John Cooper
Explorer
CORMYR: THE TEARING OF THE WEAVE
By Richard Baker, Bruce R. Cordell, David Noonan, Matthew Sernett, and James Wyatt
Wizards of the Coast product number 956857200
160-pages hardcover, $29.95
SPOILER WARNING: As is usually the case when I review an adventure, I'm going to mention specific plot elements that will cause you to have a whole lot less fun if you run a PC through this adventure. Do yourself and your DM a huge favor by not reading the rest of this review.
Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave is a Forgotten Realms adventure intended for parties of level 4-7. Furthermore, it's the first adventure in a three-part series; the next one, Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land is already in my to-be-reviewed stack.
The cover artwork gets the typical Forgotten Realms treatment, with the faux leather stitching around the edges and a narrow painting of a scene from the adventure wrapping from front to back. This time the painting is by William O'Connor, and he depicts a white-haired human fighter wielding a flame blade against a small horde of undead lizardfolk. (We'll learn inside that these are shadowslain lizardfolk, courtesy of one of two new templates provided in the appendix in the back of the book.) On the back cover, his two companions (an elf ranger and a dwarf cleric, by the looks of it) are being surrounded by will-o'-wisps in a swamp, while a black dragon sits perched on a set of ruins in the background. The deep shadows and general "murkiness" of the painting help sell the moody atmosphere; it's a well-done piece.
The interior artwork consists of only 9 color illustrations and one player handout by artists William O'Connor, Jim Pavelec, and Chris Dien, as well as 55 color maps by cartographer Rob Lazzaretti. I had hoped for a bit more artwork, especially of some of the odd monsters in this adventure, but what's there is okay for the most part. William's painting of the temple of Mystra on page 5 matches perfectly the building's description, which is always a plus in my book. Chris's pile of bones on page 20 - the remains of those who have perished attempting to pass through a flawed Shadow Gate - looks pretty cool, until you look closer and notice that the entire pile of bones seems composed only of skulls and rib cages; where'd the rest of the bones get to, I wonder? Still, he redeems himself with a moody piece on page 53 that shows the Lost Refuge, a ruined keep in the Vast Swamp. Jim tries his best to depict a fierce gloom golem on page 86, but he's severely hampered by the creature's rather silly description (there's only so much you can do with a construct of humanoid build that has a big, swirly black hole for a head), and his rune-covered black dragon on page 118 comes across a bit as having been spray-painted by a graffiti artist, but all in all the artwork is passable. Chris does fumble quite a bit on the player handout on page 157, though: he refers to the Lost Refuge as the Last Refuge and has "due west" instead of "due east" in the handwritten instruction, which make the map unusable if followed as written. Not your finest hour, Chris! Fortunately, Rob's maps are easy to read and use, if a bit dark in some places. My only real complaint is that he has no grid lines for the bone field on the map on page 123, which is where one of the combat encounters might take place.
The plot of the adventure is as follows:
Sadly, it's in the stat blocks where the quality of Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave plummets into a Black Rift of its own. I can only shake my head in bewilderment how five talented authors, each with years of experience not only as game designers but as D&D game designers, managed to crank out stats this, well, crappy. Gaze upon my unofficial errata, and despair!
Besides the stat block errors, there are a number of other glitches in this adventure, like incorrect page references, punctuation issues (if a person is being quoted for more than one paragraph, you start the new paragraphs with quotation marks to remind the reader that it's still the same person talking, but you don't end his previous paragraphs with quotation marks; you don't need a period after "foot" if you spell the word out and it's not at the end of a sentence; if you have an opening parenthesis, you need a closing one as well), a few map issues (like "Two rooms are keyed to this entry" - um, no they're not), FEATURES OF THE AREA referring to items - like tables - that don't appear in that area, words being incorrectly split between two lines (you always keeps complete syllables together), improper word usage/typos ("lead" instead of "led," "then" instead of "the," "adveDDure" instead of "adventure," "eveb" instead of "even," "rthe" instead of "the," "is" instead of "it," "fates" instead of "gates"), formatting annotations making it into the finished product ("[ts]" being used instead of a "times sign," or "×"), and some skill names and feat names not being capitalized. It looks like the editing team might want to join the designers and developers in their refresher training.
If Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave had been a Monster Manual, where the stats were pretty much the whole reason for the book, I'd have to rate it a dismal failure. As an adventure, the stats are definitely important, but they take a back seat to the plot, which I found to be interesting, and I like the fact that there were not only combat elements to the adventure but also points where the PCs had to be sneaky and others where diplomacy was the key. The adventure takes place over two different planes of existence and features many different interesting locales; the final combat, for instance, takes place over a series of rickety wooden bridges on the Plane of Shadow, not the best place to be fighting a black dragon! However, the overall poor job on the stats really makes it difficult for me to give Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave a higher rating than a very low "3 (Average)." I can only hope against hope that the WotC developers aren't all so engaged in 4E that they've given up on even trying to crank out decent 3.5 stats for the remainder of their products in the current edition. I guess we'll just have to find out together; next on my review stack is Monster Manual V.
By Richard Baker, Bruce R. Cordell, David Noonan, Matthew Sernett, and James Wyatt
Wizards of the Coast product number 956857200
160-pages hardcover, $29.95
SPOILER WARNING: As is usually the case when I review an adventure, I'm going to mention specific plot elements that will cause you to have a whole lot less fun if you run a PC through this adventure. Do yourself and your DM a huge favor by not reading the rest of this review.
Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave is a Forgotten Realms adventure intended for parties of level 4-7. Furthermore, it's the first adventure in a three-part series; the next one, Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land is already in my to-be-reviewed stack.
The cover artwork gets the typical Forgotten Realms treatment, with the faux leather stitching around the edges and a narrow painting of a scene from the adventure wrapping from front to back. This time the painting is by William O'Connor, and he depicts a white-haired human fighter wielding a flame blade against a small horde of undead lizardfolk. (We'll learn inside that these are shadowslain lizardfolk, courtesy of one of two new templates provided in the appendix in the back of the book.) On the back cover, his two companions (an elf ranger and a dwarf cleric, by the looks of it) are being surrounded by will-o'-wisps in a swamp, while a black dragon sits perched on a set of ruins in the background. The deep shadows and general "murkiness" of the painting help sell the moody atmosphere; it's a well-done piece.
The interior artwork consists of only 9 color illustrations and one player handout by artists William O'Connor, Jim Pavelec, and Chris Dien, as well as 55 color maps by cartographer Rob Lazzaretti. I had hoped for a bit more artwork, especially of some of the odd monsters in this adventure, but what's there is okay for the most part. William's painting of the temple of Mystra on page 5 matches perfectly the building's description, which is always a plus in my book. Chris's pile of bones on page 20 - the remains of those who have perished attempting to pass through a flawed Shadow Gate - looks pretty cool, until you look closer and notice that the entire pile of bones seems composed only of skulls and rib cages; where'd the rest of the bones get to, I wonder? Still, he redeems himself with a moody piece on page 53 that shows the Lost Refuge, a ruined keep in the Vast Swamp. Jim tries his best to depict a fierce gloom golem on page 86, but he's severely hampered by the creature's rather silly description (there's only so much you can do with a construct of humanoid build that has a big, swirly black hole for a head), and his rune-covered black dragon on page 118 comes across a bit as having been spray-painted by a graffiti artist, but all in all the artwork is passable. Chris does fumble quite a bit on the player handout on page 157, though: he refers to the Lost Refuge as the Last Refuge and has "due west" instead of "due east" in the handwritten instruction, which make the map unusable if followed as written. Not your finest hour, Chris! Fortunately, Rob's maps are easy to read and use, if a bit dark in some places. My only real complaint is that he has no grid lines for the bone field on the map on page 123, which is where one of the combat encounters might take place.
The plot of the adventure is as follows:
- Chapter 1 - Temple of Mystra: The PCs investigate a new temple of Mystra on the outskirts of Wheloon that a wandering Mystran cleric knew nothing about, and was almost killed over when he went to investigate it himself. They infiltrate the temple and learn that people are being dominated there and sent to a secret location in the Vast Swamp.
- Chapter 2 - Into the Vast Swamp: Following the trail of dominated victims, the PCs encounter a tribe of potentially friendly lizardfolk and the next stop in the parade of victims, a ruined castle.
- Chapter 3 - Cormyr's Lost Refuge: The PCs combat the castle's inhabitants and discover a portal to the plane of Shadows, where the victims are being taken.
- Chapter 4 - The Path of Shadows: The PCs travel on the Plane of Shadows and uncover a plot between Cyric and Shar to tear a hole in the Weave that allows arcane magic to work on Faerûn.
- Chapter 5 - The Black Rift: Still on the Plane of Shadows, the PCS battle with Despayr, the black dragon running the plot to destroy the Weave.
Sadly, it's in the stat blocks where the quality of Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave plummets into a Black Rift of its own. I can only shake my head in bewilderment how five talented authors, each with years of experience not only as game designers but as D&D game designers, managed to crank out stats this, well, crappy. Gaze upon my unofficial errata, and despair!
- p. 22, Londal Fen, male Chondathan human fighter 6: +1 greatsword attacks should be at +11/+6 melee, not +12/+6 (+6 BAB, +3 Str, +1 Weapon Focus, +1 magic weapon).
- p. 23, Smile, female halfling rogue 4: AC should be 18, not 19 (+1 size, +4 Dex, +3 studded leather). Flat-footed AC should be 18, not 19. Grapple should be +0, not -1 (+3 BAB, -4 size, +1 Str). Masterwork rapier attacks should be at +6 melee, not +3 (+3 BAB, +1 size, +1 Str, +1 masterwork), and damage should be 1d4+1, not 1d4 (+1 Str). +1 composite shortbow damage should be 1d4+2, not 1d4+1 (+1 Str, +1 magic weapon). Skills should include Survival +0 (+2 following tracks) [0 ranks, +0 Wis, +2 synergy from Search].
- p. 23, Bat Swarm: Touch AC should be 16, not 14 (+4 size, +2 Dex). Flat-footed AC should be 14, not 12. Fort should be +3, not +0 (+3 as a 3-HD animal, +0 Con). Ref should be +7, not "6" (+3 as a 3-HD animal, +2 Dex, +2 Lightning Reflexes). Will should be +3, not +4 (+1 as a 3-HD animal, +2 Wis).
- p. 24, Shan Thar, male Tethyrian human cleric 3: Since he has Weapon Focus (mace), let's assume that "longsword +4 (1d8+1)" is supposed to be "heavy mace +4 (1d8+1)" and that his Weapon Focus is supposed to be geared for a heavy mace. Save DC for sound burst should be DC 15, not DC 16 (10 + 2 Wis + 1 Spell Focus + 2nd-level spell). Spells/day should be 4/3+1/2+1, not 3/3+1/1+1 (4/2+1/1+1 as Clr3, plus 0/1/1 for Wis 15).
- p. 25, Archers/Temple Guards, human fighter 1: Initiative should be +2, not +1 (+2 Dex). AC should be 16, not 15 (+2 Dex, +4 armor). Touch AC should be 12, not 11. Fort should be +3, not +4 (+2 as Ftr1, +1 Con). Ref should be +2, not +1 (+0 as Ftr1, +2 Dex).
- p. 25, Kevrin the Devout Sorcerer, male Chondathan human sorcerer 1: Flat-footed AC should be 14, not 10 (+4 mage armor, which is described as already being active). However, mage armor isn't one of his known spells, nor is he listed as having a scroll of it, so I'm not sure where that came from - you'd probably do best to swap out his silent image spell with mage armor. Fort should be +1, not +2 (+0 as Sor1, +1 Con). Ref should be +2, not +1 (+0 as Sor1, +2 Dex). Concentration should be +5, not +4 [4 ranks, +1 Con].
- p. 27, Starweaver Fembrys, male Chondathan human cleric 5: Heavy mace attacks should be at +5 melee, not +6 (+3 BAB, +1 Str, +1 Weapon Focus), and damage should be 1d8+1, not 1d8+2 (+1 Str). He should have 5 0-level spells prepared, not 3. Spells aren't alphabetized by level. Skills should include Disguise +1 (+3 acting) [0 ranks, +1 Cha, +2 synergy bonus from Bluff] and Intimidate +3 [0 ranks, +1 Cha, +2 synergy bonus from Bluff].
- p. 27, Temple Guards: Initiative should be +2, not +1 (+2 Dex). AC should be 16, not 15 (+2 Dex, +4 armor). Touch AC should be 12, not 11. Fort should be +3, not +4 (+2 as Ftr1, +1 Con). Ref should be +2, not +1 (+0 as Ftr1, +2 Dex).
- p. 29, : Starweaver Fembrys, male Chondathan human cleric 5:[/b] Heavy mace attacks should be at +5 melee, not +6 (+3 BAB, +1 Str, +1 Weapon Focus), and damage should be 1d8+1, not 1d8+2 (+1 Str). He should have 5 0-level spells prepared, not 3. Spells aren't alphabetized by level. Skills should include Disguise +1 (+3 acting) [0 ranks, +1 Cha, +2 synergy bonus from Bluff] and Intimidate +3 [0 ranks, +1 Cha, +2 synergy bonus from Bluff].
- p. 29, Shadow Guards, dark human fighter 1: Flat-footed AC should be 16, not 14 (+6 armor).
- p. 30, Shadow Guards, dark human fighter 1: Flat-footed AC should be 16, not 14 (+6 armor).
- p. 31, Dark Earth Elemental (Medium): It's worth noting that the stats already incorporate a -1 Power Attack penalty. Special Attacks aren't alphabetized.
- p. 31, Statue of Mystra: All AC values listed include a +2 luck bonus, which only apply vs. creatures native to the Plane of Shadow; otherwise, they should be AC 14, touch 10, flat-footed 14.
- p. 32, Shadow Guards, dark human fighter 1: Flat-footed AC should be 16, not 14 (+6 armor).
- p. 33, Lady Arthas, female Chondathan human cleric 6: Speak Language (Draconic) is a skill, not a feat. Skills should include Disguise +1 (+3 acting) [0 ranks, +1 Cha, +2 synergy bonus from Bluff] and Intimidate +3 [0 ranks, +1 Cha, +2 synergy bonus from Bluff]. Spent 25 of 27 skill points. There's no mention of her ability to rebuke undead 4/day (+3, 2d6+7, 6th).
- p. 34, Shadow Guards, dark human fighter 1: Flat-footed AC should be 16, not 14 (+6 armor).
- p. 34, Mhair, male Tethyrian human fighter 6: AC should be 14, not 16 (+1 Dex, +3 +1 leather armor). Flat-footed AC should be 13, not 15. +1 longsword attacks should be at +11/+6 melee, not +11/+5 (since 11 - 5 = 6). Spent 22 of 27 skill points.
- p. 42, Coobert Draftworth, male human rogue 5: Flat-footed AC should be 18, not 15, due to uncanny dodge. Stats should mention his trapfinding, evasion, and trap sense +1 class features.
- p. 42, Norry Waywocket, male gnome sorcerer 6: When thrown, dagger attacks should be at +6 ranged, not +5 (+3 BAB, +1 size, +2 Dex). Feats aren't alphabetized. "Profession +3" doesn't specify what profession he's adept at - it should probably be either "(merchant)" or "(smuggler)."
- p. 43, Light Horse: Senses should list low-light vision and scent.
- p. 43, Pony: Senses should list low-light vision and scent. Skills should be "Listen +3, Spot +2" since it only has 5 skill points to spend.
- p. 44, Dark Creepers: Senses lists Spot +3, but Skills lists Spot +5; +5 is correct.
- p. 45, Dark Stalker: Senses lists Listen +5, but Skills lists Listen +4; +4 is correct. The Medium spider venom on its arrows should have a DC 12 Fort save, not DC 14.
- p. 46, Sharptooth Lizardfolk: Spent 9 of 5 skill points.
- p. 46, Blackscale Lizardfolk: It's worth mentioning that its melee attacks already include a -1 Power Attack penalty. Javelin damage should be 1d8+4, not 1d8+6 (+4 Str). Spent 6 of 7 skill points.
- p. 47, Poison Dusk Lizardfolk: Either the Possessions listing is missing a buckler, or AC should be 16, not 17, and flat-footed AC should be 14, not 15. They have 2 feats, but with only 1 HD they should only have 1; delete Precise Shot, which requires Point Blank Shot in any case, which they don't have. They shouldn't have a favored enemy unless they're rangers, which isn't specified (and if they are, then they should have a higher Reflex save, Track as a bonus feat, and wild empathy). Technically, a poison dusk lizardfolk should have a class listed, even if it's only Warrior. Spent 8 of 4 skill points (assuming they each have a buckler); otherwise, they spent 4 of 4 skill points but Balance should be +6, Hide should be +11, Jump should be +5, and Swim should be +5, since there's no armor check penalty to deal with. Hold breath should be 48 rounds, not 52.
- p. 48, Kessessek, male lizardfolk cleric 5: CR should be 6, not 5. Either he should have a heavy wooden shield listed in his possessions, or AC should be 17, not 19 (+5 natural, +1 armor, +1 deflection) and flat-footed AC should be 17, not 19. "Turn undead 6/day (+5, 2d6+9, 6th)" should be listed as a combat option. Assuming no shield, he spent 15 of 30 skill points; with a shield, he spent 23 of 30 skill points.
- p. 59, Will-o'-wisp: Skills should include Disguise +1 (+3 acting) [0 ranks, +1 Cha, +2 synergy bonus from Bluff] and Survival +3 (+5 following tracks) [0 ranks, +3 Wis, +2 synergy bonus from Search].
- p. 60, Kithguard Maurran, male shadar-kai rogue 4: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain) should be annotated as a bonus feat. No mention of his evasion, trap sense +1, or trapfinding class abilities. Flat-footed AC should be 19, not 14, due to uncanny dodge. Spent 75 of 85 skill points. "Survival +6" should be followed by "(+8 following tracks)" due to a +2 synergy bonus from Search.
- p. 60, Shadar-kai: "Survival +6" should be followed by "(+8 following tracks)" due to a +2 synergy bonus from Search.
- p. 62, Starweaver Bestra Mornscroll, female Chondathan human cleric 5: Will should be +9, not +10 (+4 as Clr5, +3 Wis, +1 cloak of resistance, +1 Discipline feat), unless the Initiate of Shar feat (where's that from, by the way?) grants a +1 to Will saves. Spontaneous inflict serious wounds spells should be at +4 melee, not +5 (+3 BAB, +1 Str). Skills should include Disguise +1 (+3 acting) [0 ranks, +1 Cha, +2 synergy bonus from Bluff] and Intimidate +3 [0 ranks, +1 Cha, +2 synergy bonus from Bluff]0.
- p. 64, Dava, Mandios, and Zephan, male and female Tethyrian human evoker 1: With Int 15, they each should speak 2 more languages. Will should be +4, not +5 (+2 as Evo1, +1 Wis, +1 Discipline feat).
- p. 65, Halish, male Calishite human cleric 3: Will should be +7, not +8 (+3 as Clr3, +2 Wis, +1 Discipline feat, +1 cloak of resistance). Concentration cannot be +12, since a 3rd-level character can only have a maximum of 6 ranks in any one skill; with a +2 Con bonus and a +2 from the Discipline feat, that means +10 is the maximum allowable. Spellcraft should be +6, not +8 (maximum of 6 ranks, +0 Int).
- p. 66, Shadar-kai: "Survival +6" should be followed by "(+8 following tracks)" due to a +2 synergy bonus from Search.
- p. 67, Kithlord Thieraven, male shadar-kai sorcerer 6: Touch AC should be 14, not 18 (+4 Dex). Flat-footed AC should be 14, not 10 (+4 mage armor). "Hide +13" should be followed by "(+23 in shadows)" due to a +10 racial bonus. "Survival +5" should be followed by "(+7 following tracks)" due to a +2 synergy bonus from Search. Spent 44 of 60 skill points. No mention of a familiar.
- p. 67, Ketsarra Shadowscale, female shadowslain half-black dragon lizardfolk cleric 4: Darkvision should be 60 ft., not 90 ft. AC should be 25, not 27 (+1 Dex, +5 natural as a lizardfolk and a +4 natural armor increase as a half-dragon, +3 +1 heavy wooden shield, +2 deflection as a shadowslain). Flat-footed AC should be 24, not 21. Special Actions should list "Rebuke undead 4/day (+3, 2d6+5, 4th)." CR should be 7, not 6 (CR 4 as Clr4, +2 half-dragon, +1 shadowslain). Spent 57 of 47 skill points.
- p. 68, Shadow Mastiff: Cha should be 13, not 3. CR should be 5, not 3.
- p. 68, Shadar-kai: "Survival +6" should be followed by "(+8 following tracks)" due to a +2 synergy bonus from Search.
- p. 69, Shadowslain Poison Dusk Lizardfolk: AC should be 15, not 19 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +2 deflection). Flat-footed AC should be 13, not 17. Shouldn't have favored enemy unless they're rangers (in which case Ref should be +4, not +2, they should have Track as a bonus feat, and they should have wild empathy). With 1 HD, they should have 1 feat, not 2; delete Precise Shot, which requires Point Blank Shot in any case, which these guys don't have. Technically, they should have a class listed. Balance should be +6, not +5 [0 ranks, +2 Dex, +4 racial]. Jump should be +7, not +9 [0 ranks, +3 Str, +4 racial]. Swim should be +7, not +5 [0 ranks, +3 Str, +4 racial]. Hide should be +21, not +20 [0 ranks, as all skill points were spent on Spot, +4 size, +2 Dex, +5 racial when not wearing armor or covering clothing, +10 from shadowslain template].
- p. 70, Khumat: Bite and tail slap attacks are shown with a -3 Power Attack in effect, but even so, bite damage should be 2d8+11, not 2d8+18 (+8 Str, +3 Power Attack) and tail slap damage should be 1d12+11, not 1d12+18 (+8 Str, +3 Power Attack). "Survival +15" should be followed by "(+17 following tracks)" due to a +2 synergy bonus from Search.
- p. 70, Lizardfolk (exhausted): Spent 0 of 5 skill points, and even so, Swim should be +2, not +0 [0 ranks, -2 Str, +4 racial].
- p. 71, Chieftain Gathan (exhausted), male lizardfolk ranger 2: Grapple should be +3, not +6 (+3 BAB, +0 Str). Spent 27 of 22 skill points.
- p. 71, Ashala (exhausted), female lizardfolk cleric 3: Spent 23 of 24 skill points.
- p. 90, Jherremor the Ghirrash: Hide should be +9, not +13 [10 ranks, -4 size, +3 Dex].
- p. 91, Medium Shadow Elementals: Grapple should be "—" instead of +3, since incorporeal creatures cannot grapple.
- p. 92, Sterrsissk the Lizardfolk: AC should be 15, not 17 (+5 natural, no shield). Flat-footed AC should be 15, not 17. Spent 0 of 5 skill points, and even so, Swim should be +5, not +2 [0 ranks, +1 Str, +4 racial].
- p. 92, Shadowslain Blackscale: Spent 6 of 7 skill points. (Judging from the Monster Manual III entry, Balance should be +5). Stats are missing both "undead immunities" and "light sensitivity."
- p. 93, Shadowscale Marauders: Initiative should be +1, not +0 (+1 Dex). Fort should be +1, not +2 (+1 as a 3-HD humanoid, +0 Con). Will should be +2, not +1 (+1 as a 3-HD humanoid, +1 Wis). With 3 HD, they should have 2 feats, not 3; since Power Attack is already figured into the stats, let's remove Weapon Focus (greatclub), which drops greatclub attacks to +5 melee, not +6 (+2 BAB, +5 Str, -2 Power Attack). AC should be 18, not 22 (+1 Dex, +5 natural, +2 deflection). Flat-footed AC should be 17, not 21. Hide should be +17, not +19 [6 ranks maximum, +1 Dex, +10 racial]. Swim should be +9, not +7 [0 ranks, +5 Str, +4 racial].
- p. 95, Sithierel, male shadar-kai hexblade 4: Senses lists Listen and Spot at +8 each, while Skills has them both at +6. "Hide +10" should be followed by "(+20 in shadows)" due to a racial bonus.
- p. 96, Zombie Dragon Turtle: This is arguably the worst stat block in the whole adventure, and one of the most messed-up I've seen in a long, long time. Since normal dragon turtles have 12 HD and the zombie template doubles that, our zombie dragon turtle should have 24 HD, not 12 HD. (Of course, the zombie template also says animate dead cannot affect any creature with more than 10 HD, so I guess this guy became a zombie by some other method.) According to the zombie template, it shouldn't have the augmented subtype, and its alignment should be neutral evil, not neutral. Str should be 29, not 27 (27 as a dragon turtle, +2 as a zombie). Cha should be 1, not 6, as per the zombie template. AC should be 32, not 23 (-2 size, -1 Dex, +21 natural [+17 as a dragon turtle, +4 as a zombie], +4 cover due to being half submerged under water). Touch AC should be 11, not 15. Flat-footed AC should be 32, not 23. Ref should be +9, not +15 (+8 as a 24-HD undead, -1 Dex, +2 cover). Will should be +14, not +8 (+14 as a 24-HD undead, +0 Wis). Grapple should be +29, not +28 (+12 BAB, +8 size, +9 Str). Bite attacks should be at +19 melee, not +18 (+12 BAB, -2 size, +9 Str), and bite damage should be 4d6+9, not 4d6+8 (+9 Str). Swim should be +17, not +8 [0 ranks, +9 Str, +8 racial] - or possibly +9 if we drop the racial bonus for having a swim speed now that it's undead; personally, I think I'd leave it in. Since zombies don't retain special attacks, the zombie dragon turtle shouldn't have a breath weapon or be able to capsize. (I'd argue for keeping the capsize, though, as that's simply the result of a physical action that even a zombie could perform.) With 24 HD, CR should be 7, not 5 (or possibly CR 8 if you keep in the breath weapon). Breath weapon damage - if we keep it - should be 12d6 fire, not 6d6 fire, with a save DC of 22, not 14 (10 + 12 + 0). With HD 24d12+3, average hit points would be 159, not 81, Optionally, if we start with a 6-HD dragon turtle as a base creature, we'd end up with a 12-HD zombie dragon turtle, but then it probably wouldn't be Huge, and you'd have to change its Base Attack Bonus, Grapple, Fort and Ref saves, and breath weapon save DC. Either way, whoever created this particular set of stats should seriously reconsider some additional - and much needed - retraining.
- p. 99, Shadowscale Marauders: Initiative should be +1, not +0 (+1 Dex). Fort should be +1, not +2 (+1 as a 3-HD humanoid, +0 Con). Will should be +2, not +1 (+1 as a 3-HD humanoid, +1 Wis). With 3 HD, they should have 2 feats, not 3; since Power Attack is already figured into the stats, let's remove Weapon Focus (greatclub), which drops greatclub attacks to +5 melee, not +6 (+2 BAB, +5 Str, -2 Power Attack). AC should be 18, not 22 (+1 Dex, +5 natural, +2 deflection). Flat-footed AC should be 17, not 21. Hide should be +17, not +19 [6 ranks maximum, +1 Dex, +10 racial]. Swim should be +9, not +7 [0 ranks, +5 Str, +4 racial].
- p. 100, Fiendish Monstrous Scorpion: Now that it has an Int 3, it gets 5 more skill points that it needs to spend.
- p. 101, Isti-Zar, male banelar: Melf's acid arrow ranged touch attacks should be at +4, not +6 (+5 BAB, -2 size, +1 Dex). Shocking grasp melee touch attacks should be at +11, not +13 (+5 BAB, -2 size, +8 Str). Will should be +10, not +8 (+5 as a 7-HD aberration, +3 Wis, +2 Iron Will). Touch AC should be 10, not 9 (-2 size, +1 Dex, +1 deflection).
- p. 102, Lesser Knell Beetle: Bite attack implies the creature has Multiattack (which is not listed), although no Intelligence score normally means no feats. (The Monster Manual III listing gives it Alertness, Improved Natural Attack (claw), and Multiattack as bonus feats, so it would be nice if these were listed here as well.)
- p. 102, Kossaandar, Shadowscale Warchief, male shadowslain Blackscale lizardfolk fighter 2: Since Blackscale lizardfolk (from Monster Manual III) have 4 HD, and this guy's got 2 levels of fighter, his HD should be 6, not 4. Initiative should be +2, not +0 (+2 Dex). Ref should be +6, not +4 (+4 as a Blackscale lizardfolk, +2 Dex). Will should be +3, not +4 (+4 as a Blackscale lizardfolk, -1 Wis). Grapple should be +19, not +16 (+6 BAB, +4 size, +9 Str). +1 greatsword damage should be 3d6+17, not 3d6+18 (1.5 times +9 Str = +13, +4 for Power Attack with a two-handed weapon). Bite attacks should be at +10 melee, not +7 (+6 BAB, -1 size, +9 Str, -2 Power Attack, -2 secondary attack with Multiattack).
- p. 103, Shadowscale Marauders: Initiative should be +1, not +0 (+1 Dex). Fort should be +1, not +2 (+1 as a 3-HD humanoid, +0 Con). Will should be +2, not +1 (+1 as a 3-HD humanoid, +1 Wis). With 3 HD, they should have 2 feats, not 3; since Power Attack is already figured into the stats, let's remove Weapon Focus (greatclub), which drops greatclub attacks to +5 melee, not +6 (+2 BAB, +5 Str, -2 Power Attack). AC should be 18, not 22 (+1 Dex, +5 natural, +2 deflection). Flat-footed AC should be 17, not 21. Hide should be +17, not +19 [6 ranks maximum, +1 Dex, +10 racial]. Swim should be +9, not +7 [0 ranks, +5 Str, +4 racial].
- p. 104, Shambling Mound: Hide should be +11, not +12 [3 ranks (all that's left of its 11 skill points after it put 4 each into Listen and Move Silently), +0 Dex, -4 size, +12 racial].
- p. 105, Shocker Lizards: I'm not sure why these have the "(extraplanar)" subtype when their shambling mound partner, above, doesn't. BAB should be +2 (as a 2-HD magical beast), not +1. Grapple should be -2, not +2 (+2 BAB, -4 size, +0 Str). Spent 7 of 5 skill points.
- p. 105, Centipede Swarm: Ref should be +7, not just "7." With no Intelligence score, it should only have Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat (a carryover from the individual monstrous centipede, and useless for a swarm in any case), not Alertness and Lightning Reflexes (whose modifiers, oddly enough, aren't even incorporated into the stat block!). Skills should include Climb +12 [0 ranks, +4 Dex, +8 racial].
- p. 106, Kir-Lanan Elite Guards: Fort should be +4, not +2 (+2 as a 6-HD monstrous humanoid, +2 Con). Ref should be +7, not +6 (+5 as a 6-HD monstrous humanoid, +2 Dex). Will should be +7, not +6 (+5 as a 6-HD monstrous humanoid, +0 Wis, +2 Iron Will). Kir-lanan from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting have only 4 HD, so these should be identified as "advanced" kir-lanan, or, as is more likely, as kir-lanan with two levels of fighter. (This second option makes the math work on the saves, and also explains why these 6-HD creatures have 5 feats.)
- p. 108, Ebon Spur Guards, human rogue 1/fighter 2: For Jump to be at +2, they'd have to spend not only those two skill points, plus 4 more to overcome the armor check penalty, plus 6 more to overcome the speed penalty - and a 3rd-level character can only have a maximum of 6 ranks in a skill, not 12.
- p. 110, Ebon Spur Guards, human rogue 1/fighter 2: For Jump to be at +2, they'd have to spend not only those two skill points, plus 4 more to overcome the armor check penalty, plus 6 more to overcome the speed penalty - and a 3rd-level character can only have a maximum of 6 ranks in a skill, not 12.
- p. 110, Skull Servant Ethar, female human cleric 7: Listen and Spot should both be +3, not +2 [0 ranks, +3 Wis]. Flat-footed AC should be 22, not 18 (+9 +1 full plate, +3 +1 heavy steel shield). No mention made of her ability to rebuke undead.
- p. 120, Canoloths: With 6 HD, they should have 3 feats, not 4 (Track should be a bonus feat, according to Monster Manual III - whatever happened to annotating bonus feats?). Also, I notice these canoloths are missing their spell-like abilities, and cannot attempt to summon other yugoloths, as per Monster Manual III.
- p. 122, Blood Golem ("of Hextor" has been filed off the serial number, apparently): It's worth mentioning that its heavy flails are masterwork heavy flails, otherwise they'd be striking at +12 melee, not +13. It's missing its blood siphon ability from the Fiend Folio.
- p. 122, Wolf Skeletons: Missing their immunity to cold.
- p. 123, Chimera Skeleton: Missing its immunity to cold.
- p. 123, Ettin Skeleton: HD should be 10, not 11, or else average hit points should be 71, not 65. Missing its immunity to cold.
- p. 124, Dark Disciples, male and female dark human fighter 4: CR should be 5, not 4, as the humans are gaining darkvision, superior low-light vision, cold resistance 10, a +10 ft. to their speed, the ability to hide in plain sight, and significant racial bonuses to Hide and Move Silently.
- p. 125, Dark Priestess, female dark human cleric 4: CR should be 5, not 4, for the same reasons as above. Her 60-foot darkvision isn't conditional upon her armor of darkness spell as listed; it's a permanent ability gained from the dark template. When armor of darkness is activated, her AC should be 21, not 22 (it grants a +4 bonus for a Clr4, not a +5 bonus). No mention of her ability to rebuke undead.
- p. 126, Tyrra, female dark Chondathan human fighter 4: CR should be 5, not 4.
- p. 128, Malkarion the Blackguard, male dark Damaran human ex-paladin 7/blackguard 2: CR should be 10, not 9. Smite good should be specified as 1/day. No mention made of his aura of evil, a blackguard class feature.
- p. 130, Dark Priestess, female dark human cleric 4: CR should be 5, not 4, for the same reasons as above. Her 60-foot darkvision isn't conditional upon her armor of darkness spell as listed; it's a permanent ability gained from the dark template. When armor of darkness is activated, her AC should be 21, not 22 (it grants a +4 bonus for a Clr4, not a +5 bonus). No mention of her ability to rebuke undead.
- p. 130, Ephemeral Hangman: Spent 20 of 14 skill points.
- p. 132, Ephemeral Hangman: Spent 20 of 14 skill points.
- p. 134, Dark Priestess, female dark human cleric 4: CR should be 5, not 4, for the same reasons as above. Her 60-foot darkvision isn't conditional upon her armor of darkness spell as listed; it's a permanent ability gained from the dark template. When armor of darkness is activated, her AC should be 21, not 22 (it grants a +4 bonus for a Clr4, not a +5 bonus). No mention of her ability to rebuke undead.
- p. 134, Shadows: Since they're making these guys be 2-HD shadows (weaker than the 3-HD shadows of the MM), Fort should be +0, not +1 (+0 as a 2-HD undead, +0 Con), Ref should be +2, not +3 (+0 as a 2-HD undead, +2 Dex), and they should only have 1 feat, not 2 (kill Dodge). Spent 12 of 10 skill points.
- p. 134, Greater Shadow: Senses lists Spot +9, but Skills lists Spot +7; +9 is correct.
- p. 136, Dark Disciples, male and female dark human fighter 4: CR should be 5, not 4, as the humans are gaining darkvision, superior low-light vision, cold resistance 10, a +10 ft. to their speed, the ability to hide in plain sight, and significant racial bonuses to Hide and Move Silently.
- p. 136, Dark Priestess, female dark human cleric 4: CR should be 5, not 4, for the same reasons as above. Her 60-foot darkvision isn't conditional upon her armor of darkness spell as listed; it's a permanent ability gained from the dark template. When armor of darkness is activated, her AC should be 21, not 22 (it grants a +4 bonus for a Clr4, not a +5 bonus). No mention of her ability to rebuke undead.
- p. 137, Shadow Mastiff: Charisma should be 13, not 3. CR should be 5, not 3.
- p. 138, Shaalabhak the Mind Flayer: "Disguise +3" should be followed by "(+5 acting)" due to a +2 synergy bonus from Bluff. Skills should include Survival +3 (+5 on other planes) [0 ranks, +3 Wis, +2 synergy bonus from Knowledge (the planes)].
- p. 140, Mezzoloth: AC should be 19, not 21 (or else add a heavy steel shield to its Possessions entry). Flat-footed AC should be 18 (if you go with no shield) or 20 (with a shield), but definitely not 10 as listed! Skills should include Survival +0 (+2 on other planes) [0 ranks +0 Wis, +2 synergy bonus from Knowledge (the planes)].
- p. 140, Vargouilles: Delete "Jump +20, Knowledge (the planes) +12" from Skills, as that's obviously a copy-and-paste error from the Mezzoloth stats just above.
- p. 142, Flameskulls: "Fly 50 ft. (good)" should be followed by "(10 squares)." Concentration should be +9, not +6 [7 ranks, +2 Cha, as undead use Charisma instead of Constitution for Concentration checks].
- p. 144, Despayr the Black Dragon: He's missing his darkness 3/day special ability. Breath weapon Reflex save DC should be 23, not 21 (Ability Focus (breath weapon) adds +2 to the save DC). Skills should include Survival +1 (+3 on other planes and following tracks) [0 ranks, +1 Wis, +2 synergy bonuses from Knowledge (the planes) and Search, respectively] and Swim +12 [0 ranks, +4 Str, +8 racial].
- p. 146, Despayr the Black Dragon: He's missing his darkness 3/day special ability. Breath weapon Reflex save DC should be 23, not 21 (Ability Focus (breath weapon) adds +2 to the save DC). Skills should include Survival +1 (+3 on other planes and following tracks) [0 ranks, +1 Wis, +2 synergy bonuses from Knowledge (the planes) and Search, respectively] and Swim +12 [0 ranks, +4 Str, +8 racial]. Also, he shouldn't have the shadow shard listed as a possession, as page 144 specifically states that he leaves it in area R13 when he hunts the PCs.
Besides the stat block errors, there are a number of other glitches in this adventure, like incorrect page references, punctuation issues (if a person is being quoted for more than one paragraph, you start the new paragraphs with quotation marks to remind the reader that it's still the same person talking, but you don't end his previous paragraphs with quotation marks; you don't need a period after "foot" if you spell the word out and it's not at the end of a sentence; if you have an opening parenthesis, you need a closing one as well), a few map issues (like "Two rooms are keyed to this entry" - um, no they're not), FEATURES OF THE AREA referring to items - like tables - that don't appear in that area, words being incorrectly split between two lines (you always keeps complete syllables together), improper word usage/typos ("lead" instead of "led," "then" instead of "the," "adveDDure" instead of "adventure," "eveb" instead of "even," "rthe" instead of "the," "is" instead of "it," "fates" instead of "gates"), formatting annotations making it into the finished product ("[ts]" being used instead of a "times sign," or "×"), and some skill names and feat names not being capitalized. It looks like the editing team might want to join the designers and developers in their refresher training.
If Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave had been a Monster Manual, where the stats were pretty much the whole reason for the book, I'd have to rate it a dismal failure. As an adventure, the stats are definitely important, but they take a back seat to the plot, which I found to be interesting, and I like the fact that there were not only combat elements to the adventure but also points where the PCs had to be sneaky and others where diplomacy was the key. The adventure takes place over two different planes of existence and features many different interesting locales; the final combat, for instance, takes place over a series of rickety wooden bridges on the Plane of Shadow, not the best place to be fighting a black dragon! However, the overall poor job on the stats really makes it difficult for me to give Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave a higher rating than a very low "3 (Average)." I can only hope against hope that the WotC developers aren't all so engaged in 4E that they've given up on even trying to crank out decent 3.5 stats for the remainder of their products in the current edition. I guess we'll just have to find out together; next on my review stack is Monster Manual V.
