) bit more lethal than monsters of the same level from the 4e MM. He really pushes the envelope on how much a damage a monster of a given level should deal. As a DM who likes to kill his players (according to them), this is cool by me (Yum, yum, Greater Barghest drains two healing surges!). Although the book is far from flawless - there is notably a few issues with a few of the solos. They are either too weak, or they are way over the top; Grave Swarm I am looking at you! The editing or crunch mistakes are kept to a minimum, just like we should expect from Goodman Games. The spread of monster by level is good, although it is a pity that there are no regular monsters over level 19; only elites and solos. On the other hand, they are so many cool things (all monsters are indexed by level, by type and by keyword – just awesome for a DM) in this book that you quickly forget and forgive mistakes. Blackdirge reintroduces stuff like magic resistance and damage reduction in 4e format. Some will love this, some will hate it. He also introduces resistances based on the alignment of the attacker – I can’t say that I am huge fan of this, but it will please some people, that is for sure. As a bonus, we also get one of the sweetest curses (disease) that I have yet to see. I can’t wait for my players having to eat the flesh from the corpses of sentient beings in order to be able to heal. Cannibal Curse FTW!
Rating:*****

Critter Cache – Animals and Beasts (BlackDirge Publishing & Goodman Games) - I have got to admit one thing. It’s probably the first 4e product that made me laugh out loud. In one of the encounter suggestions, the following line is found: "1 orc eye of the orcish god (level 5 controller)" – We all know why it says that, but that line just sounds so silly and made me laugh. Anyway, there is little doubt that a lot of people think that the MM could have used some more regular animals. Let me say up front that I am not one of those. Animals and Beasts should definitely fill out the hole left by the MM. As far as I can tell, most if not all animals that were weren’t included have now been covered. We even get a new poison and a nasty disease as a bonus. There are however some issues here and there with the crunch, such as the Dire Ape that can stunlock you to death (Only the ape missing can prevent this, there is nothing you can do), the Tyrant Ape (hello mr. Kong) who seems very weak for a solo (if the crunch followed the fluff, it would be passable, but definitely still on the weak side) and a stomp attack that makes very little sense (I can buy the elephant having 3 reach, but how does it keep a character pinned at 3 squares range. I just don’t see it). Last but not least, BlackDirge continues to explore 3e’isms in 4e. Most notably resist damage with weapon keyword and fighting below zero. I must admit that especially the fighting below zero is not my cup of tea, and I wish it had been done more smoothly, more 4e-like, instead of (sort of) copying the 3e way. Overall, it’s not a bad product, but definitely the weakest of the Critter Cache line, and the one I will use the least.
Rating:***

Open Grave (WotC) – Open Grave is not just a book about undead, no, it’s the undead equivalent of the Draconomicon. It’s a DM’s book. From start to finish of its 223 pages, this book is stuffed with ideas and hooks for your campaigns involving the almost-but-not-quite-dead. It contains 3 different campaign arcs, each broken up for the various tiers (I love the Vampire Kingdom idea - it doesn’t get much darker than that), 9 different lairs each with several encounters (The mausoleum of Ssra-Tauroch looks like an awesome encounter to build an adventure over, with a nasty level 17 solo yuan-ti mummy at the end), 11 templates , 7 famous undead (OMG, Vecna has an aura that deals 50 necrotic damage – this will really suck if you aren’t properly prepared), 8 artifacts, 7 rituals (quite a few must haves for when you explore ancient crypts) and monsters. In fact, there are more than 160 monsters in there (the Death Tyrant looks nasty, but it’s really only one of many that I can’t wait to use), most of which look fairly balanced, although there are definitely some (the Rotvine Defiler) where you wonder if it was just meant to be extremely nasty (minor close burst 5, grabbed, ongoing 15 necrotic and lose 1 healing surge per round until you escape grab) or if you are missing something. Either way, while I love dragons much more than I love undeads, I must admit that undeads do tend to show up a lot more often than dragons. With this in mind, it’s definitely a must-have for me.
Rating:******

The Forgotten Portal (Goodman Games) – The latest from Goodman Games is as far as I know, the first adventure written for 4e. The previous DCC’s were all written for 3.5, and then converted. Let me start by saying, it shows. They still like using high level elites and solos a lot, but now, they are placed in an interesting environment or added a twist that will make the encounters so much better. For example there is a solo croc that looks quite boring and slightly underpowered, but due to its tactics of dragging victims underwater, it should prove for a very interesting fight. There is also a fight with a T-rex on a huge pile of ever-moving bones that looks like it will be tremendous fun (as in, dangerous for the heroes). The areas are also much bigger, giving the players room to move around and do stuff. No more 10X10 rooms and encounters in 5 foot wide passages. The adventure goes as follows: Almost by accident, the heroes are drawn to a cursed village located on an 1800’ tall plateau in the middle of the jungle. They set out to find the high priest of the village in order to stop his reign of terror and bloody sacrifices, but instead find themselves having to complete 9 ancient trials, mirroring those a local hero had to endure in ancient times. The endgame (pun intended, you will get it when you read the adventure) is a twist, where the heroes will most likely upset an already fragile balance in place in the area, setting things up for a sequel. The Aztecan theme permeates the adventure and there is a lot of lore to assimilate and use both as background info, but also as key parts of the adventure. This is by far the best 4e adventure by Goodman Games so far, and while it could use a bit of work in certain areas (1- Some combats could still use some tweaking. 2- Skill challenges are rare and bare-boned. 3 -It would have been nice with a few more opportunities for roleplaying), it’s a great adventure and has inspired me to add another continent to my homebrew world.
Rating:*****

Old Rock Tower (Unicorn Rampant Publishing) – If you have read my other reviews, you will know that I was not a big fan of UPR’s first foray into 4e. But I figured they had had 6 months more to learn and understand the system, so I decided anyway to check out their new adventure. I cannot emphasize enough what a stupid decision that was. Once again I feel ripped off. Old Rock Tower is a very straight forward adventure, where the heroes head to an ancient wizard tower, now overrun by undead and other assorted monsters. Oh, and dire chickens… Wait. What? Yep, I said dire chickens. The Adventure is full of editing errors and poor (yeah, I know, who am I to talk) English. Monsters are only listed by their page number in the MM, and even that is often forgotten. This is a GSL thing I guess (and thus not URP’s fault), but insanely annoying. The maps are at best described as a strain on the eyes to look at. Out of the few monsters created for the adventure, they manage to screw up the most important one. Also, in the final battle room, there is this gem: “The altar is enchanted with an unhallow spell, with a bane effect for any who do not worship evil powers (DC 14 Will save or -1 to attack rolls and -1 to fear saves for 5 minutes)”. Needless to say, stuff like that doesn’t improve help the general impression, which is a extremely straightforward adventure with boring combats and encounters, boring traps, no skill challenges and no role-playing opportunities.
Rating:*

Beyond the Black Door (Black Death Publishing) - Editing, layout and organization are hopeless. It was written for 3e, and barely edited to fit 4e. Not to mention that whole 3e stat-blocks were left in there. This is really a poor excuse of a 4e adventure, and if I was American, I would sue to get my $5 back, not to mention compensation for the time I spent reading it. Actually, you can barely call BtBD an adventure. More like a railroad where the DM reads for 10 minutes, describing what happens and what the players decide to do (without asking, of course) then tells players to roll initiative. After the fight, the railroad continues. Seriously, this is the worst piece of crap I have ever seen. It makes adventures like Old Rock Tower look like masterpieces of ingenuity and quality.
Rating: [This product is not even good enough to get one star]

Quick Kill (Emerald Press) – Basically the quick kill rule allows players to do a skill challenge enabling them to get close to the enemy, without being detected. Following the skill challenge they make an attack which is an improved coup de grace. If the attack hits, it does damage equal to the bloodied value of the creature and it dies. Now, I have to admit that before buying this, I already knew what my review would be like, but I bought it anyway, just to see what they had done. While it probably sounded like a great idea at the time, it’s totally unnecessary to make up a new rule for this kind of situation. If you as DM want the guard to be able to be taken out with a hit, make it a minion. If you do not want him to be taken out, make it a normal monster. Much easier and you just saved $1.50. Now, the product isn’t completely useless, as it gives some pointers and ideas for the skill challenge you could run that enables the character to get close to the guard.
Rating:**

The Mahrog (Alluria Publishing) – The Mahrog is an ancient race of primitive humans, who have been secluded away by their even more ancient goddess. Basically, they are civilized cavemen. The Mahrog gains a +2 modifier to strength, and can choose between two other stats for their other modifier. Likewise, they gain a +2 to their endurance skill and can choose between three other skills for their other bonus modifier. I like this approach, it creates some diversity within the race, much like Hard Boiled Cultures by OBE encourages us to make. It gives some flexibility, but hardly breaks the race. The racial feats also seem solid without impressing, although the Mahrog can end up being quite nasty with simple weapons. The PDF gives us a (aside from the race, obviously) a new language (Ancient) and a new goddess (Mahra, a sort of primal god of preservation). It is a useful and balanced product, which could find use in many campaigns. I know I will.
Rating:****

The Purifiers (One Bad Egg): The Purifiers tells the tragic tale of Wilhelm ark-Trasser, 4 times winner of the Contest of Ark, a paladin who has fallen a long way. His quest against an evil necromancer and the undead has warped his mind, sending his quest on collision course with madness. The former paladin now captures anyone he and his forces encounter and uses some corrupted plants of the Shroud to turn them into mindless servants – The Reborn – in order to build are horde matching the undead while depriving their enemy of their source of soldiers. With the Purifiers we get an organization, ready to fit into our campaign world with a minimum of work. But really, it’s so much more. The PDF is just full of great lore, ideas and fluff worthy of any campaign and it leaves me wishing that the good people of OBE would release a 450 page hardcover detailing their world. There are some great ideas within, from the Contest of Ark (great melee finale on hot coals!) to the Shroudrot mask, a ritual created mask that helps force the corruption of the Shroud upon a person. All in all, it’s a great PDF. There are some issues, most notably with the crunch of the main antagonists (overall, they are on the weak side) although they do partially redeem themselves with the second version of ark-Trasser, which you can find on the last page. It is just too bad that they didn’t give his two lieutenants the same treatment. Their fluff is just 10 times cooler than their stats, and the players might be disappointed once they finally meet them.
Rating:*****

Pact of Blood (Adamant Entertainment) – They really like warlock pacts over at AE. And I bet the idea of a blood pact will be well received around the tables. But while the idea (although not revolutionizing) is good, the implement fails to a certain degree. The quality of a new warlock pact is determined by two things. The feel of the powers (do they fit with the concept of the pact) and the crunch behind those powers. AE definitely manage to hit within the thematic range of the pact. The crunch is just not there yet. It’s still better than the last one I read from them (Pact of the Angelic Choirs), but there are some definite issues still. Unfortunately, one of the big issues with it is in the at-will. A first level will be able to (assuming hit and curse, obviously) to deal 3d6+10 (assuming 20 CON) per round after the first round, costing him nothing more than 1 hp per round in damage. At 21st level, it will be 7d6+30 (assuming maxed CON and implement). This is quite nasty for a measly 4 damage per round and an at-will. Anyway, this is obviously not the only problem, one of the other highlights is a close blast 3 power that, on top of decent damage, stuns and gives ongoing 15 damage (save ends both) unless you have around 25-30+ con. But the true winner is a daily that causes the target to be unconscious as the effect, i.e. the warlock does not need to hit the target. Sorry, but that was quite funny. Quite a few of their encounter attack powers also have an effect, a perk which is supposed to be reserved for daily powers. All in all, you are better off waiting for something else.
Rating:**

Mists of Madness (Goodman Games) – Mists of Madness is a short, straight-forward Indiana Jones-esque adventure where the heroes penetrate the ancient tomb of an archlich in order to stop a cult from reviving the arch-lich. Most of the encounters and traps are very good (and positively lethal, as usual) and have interesting features. My favorite is the secret chute behind the easily noticeable trap, so that when the players jump the pit, they fall down the chute, get hit by an Ochre Jelly as they fall by where it is, after which it proceeds to follow them down the chute to kill them. Mists of Madness does have a few editing errors (Swamp crocodile war mother – should have 68 hit points, not 40 – a simple copy paste error, when they leveled up the lower level croc, they forgot to up the hit points. Also, there is an X to mark the activation of a trap that I can’t find) but these are small issues. The biggest problems with the adventure (calling it the biggest doesn’t necessarily means it’s big) is that it does require some suspension of belief to believe that the traps (although they are lethal to 1st level characters) are supposed to “defend” the last resting place of an almighty archlich. The other is the encounter against the shades (which concept-wise is great), which sadly will TPK just about any party if run as written. These are however minor and easily tweakable problems. MoM is still a good, solid and fun adventure I definitely will be using for a campaign.
Rating:****

The Quintessential Fighter (Mongoose) – The QF has some decent fluff and inspiration for roleplaying/building your character, although the language does show (in places) that it was written by non-native English speakers. It also holds some good ideas for different fighter organizations, but let’s face it. This is not why most people will buy the book. They will buy it for the new origins (backgrounds, a definite power creep, although not game breaking on its own, except in the hands of an optimizer), the new build ideas (everything from horseback fighter to pugilist is covered), the new powers (at-wills who do ongoing damage; dexterity, charisma, wisdom and intelligence attacks for the fighter; sustainable encounter powers etc), the new martial rituals (all high-level fighters will have the following benefits, every day: +5 perception and + 5 insight to avoid surprise, force reroll on the first attack that hits you, +1/+2 to all defenses, +10 to hit to one attack against a specific creature, regain 5-10 extra hit points when you second wind, gain 1d6 more hitpoints every time you spend a surge, +2 to certain checks and immunity to weaken effects), the new feats (yay, finally I can spend a feat and get +2 AC – vs. some weapons) and last but not least, the new combat styles (which boil down to having X specific feats, Y specific powers and get a bonus). In short, the QF is a flawed book with a lot of either subpar or borderline broken crunch. There are some useful stuff in there, but to be honest, I can’t see myself every using this book. But to each his own.
Rating:**

Dungeon Delve (WotC) – DD was (when announced) the only WotC 4e book not to make it on my to-buy list. I thought the concept was dumb. But, half-starved from a lack of decent 4e releases lately (it’s been a least a week since Mists was released) I drove and picked it up as soon as it got to my FLGS. And as it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised. Each delve (there are 30, one for each level) is started by a ½ page of introductory fluff, a small map and tips for expanding the delve into a full-blown adventure. You are then presented with 3 increasingly harder encounters (for each level, so 90 encounters in total), tied together in the small dungeon (a few seem way too small for the numbers and size of monsters) which is buildable with the Dungeon Tiles sold by WotC (for each delve it is stated which tile sets are needed). At the beginning of the book, there is also some guidelines on reskinning the monsters and tweaking the dungeon delves. You get 42 brand new monsters and 7 "fairly new" monsters (reprinted from Open Grave, Draconomicon and Manual of the Planes), although a few are just leveled versions of monsters we have seen before. Anyway, as I read the book, it struck me that it’s good helper for those times in campaigns where you need the players to get a bit more xp before starting on something else – sort of like an expanded version of a book of random encounters. It’s a book of random dungeons! It’s hardly going to revolutionize the industry, but overall, it’s a useful book that a lot of DM’s ought to at least consider.
Rating:****

Curse of the Kingspire (Goodman Games) – From what I read, the Master Dungeon series is aimed at challenging expert players and DM’s; in order words, noobs need not apply. What starts out as a seemingly routine inspection of a cult in a village propels the players through space and time, trapping them in the middle of an eternal battle suffering a bad case of Groundhog Day. Sounds intriguing? Let me assure you that it is. Players used to straight forward dungeons with one way to go and a big bad boss to kill at the end might find themselves doomed (to repeat their mistakes, haha), with little chance of finishing the adventure. Reading this adventure, I thought it was kind of odd. The first part is a very normal linear story, but with some extremely interesting combats with cool features. The second part has an awesome story, but the combats are not as interesting. Although the windows that shatter and reform as a dragon was fun. Sadly, the end doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the module and there are still the odd, weird editing errors, like a 3.x rule (You do not lose Dex to AC underwater in 4e) or like a skill challenge which aims at bluffing someone, except bluff isn’t one of the skills usable in the challenge! But overall it is a very cool module – Not your average dungeon romp. I will most definitely run it at some point, just as soon as I have come up with an ending that suits me more. I can’t wait to turn a player into a frog (nice witch!) and put on a white wig and go nuts as the Mad Gaoler.
Rating:****

The Witch Doctor (One Bad Egg) - It’s with mixed feelings that I am writing this review. As everyone who reads these reviews knows, I am a huge fan of everything OBE have made, and I had thus very high expectations for the Witch Doctor. Anyway, On one hand, the Witch Doctor is a brilliant concept, full of gems (Class abilities like the Masks, Evil Eye which is just perfect for a controller, close wall attacks) and an all-around awesome “feel” to the powers (not to mention some really cool powers, like the Mojo-line, where you draw power from the enemy making a save, or the “Poison Pill” power, which just made me laugh). On the other hand, the implementation is just not good enough. The initial description of the two type of Witch Doctors (Resolute and Tempest) make it sound like you either go CHA primary and CON secondary, or the opposite. But woe to the one who does that, since all powers are based on CHA and there are a whooping 2 powers that key off CON. In fact, you are much better off grabbing WIS or INT, the other two stats which have powers that key off them (around 5 each). Now, this is not game-breaking, merely an annoyance. The powercreep comes in the shape of at-wills dealing ongoing damage, encounter powers which are sustainable, encounter utility powers that last the whole encounter, encounter powers which cost you a surge to cast. Each on its own, these breaks from the core concepts might or might not work, but all together, it becomes too much. Towards the higher level powers, we get dominate as an encounter power, we get big AE that turns people to stone after two failed saves (no save after that) and a few other things that seem broken at first glance at least. Overall, I have to say that the Witch Doctor doesn’t feel like a controller (way too few powers that control well), but I am not quite sure what it is. Perhaps it is pseudo striker-leader-controller. It however look like a fun class with a great feel, and I (despite all the issues) still want to play it. It will just take some work to balance it.
Rating:***

Phrenic Power: Ardent (Dreamscarred Press) – The Ardent is the first of several re-skins aimed at giving characters a more Phrenic feel. It turns your garden-variety cleric into an Ardent, master of the mind. Sadly I cannot review it, as I was asked to look at the crunch and am thus credited in the product. It wouldn’t be ethical if I reviewed it. But since I mention every 4e product that I own, it gets a mention here

Players Handbook 2 (WotC) – Mike Mearls called the PHB2 his best work to date, and since that comment did draw its share of flames from skeptics and the like, I feel that I need to say this: The man was right. There is no longer any getting around that. It was not empty marketing or hollow words without backup. While you shouldn’t exactly expect high literary prose (the writing gets a tad corny at times but that will have little influence on my verdict) this doesn’t matter. PHB2 is a rules book with a focus on classes. I want rules and classes that work before anything else. And Mearls, Wyatt and Crawford have pulled off what I thought would be impossible. They have managed to create 8 new classes or rather, 4 remakes (bard, druid, barbarian and sorcerer) and 4 totally new ones (shaman, invoker, avenger and warden) that are fairly balanced and at the same time look incredibly interesting to play (I <3 the druid already, after playing him for some levels, and the barbarian is also a lot of fun too, although it is probably the closest thing to a powercreep in there). Regarding this powercreep that normally is so common in everything that follows the original core, it really seems that WotC have managed to make classes about equal in power to the eight original ones. No mean feat considering just how hard it seems to be to create balanced, interesting classes with varied powers. I for one am really glad they decided to wait with some of these classes, until their grasp of the system had improved. It was definitely worth the wait. Sure, we all know that the CO-boards will find new ways to break the game, but in any game with many options, that will always be possible. What I mean when I say balanced and equal, is that on their own the classes look and feel right. The PHB2 also has 5 new races (gnome, deva, goliath, shifter and half-orc). Crunch-wise they are fine, and some, like the deva also hold some interesting aspects that should translate into some fun roleplaying. Personally, I am not sure I will use them all in my campaigns, as I was never a huge fan of goliaths and shifters. But to each his own, I am pretty sure there are plenty of people out there who wanted these races, just as some people actually play gnomes . All in all, this is simply a book that you have to have. Not only does it double the amount of classes at your disposal, but it gives some sweet options for the classes and races in the first PHB1. I know I have given other books this rating, but the problem with a rating system is that at one point, something better, something more necessary always comes along, and how do you reward that, rating-wise? In short, “If you haven’t bought it yet, you are a fool™”.
Rating:******

Assault on Nightwyrm Fortress (WotC) – AoNF is the last adventure in the P-series, stretching from level 17-20. Naturally, I expected that the Paragon-feel would be even more present in the third installment. The idea is very promising. Urishtar, a crafty shadow dragon, has found an ancient fortress in the Shadowfell, filled with ancient knowledge about the passage of the dead from the mortal world: knowledge that enables her to divert life energy from its proper fate – or in simpler terms, she is stealing souls from right under the nose of the Raven Queen. Sounds like an awesome concept with great potential. Unfortunately, the potential is squandered and the adventure is just another railroad from A to Z with a bunch of monsters in between to defeat. The players start out by being hired when it becomes clear that something is interfering with how the souls usually pass into the afterlife. Luckily for the players, they bump into a shadar-kai who knows the way into the Shadowfell, through a series of caverns nearby. They go through the caverns, access the tomb, defeat its guardians and go through the portal to the Shadowfell, which happens to be within a few hundred feet of the ancient fortress recently discovered by the shadow dragon. From there, they head into the fortress, one chamber at the time, ending with the dragon. Now, I feel it’s important to stress here that the combats are for the most part really good. There is a decent variation in monsters, with some really great combat situations in AoNF (my favorite being a chamber with no floor, so the fight will take place while players jump between small 5’ square islands trying to avoid a drop 60’ down into a very chilly fog) and the encounters are spaced out in a way that gives realistic openings for the players to rest. There are some opportunities for roleplaying that could be fun (negotiating with a Dracolich, striking a deal with two ghost sages and of course the Shadar-Kai that accompanies the players a good bit of the way) and the final battle should be very memorable. For those who played WoW, think Vael! So, in closing, I guess that’s my problem with this module. It’s just too straight-forward an adventure for my taste, at least at that level. But it has too many first-rate ideas to ignore.
Rating:****

Advanced Class: Druid (Silent7Seven Games) – This little PDF gives us 7 heroic and 4 paragon feats (and powers) for our druids for almost no money. Each feat gives you a +3 feat bonus to a different skill and a once per encounter special attack when adopting a particular form. You can take multiple feats, but can never use more than one special form within the same encounter. Overall, the crunch looks solid and the ideas are respectable, giving more flavor and panache to your druid. The paragon feats gives you another special attack (or improves an at-will) and even more importantly, access to a new level 13 encounter power. While the heroic tier feats felt well-balanced against each other, there is a bigger variation amongst the paragon tier feats, but none of them are better than the feats found elsewhere. They are just different. The paragon feats also allow for wild-shaping into Dragon and Umber Hulk forms, both of which are magical beasts. I see no reason why this should be a huge problem though. Overall it’s a good little add-on for a druid, and I could easily see myself using a couple of the feats for the druid I play in SoW atm.
Rating:****

Hard Boiled Armies (One Bad Egg) – I must admit that I have never paid much attention to whatever mass combat rules there was for D&D, so I can’t really compare or evaluate if OBE simply ripped off ideas from previous editions. What I can tell you is that with Hard Boiled Armies, they have created an elegant and smooth rules-set to guide us through mass-combat in our campaigns. At the core, it’s extremely simple. Units in combat are created and treated like characters. Then we are given some tools to figure out, depending on how big a battle and how big a battlefield we are aiming for, how long rounds, encounters and days are. We get a bunch of ideas to translate the 4e-isms such as encounter and daily powers into military happenings, how to adjust speed relative to the battlefield and last but not least how to figure out how long short and long rests are. They touch on the translation of special moves like grab, conditions, ranged attacks (if a square on the battlemat is 10 miles, maybe that range 10 on a power does not quite work as it should . Actually, while I could go on and on, because they do touch on quite a few relevant and diverse things on the 24 pages (the last 11 are devoted to the map used with the mini-battle-adventure included), but I think I have said enough already. I mean (and this is totally made up on the spot, it’s not from Hard Boiled Armies), with a few changes, that 1st level rogue with deft strike becomes a 1st level army of 10000 men with perhaps a light cavalry that strikes out quickly, surprising its enemies. Kill the fluff; use the crunch (with a few modifications). It’s very 4e and I am definitely going to try it.
Rating:*****

Races of Violet Dawn: The Skarren (Inner Circle) – Fluff-wise, I must admit that I am not “groking” it. A (very) primitive race which barely even uses clothes, but suffer no penalties from wearing plate armor if need be. It’s not that the fluff is bad per say, but it just failed to entice me. The Skarren is described as a warlike race that despises other races and it has (IMO) that slightly chaotic neutral feel. All in all, it struck me as a poster-child race for anti-social and rude behavior. Crunch-wise munchkins will love it; a +2 unnamed bonus to AC and a racial attack that only takes up a minor action – at epic, with a couple of feats, your Skarren will be doing 3d10 + modifier + daze with a minor action. Yeah, that is a bit too much, for me at least. The rest of the crunch is solid, without being ground-breaking, although there are a few oddities, such as a feat that gives a bonus to second wind if you have less than 9 hit points. Okay, maybe I am missing a point there, but I just feel that’s a very convoluted way of doing things. Overall, this is not a race I will be using; others have done the primitive race in a (much) more interesting way.
Rating:***

Critter Cache: Fey Folk (BlackDirge Publishing and Goodman Games) – Three words for you. I want a Pooka! Okay, that was four words, but it’s still true. Critter Cache 4 is full of great (and small) fey monsters, that you can use to terrify your players when they visit the Fey Realm, or as WotC calls it: the Feywild (sigh). Highest on every adventurer’s kill-list is the Boggart. This otherwise fairly harmless creature suffers from having an aura that makes everyone nearby roll twice on attack and damage and use the worst result. Luckily for the poor bugger, it can turn invisible at-will so it might be hard to kill it, especially if you have your hands full with its allies. Seriously, every arch-fiend/demon-lord/über-lich should recruit one of these Boggarts. Another great monsters is the Spriggan Titan Guard. I can’t wait to use this and spring it on my players. From small to huge in the blink of an eye – that might surprise them. All is not perfect of course; there is a glaring and horrible mistake: The nymphs (there are 5 of them) are all covered way too much up! Seriously, what is that about? I know the GSL has a grand-ma clause, but I do not think you have to go that far . Also, I believe that “Prime Material Plane is a 3e-ism. Nowadays we live in the natural or mortal world. Anyway, joking aside. The crunch seems pretty darn solid this time around. There are a few monsters which are a tad low on damage (most notably the Bolg and Beanne Sidhe) due to their elite status, and also the power of the Red Cap Warrior is a tad odd, considering name and effect. On the other hand, I really like how marking is used by monsters other than soldiers, and it works well. Overall, CC4 is a great product, with great flavor, that complements my (relatively) extensive 4e library well, and many of the monsters therein will definitely be used.
Rating:*****

The Arak (SuperGeniusGames) - I will make this short. The crunch is absolutely out of this world horrible. I must admit that I have to question if the guys who wrote this play 4e much. The races gets too many skill bonuses (small thing, I could live with that) but also gets an at-will power that enables him to deal 1[w] or 1d8 extra damage 1/round against a target he has CA against. Yeah baby, at-will.. /boggle. Some of the feats are pretty sick too, and will make it the de facto race for a lot of classes (deal one die higher with axes, bows and spears? yes please - I can already see the rangers dealing 5D8 on a twin strike at first level). Also, the Arak can get feats that grant him bonuses against primal effects and other feats that grant resist 5 primal. What the hell is that? Anyway, as bad as the crunch is, the fluff is just the opposite. Quite awesome. So buying this is definitely not a complete waste of money, but if you want to use it, it needs a little work.
Rating:***

Book of Vicious Damnation 2 (Inspired Device) - Yeah. No thank you. I left alignment based spells back in 3.x, I do not what that back in my 4e. As for the rest of the powers, because, that is basically what we get, I do not see much that impresses me. I see missing keywords, clunky at-wills, encounter powers that requires healing surges to be spent (thus leading to the 15 min. adventuring day), encounter powers that give bonuses for the rest of the encounter, a power that can make a weapon daze on every hit for the rest of the encounter, etc, etc. Considering that the PDF is a god and 15 new powers, those 15 powers could have been balanced a lot better. Also, why are they CHA-based, if for a cleric? Seriously, the cleric is already screwed enough, with only ½ the powers to choose from, unless he wants to suffer from MAD.
Rating:*

Lunar Scrolls (Silent7Seven Games) - Lunar Scrolls presents us with a wealth of options for introducing a new power source into our campaigns: The Lunar power source. The fluff is decent, but to me, the core of thePDF are the lunar multiclasses , infusing your characters with lunar powers. The idea is intriguing, but sadly they suffer from various issues. First of all, they seem to "break" several of the normalmulticlass rules. Instead of taking an initial feat and then 3 separate multiclass feats, you take a multiclass feat, and then only take two feats to swap powers. The first gives you access to swap both an encounter and a utility power. Also, there are constraints as to which level of powers you can swap, seemsunnecessary to me. You also need to take all lunar multiclass feats in order to take a lunar paragon path. Again, why change what everyone else does? Another thing that "breaks" the usual rules, is the weird scaling of themulticlass encounter and daily powers that you can pick, if you have taken the appropriate feats. Instead, they should have made more powers, to swap in at higher level.Powerwise, there are a lot of things that are just too good. The first crescent striker multiclass feat enables you to remove 1[w] from an attack and daze instead daze the target until the start of your next turn. Even with the target getting an immediate save, it's quite powerful for a rogue using a dagger, since he only loses 1d4 damage. Also, there are a lot of possibilities for inflicting penalties to that save. The PP that grants -3 penalty to saves (at level 16) on all conditions that you inflict becomes a new must have PP for a lot of classes. Overall, a lot of powers seem fairly unbalanced, most of them leaning to the "overpowered" side, rather than the "underpowered" side. There are also a lot of clunky rules in there, for example the power that does X on a hit, unless it misses by more than 5, in which case it does nothing. Or regen that is granted that only heals up to Y times the target's healing surge value. Overall, the idea of a lunar power source was a good idea and could probably be great flavor for a campaign, but sadly, Lunar Scrolls would need a good amount of work before I could use it in my campaign.
Rating:**

Thrones of Punjar (Goodman Games) - People are disappearing from the Devil's Thumb: When the daughter of a foreign ambassador disappears, things get even messier and the players are brought in the fix the international incident that is brewing. And it is all because an albino aboleth has made the severs of Punjar it's new home and made an unlikely alliance with a small noble house in a growing desperate situation. Thrones of Punjar is a good urban adventure. The module is filled with small goodies regarding Punjar (like the Whirling Death and the Stirgeskull games), and there are a lot of RP opportunities in it. In fact, I can't remember the last time a DCC had that many fleshed out NPC's - I think that part of the adventure is awesome. The story is solid without blowing me away, and while the fights do not seem as lethal as the normal DCC standard, the fact that players are on a deadline and can't just rest whenever they want might make it quite a bit harder than it looks at first glance. There are of course a couple of extremely lethal traps (3d10+6 + stunned (save ends) in close burst 3 which goes off every round a character starts on the trigger - well, you better hope that you make that save quickly and that the trap misses you) that should be fun for any DM to use against his players. The biggest problem (IMO) comes from several of the key fights, all involving solo creatures (and a couple of non-key solo fight - aura that weakens is a bad combi with solos). The two BBEG's both seem underwhelming as solos. Sure, they have guards and traps, but once those have been dealt with, you will be left with what looks like a big sack of hit points and no real danger. Luckily, this is a problem that is fairly easy to fix.
Rating:****

Creature Collection (Fiery Dragon Productions) - The newest monster book available, Creature Collections brings us the horrors that infest the Scarred Lands setting. The art varies from awesome (the breasts on that dryad are just perfection) to dreadful (some of the golems look like something out of a 80'ies Marvel Comic), but definitely more hits than misses, unless you hate old school black and white stuff. Then you will hate them all. Except the Dryad. Innovations are few and far in between, but there are some (disclaimer, while I have read everything published for 4e, I might have forgotten stuff, after all, there are already a lot of monsters and powers out there), although not all are for the better (just IMO). Endurance checks to resist auras, no thank you, the immediate save mechanics is there and works just fine already. Auras that give a bonus against attacks with a certain keyword; no thank you even more. Just give some resistance instead, and be done with it. I also do not need to see ritual magic in a stat-block. I can decide just fine when my monsters need to have access to ritual magic, without it cluttering up my stat-blocks. However, the Bloodmist Naga is a nice take on how to have elites do more damage without just upping the damage or giving it double attacks. Luckily, it is not a big part of the monsters who "suffer" from the things mentioned. A lot of monsters are actually cool enough, although a bit low on the power curve (especially their elites), much like those from the original MM. This is one place where I would not mind a little power creep. The lore/fluff seems more ample (sorry, can't get that Dryad out of my head) than what is in the MM, and there are quite a lot of flavor about the setting everywhere. Of course, not all monsters are equal, and some have awesome fluff, while others have some very sparse fluff. Some of my favorites include the Asaatthi (lizard-race), the Overghast (okay, sounds like WotC does not have a monopoly on bad names), the Legion of One (sheds of swarms during the encounter), Doom-mite Swarm (go home locusts), hags, rat-men (they are the new kobolds, just ... you know, more hip!) and lets not forget the Blood Moth Swarm - I mean, cute butterflies that drink your blood? That's like a cake of coolness with awesome-sauce on top (just a pity they didn't make a higher level version). Overall it's not the second coming of monster books, but it's a good book. I know I will be using quite a few monsters and some of the lore from it.
Rating:****

Scarrport (Reality Deviant Publishing) - In the first of their Campaign Cutouts - locations to fit in any campaign - we are introduced to Scarrport, a seedy tradeport on the banks of where two rivers converge, and its inhabitants. The PDF is divided into 5 chapters and some appendixes. We have City-fluff and NPC's (38 pages), 3 new races (10 pages), 1 new class (the elementalist, 34 pages), New magical items (10 pages), new monsters and hazards (17 pages) and last but not least, the appendixes (12 pages), which include a short level 1 adventure, random encounters in Scarrport and same sample game of chance. For $11 (discount at the time of writing, won't last forever I presume), I think that's a steal - or almost. I am going to risk my online neck and say that Scarrport suffers from the same illness as many other 3PP products. Cool fluff, awesome ideas, but not that well implemented crunch-wise.The races are either overpowered (if not broken) or just plain weird (ie no real connection between fluff and crunch). The elementalist is (IMO) clunky, with all sorts of weird conditions that must be met in order get the most of the class. On the other hand, it definitely doesn't feel overpowered (why does it have to take a feat to gain implement on summons?). It has a good AC, but with a lot of short range powers, I think the elementalist will be in for a world of hurt.In short, it didn't appeal to me, but might to others. The decisions regarding level/type of the NPC's makes me shake my head (like guildleaders who are level 9, but every guard is apparently a level 12 soldier, with common thieves being level 8 minions? The monsters/NPC's have a good deal of errors (like weird tohits and wrong number of hit points - for example, the first 20 NPC's and quite a few of the monsters have incorrect hit points - Stone dog cultist on page 35 is the first one they get right unless I am mistaken). Now, I hope you are still reading, because despite the fact that the crunch needs a lot of work, I have got to admit that they sold me on Scarrport. Because when I read the first chapter, I really felt the city come alive, especially through the NPC's described. Lots of good ideas and potential there, and despite the rating, I would buy more about the city in a heartbeat - because I like the feel of the city. But I am going to have to "fix" all the crunch parts.
Rating:***

Dark Assassin (Dark Emerald) - When I read the class abilities, I thought: Damn, this assassin is going to have to do a lot of [W] damage or ongoing damage (or something else) to keep up with the rogue. Basically, it's damage-based class ability is just a weak form of Sneak Attack. But, this doesn't happen, and overall, the Dark Assassin just comes off as a significantly weaker rogue with really bad powers. Except a few of course, because level 1 dailies that render the target helpless (save ends) is just broken of course. Is there any melee based character who wouldn't multi-class into DA and pick that? Anyway, the class is a series of bad design choices, from random ongoing damage to attacks based on strength, dexterity, wisdom, charisma and intelligence (can you spell M.A.D.?), passing by utilities that are really attack powers and ending with secondary attacks that are based on other stats the the primary attack and/or damage keyed to a stat different from the one that governs the attack.I know it's hard to write balanced and fun 4e classes, trust me, I know - I am writing one myself, which will (hopefully) soon be published, but this doesn't seem like the Dark Assassin has been thought through at all. Also, the editing is sloppy, with 2 of the 4 at-wills being the same. Do yourself a favor and play a rogue instead of spending your hard-earned money on the Dark Assassin.
Rating:*

Citadel of the Corruptor (Goodman Games) - The heroes arrive at an old remote fort in the mountains. There they find a lot of hostile (surprise!) orcs. The orcs however have nothing to do with the inhabitants of the fort being dead. After clearing the fort, they follow the clues to the BBEG, a psychopath evil dwarf who uses a demonic semi-sentient (props for coming up with that one) and poisonous gas to kill people, and thwart his nefarious plans. There are a few very nasty traps, and some of the encounter are really interesting - I especially like the one with the ghosts and wraiths, although I suspect some will be turned off by the whole subject of killing children - I think it's a great scene to show the horrific effects of the demonic gas. There is one (good) skill challenge in there, and in general, it seems as if skills are more frequent in this DCC. Overall, the crunch in DCC61 seems more polished, with very few errors (although a couple of the insubstantial monsters seem to have too many hit points - insubstantial monsters get around 2 hit points less per die than normal creatures). It also marks a change from the other DCC's. No abundance of elites many level higher than the party. No abundance of solos. In general just more polished, as I have mentioned before. But, somehow, it feels less nasty than the average DCC (although using the semi-optional tearing storm and the winter hags should remedy that). Except for the final encounter (of course), which can potentially be devastating, with players hacking away at each other - that should be good fun. Overall it's a good adventure, but it's lacking a certain je ne sais quoi in order to blow me away. Definitely usable though.
Rating:****

Advanced Class: Sorcerer (Silent7Seven Games) - This new PDF brings us a variant spellsource for the sorcerer - a Far Realm (Sorry, farthest realm, but really, shouldn't it be furthest realm? ) infected sorcerer that spontaneously (well almost) bursts tentacles or mouths amongst several things. The Big C flavor is good and strong (iirc at least, its been 20 years since I played CoC and read the books), and we are presented with several new interesting options. From the switching of racial stats to CON (making more races better for this kind of sorcerer) to the aberrant growths (I mean, who wouldn't want to be sprouting mouths or tentacles), passing by the upgradable powers (that means you might be able to keep your favorite power, without it ever becoming outdated). The powers are complex (lots of circumstances) and powerful, but this is balanced by the fact that they are fairly circumstancial. Some are really cool (I <3 distortion field, pushing people away from you before you teleport and again when you arrive), while at least one is quite broken (yes, Sorcerous Rays, I am looking at you - auto effects like blind, immobilize or fear is just too good, even for a level 9 daily). Overall, it's solid, with some great ideas. Had a few more things been properly balanced, I would definitely have upped the rating.
Rating:****

Adventurer's Guide to Chtonia (Alea Publishing Group) - I must admit, I have been waiting for this one for a while. A setting based on earth during the Dark Ages, but with magic. Not a ground-breaking idea (/wave TerraDave), but none the less a very interesting one. And if it is a campaign setting that you want, Chtonia delivers in spades. It's quite simply amazing how much great fluff they get crammed in there, despite all the crunch there is as well. They manage making abelievable setting, while keeping all the classic races and classes. I know I need to buy a thesaurus, but the tone and feel is just awesome/cool. There are also plenty of small gems in the mechanics (how druids become weaker the more urbanized the area they are in is, how arcane casters are hunted if they use powers in urban areas, some new keywords for weapons, a lot of flavorful and classic backgrounds, how to handle commands and last but not least, a very interesting pantheon and how nobility is handled as a magic item). Sadly, a lot of the crunch is quite broken. The noble multi-class is still good, but the possessed , while a cool idea, is quite useless if you strive for some sort of balance. Of all it's powers, only 7 have the appropriate implement/weapon keyword, or a scaling bonus to the attack. In short, they will be pretty darn useless. The PP's also suffer from a wide spectrum of issues, like missing keywords and one also breaks the economics of 4e. But then again, WotC managed to screw that up several times as well, so why shouldn't the 3PP's . Some powers are also quite broken (Weapon of the Inquisition for example), but it's perhaps among feats that you will find the worst of the offenders (Armor of the faithful: completely broken. every cloth-caster will multi into paladin (1 feat) and get armor of the faithful (1 feat) in order to get + 2 initiative, +2 all defenses and +2 speed). Buy this book (PDF), but beware of the bad crunch. I still think it is more than worth it.
Rating:*****

Arcane Power (WotC) - Yeah baby, Grease and Glitterdust are back! When WotC remade D&D and published 4e, there were howls of outrage and nerdrage galore about the "new" wizard. He was no longer a god! I was one of those who really liked the new wizard, but still felt he could have been done better. More control, less damage would have been preferable. And some more varied magic. And now he is (finally) complete. Not only are some of the old-school spells brought back to life (although in more balanced versions) but he can finally summon and cast illusions (yeah yeah, I know about the Dragon Magazine article). The completeness is furthered by the inclusion of several interesting feats (I especially dig those that let a wizard improve his chosen implement), some cool paragon paths (I really want to play a summoner now) and some new builds. A very few things stand out as very unbalanced, most notably the new tome implement (Tome of Readiness + Improved Tome of Readiness) which allows a wizard to cast Sleep every combat. Might be really annoying with Second Implement (Orb). In general, I would say that this book is worth buying alone for the goodies for the wizard. This however does not mean that the rest of the book is bad. No sir.! While it seems that the Swordmage gets the short(est) end of the stick, the rest of the classes in AP (Warlock, Sorcerer, Bard) all get some great things. Aside from a plethora of cool powers and feats, an honorable mention goes to the new bard build (Prescient Bard, a ranged bard), the cosmic sorcerer (a good example of the increased complexity and flexibility of 4e classes) and the new warlock vestige pact (welcome back to the binder, just in a non-broken, non-silly form). Overall a great book that already is very popular with my arcane casters.
Rating:*****

Death's Reach (WotC) - In the latest installment of the H-P-E-series, The heroes are headed to the Shadowfell to pay a visit to the Raven Queen, but when they arrive near her abode, they find it overrun by Orcus' minions. After liberating the place, they heroes meet up with RQ herself and are pointed towards Death's Reach, an ancient place in the Shadowfell, where gods can not go, where a horror from ancient times, the primordial Timesus is kept captive; Someone has penetrated Death Reach and is trying to unleash Timesus and his armies on the world. Yeah, guess who? I like that they tied the hooks to the adventure in with the epic destinies form the PHB - although the deadly trickster hook is mindblowingly silly - "Hey there Neighbour! I just heard that some guys are planning to attack the Raven Queen and I thought you could make something of that information" Another thing that annoys me to no end, is the seemingly random monsters that have been used to populate the dungeon in the adventure. I mean, we are deep in the Shadowfell, a place that has been locked up by the gods and the key thrown away. What are aboleths, githyanki, chuuls, rakshasas doing there? Sure, it's somewhat explained, but still. DR definitely feels epic. I mean, 2 liches and 1 dracolich in the same adventure, and none of them are even remotely near being the BBEG? This epic tier stuff might need some getting used to. That's not to say that it's a bad adventure. There is some very interesting opportunities for a lot of roleplaying and several pages dedicated to those encounters (also a lot of information to be gathered). First and foremost with the Raven Queen, and also with the angel who is not all what she claims to be. There is a couple of interesting skill challenges, and some very cool encounters (The one with a room and 4 traps and a SC to solve a riddle could be a classic I think) - and not to forget, probably the coolest monster designed for D&D yet - The Worm of Ages. Overall though, it's going to need a hand to satisfy my players and their DM.
Rating:***

3 Days Until Dawn (Alea Publishing) - The premise is simple. A vampire is trying to take over a small hamlet in the middle of nowhere, so that he can claim his new lair and gain access to the Feywild . The heroes arrive at the village and are embroiled in the plot. There are some decent ideas in this short adventure (decent use of skill challenges and a cute little plot with decent possibilities for role-playing and a fun cool set-up with a couple of doppelgangers), but the little crunch in it shows some holes in 4e knowledge. Now, this can be fixed by a DM familiar with 4e, so it's not a deal-breaker for me. The lack of any statted out monsters or traps is much worse. In fact, it's downright annoying. I know it's a GSL thing, but there are ways to deal with the GSL , and this is definitely the worst possible way of doing things. The other big turn-off to me was the ending. When the heroes finally get to confront theBBEG, it turns out he is a 11th elite vampire lord. Sure, he is bloodied and weakened until he has spent 3 nights in his new lair, but still - with regen 10 and defenses around 25-30, he will annihilate a 4th level party.The solution is to have an NPC appear and grant players +5 to hit against the vampire. Yeah, I can already hear the howls of rage from my players. Overall, I do not see myself using much if anything at all from this adventure.
Rating:**

By Skill Alone (Adamant Entertainment) - By Skill Alone definitely has some sound advice, although a lot of it feels like I have read it before. I also feel the author is very limiting in his view of skill challenges - they are not only good for "crossroads" in the adventure, there are many other uses. The various (and quite detailed) examples of use of skill challenges are decent enough, but the DC's are very hard. Harder than the original WotC numbers. For example, a level 6 skill challenges with DC's at 20 and 28 will necessitate that players roll extremely high to make the skill challenge. At the end, we get some alternate uses of skills (some feel more alternate than others) and some new rituals, and one of them is definitely to be avoided. Rituals that give clear combat advantages/bonuses is a bad idea, since at higher level, they can be cast easily and without ever feeling the cost of the ritual. Overall, I think that if you have big trouble getting ideas on how to make skill challenges, this is a pretty useful product. If you do not "get" skill challenges, this won't do a big difference for you. If you are comfortable with skill challenges and use them already, there might only be a few good things to take from this product. On a completely unrelated note (and IANAL), I think that 3PP's should avoid using WotC IP (like Bane), just to be safe.
Rating:***

Monster Manual 2 (WotC) - Arguably one of the most anticipated books of 2009 (for DM's anyway), MM2 has arrived in style and does not disappoint. In fact, it delivers in buckets. First of all, WotC "completes" the 4e monster list by bringing us all (or at least most of) the classic monsters who were lacking in the MM1. The barghest, Behir, good dragons, golems, cockatrice, couatl, djinns, firebolg, frost giants, nasty hydras (cause the ones in the original MM sucked), maruts., neogis, phasespider, remorhaz, rust monster, stone giants, will o wisp, duergar and the xorn. A few have been published in various adventures, but honestly, those classic monsters belong in a MM and I am happy they were included. Second of all, we get some nifty new guidelines for our combats. Solo monsters now definitely only get *4 hit points and 8 hit points per level, no matter which role it has. Some of the solos published between MM1 and MM2 left us wondering about the hit points per level. We also see solos (especially dragons) have had their damage upped considerably. At the other end of the power scales, minions have also received a boost, dealing more damage and many of them now create an effect when killed. That's just awesome. Third of all, the monsters in MM2 have a lot of new cool abilities. From the feeding powers of the barghest, to the 3 standard actions of the Behir (great way to handle solos if you ask me. You keep the damage per round high while toning down the spikes), passing by the Maw of Acamar who is just made of pure win, to the minion-spawning pod demon, going past the Couatl's radiance which allows it to pass through allies and foes, healing the former and damaging the later, to the bebilith's destruction of armor (-1 culmultative AC for the encounter, on each hit), to the neldrazu's teleport-hit-teleport-with-enemy power of abduction to the djinn's ability to get AP's when critted, to the total-sum hit point system of the ghost legionnaires and finally ending with the eldritch giant's consume magic. Those and many others should provide great moments at your table as well as great inspiration for creating your own monster powers. Nothing is ever perfect (Ankheg has the wrong hit points; there is a reference to a power that doesn't exist; the use of skill checks to tackle aura effects; a few too many pages devoted to monster versions of PHB1/PHB2 races) but honestly, those are very small issues. I love 4e and I love cool monsters, but any 4e DM would be better off buying this book. Heck, the awesomeness of Demogorgon should be enough.
Rating:******


Critter Cache: Daemons (Blackdirge Publishing) - Just as I thought things couldn't be better, both on the monster front and on the critter cache front (MM2 is just out and Fey folk was awesome), we get us some daemon-love. And let me say this immediately. Daemons we need. Don't get me wrong, I love my demons and devils, but it's not always enough. The daemons are perfect to create a more dynamic relationship amongst the evil immortals. After all, a ménage-à-trois is just more fun. The lore sections getting longer and longer, and we are also treated with 5-6 pages of pure unadulterated fluff, explaining the origins of the newest arrivals on the immortal scene, as well as describing where they live. The crunch is the best I have seen from Blackdirge, with very few errors and those are quite negligible.There are some truly sick monsters and powers in there as well, especially Typhon, a 34 level solo, has some powers that will make your players cry. But I could also mention the cacodaemon has a breath that transform people it kills into larva, the chirodaemon that is immune to falling damage and thus attacks by literally kamikaze-crashing into players, the ferrodaemons that get your own sword to attack you, and the minions that explode and daze in a close 5 burst when they die, etc etc. If you like monsters, go buy this now.
Rating:******

Pact of the Dragon Lords (Adamant Entertainment) - Once again, a warlock pact that sounds interesting but fails bigtime to deliver. The fluff is uninspiring and the editing and layout is sloppy (what kind of keyword are "area" and ranges of "close touch" and "close blast 1", powers that last until the end of your next turn (save ends)). The crunch starts as being a bit underpowered and bland (just straight damage with weak or no riders) but as usual, they get quite overpowered as we progress through the levels. My short reviews are too short to list all the shortcomings, but here are the "highlights": Utility power gives +2 to hit and +4 damage all to hit and damage rolls until the end of the encounter - I think we have a new must-have multiclass utility to buy for all classes that have AE attacks or multiple attacks in general. A breath weapon power that is a ranged attack, an encounter utility that gives you flight as a move action and *drumroll* can be sustained throughout the encounter. A daily that gives (around) +7 AC, +2 to hit and +4 damage for the encounter (and a few other things as well), encounter attack power that deals damage, then ongoing damage (a no no for encounter powers) and (hang on tight now) 4 aftereffects, one after the other. Long story short, play a dragon sorcerer instead. Making a balanced and cool class (or part thereof) is really hard in 4e, but at this stage of the game, anything released should be better than this IMO.
Rating:**

Alluria Campaign Setting Guide (Alluria Publishing) - The chronomancers messed with the time-space continuum and reality came crashing in on the world, in the form of the greymists, threatening to swallow up the world. The chronomancers managed to contain the mists, but they are still there, random portals in and out of reality. The setting is basically a framework to an idea on how to create a world that accommodates all the weird races that are accessible in 4e. There is a few decent ideas in there, although nothing stellar; less than you would probably get from a thread on ENworld. One thing that really stands out is the names of the countries and places - Necroria, Draconia, Malice, Tempest, Faehaven, Undinia, Zelorkia, Procket and Paradise are but some of the enormously imaginative names - seriously, I think even I could have figured out some better names (although I must admit that I probably couldn't, but then again, I pretty much suck at coming up with cool names). Overall, this was far from impressive.
Rating:**

Pact of Ghosts (Adamant Entertainment) - The idea of the ghost pact is great, and there is a good flavor to the powers. I could see myself tempted to use this for something. The problem is the crunch. I feel like a parrot at times, but it is really the same issues over and over again. Encounter powers that last and give bonus for the whole encounter - that's basically a permanent bonus, and not really a good idea to hand out like candy. Same with sustainable encounter powers that allow repeated attacks. Stuff like that is just broken. Pact of Ghosts however does have some very cool powers as well (I think I love Your Cold Hand in Mine); it does have some interesting mechanics vis-a-vis powers that grants options when using AP's and the PP included not only looks fun, but also fairly balanced. Also the pact has some new thinking. When you trigger your pact, you phase in an out of reality. 1 attack before the start of your next turn, you get a save against. if you make the save, you are not hit. The At-will very controllery - force enemy to roll twice on his next attack, and take lowest. Not quite as powerful as Illusory Ambush in one way (only 1 attack and until the start of your next turn), but in another, a good deal more powerful (re-roll is much worse than -2). Pact of Ghosts is one of the better "Pact of ..." for a while, but it still lacks a certain standard in the crunch to really make me happy. Good potential however.
Rating:***

Raiders Guild Player Guide (Axe Initiative Games) - The Raiders Guild Player Guide at first made me think two thoughts. First thought was:MMOPRG raid guild for D&D. The second thought was that this the fantasy version of Mongooses Wraith Recon. Luckily, when reading on, there is noMMORPG -vibe, and while there are definite similarities to Wraith Recon, Robin D. Laws doesn't go on and change the basic premise of the game, which is to kill monsters and take their stuff.RGPG is mostly fluff, explaining the inner workings of the guild, how to become a member, what kind of members there are, etc etc. It also sets up a furious competition with rival guild the Archivists, who due to a (purposely) misunderstood vision do everything in their power for dungeons to stay buried. It's well-written, settings-neutral and thus very easy to fit into any campaign. I love the little boxes with different inspiration for your charactervis-à-vis the guild. Sadly it ends poorly with a new race, the Skreek (bat-man) which is too weird for my tastes and has less than stellar crunch (awesome bonuses like darkvision and tremorsense 10 offset by penalties - becoming dazed when hit with thunder attacks). Just ignore the new race and you will have a great product. I for one am looking forward to the first Raiders Guild adventure.
Rating:****

The Scouring of Gate Pass (EN Publishing) - The first installment of the War of the Burning Sky AP has arrived! The adventure kick-starts the saga with the heroes of the story being caught in a small mountain-pass town, which is about to be overrun by the army of the neighbouring empire. They are quickly embroiled in the resistance against the magic-user-hunting empire, when they are hired to help a local cleric leave the town. Before that is possible, they must hunt down vital information that is getting stolen back and forth amongst some of the factions involved in the coming war. All this an more happens while their town in under siege and crawling with bounty-hunters, assassins and other nefarious personages that are sympathetic to the other cause. There are plenty of non-combat skill challenges, lots of opportunities to roleplay with interesting NPC's and plenty of combats that are nicely spaced out, so that the heroes can catch a break once in a while, without straining credulity. It's just too bad that they chose to make most NPC's as classes NPC's instead of as monsters. There is just so much more freedom to make interesting powers when you make them as monsters (not to mention the saving of space - 2½ pages of various stat blocks seems a lot, even for an important NPC). Also, quite a few seem in the low end of the power scale (for example a solo with a 1d10+4 damage attack, and only a rechargeable attack to affect more than one creature), while quite a few make little sense (skirmisker that deals more basic damage than the brute, but has lower to hit). There are also a few places where the editing failed, with stat block calling the NPC's powers one thing (changed due to GSL reasons I assume?) while the text calls them their original name; slightly confusing. Overall SoGP is a really good adventure (that can easily be made great) to start a 4e campaign with, especially if you are not overly fond of dungeon-adventures.
Rating:****

Eberron Player's Guide (WotC) - The EPG does it's job. It provides enough information about the world of Eberron for a player to get a general feel of the setting and enable him to make a character which aligns with the world. How useful the book will largely depend on whether you play in Eberron. Most people who play D&D most likely do not play in Eberron, and neither do nor will I. So just how useful is this book? Well, I guess it's usefulness to non-Eberron players is directly related to the artificer, the PP's and ED's, the new pantheon and the related feats, the 3 new races (2 really, since we already have warforged in eDragon). I must admit that in that regard, the book surprised me. I had only briefly looked at the artificer playtest, as the prior version never caught my interest. But I really like this new artificer. It appears to be a solid and flexible (a great mixture of weapon melee or ranged attacks, magical ranged attacks and summons) class, with lots of potential for roleplaying quirks (lunatic gnome tinkerer anyone?). The Pantheon is really awesome, and it's different from the core and FR pantheons, making it even more interesting. I am not quite sold on the Kalashtar (although it does have some interesting mechanics) and the Warforged (I doubt I ever will though), but the changeling is definitely becoming a permanent fixture in my campaign. Last but not least, the PP's are very flavorful and interesting (God I love the chameleon - was that you Ari?), especially those tied to Eberron. But it should be fairly easy to file of the serial numbers and use them in your own campaign. Overall, and even though I really like the swordmage and FR, I think that I will get more mileage out of the EPG than I have gotten out of the FRPG and it is thus a book that I am not afraid to recommend to any DM, whether he plays Eberron or not.
Rating:*****

Kingdom of the Ghouls (WotC) - With the last instalment (E1 -Death's Reach) one of my complaints was that it didn't feel epic enough. Either the guys at WotC thought the same, or they read my little reviews (okay, I need to learn to keep that ego in check). Either way, they have totally redeemed themselves with KotG. Sure, at it's heart, it's still just another classic "Sorry, your princess is in another castle"-adventure, much like Thunderspire Labyrinth, but Kingdom of Ghouls is however in a different league than TL. Deal with an ex-exarch of Vecna, check; strike a deal with "Death", check; travel through an undead the size of a mountain, check; battle on the edge of the infinite vortex that is the Abyss (yep, if you fall, you FALL!), check; and last but not least, face of the exarch of Orcus and his pet Balor on top of a sea of ghouls, CHECK! Except for a non-rail-roady story, KotG has it all. Some very cool new monsters with nasty abilities. What looks to be very cool skill challenges (negociating with Vocar, travelling through the White Kingdom, travelling through the undead mountain and negociating the heart of a player with an ancient ghoul), awesome combats -The hydra on the lake of necrotic acid, the ghoul minions re-enacting Hamlet with a demilich(!), the surprise in Sigil where everyone on the market square turns out to be angels sent by Vecna and of course the final spout with Doredain, which as mentioned takes place on a sea of living (okay okay, undead) ghouls. Had the adventure been more sandboxy and had a few more of roleplaying opportunities, it would have been near perfection. But it's still darn good.
Rating:*****

Codex Venenorum (One Bad Egg) - To use poison or not to use poison, that is the question. The latest product from OBE breaks down the poison creation process into easily followed steps, giving us a system to create an endless stream of poisons to use on our players (or our DM's monsters for that matter). The system is smooth, and absolutely open for abuse, but they admit as much. It's still a really good system, you just need to "check" and "evaluate" the poison as a whole before you use it. Along with the rules for poisons, we of course also get a long list of nasty new poisons (more than 80, from Arsenic to Blue Deception, new mechanics to end (save ends, short rest ends, extended rest ends - it's even better than it sounds - very cool mechanics there) the effects, new conditions (exhausted and muted), a long list of special qualities to make greater variations in our poisons and a lot of fluffy advice and knowledge about how to describe the very diverse poisons, the different poison families, how to harvest poison from poisonous creatures and the rules for it, exposure, decay and antidotes. We also get tables for creating cool names and determining things like process and components and much more so that they sound and feel like real fantasy poisons. Seriously, it's poison galore, and if you like to use poisons and are tired of just ongoing 5 or 10 damage and never get to "tick" more than once, this PDF is simply a must have. But Mr. Hicks, please add a list of the poisons indexed by level in the PDF, for an easy overview!
Rating:******

Monstercology - Orcs (Goodman Games) - The newest from Goodman Games takes us behind the scenes of one of our oldest and most common enemy. We get a new (?) take on the origin of orcs (they are the result of a failed attempt by the elves to kill all dark elves with a ritual). We learn about how orcs are, their coming of age rituals (the common orcsuperstitions are fun) and how they treat their old and young. The interaction amongst tribes and the different positions in a tribe (I like how they use the 4e orc names to do this, makes it easy to incorporate in your campaign) are also covered, as well as a few example tribes. We are also given a quick overview of how orcs interact with most other humanoid races and we get a look at the orc subspecies andhalfspecies (feral orcs, cave orcs, greater orcs and lesser orcs, including a few different half-breeds). There is some crunch as well, with new weapons, new armors and of course new feats andPP's. The feats look a bit boring but mostly balanced. Some of the PP's are pretty nasty. Bloodrage Alcolyte becomes the new de -facto must have PP for all rangers or tempest fighters. + 6 damage per attack against bloodied targets and +2 AC with light armor - yes thank you very much. The UnholyAmbusher is just nasty as well, since (from what I can see) you can get +7 to hit any creature you have CA against. Couple that with frost cheese, and you have a character that will ever never miss. There is a lot more in this 91-page PDF, including orcish religion and advice on how to implement orcs in your campaign and of course a lot of orcstatblocks . I was very much looking forward to this release, and while I can't put my finger on why, I must admit that the writing a several of the chapters didn't do it for me. Also it seemed a little light on new thinking. Overall, a bit disappointing.
Rating:***

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Jack99

From a design standpoint, one is likely to be immediately struck by the different way D&D handles offense and defense. Offense is a d20 check to overcome a target number. Certain defenses (armor, Dex, and so forth) affect your defensive score, but it's notable from an out-of-game viewpoint that skill affects your ability to hit but not to defend. Except for a handful of abilities, your defense raises slowly except for equipment and magic-related increases. Even the monk sees only a +5 dodge bonus over 20 levels, while gaining +15 to hit.

Hit points are an excellent mechanic for a simple reason; they give heroic characters and formidable monsters staying power. Rather than dodge-dodge-dead, combat allows for some level of attrition. Combat attrition is fun; we love it in computer games, we love it in climactic action hero battles, we love it in unrealistic sword fights. And we love it in RPGs. At the same time, we also love genuine danger, which is probably the main impetus for the popularity of the critical hit in its various forms in various games, from GURPS to Warhammer Fantasy to D&D 3e.

True20 removes hit points and ties offense and defense to a single combat bonus, removing the traditional D&D coupling. While experienced characters can gain some durability, the emphasis is on not being hit. Attrition takes a different form, through wound levels and the use of conviction points and special abilities.

This has important implications for the designer of a D&D variant (or a new edition). If you maintain an even ratio of attack and defense, combats will get longer and become more predictable as hit points increase unless damage increases proportionally. This is the dreaded "grind." If you look at Star Wars Saga, you see large hit point totals, multiple heal mechanics, a defense bonus that raises faster than the attack bonus, and hit points increase at a much faster pace than damage. As a result, it takes Destiny points to explain the confrontation with Darth Sidious in Revenge of the Sith; it simply not possible for even the Dark Lord to offhandedly kill several lesser Jedi Knights in a round or two. Whether intentionally or not, SW Saga leads to very grindy combats if you depend on hit point attrition.

In D&D, certain effects stand outside the hit point track. For instance, being stunned puts you out of action and can lead to lots of damage, quickly. Even a well-healed character can be stunned. Similarly, in SW Saga, the condition track can take a powerful character down long before hit points in many cases. D&D 4e has moved toward more attrition effects, less "save-or-die." The result? Slow combats. Now being paralyzed or whatever is just another hit point track.

If you wanted to design a D&D variant that featured a lightly armored character, you would have to set aside the idea of a very high Armor Class. Instead, looking at the monk, you would see that small bonuses lead to hit points depleting more slowly. What a character needs in D&D to be a resilient fencer or acrobatic kung fu artist is hit points. To get the right flavor, abilities should compensate for a lack of armor. For instance, the 3.5 monk's Wis bonus to AC and +1 AC every five levels compensates somewhat for a lack of armor and shield.

4e is something of an evolution. In 3.5 it was not clear what a monk's "role" was. Not to pigeonhole the class, but simply to state some way to play a monk that would be especially effective. A monk in 3.5 does not inflict heavy damage, nor do they have the AC or hit points to go toe to toe. They lack many utility abilities. Fundamentally, they have defensive advantages, in terms of mobility, saves, and immunities.

If you think back to the fundamental asymmetry in D&D, it should be clear that the 3.5 monk is unsuited for melee combat. They have a medium BAB, too slow for fighting dragons; they have a modest AC, too low for effective tanking; they have modest hit points, too low for engaging melee characters. Their advantages are all situational. Their main defenses are versus saving throw-related effects, and their best tricks are save-based or involve inflicting a status (such as prone or disarmed). Clearly, the monk either needs improved combat capabilities, or they should have a wider variety of skills that supplement their abilities. If they blend the fighter archetype with a sort of tumbling rogue, it has to be recognized that they have neither the fighter's arms and armor nor the rogues sneak attack bonus.

The difference between a fighter and a wizard is not most importantly about one being magical and the other not. The fighter can take a lot of damage but dish out only modest amounts, while the wizard is the reverse. This defines their combat roles.

The importance of this assymetry becomes apparent when fighting a powerful opponent. A character's defenses matter far less against a blue dragon than their ability to withstand an attack, either through hit points or immunities. A fighter's skill is apparent when he is grappled and bitten and yet survives. Dragons, in D&D, are defined as enemies of a certain threshold. A lesser fighter might pierce their scales with luck, but lasting minute after minute, delivering enough telling blows to finish the beast, is reserved for a true hero.

While 3.5 is too patchy in how it addresses the nature of D&D combat, which is to overcome an opponent through attrition or attacking an Achilles' heel, 4e is too consistently stacked in favor of attrition and relatively safe combat. Even minions usually take a respectable roll to take out.

In designing a D&D variant, it is important to consider whether you prefer the attrition model, as in D&D proper, or a sort of escalating gamble, as in True20. Removing the wagering element would make something unrecognizable as D&D. For instance, in GURPS it is possible to run a game such that two swordsmen might trade blows and end the fight in seconds, or an instant. In D&D, this can occur only between very low level opponents, and then the question is not skill but initiative. In D&D, you do not simply look at the tactical situation as it stands. You are taking into account what has transpired, and deciding whether and how to proceed.

pawsplay

RHoD was by far the best WotC adventure to be made during the 3.x era and definitely one of the best adventures released during those years.

Now 4e is here, and even though a few of my players are somewhat familiar with the module, I am sure that I one day will run it for them.

I had been thinking about a conversion for a bit, but one of the things that I couldn't decide upon, was which level range it should be. Then Draconomicon came out, and the answer was obvious.

So, even though it will probably be years before I get to run this for 4e, I plan to convert it here. If you disagree with the choices I make, feel free to chime in. The only thing I won't budge on is the level range. The conversion will be balanced against a 5 man party that start out at level 8.

Edits:
8th Feb: added treasure and quest info.
8th Feb: changed the name of one of Zarr's powers.




RIDING INTO TOWN
Skill challenge level 7 (300 xp)
Complexity 1 (requires 4 successes before 3 failures)
Primary skills: Diplomacy (DC 16), Bluff (DC 18), Intimidate (DC 24)
Other skills: Insight (DC 16) and Streetwise (DC 17)
Victory: They impress Sergeant Hersk and you can gain access to several pieces of information (see page 20)
Defeat: Hersk lets the players pass, but offers no additional info. He is one cranky guard

THE TOWN SPEAKER
Skill challenge level 8 (700 xp)
Complexity: 2 (requires 6 successes before 3 failures)
Primary Skills: Diplomacy (DC 15), bluff (DC 17), insight (DC 16)
Victory: The players are offered 3000 gold pieces and 2 healing potions each (total worth 3500 gp) for solving the hobgoblin problem for the town.
Defeat: They are only offered 2000 gold pieces

Major Quest: Figure out what is behind the hobgoblin attacks on Drellin's Ferry (1750 xp)

Treasure: 2000 gp or 3000 gp and 10 healing potions.

GETTING LOST (if they cut across the Witchwood)
Skill challenge level 8 (700 xp)
Complexity: 2 (requires 6 successes before 3 failures)
Primary skills: Endurance (DC 13), perception (DC 14), Nature (DC 16), History (DC 20)
Victory: You arrive unharmed at Jorr’s cabin
Defeat: Each player loses 1 healing surge and they run into a level 8 encounter

JORR'S CABIN
Skill challenge level 8 (700 xp)
Complexity: 2 (requires 6 successes before 3 failures)
Primary skills: Bluff (DC 19), diplomacy (DC 15), intimidate (DC 21), history (DC 17), insight (DC 14)
Victory: Get Jorr to be their guide
Defeat: Jorr refuses to help the players









OLD WARKLEGNAW
Skill challenge level 8 (1050 xp)
Complexity: 3 (requires 8 successes before 3 failures)
Primary Skills: Diplomacy (DC 15), bluff (DC 17), insight (DC 16), nature (DC 18) (handing OG the gauntlet from Vraath Keep gives 2 automatic successes).
Victory: Calm down Old Warklegnaw (partial) and enlist him in the war (full). A partial victory is achieved after 3 successes.
Defeat: (Complete) Old Warklegnaw attacks! (partial) OG invites them to share his dire boar diner, but he refuses to aid them in the war.



As the players return to Derrin's Ferry and tell the council what have happened, they complete their quest. Between the fight at the bridge and the xp from completing the quest, they should now be level 9







DESPERATE COUNSEL
Skill challenge level 9 (1200 xp)
Complexity: 3 (requires 8 successes before 3 failures)
Primary Skills: Diplomacy (DC 15), bluff (DC 17), insight (DC 16), history
Victory: The players convince the council of following their suggestion
Defeat: Indecision fills the council. Move to slaughtering the town in “Massacre at Drellin’s Ferry”

I will update this blog as I get things converted

Jack99

Ten years ago I moved from Minneapolis to Seattle to take a job at Wizards of the Coast. The company was, at the time, in the final stages of development on Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons, and was cresting into the excesses of the Pokémon era. None of my fellow employees had yet cashed in their considerable stock options for party favors like new cars and houses, but there was a palpable feeling of success in the air. It was an exciting time to join the top RPG staff in the industry, and I was excited to get a chance to be a part of it.

Landing a job as editor of Polyhedron, the official newsmagazine of the RPGA Network, was a dream come true. I’d wanted to work on D&D since I first learned to play the game in an after-school class in third grade. My love of Dragon Magazine and the vocabulary instilled in me by the eldritch prose of Gary Gygax virtually dictated my education, pushing me toward English and work on several school and college publications, all with an eye toward one day getting a chance to make my own mark on the game that had been such an important part of my life.

My first game book was AD&D’s Deities & Demigods, which easily bridged my early interest in Greek and Norse mythology to a love of this new game that allowed you to create brave (and sometimes not-so-brave) heroes in their image. I spent my allowance on most of the early First Edition AD&D adventures (and their “Basic” brethren, though even as a little kid I knew I wanted to be “Advanced” as soon as possible). I studied the encounters in these adventures to determine how to build my own games, and I evangelized D&D to just about every kid who would listen.

I played on the bus, and at recess, at the “Kid’s Club” where I had to wait out the hours between the end of the school day and the end of my parents’ workday. I hosted numerous campaigns at the family house (complete with homemade snacks from my mom), drew covers for my own adventure modules and did my best to lay them out in two-column format, collected and painted miniatures, and eagerly snapped up Dragonlance and the Forgotten Realms as they first came out. I had a Warduke birthday cake. In short, I was that kid. A total D&D nerd.

Junior High brought an influx of kids from other schools, many of whom shared the “D&D bug”. Around this time First Edition turned into Second, and while I still remained true to my main squeeze I started exploring other RPGs as well. My friends and I shot up Seattle in a series of Shadowruns. We adored the grim critical hits and exciting careers of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game (complete with short jaunts into the various associated tabletop wargames), and rolled up dozens of characters for Traveller, even though we never managed to actually play much. We tried our hands at games like TORG, Star Wars, Renegade Legionnaire, and others. Somehow we never managed to make it out of a game of Call of Cthulhu without murdering each other in insanity-induced gunfights. It was a grand time.

College brought a greater focus on studies and a new city, as I moved from Minnesota to Boston. No longer did I throw dice with the same buddies I’d known for years. Instead I was in undiscovered country, seemingly at a college with exactly zero other roleplaying gamers. Desperate for a game—any game—I resorted to relying upon the local game store’s “Gamers Seeking Gamers” corkboard, which eventually led me to sample some of the best—and worst—campaigns that the greater Boston area had to offer. All of a sudden I had a chance to put away the DM tools and be a player. Seeing how other game masters ran their games was a revelation. While I had always clowned around with miniatures, the best of my college DMs showed me how scenes could come alive on a battle mat. Somewhere along the way I discovered the internet, first through Gary Holian’s super-secret GREYtalk discussion list and later through TSR’s dedicated area on AOL. These forums taught me that there were other Greyhawk fans out there in the world, and that their passion, like mine, had managed to survive more than a dozen years of gross mismanagement of that brand. Even the designers at TSR were grudgingly forced to admit that, at least at the time and at least online, Greyhawk fandom rivaled their favored Forgotten Realms. For the first time ever the fans and the people who created the game we loved were interacting in a real way online, and we all hoped the interaction would improve the products.

About the same time, on summer trips back to the homeland, I discovered the RPGA Network and its popular Living City campaign. Set in the Forgotten Realms city of Raven’s Bluff, the campaign featured thousands of players from all over the country, and each major convention brought with it a handful of exciting new events. Unlike “classic” RPGA tournaments, you could play these with the same character, in any order. Several years later the Living City campaign would lose a lot of its players to new Massively Multiplayer Online games like Ultima Online and Everquest, and it’s not surprising why. Minus a computer, Living City offered an experience very similar to that of an MMO, complete with the problem alpha players, the greed, and the genuine fun that combine into very addictive qualities.

I was addicted. I joined a motley gang of Twin Cities Roleplayers (TwiRP, for short) to play more RPGA events. Together we launched dozens of Game Days and Weekends in Raven’s Bluff and honest-to-god local conventions. We formed huge caravans to hit shows in places like Milwaukee, Iowa City, Toledo, and Columbus. If the modules on offer were right and we knew the right people would be there, a few of us even hopped planes to places like Atlanta or Orlando. I started to meet gamers from all over the country, to see how different people played the game differently, and to see the true potential of a giant organized play campaign. I even started to write scenarios for the Living City campaign, finally succeeding, in some small way, at contributing back to the game that had given me so much over the years.

When college ended I sidelined the dream of a career in gaming for an exciting life in the world of consumer public relations for the Minneapolis branch of an international PR firm. It was good work with fun, creative people, but it was a far cry from where I wanted to be, in Lake Geneva Wisconsin, following in the footsteps of idols like Gary Gygax, Roger E. Moore, and Jeff Grubb. Most of my free time still went to gaming. I became the president of our local RPGA chapter, worked with fellow Greyhawk fans on AOL and the greater internet to create the Oerth Journal, one of the very first RPG e-zines (and it’s still around today, I might add), and continued going to cons and writing scenarios for the RPGA. Rumors soon came to me that TSR might, just maybe, be looking at relaunching my old love Greyhawk, and everything was right with the world.

Then, out of the blue, two words emerged that shook the foundations of my hobby and nearly destroyed a couple of decades worth of well-laid plans. Those words? PRINTER PROBLEMS. All of a sudden, production out of TSR ground to a halt. Their well-traveled AOL area was mothballed. The company reps and designers, some of whom I had grown to consider personal friends, grew silent. All they could say was that TSR was experiencing “printer problems,” and that they hoped to resume production as soon as possible. It didn’t take long for the game theorists and conspiracy nuts among D&D fandom to suss out what was really going on. Sure, TSR had “printer problems,” but the problem was that they couldn’t afford to pay their printers, who refused to print new books and (rumor had it) may have even been holding on to some fully printed books as collateral.

Boom. No more TSR AOL area. Boom. No more TSR. Boom. Maybe no more D&D. It was a tense time for RPGers in general, especially for those of us who had been planning our entire lives around one day getting a job at the company. Somehow, the RPGA survived with a shoestring budget, still putting out scenarios, still sponsoring conventions. With no stable group and an uncertain future for the game, the RPGA alone carried the D&D flag, and I was thrilled to follow along and, every so often, help hold the battle standard steady.

Then, in quick succession, Wizards of the Coast swooped in to save D&D, Greyhawk was put on the fast track for development, and rumors swirled of a new massive “Living” campaign in the works and a brand new edition for our favorite game. The Greyhawk design team engaged my services as a continuity checker and sounding board, and my name started to creep up in Wizards of the Coast’s TSR products. I wrote more and more RPGA scenarios, got to know more and more of the TSR design staff at RPGA conventions and leadership retreats at the Renton offices, and started to believe once again that I might one day get a shot to make the hobby of my life a career.

That chance came in a flash. The Polyhedron job opened, I submitted my application, and within a few weeks I was out in Renton again for a formal interview and editing test. Evidently they liked what they saw and heard, and before I even had a chance to travel back home they offered me the job.

Me, the ponytailed 24-year-old kid who had once sent his junior high campaign notes as a formal submission to TSR (notes which surely ended up in the garbage shortly after some poor sap opened them). Me, the eager up-and-comer who had once been transferred from the TSR switchboard directly to Roger E. Moore, who personally crushed my hopes of getting a college internship with the company (“We don’t offer internships,” Roger said, “and we probably never will. Good day!”) All of a sudden I’d been called up from the farm league to get a shot in the majors. I couldn’t have been more excited. Within a couple of months I folded up my life in Minnesota to embark on the journey I’d prepared for almost since the day I’d first learned how to read.

I can’t quite explain how thrilling it was to join the Wizards staff in the summer of 1999. D&D was clearly in safe hands, and the editorial staff at the time read like a who’s who of game design. Very shortly, I came to meet many of the authors whose work I had admired for years. There was Jeff Grubb, author of the Manual of the Planes, creator of Spelljammer and co-muse of the Forgotten Realms. Over there was Planescape’s Monte Cook, hard at work on the Dungeon Master’s Guide in a cubicle covered with comic book action figures and other interesting ephemera. Not too far away sat the legendary Skip Williams, The Sage himself, tinkering with the manuscript that would become the Monster Manual. And there, directly on the other side of the cube wall from my chair in RPGA land, was none other than Jonathan Tweet himself, lead designer of Dungeons & Dragons.

In his mid-30s at the time, Tweet was already a legend in the RPG world. He was the major creative force behind the hugely admired and influential Over the Edge RPG from Atlas Games, from my old home state. He’d moved over to head Wizards of the Coast’s RPG division, where he designed the innovative Everway RPG, which incorporated cards and new free-form elements into a well-regarded design. But most important to me, he was the guy rewriting the Player’s Handbook. While Jonathan, Monte, and Skip were a triumvirate and just about everyone in the department was making important additions to the game, Jonathan was clearly the “lead” designer, at least from where I sat. You could tell by the way the whole department seemed sort of in awe of him, the way they deferred to his wishes, and the way that he always seemed to get what he wanted.

You could see it in his eyes. Genius mixed with a giant helping of disdain mixed with perhaps a touch of well-deserved arrogance that immediately commanded respect from just about everyone. Jonathan Tweet wanted to make D&D the best game that it possibly could be on his own terms, or at least as much as was possible for a boat with so many captains in so many different divisions of the company. Deep in the zone of design on one of the company’s most popular and valuable brands, Jonathan clearly didn’t suffer fools, and was doing his best to keep his focus on making the game better and not getting too distracted. Given our proximity, I’d often hear him state a design philosophy or defend some design decision in such a way that left no doubt he was a genius and his rhetorical opponent was an imbecile. There was something to the cold logic of his arguments that suggested a robot. With death-ray eyes. Because his tenure predated WotC’s purchase of TSR and because he was thought to have the ear of management, it was easy to see Jonathan as the “company guy,” or at the very least as a guy who you definitely didn’t want to upset.

Which was cool, because, so far as I know, absolutely everyone there admired the hell out of what Jonathan was doing with the game. Though I later came to realize that many, many hands were responsible for the changes in the game to the point at which singling out any one person as responsible for a specific change was far, far too simplistic for such a holistic process, in my own way I sort of saw Monte and Skip as the guys defending the gaming traditions I held dear, whereas Jonathan was the guy who questioned a lot of those assumptions and who propelled the game into the future. And as much as I loved where D&D had been, after 10 years of Second Edition it was obvious that the future was where the game really needed to be. Sitting so close to Jonathan and overhearing so many fascinating design discussions was one of the absolute joys of my first few weeks at Wizards of the Coast.

I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I couldn’t wait to get involved myself.

Back then, Wizards had an internal message board system that allowed its hundreds of employees to discuss matters of company policy, upcoming special events, who was out sick for the day, and other administrivia. One of these folders was for discussing the drafts of the Third Edition rules currently floating around for office playtests. I had just acquired such a draft copy, and I was certain I had a suggestion that would save everyone some grief. I sat down to compose a message with my suggestion, knowing that it would be my first real introduction to the D&D design staff and indeed many of the employees of Wizards of the Coast.

The message went something like this:

Hi! My name is Erik Mona. I’ve just been hired by the RPGA to edit Polyhedron and develop a new Living campaign for the World of Greyhawk. I was looking over the draft of the Player’s Handbook, and I noticed that in the cleric section St. Cuthbert is listed as the God of Retribution. In fact, Trithereon is Greyhawk’s god of retribution. St. Cuthbert is more known for honesty, wisdom, and zeal. Also, the chart lists Heironeous’s favored weapon as a longsword, but in fact it should be a battleaxe. I have an extensive collection of Greyhawk materials here at my desk and I’m more than happy to help out if anyone has any questions about this material as it applies to the core game.

That was it, in a nutshell. Simple. Helpful. Informative. My first formal contribution to the design of Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons. It didn’t take long for the message to make its way through the design department. Within minutes I heard Jonathan Tweet’s strained, angry voice roll over the cubicle wall:

“WHO THE HELL IS ERIK MONA?” he said, his tone dripping with disdain.

It turns out that the whole “use the Greyhawk pantheon” thing had been a huge internal fight tangentially related to the cancellation of Second Edition settings and somewhat forced on the game by management. The design team wanted to be able to change Greyhawk elements to better fit the concept of the game they were creating. You expect a paladin to use a longsword, so it doesn’t make sense to make his main weapon a non-intuitive choice like a battle axe. They only wanted so many gods. They needed a god of retribution and Trithereon was not invited to the party. The wounds about these decisions, apparently, had only just healed over about a week before I arrived, and more than one person in the department felt that my innocent suggestion risked shoving everything back into turmoil.

After I sheepishly walked around the cube wall to (re)introduce myself to Jonathan, he explained all of this to me in a way that somehow didn’t cause me to melt into the carpet, and the rest of the day (and indeed week) was spent with well meaning TSR employees, shellshocked from the last couple of years of madness, quietly coming to my cube to offer polite suggestions about how to not rock the boat and basically keep my mouth shut. Not quite the introduction to my dream-of-a-lifetime job I had been hoping for. Even today, Jonathan’s “WHO THE HELL IS ERIK MONA” question still colors my memories of my first year at WotC.

In the time since I managed to fit in a bit better with the official D&D design crowd. I had a chance to work on a big map of Greyhawk with Skip Williams, who pointed out all of the circa 1980 TSR inside jokes hidden in the names of various kingdoms, cities, and rivers. Monte Cook eventually invited me to play in his Ptolus campaign, a weekly sort of D&D All-Star Game that lasted some seven years. We still gather occasionally to play. I even published Jonathan Tweet’s d20 Gamma World project in Polyhedron, an experiment I called Omega World as a joke about how it would be the “last” time anyone did it. Two subsequent editions have been released.

Along the way I co-launched the Living Greyhawk organized play campaign, got to sit in the editor-in-chief chair for both Dragon and Dungeon magazines, contributed some monsters to the Fiend Folio, and co-wrote an “official” Castle Greyhawk adventure as well as a campaign setting book for that world. I’ve participated in more exciting elements of RPG production than I would have dared imagine when dreaming up my career in that third grade after-school D&D class.

Nowadays I’m the publisher of my own RPG company, Paizo Publishing. We’ve just released an OGL 3.5 variant called the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, which supports the Adventure Paths, modules, and world guides we’ve been releasing for the last few years. The game and our other products remain popular, and we’ve just moved into a new office over the course of the last two weeks.

When Russell Morrissey asked me to write a new column for EN World (my favorite website 10 years and running!), I jumped at the chance. In my tenure at Polyhedron, Dragon, and Dungeon, I wrote more than 100 columns on gaming, and even though I once thought I’d said everything there was to say on the topic, in the last few years I kept finding myself wanting to get back into the old habit.

It’s customary for a new columnist to introduce himself in his first column. So here it is, the answer to Jonathan Tweet’s question those 10 years ago.

Who the Hell is Erik Mona? I’m a guy who has edited some magazines, written some gaming books, and been very near to the center of much in the gaming world over this last decade. As I unpacked my boxes while settling in to my new office, I uncovered an artifact from my life before Wizards of the Coast, before I’d added all the notches into the belt of my RPG career. It was an old desktop pen and paper tablet holder, inscribed with a message from my old RPGA buddies back in Minneapolis. It reads: “Erik Mona: Once a TwiRP, Always a TwiRP!”

Who the Hell is Erik Mona? Despite everything I’ve seen in the last 10 years in the trenches of the RPG industry, I’m still that same guy who loves to play games, at home or at conventions. I’m Truan Iolavai, Ellund Torvin, Ghorus Thoth, Zophas Adhar, Barbatos Kem, Ostog the Unslain, and dozens of other characters, honorable and treacherous, humorous and severe.

Most of all, I’m a gamer just like you.

--Erik Mona
Seattle
September, 2009

Erik Mona

There’s something to be said for taverns.

No, I don’t mean the aging, borderline run-down beer-and-burger joints in the side alleys of most American cities, though I’ve a soft spot in my clogged arteries and beer belly for those, too. I mean the bog-standard cliché-ridden hives of scum and villainy that lie at the heart (or at least the opening session) of nearly every fantasy campaign in the universe.

Although I play in a bi-weekly Pathfinder RPG campaign in the spacious and exciting new Paizo offices, I’ve considered myself a GM first and player second ever since I first picked up the funny dice back in the early 1980s. By that token, despite the fact that my barbarian Ostog the Unslain ravages the stunty humanoids of the world of Golarion every fortnight, I still consider myself “between campaigns” at the moment.

My last true game petered out about two years ago. It began as the official playtest of my first adventure for Dungeon Magazine’s Age of Worms Adventure Path, which I conceived and edited with my co-worker James Jacobs. The game started at a crazy time for Paizo, and since it consisted entirely of colleagues who also worked at the office during this crazy time, the game suffered more cancellations that any I’ve ever been a part of. Over time it became maddeningly difficult to rally the eight (!) players together for an evening of play, and somewhere around the middle of the Adventure Path enough employees had moved on that even polishing it off with a final mega-session became an unrealistic expectation.

Irregular as it was, though, it was a hell of a lot of fun, and the group of players became like a second family to me. We managed to squeeze a couple of years worth of bi-weekly (ok, ok, monthly) sessions out of only six magazine adventures, plus all of the random stuff about bullywugs and Wee Jas and the town of Diamond Lake that I added to fill gaps in the main plot and to maintain my players’ interest. As much as I enjoyed the Age of Worms scenarios beyond my own kick-off adventure, my favorite memories of the campaign come from the stuff I invented specifically for my players, and it’s that material I regret not following up on and tying up, far more than the big exciting fights against the dracolich Dragotha and Kyuss himself, which is where the campaign would have ended up had I followed through on its written conclusion.

Last time around, getting the player characters together was easy. After editing Dungeon for a couple of years and putting a huge amount of brain time into getting the party together for a given adventure or campaign when designing “adventure hooks” (which authors often helpfully left out completely), I decided to just say to hell with it and literally started the party at the front door of the opening dungeon.

Sure, I asked each of the players for a bit of backstory and did my damnedest to cobble together some contrived reason why the player characters all knew each other, but in the end I started them at the simplest place I possibly could have: the front door of the dungeon crawl.

But not all campaigns begin with a dungeon crawl, and I am loath to repeat myself. In the years since my last campaign began I’ve often thought about how it all started, and I’ve never been fully satisfied. Next time around, I’m going to have to do something better.

Next time around is looking like it may be sooner rather than later. I’ve got a hankering to get around to running a campaign based off of a huge edifice in the Pathfinder world called The Spire of Nex, a mile-tall tower than juts over the horizon of the fantastic metropolis of Absalom, the City at the Center of the World. Absalom is the centerpiece of the world of the Pathfinder Chronicles, surrounded by the ancient fortresses of the countless would-be tyrants, archmages, and petty dictators who have tried to take the city by force over the last few thousand years. The city itself has never fallen, but it hasn’t stopped the bad guys (or deluded good guys) from giving it a go over the centuries, and all of these ruined towers, castles, extradimensional hidey-holes, and tombs make for ideal adventuring spots just a hop away from the city itself.

I’ve been working on Nex and his tower for a few years now, scribbling hideous traps and ideas for cool NPCs into my beloved notebooks. I’ve always wanted to try a mega-dungeon campaign a la Gary Gygax’s Castle Greyhawk or Ed Greenwood’s Undermountain, and the Spire of Nex is my way of doing a mega-dungeon without all of the problems that can so easily creep into that style of campaign.

The original Temple of Elemental Evil is one of my absolute favorite AD&D adventures of all time thanks to the brilliant Hommlet and Moathouse sequence and some really inventive and challenging encounters and NPCs. I’ve run the first part at least four times during my gaming career, and even new-school players who came into the game with third edition respond well to the challenges and open-ended nature of the adventure. Once you get into the Temple of Elemental Evil proper, however, the real trouble begins, and the true villain of the adventure rears its bestial head. No, I’m not talking about Lareth the Beautiful or even Zuggtmoy the Fungus Queen. I’m talking about the REAL villain in a mega-dungeon: BOREDOM.

Shortly after I joined the staff at Wizards of the Coast in 1999, I received a gift from the gamer gods when Monte Cook invited me to play in his official playtest for his revised third edition version of that adventure, Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. I subsequently played in Cook’s Ptolus campaign for seven or eight years. I consider Monte the finest DM I’ve ever had the chance to game with, and the lessons I learned watching him over this time could fill a book. I consider his “Return to” the best nostalgic adventure of its day, and a lot of the stuff he added flat-out improved the original module. But even Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil gets boring in parts (how many times do you have to fight gnoll guards before you get the idea?). Even in this vaunted playtest with a vaunted DM running his own vaunted re-take on a vaunted mega-dungeon classic, there was an everpresent risk that things could get a little repetitive and boring.

So why do I want to inflict a mega-dungeon on another group of gamers, when even my own experiences suggest that the format doesn’t stand up well to long-term play? Well, I’m a bit of a glutton for punishment, I suppose, and now that the final Pathfinder rules are out a lot of my friends have been bugging me to start something up. I’ve run a few levels of the Spire of Nex at various conventions over the last couple years, and I really miss the thrill of GMing a semi-regular game. I also have a hankering to run an entire campaign in which the players are trapped in an inescapable multi-dimensional prison with lots of linkages between “worlds,” and to see what happens when a mega-dungeon becomes the total framework for a campaign. What I envision is a sort of Castle Greyhawk meets the TV show Lost, with the PCs essentially marooned on an anchorless amalgam of “stacked” demiplanes that they must explore one by one to find a way out.

My notebooks are filled with scribbled notes about planar mechanics, gateways between realms, concepts for imprisoned demiplanes and the creatures who empower them, and all sorts of other crazy ideas and schemes. I know who the ultimate villain of the adventure will be, many of the key encounters along the way, and the solution to the riddle that binds all of the demiplanes together. I’ve got plenty of notes about fun encounters that I know my players will enjoy. Hell, I’ve even outlined a novel featuring a couple of my fiction characters exploring the dungeon. But it’s all been organic, day-dreamy “fun” design, and only now am I thinking about the adventure in terms of something I will actually play, and will most likely play soon.

Which brings me to the same problem a GM must face every time he sits down to conceive a new campaign. How is it going to begin?

The very first adventure in the Spire of Nex arc, wherein the PCs become imprisoned in the dungeon, is set at level 5. I did this to give the players some practical experience before they set out on a very dangerous adventure, but now I find myself with five levels to fill. Before I figure that out, I’ve been agonizing over how to get them together.

At the same time I’m also writing a big two-round adventure for Paizo’s Pathfinder Society organized play campaign. Getting the party together there is easy, because all of the players belong to the Pathfinder Society, a sort of adventurers’ guild. The four-hour events are essentially missions given to the PCs, and the PCs comply because they belong to the organization. Well, really they comply because they know they only have four hours to get from the beginning to the end of the adventure, which means as little time as possible needs to be taken up by technical stuff like getting the party together.

But a home campaign is not the same thing as a four-hour convention event, and I feel like my players deserve something better than “so you’re standing outside the dungeon” or “so you somehow all know each other.”

In the past I’ve started the action right in front of the PCs, so that they’re all riding in the same carriage when a strange event occurs, or they’re all walking down the same street when chaos ensues. I don’t want to do either of those again, and nor do I want to do the same old trick of “each of you knows this NPC in peril” plot hook that was so popular with Dungeon authors that we started cutting it after a while. For the time being, I am well and truly stumped.

Which brings me back to taverns.

Starting off a campaign with the PCs randomly wandering into an adventure hook in a tavern and then randomly deciding to team up to take on said challenge is a perfectly functional way to start off an adventure or even a campaign. It’s popular (and cliché) because it works. But I’ll be damned to eternal hell if I’m going to use it on the gang of persnickety game designers and professional writers who call themselves my friends. I’d never hear the end of it.

So I’ve got to put some serious brain time toward this issue, and I need to come up with something creative. Sitting here at this desk hasn’t generated any ideas, so perhaps I need to change my environment. I do most of my best thinking in public, and I’ve found that nothing calms the mind like a nice, frosty alcoholic beverage, the dingier the source the better.

In short, I’m off to go solve this problem over a beer.

At the tavern.

--Erik Mona
Seattle
October, 2009

Erik Mona

In the course of game discussion and criticism, I've seen many valid critiques batted off with a refrain to the tune of "that's a player problem, not a game problem." The problem I see with that is you need players to play, but games are many. Though there are certainly unreasonable players, they do not occur with the regularity that people who bank on the "blame the player" defense seem to think.

As promised, this blog (or this section of it) will be a collection point for bits of gaming philosophy. Here's a discussion I captured about how I came to this conclusion, captured from an ancient thread here:

(In response to a poster blaming players for a game problem):


I'm not insulted (though I must say, if it were my players you were referring to, it might have been) so much as I think it's a totally bogus cop-out when it comes to defending a game.

Let me tell you a story. The title of this story is "Why Psion Doesn't Run Hero".

Psion loves Hero. Psion thinks that Hero is a way cool game. In some ways, he thinks it out-cools D&D. Why? Because it lets him craft anything and have rigorous mechanical support for it that he much prefers to ad hoccing everything.

But back in college, Psion had a group. There were many players in this group, but one of particular interest. We'll call him Rob. Because, well, that's his name.

Psion is running a rip-roaring game of hero, but find that Rob routinely avoids running characters that use magic. I soon discover that Rob does not use magic because he doesn't grok the power system. Well, Rob's a college student, so he should understand the basic math that goes into making a Hero character right?

I thought so, but it occurs to me that whether or not he's capable, that's work to him. It occurs to me that gaming being a leisure activity, it's not my place to make him do things he doesn't like. And by running hero, I was limiting his options.

It was that moment that pushed me away from hero and back towards D&D. Yeah, it's not as flexible as Hero, or many other systems. But IME, most people grok D&D, and can play any character type they care to play if they can play at all.

Later, I got into verbal fencing with GURPS fans, who in answering my charges that IME GURPS players too easily build characters with scads of half point skills it was my "player's fault."

Such arguments firmed up my philosophy that it is not the job of the players to support the game, but vice versa. If your players don't enjoy a game, that is not a slight to the players. You can't obligate the players to fit the game, much less judge them.

I could easily slam rules light players for their lack of mathematical ability, but given my experience with Rob, I tried to avoid going that route because I consider it the "low road". It's not the player's job to fit the game. It's the game's job to support the players.

So, I'll own that if D&D accounting is not too your liking, you should probably play something with less accounting, or (at the very least) make efforts to minimize it. But by the same token, if the lack of robustness is limiting the actions your players consider, I'd say that is on the game, not on the players.

It is easier to change the game you are playing, or to change rules of a game, than it is to change people. Games are dispensable.

Psion

DMing is hard. Part science, part art, it is all work. This isn't to say, of course, that it isn't also rewarding and fun, but DMing well takes effort, experience and practice. Moreover, every new edition, every new group of players requires that the DM relearn the craft, sometimes on a superficial level but also sometimes on a fundamental one.

That said, in my 20 years of DMing, I have developed a number of rules I endeavor to follow when I run Dungeons and Dragons. Sometimes, I find that they don't all work for the players involved, and sometimes I find that they don't work with the edition being used. In these cases I either try and alter my style and preferences (not an easy thing) or play with different people or different rules.

All that said, I give you Reynard's Rules of DMing:

The DM isn't always right, but he is the one that always decides what's right.

Among the many roles the DM plays during the course of running the game, the most important is that of Final Arbiter. The DM arbitrates not only rules questions, disputes and applications, but also arbitrates the non-mechanical aspects of the game, up to and including conflicts between the players and even the players and the DM. DMs, being human, are far from infallible, and a good DM listens to his players. In the end, however, the DM must have the final authority over te solution to any dispute or question, because it falls to the DM to keep the game moving and keep everyone involved and entertained.

It's the DM's World, but it's the Players' Story.

One of the greatest responsibilities and rewards of DMing is building and running the world in which the PCs adventure. Creating people, places and things with which the player characters can interact, and then having those Nouns respond to that interaction, is both fun and challenging. As such, the DM should be free to include or exclude, limit or expand any or all of the traditional tropes of D&D in his world. That said, it is easy for the DM to fall into the too common trap of starting to care more about his creations than the players' interaction with those creations. If the world is immutable, if the NPCs are insurpassable, if the setting's secrets are inpenetrable, the DM has lost perspective on the reason those two or eight people are sitting there on the other side of the screen. Consistency, versimilitude and plausibility are all important and the hallmarks of a good DM; relegating the PCs to tourists and window shoppers is not.

Know when to hold 'em, know when to roll 'em.

Dice are important in D&D (see below) but they are not an end unto themselves. One othe most common mistakes many DMs, both novices and veterans alike, make is to rely too much on the dice. Too often, an important aspect of the game or adventure is hinged on a die roll when a random result or the possibility of a bad roll will slow down, or even outright ruin, the game. It is important to identify these situations and not require rolls where rolls will lead to incongruent or troublesome results. As an example, let's say there's a secret door in an old mansion. If the door leads to a hidden room where the previous owner stored his treasure, requiring a random roll to locate the door is perfectly acceptable. If, however, the door leads to final confrontation or other aspect that makes completing the adventure impossible, requiring a die roll is just begging to stop the adventure in its tracks and/or tempt one to "fudge the result( again, see below). Better to require that the PCs look for the secret door through simple description of action and, if they look in the right place, allow them to find it (make sure, though, to give them some clue of where to look in the first place, or the players will be forced to read your mind or search every square inch of the place).

Let the Dice Fall where they May.

As an addendum to the above rule, once you have determined that a particular situation does warrant the the use of dice, never fudge. Stick by the result of the die roll, interpret and use it as best you can and keep going. After all, you thought it through (didn't you) and said "Yes!" to a die roll. Now, it is incumbant upon the DM to roll with whatever result lands face up. This is particularly important in combat. Not only should the dice stay where they fall, they should bhe rolled out in the open so everyone knows it'sthe dice, not the DM, determining the outcome of the battle. Note that this maxim applies to die rolls by both the DM and the players, and die rolls affecting eother the PCs or the monsters/NPCs. If Villain McEvil goes down because of a lucky critical on the part of the players, that's how the cookie crumbles. Fudging the result (of which pumping up the villain secretly behind the screen is a form) is nothing short of cheating.

The Players are Your Friends; their characters aren't.

Also known as "Adventuring is Dangerous Business", this rule is a philosophical one, covering many different aspects of running a game, from creating the world to arbitrating rules to designing adventures. A D&D world is most entertaining when it is filled with dangerous Nouns, all within reach of the PCs so that the players can decide where to go, when to do it and what to do once they get there. Not every boy off the farm is destined for greatness, however, and pretending otherwise -- whether through never designing a non "level appropriate" challenge or by fudging as described above or building a world that caters to the players and their characters above all else -- does a disservice to those players and characters that survive and thrive in such a treacherous world and profession. In the end, the cream will rise to the top and your players will thank you for it, whether directly or when they are in the game store or at a convention telling anyone who will listen about the time their paladin held the door against the orc horde while his wounded companions escaped.

Reynard

I have no intention on switching to 4e. I would probably sooner pick up an AD&D game. While 3e was far from perfect, it did some things really well and helped me have a real D&D experience, something I had missed after a decade or so of playing HERO, GURPS, Vampire, and everything else. Although I occasionally pick up a 4e book to look at, I am always happy to put it down again. But it would of course be implausible to say 4e does not bring anything new and exciting to the table. So for those of us running 3e games, what can 4e do for us?

Monsters are Simple

4e stat blocks tend to be very simple. Each monster has a handful of signature abilities and maybe some unique elements. Whipping up a new monster or advancing an old one does not take very much time. Many 3e GMs complain about prep time and complexity. Well, here are some practical steps to make 3e monster creation more like 4e.

Use just core material as possible, adding exotic elements only when they make sense. For instance, I would suggest avoiding metabreath feats and breath-based spells for a dragon unless that is going to be the dragon's distinctive way of behaving.

Keep the number of combat options to a minimum. Sorcerers are better NPCs than wizards, unless the role calls for a wizard, specifically. A high level warrior is better than a fighter for an unexceptional opponent. Never add caster levels to a monster without a purpose in mind.

Pick a number of skills equal to the creature's skill points and max them out. If the creature has a low Int or the concept calls for more skills, start halving skills one by one until you have enough. Don't waste a lot of time deciding where to spend one leftover rank, just stick it on a skill with a low modifier and move on. Total the results, including synergies and armor check bonus, and be done. Similarly, don't pick lots of exotic feats. In fact, start with ones that create staying power, like Iron Will, Improved Natural Armor, and Toughness.

It's fine to dial up the HD on a monster. But templates are a good way to give monsters a little boost, too. For instance, the fiendish template is an easy way to bump the CR a point or two and give a creature some basic spell resistance. Templates like Monster of Legend or Paragon can add more significant powers.

Don't be afraid to invent your own custom templates. The core books already have suggestions for adding special abilities. Do you want your glowering knight to radiate fear? Rather than building a complex fighter/blackguard character, maybe he could be a straight up fighter or even warrior with a dragon's fearsome presence power added.

Treasure values are approximate. Just throw appropriate gear and treasure together and see if it comes in to the right ballpark.

Some Monsters Just Need Killing

Not all the monsters in a set piece have to be individually formidable. If the PCs are facing a level 8 orc chieftain, it's perfectly fine to surround him with orc warriors right out of the MM. Their purpose is, essentially, to be killed. Don't overthink that. Basic 1st level characters with 3rd to 6th level sergeants are fine for set dressing. For equivalents to 4e minions, aim for EL -4 or so for the CR, and make the monsters a little offense heavy. And simple.

A monster does not have to be a challenge to justify its existence. It's enough for it to be cute, or ugly, or easily killed.

Solo Critters

Solo encounter design is simply different from regular encounters. A solo creature in 4e is supposed to be the equal to several regular creatures and itself a credible challenge to a party. To accomplish this same kind of effect, it's important to look at two things: challenge, and economy of actions.

The DMG warns you that a EL 5 or more higher than the party's level is a potential killer. That's still a possibility with a single, high CR monster, but the battle becomes more swingy. It's possible for a lower level party to lock down a single, more powerful creature with the right tactics. In fact, with adequate preparation, a CR of party level +4 or +5 is probably just about right. If the PCs venture into a dragon's lair, they should be prepared for a dragon. High CR fights can be memorable, but because of the possibility for PC death, should be employed sparingly. A single monster of CR equal to the party's level is probably not going to be a satisfying battle, even if it's a real brute. Even if the encounter is fairly routine, consider making the monster CR level +1 or +2, to get a little sweat going. This also boosts the XP reward, which can be motivating to players.

Economy of actions means taking into account that each PC gets one action, but a single opponent gets one action, total. To be a credible solo encounter, an opponent needs at least one of the following:

*Some kind of offense that affects more than one target, like a fireball or multiple attacks.
*Attacks that take away more than action, for instance, attacks that stun an opponent for more than one round.
*Hideous toughness, in the form of AC, saves, and resistances.
*Some way to reach ranged or flying opponents.

You can see all those elements in play with a dragon. Their breath weapons can reach multiple opponents, as can their multiple natural weapons. They are extraordinarily tough, and they can fly.

Imagine you want the entire party to battle a single high-level rogue. Immediately, you should recognize that rogues are usually low in the hit points and AC department, and that a sneak attack is hard to pull off against multiple targets. Their ranged options may be limited. So how can you make the rogue more credible?

First, you need a way to bring sneak attack into play, and for multiple opponents. Otherwise, you will need to find some other way to create a credible offense. Realizing that rogues have Use Magic Device, the possibility of a wand or staff springs to mind, but that stretches the archetype. It springs to mind, however, that characters who are having to make balance checks also lose their Dex bonus, so you could give the rogue some kind of oil or grease weapon, or make his hideout a maze of catwalks. A ring or wand of invisibility might also come in handy, although cover and a very high Bluff and Hide may do the trick. Second, you need defenses. Although a ring of protection and a cloak of resistance are reliable, something that provides a displacement or blink effect might be more efficient against high BAB fighters. Slippery mind looks good as a way of avoiding a fight-ending mind control spell. Placing the fight indoors limits range and flying, but it might not be a bad idea to give him a bow of distance, just in case.

Scenery

There is really nothing about 4e or 3e that makes either one more terrain oriented, but the 4e team has made a point of creating interesting battlefields. Take their lead, and introduce pits, traps, hazards, and anything else you can think of. Don't be afraid to be creative... is there an ever-changing lava flow on the side of the volcano?

The Best Magic Item is a Found Magic Item

Magic items are more fun when they are wrested from foes or scavenged from ancient hoards. With that in mind, don't be afraid to include some nice loot when the PCs are battling opponents of interest. Similarly, try to keep the local communities of reasonable size, and if the PCs are centered around a large metropolis, make sure that a wide variety of powerful items does not translate to a magical Wal-Mart. Smaller communities means the PCs will spend less time shopping and more time adventuring. Magical items are exceptional things created by exceptional crafters, and should be treated with respect.

Even items without immediate obvious utility can be fun. If the party finds a +5 thundering mace, does it become the backup weapon for the halberd-wielding fighter, or does the cleric take a renewed role in melee?

Make It Visual

4e gives each power its own little wirteup that resembles a playing card. You can do the same with index cards for class abilities, feats, and spells. Cards can also replace scribbling every time a buff is added or dispelled. Using visual and manual aids frees up the brain to think about more important things, like fun.

Don't Be Afraid to Change Stuff

Just as Dragonlance changed AD&D (a world with minotaurs instead of orcs?) and 3e opened up a whole universe of variant campaigns, such as SS Studio's Scarred Lands campaign, 4e has not been afraid to slaughter a few sacred cows. It's your campaign, and if you see a reason to do something, do it. Does having dragons color-coded make it difficult to tell a story? Remove the "always" in front of alignments, or replace all the dragons with dragon races of your own devising. Maybe your campaign has striped, crested, rock, and sea dragons. Are your gods impossibly removed from the mortal realm, or are they known to walk the Earth and perhaps even risk defeat by mortals? It's really up to you.

pawsplay

Act One

Chapter One

Torchlight fell upon the inquisitor as he knelt over the corpse of the sorceress. Beneath the carved bear skull he wore as a mask, shadows concealed all but his amused smile. The gleam of fire reflected off a brass clawed gauntlet on his right hand as he flicked idly through the woman’s robes, looking for clues to whom she had been on her way to meet.

The body was still twitching slightly, but corpses always took a while to realize they were dead when their souls were ripped from their flesh.

“Guthwulf,” said the lieutenant behind him.

Guthwulf, inquisitor for the Ragesian Empire, glanced over his shoulder as he lifted the woman’s hand by her bracelet, then dropped it with disinterest.

The lieutenant stood among three soldiers, two of them holding torches to help Guthwulf investigate the dead mage in the gloomy late autumn night. The third – a thick-jawed, tusked herethim with a black muttonchop beard that made him look almost aristocratic – wheezed shallowly, too proud to even grunt his pain.

The sorceress had tried to crush the man’s chest, but Guthwulf had managed to absorb the brunt of the attack’s essence. Not that the soldiers weren’t eminently expendable, but Guthwulf had seen no reason to let the woman’s mana be wasted. Her own power had been the fuel for the spell he had used to snatch her soul.

“Sir,” asked the lieutenant, “must I have my men kill him for being tainted by the sorcery?”

Guthwulf gave him a dubious look, which was no doubt lost through the concealment of the mask.

“No,” he laughed. “She was trying to kill him, not control his mind. You men are brave and not incompetent, and I’m certainly not going to kill you just because Leska can’t word her decrees more precisely. I’m not cruel.”

The soldiers shifted nervously at such casual mention of her name. Ragesians had long feared her mysterious, witch-like powers when she was merely Supreme Inquisitor, but now, just weeks after Leska replaced the nation’s fallen emperor, many feared her as they would a vengeful god.

Guthwulf turned his attention back to the dead sorceress. She had been a smart enough spy not to carry any clues to her destination, and the inquisitor’s mood darkened as he prepared himself. He held up his clawed hand to warn the soldiers to be quiet and keep back, and then he willed the soul he held in his other hand to speak to him. He lifted it up to his face, his fingers loosely viced around the spirit, invisible except as a memory of magic and pain.

In an ancient Otharil tongue he commanded:

“Your existence is defined by the grip of my hand. If I release my grasp, you will be free. If I wish, I can crush you, snuffing you for eternity. But unless you answer me truthfully, I will keep you as long as I live to torment you, and my dying curse will consume you so you never reach the afterlife.”

The soul’s fear gave it shape as its wisps briefly assumed the form it had in life, cowering in his palm. The figure nodded desperately.

Guthwulf spoke now in Seren. “Tell me your mission, where you were headed, and who your contacts were. And be quick about it. Neither one of us really wants you to stick around.”

Memories from the soul tried to flood into Guthwulf’s mind, but his mask kept them from overwhelming him. He took his time to find the answers he sought, a moment passing as he reviewed the knowledge he had stolen. Torches crackled behind him. The frigid night wind blew snow across the body. It had finally stopped twitching.

Guthwulf turned to the soldiers.

“Gate Pass,” he said. “The armies are already preparing to march there, so we can catch up with them later, but she still has accomplices here in Ragos. You men interested in capturing some mages tonight?”

The subordinates looked to each other nervously, but the lieutenant cleared his throat and said, “Yes sir. Whatever you command, but we aren’t well equipped for a raid.”

The soul squirmed in the inquisitor’s left hand. He put his right hand to his chin, chewing errantly on the tip of his brass thumb claw.

“No,” he said. “We could use some help.”

Guthwulf reached within his bearskin cloak, dabbed his fingers in a pouch of black ash, and then traced a pair of concentric circles in the snow around the woman’s body, keeping his grip on the soul casual but tight. The spirit could only be dimly aware of what was going on, but the air was beginning to brim with power, and Guthwulf felt her terror rising.

He invoked the name of an infernal creature and reached his left hand into the summoning ring, then released his grasp. The soul swept free from his palm, but the black ash rings flickered a red darker than the torchlight, and the spirit screamed, realizing it was bound within.

Distorted features, like a second set of eyes and teeth, twisted the corpse’s face, and then the body sat suddenly bolt upright, lashing out with its hands to grasp the invisible soul. The soldiers behind Guthwulf drew sharp breaths in horror as the corpse drew its meal to its mouth and began to chew on something intangible.

Once the demon-possessed corpse had consumed the soul Guthwulf had offered it, it turned its lifeless eyes to him. The woman’s pale face looked almost peaceful as the demon waited, but her posture was twisted, her eyes focused into something beyond the corporeal, and she did not breathe.

Guthwulf turned again to the ancient tongues as he gave his newest servant its orders.




Chapter Two

Rantle wished he was near a nice warm fire, instead of waiting for a chance to get himself killed. War was coming, Ragesia’s armies were marching for the western wall of Gate Pass, and the whole city might be in flames by morning – which at least would make things warmer – but Rantle wasn’t expecting to fall in some grand battle. More likely, his sister was going to be the death of him.

Huddled for warmth beneath his cloak, Rantle peeked out of the alley and down the darkened street to the Poison Apple Pub. Wintry wind cut its way down the street, fluttering banners hung from second- and third-story windows and stripping petals from the flower wreaths hung along the stone skybridges that led to and from nearly every building in the city, until finally it found Rantle’s hiding place and stung him for being foolish enough to come out at midnight.

There were dozens of other pubs within walking distance, places full of forced cheer where Gatekeepers tried to forget that their city was about to be crushed by the might of the most powerful nation of the world. Rantle could be there, pretending to be oblivious like the rest of them, but family came before, in Rantle’s mind, everything.

The Apple was where he and his younger sister Katrina had met for the past five new year’s eves. He never knew what she did the rest of her year anymore, ever since she had run off at seventeen. Every year she would return from wherever she had been, lie about her travels with a lifetime worth of practice, and be gone in just a few days.

This year, however, the Apple was closed.

All Rantle had heard was that the owner had been arrested for hostile collusion, which likely meant he had been helping mages flee the city before the inquisitors got here.

Rantle almost hoped Katrina wasn’t coming. She deserved better than to be betrayed by the city that had raised them. When they were kids, standing up to Ragesia would have made you a hero. Today, it seemed, people spent more energy wondering what sorts of costumes would be on display for the new year’s festival, and less working for their future.

Still, any hope that he might see his sister and find out she was alright was worth freezing a little, so he waited, keeping an eye on the entrance to the Apple in case she came by.

Rantle was starting to nod off when the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow caught his attention. He peeked out of the alley, hoping to see his sister, safe and sound. Instead a group of three people slinked down the street, hunched in winter coats and scarves. Two were clearly men – one likely a herethim by the slope of his brow, the other a young man – and the woman had too slight a build for Katrina, and black hair.

The group stopped outside the Poison Apple and looked around as if to make sure they were in the right place, muttering too softly for Rantle to hear from his hiding place one building down. Then the herethim knocked on the door, and a moment later it opened and someone leaned out. More words were exchanged, and before Rantle knew it they had gone inside and the pub door was closed again.

For a moment, Rantle indulged his own amusement, chuckling that he had not thought to even try the door. Apparently whatever ‘hostile collusion’ had gone on in the Apple hadn’t stopped with its owner’s arrest.

He was just about to follow the group in when he heard the horse approaching from the back end of the alley.

Rantle had plenty of experience in hiding at a moment’s notice, but he was distracted, and by the time he thought to move, the rider was already turning the corner toward him. Anyway, Rantle told himself, any danger tonight was on the other side of the city walls, probably resting in a nice warm tent. Just in case, though, he tucked his arms into his coat, which would look like he was keeping warm, but which put his hand near his knife.

Brown-haired and barely bundled against the chill, a strong horse walked into Rantle’s alley, coming in from the gutter alley that ran parallel to the main streets, between the lines of three-story houses and shops. Almost immediately Rantle wondered if running would have been a better idea, since the horse was armored, as was its rider.

“New year’s blessings,” Rantle said, putting on his best smile.

The dark-haired rider stopped short, clearly not expecting to run into anyone. The man looked to be in his twenties, about as old as Rantle, but he was built for swinging heavy objects at fleshy targets. Blue-eyed, his complexion was the color of dry soil, and his black hair was cut short. He wore only cavalry plate armor and no winter coat, which likely meant he either was crazy, or was the stubborn type who needed to display how tough he thought he was.

The horse’s saddle held enough weapons for a small military campaign, most prominent being a massive two-hander sheathed along the steed’s flank. Even with his greatsword useless in the tight quarters of the alley, the man had ways enough to make Rantle regret getting on his bad side.

“Get out of here,” the man said.

Rantle raised a hand calmingly, still keeping a smile on his face.

“Peace, friend, I’m going.” He took a step back. “But, before I go, do you mind if I ask what brings you out to this part of town? At midnight, on new year’s eve, when the nearest open pub is four streets that way? Are you lost?”

The man’s blue eyes narrowed in irritation, but he didn’t say anything.

“You look Ragesian,” Rantle continued. “You’re definitely not a Gatekeeper. I admit, I wasn’t burning to get into a fight tonight, but a good citizen would think it’s his duty to fight against some sharpened tilt from the Ragesian army who found a way inside our walls.”

“I’m not with the army.”

Rantle detected something like a sigh in his tone. It threw him off briefly.

“Good,” Rantle said eventually. “Because I’m not a good citizen. Honestly, I think the leadership of this city has gone downhill lately. Do you think they’re actually going to surrender to the rags?”

“No,” the cavalryman said. “Now get out of my way.”

Rantle hesitated. He could hear more snow crunching, this time overhead, crossing a skybridge over the alley. Perhaps this horseman, whoever he was, he had not come alone.

“Look,” Rantle said, “I sense you plan to kill someone tonight, so I’m going to be honest with you, stranger. I’m Rantle. You?”

After a pause, “Kathor.”

“Kathor,” Rantle said, “I’ve got a nice flask of alwyr red. It’s strong and sweet, not the sort of drink a poor soldier gets a chance to enjoy usually. Or a poor bounty hunter, if you grasp my meaning? I was looking to share it with my sister, who I haven’t seen for a year now. We were supposed to meet for drinks just down the way, and I’m worried that you’re here, with all your swords and knives, for her.

“Now if that’s true,” he continued, “then I’m probably going to get myself killed, because she’s my little sister, and she has this nasty habit of getting into trouble that only I can wind her out of. Which means I won’t get to enjoy this one last nice drink before your friends in that army out there come in and burn down my city. So I’m going to offer this: tell me that you’re not here for my sister, and the two of us can toast the end of one year and the start of another.”

A bell tolled mournfully in the distance, from the great Spire Clocktower in the central district of Gate Pass, three miles away. Rantle straightened slightly and waited as other bells joined it, proclaiming midnight and new year, slowly ringing up and down the length of the city – nine miles of mountain pass, snow, and frightened people.

Kathor had turned his attention away briefly. Though his eyes were skyward, the horseman’s question was aimed at Rantle.

“Is your sister a mage?”

Rantle grabbed the knife in his coat, waiting for an attack that didn’t come. A moment passed, and he thought he heard movement, but the bells made it hard to tell from where. He cleared his throat to gather his courage.

“New year,” Rantle observed. “We have a tradition here, that you should make a wish at the turn of the year, and if it’s what you really want, what you truly dream about, it will come to you in the coming year.”

Kathor turned his attention back to Rantle, and to Rantle’s relief it looked as if the man was actually listening to him. Rantle had just wanted to distract him in case he had to fight, but Kathor seemed genuinely interested. Rantle didn’t quite know what he was hoping to accomplish, but he bit his lip and decided it wouldn’t hurt to see where this went.

“Kathor,” he said, “do you really want to be doing this? You say you’re not a soldier, so if you’re hunting mages, that means you’re a bounty hunter. That means you’re probably trapped in this city just like everyone else, and I don’t think a few collared mages are going to earn you mercy.”

“I’m not stuck,” Kathor said. “And you’re just trying to avoid a fight.”

“Of course I am,” Rantle said. “And if you want to be spending your new year, when by rights we should all be drinking and celebrating, instead helping the god damned rags attack a city that never did you anything wrong, I don’t think I can stop you. But ask yourself, is that really what you wish for tonight?”

Kathor seemed to consider, mulling Rantle’s words.

The new year’s bells faltered, their tolling cutting out one by one. Rantle and Kathor both looked around nervously. Beneath the echoes of the bells, faint, deep thumps were audible, sounding like rotten fruit striking a roof.

Kathor gave a single bemused chuckle, straightened in his saddle, then shouted.

“Move! Everyone, move!”

Rantle heard people running in the street, and he saw dark shapes moving for the entrance to the Apple. Distracted, by the time he realized Kathor had drawn his sword and was intending to trample him, Rantle had lost his chance to strike first.

He scrambled backward for the street as Kathor rode toward him. Though the man’s sword was too huge to swing in the alley, it served fine as a makeshift lance, and it was all Rantle could do to dodge to the side at the alley’s mouth and avoid being skewered. Kathor’s horse stopped awkwardly in the icy street as Kathor tried to wheel to face him, and Rantle drew his dueling sword and knife. He stabbed out with the sword, hoping to catch the man when he was unbalanced, but Kathor knocked his bladed aside with his two-hander.

Rantle leapt back and held his sword and knife up defensively, but Kathor did not press the attack. The man’s eyes flicked in the direction of the Apple, and Rantle was faintly aware that Kathor’s allies ten yards down the street were hammering at the pub’s door with a small battering ram. The Spire bells now began to ring again wildly, sounding an alarm.

“I told you to leave,” Kathor shouted. “Your city’s under attack. Find someplace open, away from buildings. Or else go underground.”

Rantle cocked his head disdainfully. “You’re trying to get me to run when my sister might be in the building your thugs are atta-?”

A roar of sound and a slamming force the likes of which Rantle had never felt before struck him from behind, and when he came to his senses he was lying in the street next to Kathor’s horse, which was likewise knocked off its feet.

People were yelling, and there was fire – a great deal of fire.

Rantle cleared his head with a shake, then looked at the flames. A word he remembered from his sister’s early experiments with fire magic came to mind: explosion.

The building next to the Poison Apple had – it really was the only word that did justice – exploded, and now the street was littered with glass, burning wood, shattered stone, and cracked plaster. The second floor of the building was almost completely obliterated, and the ground floor was engulfed in flames. The Apple itself was covered with burning debris, and the men in the street with the battering ram had simply stopped to see what had happened.

Nearby Rantle heard a groan, and he remembered he had been fighting.

Retrieving his knife from the debris in the street – his sword was nowhere to be seen – Rantle staggered around the flailing warhorse to where Kathor lay, a leg pinned under his mount. Kathor saw him coming and reached for his two-hander, but Rantle put his boot on it and pulled it away, then bent down and picked it up for himself.

“You should leave,” Rantle smirked. “City’s under attack. Better get to safety. Maybe run back to whoever holds your leash.”

Rantle backed away in the direction of the pub, tucking his knife back into his coat and holding Kathor’s sword warily. Kathor crawled out from under his horse, his expression hard to read, but a moment later he had gotten his horse to its feet. He swung himself up into the saddle and turned to face Rantle.

Kathor looked him in the eyes and frowned.

“What?” Rantle demanded.

Without a word, Kathor glanced in the direction of the pub, then turned and rode off. People who had come out of their houses to see what was going on stepped out of way of his horse, and in a moment he had vanished beyond the edge of the firelight.




Chapter Three

Rantle shouted for the people in the streets to keep back. Holding the huge sword he had stolen from Kathor, he sprinted down the street to the door of the Apple, where the men with the battering ram had just managed to knock the door open. Over the panic they didn’t hear Rantle coming, and he aimed for the first man’s neck.

Rantle had been in a lot of fights, and he had killed a man once, a guildsman from the Takers gang. The fight had been over turf, and Rantle had meant to leave the Takers guildsman with just a scar, but his blade had gone in farther than he had expected, and – since the man had been trying to kill Rantle anyway – he hadn’t regretted it. Better, his fellow Mauser guildsmen had treated him to a night of drinks to reward his toughness, so in the end Rantle had come away feeling alright with the idea of killing people.

These bounty hunters might have come looking for his sister, so Rantle did not hesitate as he swung.

“Come out quietly, or we’ll lock you in here to burn!” one of the bounty hunters was shouting. “Surren-”

Kathor’s sword was nearly as long as Rantle was tall, heavy enough to crush plate armor and sharp enough to sever a horse’s leg. It cut through the first man’s neck cleanly, and its momentum carried its tip into the side of the second man’s jaw just as he was demanding a surrender. Rantle imagined he could feel bone crunching and teeth snapping free through the blade’s hilt. The man screamed, dropped his metal club, and collapsed. Rantle staggered back, shocked, but then he heard shouts inside the Apple, and saw the man was still moving, red steam filling the air with his every breath. Shuddering, Rantle stepped over the man’s body and in through the pub’s front door.

Overhead, the roof and second story burned like they were coated with pitch, and the explosion of the adjacent building had fractured the walls. Fiery oil had somehow seeped through the cracks, setting one wall on fire. On the far wall behind the bar, dozens of bottles had fallen during the impact, leaving the shelves bare. Still upright, though, a bronze bust of the late Emperor Coaltongue took in the battle without expression.

Throughout the pub’s common room a half dozen men dressed like the thugs outside fought amid clustered tables and chairs against their five potential bounties. Rantle recognized no one in the small melee, and he scanned the wrecked walls for signs that Katrina might be trapped or hiding.

Just inside the doorway lay a dead bounty hunter, and near him the herethim man Rantle had seen outside earlier slumped against a table, blinking dully and hissing in pain. He held a blood-soaked sword, but a dagger had punctured his chest, and blood poured down his forehead from a wretched wound where something had bludgeoned his skull.

To the right of the bar the black-haired woman Rantle had seen enter earlier hid behind an overturned table, shaking and yelling at the other man who had come with her as he bled to death from his throat. Between them and the thugs stood a young white-haired woman in breastplate and greaves. She thrashed a flurry of axe strikes into one bounty hunter and shoved him back into his allies, but another bounty hunter, his clothes and face burnt from dripping oil, flanked wide through the common room tables so he could get her from behind. She yelled to the dark-haired woman for help.

To the left of the bar, a bloodied bounty hunter wrestled with a short jispin man that Rantle had not seen with the group earlier. The jispin man, wearing what looked like an expensive servant’s outfit under a tattered brown cloak, was barely half the size of the bounty hunter, but he was kicking and flailing with the tenacity of a cornered dog, slashing his enemy’s arms with a tiny knife since he could not reach the man’s throat.

The dark-haired woman in the far right corner of the room screamed, and Rantle leapt into the battle.

He switched the oversized sword to his left hand, drew his dagger, and ran up behind the nearest bounty hunters, who were keeping the white-haired woman busy. The thug who was trying to flank her called out a warning to his allies, and one of the two bounty hunters spun and swung at Rantle with a sword. Rantle saw the attack coming, knocked it aside with a clumsy one-handed wipe of the two-hander, and then lunged in with his knife. He almost stopped himself, remembering the dying man he had left in the doorway, but then his blade slipped into the bounty hunter’s belly, and the man doubled over. Rantle ripped his knife out and drove it into the man’s throat.

Rantle cringed, expecting the second bounty hunter to come at him, but the warrior woman had swung at that man, and he was desperately trying to keep her axe at bay with his sword.

The third, flanking bounty hunter had given up on the white-haired warrior woman and was instead trying to grab the cowering woman on the floor. She scrambled under a table, but with all the scattered chairs and tables in the way Rantle knew he wouldn’t be able to get to her before the bounty hunter did.

Hoping to distract the man long enough to close the distance, Rantle drew back the two-handed sword and hurled it lengthwise. It whirled through the air, twisting slightly so that when it struck the bounty hunter it was the flat that hit, but still the force of the impact staggered the man, and he turned to see what had hit him. With that moment’s pause, Rantle had picked up the sword from the last man he had stabbed, and now he shouted and charged in.

The bounty hunter slashed as Rantle reached him. Rantle tried to parry, but the other man locked the crossguard of their swords together, then stepped in and lifted a knee into Rantle’s stomach.

Rantle doubled over, expecting to die any moment, but no one hit him. He forced himself to straighten up and swung at his enemy, only to discover the man had an axe in his collar bone. The white-haired woman had managed to dispatch her enemy, and had come to his aid.

She stepped in, gripped her axe tightly, and shoved the man off the blade with her foot. He slumped to the ground clutching the horrible wound in his chest, and for a moment the woman looked like she was going to finish him, but then she spat and turned away. The bounty hunter feebly clambered away to the door.

Rantle sighed and nodded. “Thanks.”

The woman was not looking at him, though.

“Rivereye,” she shouted.

“Alive,” came the reply from the jispin.

The short man, barely four feet tall, had somehow managed to extricate himself from the bounty hunter who had been grabbing him, and who now lay curled in a pool of blood near the bar.

The jispin man was ugly. Most jispin had that cute appeal all small things have, but warts riddled Rivereye’s face, and his skin had a blue pallor. Gem-studded rings adorned his hands, and he had slung a heavy pack over his shoulder, filled with something large and boxy. His eyes, squinty, nervous slits of dark blue, fixed on Rantle. He produced a knife and held it out warily.

“I’m here to help,” Rantle said. “Is there anyone else with you? A red-headed woman?”

The warrior woman shook her head, glancing around the room quickly as she moved over to the herethim with a knife in his side.

“No,” she said. “We need to get out of here before this place falls on us. Kell, come on. We’ve got to get out of here.”

Rantle had already stepped away, looking down at the black-haired woman who cowered on the floor. She wore the tunic of a craftswoman, dyed light purple, and had no weapons on her. Her hair was tied back in a thin braid, and her brown eyes stared wide and blankly at the floor. Rantle knelt beside her, holding up his less-bloodied hand to try to calm her.

“This place isn’t safe,” he said. “Come with me.”

The woman shook her head, quivering with fear. Her eyes flickered to the body of the man beside her, and then she closed them tight, her face twisting with grief.

Rantle sighed and wished he did not have to, but the fire gave him little choice. He leaned forward, grabbed her by her armpit and waist, and threw her over his shoulder. She didn’t struggle, and a moment later he was outside, laying her down on the opposite side of the icy street, next to a closed shop. The short jispin Rivereye and the warrior woman had dragged their herethim comrade out as well, and were tending to the dagger in his ribs, but it didn’t look good.

Overhead, families peered out of the upper story windows. The streets were swelling with confused people, but most kept their distance from the fire for now. Distant sounds like massive drumbeats called out from all around, but the people spoke only in whispers, unable to comprehend what was happening.

As Rantle laid the shocked woman down, she said, “Torrent.”

The white-haired warrior woman looked over like she had been called by name. “I’m here, Sorra. Don’t worry. We’re safe.”

“Coran’s in-.” Sorra stopped, choking on her tears before she could finish. “Torrent, he’s still inside.”

The warrior woman, Torrent, glanced at Rantle.

“Coran, the other man,” she said. “Get him out.”

Her voice had a sadness that made it clear that she knew the man was already dead, but Rantle just nodded. He needed to get his sword back anyway.

A minute later, Rantle staggered out of the door of the Apple, Coran’s body over his left shoulder, Kathor’s sword in his right hand, and a bundle of loot from the bounty hunters under his arm. The pub was filling with smoke, but it would still be a while before its ceiling would cave, Rantle guessed. Coughing, Rantle came over beside the other survivors and dropped the body and loot with as much finesse as he could, then slumped to the ground himself.

His legs had been shaking, and now he realized his whole body was shivering, but not from the cold. He wanted to get up and do something. The city was in chaos, and Rantle did not know what was going on, but he felt like he should be helping, somehow. He considered running to the west wall, since the rags were probably attacking; or going back into the Apple to drag out some of the bounty hunters who might not yet be dead, but he could not bring himself to move, not yet.

Far overhead, Rantle thought he heard a sound like a massive flag flapping in the wind, and the alarm bells were still ringing.

“Feeling alright?” Torrent asked.

Rantle glanced over to her. She leaned against the stone façade of the shop and rubbed a poultice into a gash on her shoulder. Her white hair – her most obvious feature – was almost short enough to be a military cut, like she had once been a soldier and had never been comfortable with letting it grow out.

The light brown color of her skin marked her as being from the south-eastern Ragesian empire, the land that had been called Chathus before the Ragesians conquered it decades earlier, though Rantle wondered if she might be part jen – not of the han race, like him. She looked normal enough, but had a gentle jawline and piercing eyes that suggested jen, and her white hair was definitely unusual for a han woman her age. Also, the armor she wore was clearly of Shahalesti make, decorated with fine etchings of waves and sea creatures.

Despite Rantle’s prolonged stare, she did not look at him as she tended to her wound, though it was clear she was waiting for his reply.

“I’m not hurt,” he said.

Torrent half-shrugged, half-nodded. “You’ll be alright. Thank you for the help.”

“Yeah,” Rantle said.

They watched the crowds filling the street, confusion on everyone’s faces. No one was trying to put out the fire in the Apple, and there were shouts that there fires all over the city. Torrent took out a flask, sipped a bit, then cleared her throat.

“You were looking for someone when you came cutting your way into that pub,” she said. “A woman, right?”

“My sister, Katrina,” he said. “Red hair. Twenty-two. She’s a mage, like these people with you are, I’m guessing.”

“Yeah,” Torrent shrugged, “they’re mages. I’m trying to get them to safety. But I haven’t met your sister. Maybe she’s already on her way to Seaquen.”

“What’s that?” Rantle said.

“Seaquen,” Torrent said. “That’s why you came tonight, right?”

Rantle said nothing, but he was sure his expression made his confusion clear.

Torrent shrugged. “For whatever mad reason, Leska’s got the rags capturing mages, and we’re all heading to Seaquen, in south Dassen, where it’s safe. Tonight’s our last run, but there were other-”

The force of another explosion a few streets away shook the ground and lit up the night with fire. People who had gathered outside screamed and fled, and Rantle and Torrent both cringed at the building-shattering roar.

“What in hell are those?” Rantle demanded. “We’re a mile inside the walls. That couldn’t have been a catapult.”

Torrent looked to the jispin man, who was trying to hide in the doorway of the shop, his eyes cast skyward.

“Rivereye,” she said. Then again, “Rivereye!”

The short man ducked, then looked over at the two of them. He carried himself like a dog often beaten, afraid of being struck again.

Torrent tilted her head at the pub. “What caused that?”

A smile flitted across Rivereye’s lips, then vanished. “Dractyls.”

Rantle said, “What?”

Rivereye scoffed darkly. “You’ve got great birds here in Gate Pass, right? Avilons?”

Rantle nodded. Avilons were like eagles the size of a horse, just large enough for small women and young men to ride them. Though officially they constituted an aerial cavalry, most Gatekeepers just thought of them as unique entertainers who soared through the city during festivals, performing elaborate dances in the sky.

“The Ragesians have avilon cavalry?” Rantle said, bewildered.

“Better,” Rivereye said. “Or worse, I suppose, for us. Dractyls. They’re like stupid dragons, twice as big as an avilon, big enough to carry a knight in armor. I once saw a group of dractyl riders training. They could get a dractyl to pick up a clay urn the size of a keg and drop it on a target ten feet across from a hundred feet up. Of course, the ones they were using were for practice. The ones they’re carrying now use some sort of fire magic, and are filled lots of oil.”

“Dragons?” Rantle said. “The Ragesians have dragon cavalry? That’s impossible.”

“Don’t believe me then,” Rivereye sneered. He turned away and began muttering.

Torrent said, “They’re not true dragons. More like cats, bred down from mountain lions. You notice they’re not breathing fire. You’d be surprised what magic you can buy with an empire’s fortune.”

“Still,” Rantle said. “We’re helpless, and more important, worthless. My city is being destroyed by ‘cats.’ How do we fight something that flies?”

Torrent had a small, tight smile on her lips. “You’re too eager to fight. Your city has its own defenders who will do the fighting. What we need to do is find some shelter tonight.”

People were surging past them in the street – not enough to risk trampling them so close to the building, but enough to make it clear that most of them were just panicking, scared people, each trying to go wherever he or she thought was safest.

“It looks like the Ragesians are just scattering the strikes randomly,” Rivereye said. “The army is probably attacking the wall right now, and the more people who are in the streets, the harder it is for reinforcements to get there. I think we should actually stay here, since they won’t drop another bomb so close to this one.”

“No,” Torrent said. “I told you, we’re getting out of this city. I’m not letting you hole yourself up and wait to get killed.”

Sorra, the dark-haired woman Rantle had carried out earlier, shivered as she said, “Inquisitors.”

Torrent leaned over and put a calming hand on her shoulder. Then she looked back to Rantle.

“I need to keep these people safe,” she said, “which means we’re leaving. We were lucky you came and helped us. We’re leaving the city, if you’d be interested in coming with us? Your sister might already be on the way to Seaquen.”

Rantle shook his head and stood, holding the two-handed sword and wondering what to do with it.

“She might be here too,” he said, “or she might never even have gotten here. I’m not going to run. Look, once you find some place safe, lay easy. I imagine it’s good to stay out in the open, or to be underground, away from the ‘bombs.’”

Torrent stood and raised a hand in a mock toast. “I hope you have that luxury, because we don’t.”

“Yeah, well,” Rantle said, “it’s a new year, so I wish you – and me – the luck to make it through tonight alive.”

Torrent said, “Don’t run into any more burning buildings.”

Rantle smirked and then, before his nerve and legs grew weak again, he headed down the alley beside the nearest three-story building, jumped onto the ladder built into the bricks, and started climbing. Halfway up, he glanced down and saw Torrent, Rivereye, and Sorra heading off. They had left behind Coran and the herethim man whose name Rantle had not caught. Only then did Rantle realize the herethim must have died from his wound.

Rantle kept climbing.

When he reached the roof he threw the sword he had taken from Kathor up first, then clambered onto the flat, icy rooftop, careful not to lose his balance. More than anything else, he had chosen to take the skybridge route because he wanted to see what was happening from a high vantage point, and when he stood up he cursed.

Scattered fires lit up his city, stretching away a mile to the west gate and miles more eastward. The sky was dark with clouds, but their undersides reflected the dim orange of the burning flames. As he watched, another explosion blossomed in the central district, and it took a long breath for the muted thump to reach his ears. When the bomb flared, its light glinted off bronze high overhead, hinting at the shape of a mighty statue, a colossus that had been left forty years ago, the last time Ragesia had attacked Gate Pass.

Ninety feet tall, it had been erected to mark the victory of the glorious emperor, Drakus Coaltongue, called the Old Dragon, who had conquered Gate Pass near the end of his ascension to power. Even after the resistance had driven out the rags, the city had kept the statue as a reminder to all Gatekeepers that they had the strength to defeat the greatest power in the world.

Now, the rumors said Coaltongue was dead, and Ragesia had gone to war to avenge him, and to locate and recover that most precious artifact, wielded for the hundred years of the emperor’s reign, which had made the Ragesian Empire invincible.

Coaltongue’s colossus towered over the city, its right arm raised to the heavens, holding horizontally over its head the bronze-cast image of that artifact, a jagged femur crowned with flame – the Torch of the Burning Sky.




Chapter Four

The bombs had stopped falling, and the bell ringers had found better things to do, since by now the entire city had awoken, but the air still brimmed with cacophony as Rantle ran along the skybridges toward the guildhouse.

Above the voices of the surging crowds murmured the faint sounds of battle in the skies, as avilon riders tried to cut down the Ragesian dractyls before they could return to their army and get more bombs. Rantle could not see the battles, just occasional holes in the starry sky sweeping past.

Mostly, Rantle tried not to look up, though he would duck every time he heard the heavy flapping of leathern wings coming too close. Once he came across a man dead from a crossbow bolt that could only have been fired from overhead.

The rooftops were almost as crowded as the streets, but few who had the sense to get to high ground were as panicked as those below. Rantle occasionally had to use normal roads whenever he came upon a building demolished by bombing, cutting off his path, but the only truly dangerous part of his journey was passing through the gate between the fourth and fifth districts, where a crush of panicked men and women trying to get farther from the Ragesians had nearly suffocated him.

Rantle had no home to check on, and the only places he could think to go to ride out the night in safety were themselves dangerous for him to return to, but anything was better than staying out in the chaos of the streets. Finally, after nearly ten minutes of hard running Rantle reached the Mauser guildhouse

The house thankfully had been spared the Ragesian fire. Mausers with meaty cudgels stood in front of the entrance, shouting at the crowds to keep their distance. The fifth district was home to more beggars, criminals, and poor families than any other, and Rantle had passed several scenes of looting as the pathetically impoverished tried to find anything valuable in the homes of their equally penniless neighbors.

“Sandir,” Rantle shouted to one of the guards, a heavy-set blond second story man.

With an irritated snap of his fingers, Sandir waved Rantle in from the crowded street. The other guildsmen guarding the door scowled.

“Don’t trust him,” warned Rugan, a dark-haired enforcer with a scar on his left ear. “He’s in with the bellmen.”

“Peace,” Rantle said, “seriously. We’re all friends here.”

“Why in hell are you here, Rantle?” Sandir asked, snapping his fingers repeatedly to hasten Rantle’s reply. “We know you went cliff diving for that two-dip councilwoman. What happened? Thrown out on your arse by another woman scorned?”

“I finished that job weeks ago,” Rantle said. “She knows she got deuced, and I don’t think she’d be letting me share her bedroom tonight, but she isn’t ‘scorned’ by any damned measure.”

This was not quite true. Councilwoman Pravati Bhari was the most gullible woman Rantle had ever stolen from, and as soon as Sandir mentioned it, Rantle wished he had decided to go to her manor instead of here. But the guildhouse was closer, and if Katrina were in the city, it was the only place she would know to look for him now.

Rugan sneered. “So you get tossed a few damned bridges to betray Dirus, and now you’re coming back here for what? Tomas kept the irons hot for you.”

Rantle took a wary step back. “Is this necessary right now?”

“Why in hell should we waste our time helping a traitor?” Sandir said.

“Wait,” Rantle said. “Just because I didn’t take another man’s beating doesn’t mean I’m a traitor. If Dirus had been thinking with his tongue instead of his knife, well, he’d still be able to clap.”

“That’s not the way I heard it,” Sandir said. “Whispers say you turned him in. If you weren’t at all to blame, why’d you run off like a scared mouse?”

“I was still running the deuce,” Rantle said, exasperated. “What, do you think I’m here to turn in the gang? I mean, look around. The bellmen have better tin to do now than raiding our house. Listen, I’ll explain this all to Tomas. Just let me in. I came to see if I could help.”

Sandir and Rugan exchanged dubious glances.

“Alright, that’s hensblood,” Rantle confessed. “I came to see if Katrina came by.”

“She’s back?” Rugan asked.

Rugan possessed an oft-proclaimed feral desire for Rantle’s sister, which was one reason Katrina had avoided the guildhouse for the past five years, but Rantle hoped he could rely on the man’s lust to get him to bend the rules and let Rantle in.

Sandir said, “We haven’t seen that whore in years. You know that.”

“Well she’s here now,” Rantle said, refusing to respond to Sandir’s insult. “She came into town a few days ago. You know the Poison Apple, in the fourth? It’s burning down right now. I was supposed to meet her there, but now, I have no damned idea where she might be.”

“You think,” Rugan said hopefully, “she might come here?”

“Maybe,” Rantle said. “Listen, I know you all hate me, but I also know you all like my sister, and with all the fire falling from the sky I know Tomas would like to have her around too. This is the only place she knows to find me, and she won’t stay unless I’m here.”

Rugan grumbled the way he did when he knew he was making a bad decision.

Rantle looked upward in frustration. “Can you just let me the hell in?”

“Dammit, fine,” Rugan said. “But I’m taking you to see Tomas.”

“Really?” Rantle drew out his reply to make sure dim Rugan caught the sarcasm. “No, I need to talk to Tomas anyway, to clear up this ‘traitor’ tin you’re canting about.”

Sandir snapped his finger and pointed at Rantle in one motion. “Leave the sword. What the hell are you doing with something like that anyway?”

Rantle looked at Kathor’s sword slowly, looked back to Sandir, and smiled.

“I took it off a Ragesian tilt I killed.”

Unimpressed, Sandir grabbed the sword from Rantle, and waved for him and Rugan to head inside.

The ground floor of the Mauser guildhouse served as a restaurant, one of the few respectable places in the district, but even that was a disorienting maze, decorated with numerous copies of a small numbers of paintings and sculptures to throw off attempts to navigate the halls. Unlike most structures in the city, no skybridges connected it to other buildings.

Rugan took Rantle through the quiet restaurant, which was empty save for a pair of gossiping women collecting food from the kitchen cupboards. Rantle smiled to them and they stopped their conversation long enough to start flirting back.

“Not now,” Rugan said.

The women shrugged and let them pass.

“Some people in the guild seem to still like me,” Rantle said.

Rugan scoffed. They headed up to the second floor, where the guildsmen had their own rooms. A few other Mausers chatting in the hallway saw him and sneered, but Rugan and Rantle pressed past them to Rantle’s old room. Rugan opened the door and shoved Rantle through.

“Stay put ‘til I come get you,” Rugan said.

“What?” Rantle said. “Is Tomas too busy to see me now? Is he playing cards while the city burns?”

“You better hope your sister comes.”

Rugan started to head off, but Rantle leaned out of his door and called, “Hey, Rugan.”

“What!”

“Katrina once told me she thought you looked dashing in that red vest you have.”

“Hen’s blood,” Rugan scoffed.

“I swear,” Rantle said. “You might want to find it before she shows up.”

Rugan grumbled in embarrassment, then came back and shut Rantle’s door. Rantle sighed in relief, then chuckled and walked over to the window. Through the snow-glazed glass he could see people scrambling through the alley below, and he heard a man shouting for his children to keep up.

Rantle turned away, then went over to his bed and sat down. Something rolled against his thigh, and when he looked down he saw a clay urn, brown, about the size of an apple, with a red wax seal over the mouth. Curious, he picked it up and shook it, hearing the light rattle of rolled up paper inside.

These sorts of urns were ubiquitous in Gate Pass around new year’s. On new year’s day every year, the city celebrated the Festival of Dreams with a parade consisting of throngs of revelers and dancers wearing exotic costumes far too titilating and skimpy for the middle of winter. The parade wound its way through the city, finally coming to a stop in the central district, in the park at the foot of the colossus of Emperor Coaltongue, where people of the city traditionally deposited urns like this. Each urn’s owner placed a strip of paper inside, on which was written that person’s dream or desire.

When the parade reached its end, each of the shakurs in charge of the eight major temples in Gate Pass chose one urn from the thousands piled together, cracked it open, and read its contents aloud. According to legend, every dream so revealed would come true before the year’s end, though whether that was due to divine blessing or simple hard work on the part of the temples was up for debate. Of course, particularly cruel, selfish, or impossible wishes had a way of coming about in unintended ways.

Rantle had not been in his room at the guildhouse for months, so with a shrug he rapped the urn against the squat metal chest at the side of his bed where he kept his clothes. The urn cracked open, and Rantle leaned over to collect the paper.

When he realized it was in Katrina’s hand-writing, he groaned.

“I wish I could be with you for the festival,” it read. “I hope this finds you, and that you find me. I’ve headed south, to a little town called Seaquen in south Dassen. I’ll be fine on the trip, but I want you to meet me there. I could use your help, Rantle. I know there’s a war going on, but I have a way that we can come out safe in the end. You need to meet up with a woman named Torrent. She’s with the Resistance, and is headed in the same direction. I made sure she will be waiting at our usual New Year’s spot. Don’t mention me, though. I’ll explain all of this when I see you.

“I won’t say more, in case someone finds this. Be on the look out for a trap, and don’t be surprised if the Ragesians have spies watching the meeting.

“You’ve never let me down, brother. Thank you, and happy new year. Be sure to make a nice wish before you go.”

It was signed, and dated two weeks past. Rantle reread the note, grimacing with an intense feeling of frustration. A knock at the door stopped him just as he was about to smack his forehead at his bad luck. Grumbling, Rantle folded the note and tucked it into his vest, then stood up and opened the door.

Rugan stood there in his dashing red vest, along with another two guildsmen and Tomas, wearing a fine gray suit as if he had just come from a party. Apparently he was not willing to stop his celebrations just because of a little war, as he was holding a glass of golden liquor. A disbelieving rat-like grin appeared on Tomas’s mustached lips, and Rantle realized the three Mauser enforcers with him were all eagerly holding knives.

Rugan lunged forward to stab him, and Rantle shoved the door closed, slamming it on Rugan’s wrist and knocking the knife out of his grasp. Rugan pulled his hand back with a yelp, and Rantle pushed the door shut, then threw his weight against it. A second knife dug through the door near his belly, the tip poking him in his belt. Rantle quickly readjusted himself so he didn’t have anything more vital than his hands touching the door.

“We’re not going to talk about this?” Rantle yelled.

Another knife stabbed where Rantle’s head had been a moment earlier. He looked around for something to help him keep the door shut, but there wasn’t much in the tiny room. With one foot he reached out and awkwardly dragged the bed closer. The stabbings continued, followed by a few slams against the door that Rantle managed to hold back, before finally the assault stopped.

“You sold out one of your brothers,” Tomas said. “Was it worth it for a few more nights in the embrace of that filthy Chathan cap? I thought you were smart enough to know what the consequences would be for that, but I never imagined you’d be stupid enough to come back here.”

Rantle nodded silently in agreement, rolling his eyes at his own short-sightedness.

“I was stupid, yes,” he said. “Honestly, Tomas, I thought you would not be this upset. Tonight’s obviously already stressful. Maybe I should come back some other day?”

“No,” Tomas said, dragging out the word with amusement. “My men are nervous, and you picked an excellent time to help me remind them of the importance of discipline.”

“Tomas,” Rantle said to stall for time. “Did Rugan tell you Katrina is coming? I mean, you- you know the temper she has. If you kill me, I’m warning you she might not like it, is all I’m saying.”

“Keep squealing,” Tomas chuckled. “You’re like a mouse trapped in a hole.”

Rantle shifted his weight so he could lean down and pick up the edge of the bed. It was not very heavy, but it would help. He propped the bed against the door and leaned against that, looking around for a weapon better than the dagger Rugan had dropped. He saw none.

He cursed, and the men outside guffawed.

Suddenly he wished he had decorated his room better. All he had to show for a dozen years of thieving and conning was a chest of nice clothes he used to impress women, a few books of stories and history he kept as guilty pleasures, and a map of the first manor house he had ever robbed hanging on his wall.

“Tomas,” Rantle said, “I explained this to Rugan, but I guess he wasn’t the best choice for someone to speak on my behalf. I didn’t take a swim on Dirus. He fouled up the job, and it was either one of us getting caught or both.

“Be honest,” Rantle shouted through the door. “Honor or not, you would have done the same thing. Be reasonable, Tomas.”

“No,” Tomas raged. “We are a brotherhood, and I would bite a serpent’s tail if it would protect one of my men. You don’t care for anyone but yourself, and, as evidenced by your coming back here tonight, you’re too stupid for me to want to keep in the guild anyway.”

“Yeah,” Rantle said. “Dirus is much more useful now than I am. He gets caught, loses the loot he was supposed to get, whereas I don’t trip up, and you reward me with death. You’re a brilliant leader, Tomas. I’m sure this will inspire loyalty.”

A moment passed before Tomas replied.

“We don’t want to kill you,” he said, “just give you the ringing you thought you’d dodged. Be reasonable, Rantle. It’s only a hand. If I weren’t so busy, I might take the time to come up with something more creative.”

“Alright,” Rantle said through the door. “Let’s talk about something other than snipping off my hand, please? Tomas, I came here for a reason. You think I would be foolish enough to come here and just expect you to forgive me because you like me? I have good news, good enough that I swear you won’t want to punish me.”

“You’re probably spewing hen’s blood,” Tomas replied, “but I’ll listen. I have a party to attend to, though, so speak quickly.”

Rantle risked stepping away from the barricade, then bent over and picked up the chest of clothes by the handle on one end.

“Alright,” he said, “this is going to make us all rich.”

Instead of continuing with his lie, though, he just hurled the chest through his window, shattering the frame and smashing open an escape route. The chest flew out trailing shards of glass, and thumped heavily in the alley below. Rantle knew that Rugan and the others would come bursting through the door in a moment, so he didn’t take the time to worry about cutting himself on loose glass, and just jumped feet first through the window. He released a yell as he fell, which thankfully turned into a groan and not a scream as he managed to land on his feet and roll to reduce some of the pain of impact. Overhead he heard Tomas shouting, ordering his thieves to run Rantle down.

Rantle’s fall startled the family who had been fleeing through the alley, and they ran out into the main street in a hurry. After what he felt was a reasonable amount of time grimacing in pain, Rantle pushed himself wearily to his feet and grabbed his chest of clothes, but before he could run away he heard a loud snap of fingers from the mouth of the alley.

“You?” was all Sandir said, as he glanced back and forth between Rantle and the window on the second floor.

The panicked family had apparently drawn Sandir’s attention away from the front door of the guildhouse, and now he stood a dozen feet away from Rantle, still holding the sword Rantle had taken off of Kathor, looking dumb-founded at Rantle’s presence.

Shouts were already coming from the front of the guildhouse as word spread of Rantle’s escape. Sandir looked back briefly, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do, and during his moment’s distraction, Rantle grabbed the chest handle, then hurled it overhanded at his old thieves’ guild friend.

The twenty-pound chest struck Sandir in the stomach and crumpled him almost silently. Rantle staggered over to him and grabbed the two-handed sword, leaving the chest behind.

“Bye,” Rantle said. “And sorry.”

Despite the pain in his feet and knees, Rantle forced himself to jog away, straight into the main street and the masses of terrified people, where he hoped the guildsmen wouldn’t follow. He desperately wished that his sister knew what he was going through in order to help her.

RangerWickett