Neo
Explorer
Hi
First let me start by saying, when i first applied to win a free product from Kenzer, i figured i had zero chance, as i have practically never won anything in my life ever... but as luck would have it i did.
At first i thought oh.great an adventure.. as i don't tend to buy published adventures much and haven't over the 22 years i have RP'ed. Mainly because i think most tend to just be one encounter after another, and have little substance.
The only adventures i have ever bought are those which aref illed with "Atmosphere" or detail a location i like etc such as the old Keep on the Borderlands, or Village of Hommlet, Halls of Eveningstar. Or those which provide additional rules and source material e.g If thoughts could kill. So it was with some trepidation i opened the "no expense spared" package that arrived at my home walfway around the world in a very fast time.
Inside was an issue of the Dungeons and Dragons comic, from the In the Shadows of Dragons series. Which is in itse;f a worthwhile purchase, i know as i have it on standing order with my local comic store
Also inside was the Deathright Adventure itself a softbound adventure, of 80 pages all told.
The Front cover shows a picture of a female lich grasping a black tome, stood in the doorway of a crypt in which three adventurers (aparently surprised) are turning to attack (one of them appears to have just opened a crypt in the room and found something unpleasant by his expression too
).
The Back cover, has a brief "flavour" description of the adventure, as well as a description of where in the Camapign world the adventure takes place and a small map showing exactly where on the KoK world map.
The book itself is 38 pages of adventure, the rest making up the extra appendices, additional items and Imagequest pictures.
Also maps of the overland area and one of the locales are included on the inside front and back covers... all in all little space is wasted, the font is not too small or too big, the border and header are fancy yet not too much, all in all provided the impression you have something more than a mere adventure.
Of the extra pieces in the adventure, their are a number of goodies that could be used by anyone in Kalamar or not, notably
2 NEW monsters (Coffin Guardian and Reliqus)
1 NEW magic item (the Darklight Codex)
A selection of contents for some history books from the adventure
1 NEW spell (Area of Night)
2 NEW Prestige Classes (Darklight Wizard & Order of the Kalenal Gali)
A Timeline for the events that take place in the adventure
1 NEW Disease (The Wrack)
Encounter Tables
A Card Trick! no less
Information of the Principality of Pekal
Details of the Congregation of the Dead (a god and his Harvester followerS)
A Glossary
A 2 Page table of Books contained in a library, including their titles, languages, value and weight (very handy!)
and Maps of the locales in the adventure.
Finally their are the Imagequest picture.... which are very inspiring and atmospheric art, providing visual stimulus to coincide with the well written adventure itself.
Now yes..yes.. i hear you say but whats the adventure about...?
Well it is an epic, a tale of love found and lost, of Tragedy, descent into despair, and the overall corruption of that love and it's consequences by outside forces who seek to manipulate the situation for their own advantages. So you end up with a situation where the bad guy per se..isn't really all that bad, just misguided.. it's easy to feel sympathy for her.
The 4 page write up at the start of the book, that gives the history and tells of all the events that lead upto the adventure itself (including hooks) is very well written, and atmospheric and provides the "feel" for the adventure.
So in summing up, i would say overall i was impressed, if all published adventures were of this calibre i would buy far more, and i will certainly be looking into obtaining Kalamar and the rest of the adventures at some point if everything else Kenzer have made is of the same quality.
If i had to give it a rating out of 5, i'd give it a 5. Because it left me wanting more, it was well produced, excellently written, full of "atmosphere", and reasonably priced when considering the content.
As somone who doesn;t buy adventures, i am now considering doing just that.. well done Kenzer and Co.
First let me start by saying, when i first applied to win a free product from Kenzer, i figured i had zero chance, as i have practically never won anything in my life ever... but as luck would have it i did.
At first i thought oh.great an adventure.. as i don't tend to buy published adventures much and haven't over the 22 years i have RP'ed. Mainly because i think most tend to just be one encounter after another, and have little substance.
The only adventures i have ever bought are those which aref illed with "Atmosphere" or detail a location i like etc such as the old Keep on the Borderlands, or Village of Hommlet, Halls of Eveningstar. Or those which provide additional rules and source material e.g If thoughts could kill. So it was with some trepidation i opened the "no expense spared" package that arrived at my home walfway around the world in a very fast time.
Inside was an issue of the Dungeons and Dragons comic, from the In the Shadows of Dragons series. Which is in itse;f a worthwhile purchase, i know as i have it on standing order with my local comic store
Also inside was the Deathright Adventure itself a softbound adventure, of 80 pages all told.
The Front cover shows a picture of a female lich grasping a black tome, stood in the doorway of a crypt in which three adventurers (aparently surprised) are turning to attack (one of them appears to have just opened a crypt in the room and found something unpleasant by his expression too
).The Back cover, has a brief "flavour" description of the adventure, as well as a description of where in the Camapign world the adventure takes place and a small map showing exactly where on the KoK world map.
The book itself is 38 pages of adventure, the rest making up the extra appendices, additional items and Imagequest pictures.
Also maps of the overland area and one of the locales are included on the inside front and back covers... all in all little space is wasted, the font is not too small or too big, the border and header are fancy yet not too much, all in all provided the impression you have something more than a mere adventure.
Of the extra pieces in the adventure, their are a number of goodies that could be used by anyone in Kalamar or not, notably
2 NEW monsters (Coffin Guardian and Reliqus)
1 NEW magic item (the Darklight Codex)
A selection of contents for some history books from the adventure
1 NEW spell (Area of Night)
2 NEW Prestige Classes (Darklight Wizard & Order of the Kalenal Gali)
A Timeline for the events that take place in the adventure
1 NEW Disease (The Wrack)
Encounter Tables
A Card Trick! no less
Information of the Principality of Pekal
Details of the Congregation of the Dead (a god and his Harvester followerS)
A Glossary
A 2 Page table of Books contained in a library, including their titles, languages, value and weight (very handy!)
and Maps of the locales in the adventure.
Finally their are the Imagequest picture.... which are very inspiring and atmospheric art, providing visual stimulus to coincide with the well written adventure itself.
Now yes..yes.. i hear you say but whats the adventure about...?
Well it is an epic, a tale of love found and lost, of Tragedy, descent into despair, and the overall corruption of that love and it's consequences by outside forces who seek to manipulate the situation for their own advantages. So you end up with a situation where the bad guy per se..isn't really all that bad, just misguided.. it's easy to feel sympathy for her.
The 4 page write up at the start of the book, that gives the history and tells of all the events that lead upto the adventure itself (including hooks) is very well written, and atmospheric and provides the "feel" for the adventure.
So in summing up, i would say overall i was impressed, if all published adventures were of this calibre i would buy far more, and i will certainly be looking into obtaining Kalamar and the rest of the adventures at some point if everything else Kenzer have made is of the same quality.
If i had to give it a rating out of 5, i'd give it a 5. Because it left me wanting more, it was well produced, excellently written, full of "atmosphere", and reasonably priced when considering the content.
As somone who doesn;t buy adventures, i am now considering doing just that.. well done Kenzer and Co.
