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I'm reading the Forgotten Realms Novels- #202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2)
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7846488" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#022 Pool of Radiance by James M Ward & Jane Cooper Hong (Heroes of Phlan 1) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 31/10/19 to 3/11/19</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]115440[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Well... this is a difficult one, what to say for the best... Hmm. It's a bit- Meh, actually a lot- Meh.</p><p></p><p>I kept on wanting to like it more than I did, kept reading- waiting for something cool to go down, or else the writing to explode from the page, y'see I remember way back when, possibly during the 'golden period' of my D&D playing, I DM'ed this module (at least 25 years ago- can that be right? Yes, as it turns out- I am an old git). It was fairly rubbish but we had a go- and there's always fun to be had around the table, but if I had known the word Meh back then, I would have used it.</p><p></p><p>I also get that this is/was a computer game, and I guess anything goes in them- particularly way back then, is it supposed to be written for kids?</p><p></p><p>Right then- Shal is apprentice Wizard to Ranthor, who emergency scoots over to Phlan to help his mate- Denlor (another high level Wizard) who's in trouble big, six pages later (or thereabouts) both Wizards are toast- dead. Shal gets upset, then discovers that Ranthor has left her... well, everything- Ring of Three Wishes (spoiler- she wastes two wishes in the next ten or so pages), Staff of Power, Cloth of Many Pockets, Wand of Wonder, Healing Potions and a telepathic Horse/Familiar called Cerulean.</p><p></p><p>Soon after Shal heads to Phlan, and then meets and joins forces with Tarl (Cleric of Tyr, all his mates are killed by a Vampire and his undead chums, also the artefact Tarl was carrying is stolen), and Ren (who is an 11th level Ninja (or so it seems) reduced to waiting tables after his g/friend was assassinated- the pair stole a couple of ioun stones).</p><p></p><p>The three adventurers (four if you count Cerulean, and you'd better because the Horse is the smarts for the party, and a magic detecting, trap defusing, killing machine) are put to work by a corrupt councilman to clear uncivilised Phlan (the bit with all the random monsters in). If you don't work out within six lines of meeting the corrupt councilman that he's the bad guy (or at least one of) then quite frankly you need to head back to them books with Janet & John, the pair apparently also have a dog called Spot- that's your level.</p><p></p><p>There's not so much a plot as a series of coincidences/inevitabilities, the story goes- A, then B, then C, then D- there are absolutely no surprises, everything is writ large and often- we see all sides of the intrigue, all of the time and so the only thing the reader is left wondering is- why am I reading this?</p><p></p><p>There are some (tiny) nice bits- but they're all fights, and pretty much they're quickly made a mockery of when Shal drags out the artillery (mostly her Staff of Power).</p><p></p><p>Oh and Tarl and Ren both fancy Shal, and while Shal has feelings for both of the guys, only one of the pair is her 'special' friend.</p><p></p><p>Gah!</p><p></p><p>Meh!</p><p></p><p>Gah!</p><p></p><p>Read- oh lookee, the sequel!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 7846488, member: 16069"] [B]#022 Pool of Radiance by James M Ward & Jane Cooper Hong (Heroes of Phlan 1) Read 31/10/19 to 3/11/19[/B] [ATTACH alt="Forgotten Realms Pool of Radiance (Heroes of Phlan 1) a 30.jpg"]115440[/ATTACH] Well... this is a difficult one, what to say for the best... Hmm. It's a bit- Meh, actually a lot- Meh. I kept on wanting to like it more than I did, kept reading- waiting for something cool to go down, or else the writing to explode from the page, y'see I remember way back when, possibly during the 'golden period' of my D&D playing, I DM'ed this module (at least 25 years ago- can that be right? Yes, as it turns out- I am an old git). It was fairly rubbish but we had a go- and there's always fun to be had around the table, but if I had known the word Meh back then, I would have used it. I also get that this is/was a computer game, and I guess anything goes in them- particularly way back then, is it supposed to be written for kids? Right then- Shal is apprentice Wizard to Ranthor, who emergency scoots over to Phlan to help his mate- Denlor (another high level Wizard) who's in trouble big, six pages later (or thereabouts) both Wizards are toast- dead. Shal gets upset, then discovers that Ranthor has left her... well, everything- Ring of Three Wishes (spoiler- she wastes two wishes in the next ten or so pages), Staff of Power, Cloth of Many Pockets, Wand of Wonder, Healing Potions and a telepathic Horse/Familiar called Cerulean. Soon after Shal heads to Phlan, and then meets and joins forces with Tarl (Cleric of Tyr, all his mates are killed by a Vampire and his undead chums, also the artefact Tarl was carrying is stolen), and Ren (who is an 11th level Ninja (or so it seems) reduced to waiting tables after his g/friend was assassinated- the pair stole a couple of ioun stones). The three adventurers (four if you count Cerulean, and you'd better because the Horse is the smarts for the party, and a magic detecting, trap defusing, killing machine) are put to work by a corrupt councilman to clear uncivilised Phlan (the bit with all the random monsters in). If you don't work out within six lines of meeting the corrupt councilman that he's the bad guy (or at least one of) then quite frankly you need to head back to them books with Janet & John, the pair apparently also have a dog called Spot- that's your level. There's not so much a plot as a series of coincidences/inevitabilities, the story goes- A, then B, then C, then D- there are absolutely no surprises, everything is writ large and often- we see all sides of the intrigue, all of the time and so the only thing the reader is left wondering is- why am I reading this? There are some (tiny) nice bits- but they're all fights, and pretty much they're quickly made a mockery of when Shal drags out the artillery (mostly her Staff of Power). Oh and Tarl and Ren both fancy Shal, and while Shal has feelings for both of the guys, only one of the pair is her 'special' friend. Gah! Meh! Gah! Read- oh lookee, the sequel! [/QUOTE]
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I'm reading the Forgotten Realms Novels- #202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2)
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