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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Neuroglyph" data-source="post: 5379564" data-attributes="member: 85633">Dungeon Masters have quite a few options these days for ways to entertain their gaming groups, from adventure modules to campaign arcs to adventure settings.   Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom by Nevermet Press falls into this latter category, by offering not merely a single module or a chain of modules, but a setting in which the DM can create his own series of adventures to form part of some larger campaign.  Produced by Nevermet Press, self-described as a “creative collective made up of about a dozen writers, artists, and game designers”, [align=right]http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/rpgblogs/home/neurogly/public_html/rpgblogs/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/bpandhk-cover.jpg[/align] this adventure setting is said to be designed as “not a complete world of great scope or depth, but instead a smaller area full of adventure and intrigue that can be made part of your existing campaign or used as the basis for a new one.”  So what can Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom offer to Dungeon Masters, and subsequently their Players, as a source for quests and adventures?  Brother Ptolemy & The Hidden Kingdom  <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Authors:  Paul King, Dennis “Wyatt Salazar” Santana, Jonathan Jacobs, Christian Martinez, Sean Holland, Steven Schutt, Stephen Dewey, Matthew Cicci</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Cover Illustrator: Paul King (cover), Kenya Ferrand, Rick Hersey, Paul King, Matt Lichtenwalner, Matt Meyer, Jeremy Mohler, Rob Torno, Maciej Zagorski (interior)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Publisher: Nevermet Press</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Year: 2010</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Media: PDF (110 pages)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Retail Cost: $9.95 (available from <a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=85559&filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=270466" target="_blank">RPGNow.com</a>)</li> </ul>          Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom is an adventure setting designed for D&D 4E, and usable in almost any medieval fantasy world.  The material presented in the adventure setting is designed for 5th Level Player-Characters, although it could be easily modified to present a challenge for slightly higher or lower level characters.  Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom contains details about an evil cult, and its leader and membership, including over a dozen new monsters, NPCs, and a monster template, as well as several adventure hooks to get the heroes involved against the cult.  There is an adventure based upon dealing with thwarting the activities of the cult, centered around the city-state of Corwyn, which can also be used as a backdrop for further adventures as devised by individual Dungeon Masters.  The authors also provide magic items, feats, and rituals devised by the evil cult, which might find their way into the hands of the heroes over the course of their adventures.  Production Quality  The production quality of Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom overall is fairly good, with a logical layout and some excellent writing by the authors involved.  Although the stat blocks are designed using the pre-MM3 layouts, but are still very readable and easy to follow.  Admittedly, there were a few typos and grammatical errors, but nothing in such great profusion as to mar a text of this size.  The pdf is designed to be printer-friendly, with gray-scale graphics and illustrations on plain white backgrounds, should a Dungeon Master prefer to a hardcopy of the material to use at the gaming table.    Although the authors provide a table of contents, I was disappointed by the lack of bookmarks in the pdf.  Given that the pdf is over 100 pages of material, bookmarks are almost essential for reasonable navigation through a document of this size.  This is particularly noticeable when dealing with the encounters in the adventure, located in Chapter 4, as the stat blocks for various monsters are located in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom.     The artwork and maps in Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom are really quite good, and I particularly liked the full map of the city-state of Corwyn and surrounding lands by Paul King.  The other illustrations are fresh and some superbly rendered, and enhance the overall quality and reading experience of the material.  [Warning – Spoilers!!! The following section contains spoilers about the plot and monsters in Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom.  Please jump ahead to the Conclusions section to avoid spoiler information.]  Adventure Setting  The contents of Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom is divided into six chapters, with an additional appendix of 10 adventure hooks and stories which Dungeon Masters can use to bring the heroes into the adventure setting, or develop into side plots.    Chapter 1 contains information on the origins of Brother Ptolemy, and the foundation of the secret and sinister Hidden Kingdom cult.  The authors go into great deal about the cult and how it is organized, and provides stat blocks for Brother Ptolemy, as well as seven other cult member types, called Red Monks.  The various Red Monk cultists fulfill a wide range of monster roles, except for Soldiers, with at least two different types of Skirmishers and Controllers, to add variety to the encounters.The Red Monks as monsters are very well developed, and have a number of interesting powers.  The cultists are all a new form of intelligent undead, which have less of the standard immunities and resistances of undead, but also do not have a vulnerability to radiant damage.   As such, these Red Monks are able to infiltrate a society at almost any level using disguises, and are often deemed kindly and non-threatening until the cult is unmasked for what it is.Chapter 2 of Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom deals with a major weapon of the cult – The Red Harvest.  The Red Harvest is a plague that affects people, animals, and even grain and causes death, and in some cases mindless undead.  The cult uses this plague to frighten people into joining its ranks, as they are immune to the horrid effects of the disease.  This is a major plotline that can be introduced into almost any campaign setting as a way to bring adventurers against the cult.  Until the cultists are revealed as the perpetrators of the disease, the Red Monks tend the sick and dying and actually appear to try and help local inhabitants battle the spread of the infection.This chapter also introduces an undead template which can be applied to almost any living creature who has fallen victim to the disease and rose as a mindless undead monster.  The authors provide three new monsters as examples of common plague victims – dogs, rats, and peasants – and have complete stat blocks for these creatures, which are used extensively in the adventure module.Chapter 3 is a detailed description of the city-state of Corwyn, including information on its local government, trade, culture, and defenses.  The full-page map designed by Paul King is featured in this section, and a <a href="http://nevermetpress.com/the-city-state-of-corwyn-full-color-map" target="_blank">full color version</a> of this map can be found at the official Nevermet Press site.   I was a bit surprised to find this section so short, at only a mere five pages, given that Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom is described as an adventure setting.  However, this section, when coupled with information found in other chapters, particularly Chapter 4, is enough for DMs to create additional adventures in and around the area.  Chapter 4 is the bulk of Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom, and contains an adventure called Uncovering the Kingdom.  This adventure is fairly massive in scope, offering adventurers the opportunity to unmask a local stronghold of the cult and save not only a damsel-in-distress, but the rest of the town of Corwyn as well.  I should also mention that an underground movement to expose the cult called the Soul’s End is also revealed during the adventure, which will aid the heroes in their quest.  Uncovering the Kingdom comprises nearly two-thirds of the pdf, with several well-written skill challenges and almost a dozen combat encounters.  As a major plot point in the adventure is infiltrating the cult’s stronghold, a manor house of a local lord, the authors introduced a nifty convention of a random table for handling events inside the manor.  These range from captured and terrified townspeople being prepared for investiture in the cult, to setting off one of the major encounters in the adventure.  There are a number of encounters here in Chapter 4 which allows the authors to introduce a variety of specialized monsters and NPCs, and the stat blocks for these are provided in the appropriate encounter sections.  One of my favorites was a nasty serpent-shark-squid abomination, called Griselda, which inhabits the large lake around the manor house.  Griselda makes the initial crossing of the lake to the manor quite a challenge, and she has some nasty surprises for heroes who venture into her domain.  However, one of the more difficult challenges which Dungeon Masters will have to contend with in this adventure is the use of stock monsters from various Monster Manuals and the Red Monks from Chapter 1 of the pdf.  The monster stat blocks for many encounters will therefore be found in earlier parts of the Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom, or in other sources, which will necessitate a lot of page flipping to handle encounters.  Dungeon Masters will have to do some preparation like printing out stat blocks from the D&D Compendium for instance, if they want to be able to run encounters quickly and easily.  It should be noted that there are no tactical encounter maps for the adventure, although a full map of the manor house, as well as the surrounding island are provided.  DMs will have to rely on making their own encounter maps from dungeon tiles or other methods to complete several of the encounters listed in the adventure.  However, I should point out that the authors provide a rich role-playing environment in Uncovering the Kingdom, with many plot twists, intrigues, and surprises for the adventurers to handle.  The storyline is very compelling and well conceived, and the writing for the adventure is overall quite exemplary.   However, adventurers used to a more hack-and-slash style of adventure might find Uncovering the Kingdom to be more difficult unless they curb their naturally violent inclinations.  There is plenty of opportunity for combat here, but the authors made sure to create a plot where not every crisis will be resolved with weapons and spells!Chapter 5 provides a number of interesting magic items specially created for thematic use by or against the cultists.  They include everything from wondrous items to weapons and even potions, and are very appropriate for the adventure setting.  Chapter 6 introduces several new feats for characters who have chosen to join the cult and embrace undeath, or who fight against the cult. There are also three new rituals, including the one that makes the undead Red Monks, and another really nifty ritual to make one’s familiar into an embalmed undead mummy.  The authors provide examples of a mummified snake and mummified cat familiars which are really awesome ideas, particularly for less than good Characters and NPCs.  Overall Grade: A-  Conclusions  I really enjoyed what I read here in Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom, but I think calling it a source book would be more apropos than an adventure setting.  While there was ample material provided to create a variety of adventures dealing with the Hidden Kingdom undead cult, I found the actual setting material on the city-state of Corwyn to be somewhat skimpy, and Dungeon Masters would be hard-pressed to create further adventures from existing material at this location once the bulk of Uncovering the Kingdom is completed.    However, the content here is really well-written, and there is plenty of source material on the cult and its background to create a solid campaign arc in almost any 4E world.  Dealing with cult activities and assisting the Soul’s End movement could take heroes well into the early Paragon Tier, and even farther if DMs wanted to expand on the origin of the hideous ritual that created Brother Ptolemy and his undead Red Monks in the first place.  One could easily imagine the horrid talons of Orcus or some other dark entity behind the words of power which make up Brother Ptolemy’s ritual.So as an adventure setting, Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom does not quite hit the mark.  But as a well-written source book regarding a dark and sinister cult, with its terrible plagues and rituals, along with a solid adventure with a dynamic plotline, then Brother Ptolemy & the Hidden Kingdom definitely shows off the talents of the authors and designers at Nevermet Press.  And given the ample material provided for its modest price, this book is well worth consideration for a space on any Dungeon Masters virtual bookshelf.  So until next review… I wish you Happy Gaming!  Reviewer’s Note: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the product in PDF format from which the review was written.  Grade Card  <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Presentation: A-</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">- Design: B+ </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">- Illustrations: A</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Content: B+</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">- Crunch: B+</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">- Fluff: A-</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Value: A</li> </ul></blockquote>

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