JoeGKushner
First Post
Behind the Gates is the third in the Foul Locales series. This book takes the players to the small villages and towns and the strange encounters waiting for them outside the city gates.
There are sixteen locations waiting for characters of almost any level to explore. The very first one, Apple of His Eye, deals with the Locke Apple Farm. Here, Alan Locke, a native from the city, has come to reclaim his family's home from the dark and apparently deceased Dorothea Locke's legacy. Of course things aren't what they seem and Dorothea has a special ways with plants that make her far more than human. The material here is a perfect set up for players to lurk about at lower levels noticing the little oddities until they're of higher level and can learn the truth about Dorothea's dark secrets.
Other examples like Bounty and the Beast, can be far more friendly. Here, the former bounty hunter Delrick Jhomes and his androsphinx comrade provide lore and wisdom and even come out of their 'retirement' if the cause, and price are right. Both are high level individuals and put together, could challenge a near epic party. How about the cover? It depicts an adventuring groups encounter with Sargred, a psionic animated statue. This creature's psionic abilities enable it to commit much mayhem without ever being a suspect in the crimes.
Because this is a Foul Locales book and not a City Book, almost every area has some issue that the players may find themselves involved in. In some aspects, this is perfect for say, an Evil Campaign. I can see more than one GM with a Vile group using the Butcher, the Baker and the Candlestick maker either as a stopping point for the Vile characters to get rid of evidence or as a cruel joke against them as they are served the very bodies that they sought to get rid of.
Some like the Caiman Temple, aren't evil per say, but are at the center of events that may happen if the players don't help. These monks for example, have many enemies, internal and external. With over a dozen locations, the GM should be able to pull off quite a few encounters, friendly or hostile.
Each section starts with name, where's it's best place, approximate level in case things take a turn for the worse, and then the meat of the material. In this case, that means brief description, location details, NPCs and Creatures, Adventures and Plot Hooks, and Where it Fits. None of the material is deeply detailed and while some see this as a weakness, I find it allows me to easily customize the material and keep the kernel of the story or action that I need. The adventure hooks are brief and to the point.
Another useful thing is that these just aren't locations. A lot of game mechanics have gone into this book to make it more than the individual parts. Take the Prestige Classes. We've got bounty hunters, crocodile warriors, explorers, rock wardens, and the Wise, not to mention the core class White Witch and Warlock. This doesn't count the feats, herbs, magic items or monsters found within the book or the spells.
The internal covers are used. The book utilizes the two-column layout with important information pulled off to the side in gray boxes. Great internal art by Scott Purdy and Patricio Soler highlights this book to me. Jeremy McHug, Eric Lofgren and Marcio Fiorito also contribute but not in the same quantity. The maps are by Ed Bourelle so they're top notch quality but as always, lacking any map keys. Normally not a problem as the maps are large enough to know what everything is supposed to be, but I like map keys. White space use is good. The page to price ratio throws me a little as 136 page books aren't normal as most cap out at 128 so it seems about right.
Is the book perfect? No. Some editing errors creep in. For instance, the Witch is referred to as a prestige class both under the class description and in the index. It's a class. The bounty hunter PrC has no hit dice listed. Looking at Delrick Jhomes, it's d8 per level. When using words ending in small caps like 2nd, the nd part cuts into the line above it making an invisible line necessary and throwing off the balance of the text. For some, the fact that there is OGC from other publications will be bothersome or that at least one piece of art is reused will not sit with them. They are minor issues and didn't take up a lot of space so the book is still a good value.
If you're in need of more locations for your Necromancer Games adventures, and we all know that they take place outside the city, then this book should fit easily into your campaign setting. Toss in all of the new and reprinted crunch and you've got a book whose utility doesn't just lie in presenting interesting locales for the players to explore.
There are sixteen locations waiting for characters of almost any level to explore. The very first one, Apple of His Eye, deals with the Locke Apple Farm. Here, Alan Locke, a native from the city, has come to reclaim his family's home from the dark and apparently deceased Dorothea Locke's legacy. Of course things aren't what they seem and Dorothea has a special ways with plants that make her far more than human. The material here is a perfect set up for players to lurk about at lower levels noticing the little oddities until they're of higher level and can learn the truth about Dorothea's dark secrets.
Other examples like Bounty and the Beast, can be far more friendly. Here, the former bounty hunter Delrick Jhomes and his androsphinx comrade provide lore and wisdom and even come out of their 'retirement' if the cause, and price are right. Both are high level individuals and put together, could challenge a near epic party. How about the cover? It depicts an adventuring groups encounter with Sargred, a psionic animated statue. This creature's psionic abilities enable it to commit much mayhem without ever being a suspect in the crimes.
Because this is a Foul Locales book and not a City Book, almost every area has some issue that the players may find themselves involved in. In some aspects, this is perfect for say, an Evil Campaign. I can see more than one GM with a Vile group using the Butcher, the Baker and the Candlestick maker either as a stopping point for the Vile characters to get rid of evidence or as a cruel joke against them as they are served the very bodies that they sought to get rid of.
Some like the Caiman Temple, aren't evil per say, but are at the center of events that may happen if the players don't help. These monks for example, have many enemies, internal and external. With over a dozen locations, the GM should be able to pull off quite a few encounters, friendly or hostile.
Each section starts with name, where's it's best place, approximate level in case things take a turn for the worse, and then the meat of the material. In this case, that means brief description, location details, NPCs and Creatures, Adventures and Plot Hooks, and Where it Fits. None of the material is deeply detailed and while some see this as a weakness, I find it allows me to easily customize the material and keep the kernel of the story or action that I need. The adventure hooks are brief and to the point.
Another useful thing is that these just aren't locations. A lot of game mechanics have gone into this book to make it more than the individual parts. Take the Prestige Classes. We've got bounty hunters, crocodile warriors, explorers, rock wardens, and the Wise, not to mention the core class White Witch and Warlock. This doesn't count the feats, herbs, magic items or monsters found within the book or the spells.
The internal covers are used. The book utilizes the two-column layout with important information pulled off to the side in gray boxes. Great internal art by Scott Purdy and Patricio Soler highlights this book to me. Jeremy McHug, Eric Lofgren and Marcio Fiorito also contribute but not in the same quantity. The maps are by Ed Bourelle so they're top notch quality but as always, lacking any map keys. Normally not a problem as the maps are large enough to know what everything is supposed to be, but I like map keys. White space use is good. The page to price ratio throws me a little as 136 page books aren't normal as most cap out at 128 so it seems about right.
Is the book perfect? No. Some editing errors creep in. For instance, the Witch is referred to as a prestige class both under the class description and in the index. It's a class. The bounty hunter PrC has no hit dice listed. Looking at Delrick Jhomes, it's d8 per level. When using words ending in small caps like 2nd, the nd part cuts into the line above it making an invisible line necessary and throwing off the balance of the text. For some, the fact that there is OGC from other publications will be bothersome or that at least one piece of art is reused will not sit with them. They are minor issues and didn't take up a lot of space so the book is still a good value.
If you're in need of more locations for your Necromancer Games adventures, and we all know that they take place outside the city, then this book should fit easily into your campaign setting. Toss in all of the new and reprinted crunch and you've got a book whose utility doesn't just lie in presenting interesting locales for the players to explore.
