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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DM_Jeff" data-source="post: 2008754" data-attributes="member: 3687">The Death on the Treklant Trilogy for d20 fantasy roleplayingBy Troll Lord GamesIntroduction: This series of early d20 adventures by Troll Lord Games will take characters from levels 1 through 6 and provide an awesome atmosphere and story for a DM and players who thought they'd seen it all.Felsentheim: Dogs of WarBy Davis Chenault$6.95 24-page d20 adventureISBN: 1-931275-04-1 Felsentheim: Dogs of War is the exciting conclusion to the "Death on the Treklant" trilogy started in Vakhund: Into the Unknown and Dzeebagd: under Dark and Misty Ground (which are not required to run this adventure).Felsentheim: Dogs of War is an epic, ambitious story told with flair and emotion in a 'mere' 24 pages. As the conclusion to a story connected only loosely by plot and heavily on area, Felsentheim again takes place in the realistically grim world of Inzae (which we finally learn more about in this adventure) but adaptable to nearly any fantasy campaign. For those expecting the same-old: beware, this isn't your typical D&D adventure by any stretch. The area of the story is a land known as the Dampfrat, and it's flavor and feel is very reminiscent of medieval Germany, making Warhammer's Old World look like Disneyland. Here there be goblinkin offshoots known collectively as Zjerd, orc and goblins with an outlook all their own that resemble trolls in appearance more than typical goblinkin. And then there are the four-armed spider riders!But enough of that, what of the plot? Well, it's very straightforward, designed to give an emotionally charged evening of gaming, with massive, bloody combat! The players are headed north to Felsentheim after the exploits of the previous adventures (there is text to set them up without having played them). What is described throughout the module (now stick with me here) are gauntlets and ambushes as the goblin armies (formed by a great Zjerd) try to enact their revenge for a recently sacked goblin stronghold on the humans of the land. The beauty is in how the combats are set up, the environment, and the combatants' tactics. In more than one place, the characters seem overwhelmed with foes, sometimes 50 or more at once, but the advice and writing cater to roleplayers who can immerse themselves in massive heroic frays, not just wargamers getting their jollies from what would otherwise be awesomely prepared battlefield scenarios! I would LOVE to continue to describe exactly what happens at the end, but that would do it great injustice. Enough to suffice that there is an amazingly well put together village with a memorable and lovingly-crafted NPC cast and atmosphere. There's a massive battle to test even the most strategic and epic roleplayer in all of us.So, right now I can see some readers not wanting to have a module full of combat. But it's so much more! This module takes the best of "you roll, you hit, you roll again" and gives solid advice and situations where it turns roll-playing into role playing. To help the DM, there's even advice on running the large-scale combats, going so far to include a small but workable mass combat system for tracking large-scale fights while still keeping the PC's and vital NPC's at the center of attention and action. Many modern adventures don't even give the chance this one does for players to truly put on their thinking caps and use their best creativity and tricks just to survive overwhelming odds, and this does it perfectly.In conclusion, I'd like to point out that the layout is very clear, the maps simple but very workable, and the artwork some of Troll Lord's best. Very dark and grim. The tone and advice in the writing is excellent and editing is clear and strong. And finally, while it's very clear that the "Death on the Traklant" trilogy isn't necessary to play as a full series, looking back now I can truly appreciate the scope and heroism of the storyline, and urge Dungeon Masters who want to give their jaded players a real treat to seek out the series and run it as a campaign. It's sure to have a great impact and provide a rousing good game!Special Note: Not enough can be said about the "Death on the Treklent" Trilogy. Any DM looking to wake up jaded players, introduce a beautifully realized campaign setting and wants to play in a grim world with d20 will do NO better than to run this series for their players.-Jeff Ibach</blockquote>

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