SHARK
First Post
Greetings!
I recently picked up SEVEN STRONGHOLDS, by Atlas Games. First, the framework:
Author: Robin D. Laws
Publisher: Atlas Games
Pages: 127
Price: $20.95 US
ISBN: 1-58978-011-6
Cover Art: By Chris Pepper
First Printing: February 2002
The artwork throughout is black and white, and reasonably good. Some of the art is evocative, while some is just there. The supplement is organized into an introduction, seven chapters, and an index. The chapters each cover a different type of castle, fortress, or other type of fortification. The strongholds detailed are as follows:
I: The Barrows--A concrete bunker occupied by Gnomes
II: Castle Briar--An elven warlord rules a mystical castle
III: Gloom Keep--A fanatical human cult guards their entombed god.
IV: Old Mound Fort--A simple fort ruled by halflings
V: Steelface Point--Grim Dwarves stand guard
VI: The Perch--Birdmen vigilantly guard this strange fortress
VII: Ulfront's Fort--A half-orc warlord begins to build a kingdom from humble beginnings.
Now, as a customer, and a reader, I appreciate the layout of the product. The font is slightly large, but stands as clear, easy reading. The color is white, with occasional pale grey boxes throughout, with clear black demarcation. The reading alone is easy, informative, and organized. It should prove very friendly for DM's to use elements of this supplement easily, as is, without a huge demand to "study" everything. I liked the writing style, as it was clear, concise, and they didn't over-detail everything. Yet, there is enough of a framework of detail throughout to work in personal story hooks, additional plot elements, and so forth. There are interesting and intriguing NPC's, with plenty of room to add your own, or customise the characters present.
Atlas Games is noted for adding in lots of other goodies in seemingly every product. SEVEN STRONGHOLDS is no exception. If you're like me, I really like these added little bits, like new deities, new spell domains, new magic items, new traps, and odd little rules and adjustments that are just cool and useful. Some of the things you may not have thought about before, or how to organize the mechanics just right, are often included, fully detailed. For example, throughout the supplement, Atlas Games includes many different traps, with full details, that take a lot of time and effort off of the DM's hands to have to come up with.
Throughout my reading of the supplement, ideas kept leaping to mind on how I can integrate such strongholds into my campaign. There are some supplements out there that just leave a person flat. SEVEN STRONGHOLDS delivers ideas and inspiration in spades! Now, even if you don't like some of the details, like I'm not fond of Gnomes, for example, or even Birdmen, but the maps, ideas, and descriptions can still be very useful. Just replace the inhabitants with a race that is more suitable to your campaign. However, there are sure to be some of these that are just great for your campaign, as bases, stopping points, or strongholds to raid and plunder, there is plenty here to keep you and the crew busy.
Personally, I especially liked Castle Briar, Gloom Keep, Steelface Point, and Ulfront's Fort, right off the bat. I can instantly use these areas in my campaign with little or no modification necessary. The SEVEN STRONGHOLDS will prove useful for many reasons again and again to the creative DM. For $20, the supplement is reasonably priced, and of an excellent value overall. The production values of SEVEN STRONGHOLDS is really top notch, I can assure you. I will use this fine supplement extensively in my campaign, in many different ways.
As far as criticism goes, well, I was very pleased with the product. I suppose that perhaps some larger, fold-out maps would have been welcome, (I love cool maps!) and perhaps some superior drawings of the inhabitants, in a detailed, evocative way. For example, in Castle Briar, there are a few teaser-drawings, a few drawings of individuals, but I think more could have been done, like a good drawing of a line of six or so elven archers, where the details of the elves could be easily seen, with detailed armour, weaponry, and so on. This is a slight criticism on my part, as I think good art can really fire the imagination. Aside from these two minor points, SEVEN STRONGHOLDS is an excellent product! I look forward to more excellent products from Atlas Games. They really do a good job in general, and products like SEVEN STRONGHOLDS are inspiring! I highly recommend SEVEN STRONGHOLDS.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
I recently picked up SEVEN STRONGHOLDS, by Atlas Games. First, the framework:
Author: Robin D. Laws
Publisher: Atlas Games
Pages: 127
Price: $20.95 US
ISBN: 1-58978-011-6
Cover Art: By Chris Pepper
First Printing: February 2002
The artwork throughout is black and white, and reasonably good. Some of the art is evocative, while some is just there. The supplement is organized into an introduction, seven chapters, and an index. The chapters each cover a different type of castle, fortress, or other type of fortification. The strongholds detailed are as follows:
I: The Barrows--A concrete bunker occupied by Gnomes
II: Castle Briar--An elven warlord rules a mystical castle
III: Gloom Keep--A fanatical human cult guards their entombed god.
IV: Old Mound Fort--A simple fort ruled by halflings
V: Steelface Point--Grim Dwarves stand guard
VI: The Perch--Birdmen vigilantly guard this strange fortress
VII: Ulfront's Fort--A half-orc warlord begins to build a kingdom from humble beginnings.
Now, as a customer, and a reader, I appreciate the layout of the product. The font is slightly large, but stands as clear, easy reading. The color is white, with occasional pale grey boxes throughout, with clear black demarcation. The reading alone is easy, informative, and organized. It should prove very friendly for DM's to use elements of this supplement easily, as is, without a huge demand to "study" everything. I liked the writing style, as it was clear, concise, and they didn't over-detail everything. Yet, there is enough of a framework of detail throughout to work in personal story hooks, additional plot elements, and so forth. There are interesting and intriguing NPC's, with plenty of room to add your own, or customise the characters present.
Atlas Games is noted for adding in lots of other goodies in seemingly every product. SEVEN STRONGHOLDS is no exception. If you're like me, I really like these added little bits, like new deities, new spell domains, new magic items, new traps, and odd little rules and adjustments that are just cool and useful. Some of the things you may not have thought about before, or how to organize the mechanics just right, are often included, fully detailed. For example, throughout the supplement, Atlas Games includes many different traps, with full details, that take a lot of time and effort off of the DM's hands to have to come up with.
Throughout my reading of the supplement, ideas kept leaping to mind on how I can integrate such strongholds into my campaign. There are some supplements out there that just leave a person flat. SEVEN STRONGHOLDS delivers ideas and inspiration in spades! Now, even if you don't like some of the details, like I'm not fond of Gnomes, for example, or even Birdmen, but the maps, ideas, and descriptions can still be very useful. Just replace the inhabitants with a race that is more suitable to your campaign. However, there are sure to be some of these that are just great for your campaign, as bases, stopping points, or strongholds to raid and plunder, there is plenty here to keep you and the crew busy.
Personally, I especially liked Castle Briar, Gloom Keep, Steelface Point, and Ulfront's Fort, right off the bat. I can instantly use these areas in my campaign with little or no modification necessary. The SEVEN STRONGHOLDS will prove useful for many reasons again and again to the creative DM. For $20, the supplement is reasonably priced, and of an excellent value overall. The production values of SEVEN STRONGHOLDS is really top notch, I can assure you. I will use this fine supplement extensively in my campaign, in many different ways.
As far as criticism goes, well, I was very pleased with the product. I suppose that perhaps some larger, fold-out maps would have been welcome, (I love cool maps!) and perhaps some superior drawings of the inhabitants, in a detailed, evocative way. For example, in Castle Briar, there are a few teaser-drawings, a few drawings of individuals, but I think more could have been done, like a good drawing of a line of six or so elven archers, where the details of the elves could be easily seen, with detailed armour, weaponry, and so on. This is a slight criticism on my part, as I think good art can really fire the imagination. Aside from these two minor points, SEVEN STRONGHOLDS is an excellent product! I look forward to more excellent products from Atlas Games. They really do a good job in general, and products like SEVEN STRONGHOLDS are inspiring! I highly recommend SEVEN STRONGHOLDS.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
