Shadows of Night

[Troll Lord]

"Sista, ss- Sista," the foul odoriferous heap of mangled flesh whispers through tight wretched lips. "Sista, ss- say your part now!" The wad of rotting skin and hide moves forward and extends its arm towards a beautifully woven red velvet dress hanging from the wall. It points towards the dress with a crooked finger bespeckled with black oozing sores, green warts, and a fingernail clipped to a bleeding cuticle. The creature, almost touching it, but not quite, hisses between swollen lips. "Sista..."

From along the wall, emerging from twisted shadows comes another mound of filthy flesh. Its rolls of fat folding over and over one another, its pale skin, shredded with disease and weeping sicknesses, cover this mound of hatred as it plods across the floor. It approaches a large vat of bubbling, black stew in the middle of the room, dips in its malformed hand and withdraws a small amount of the sticky goo which she quickly quaffs. Its throat now wetted, it begins to mumble and crone, speaking soiled words from the dawn of Inzae's unmaking. It then begins to weave and dance in hideous contortions in front of the velvet dress eventually pulling a small tuft of hair from within a fold of fat to throw on the ground before it.

Then silence befalls this small sepulcher of hatred in which dwell these stinking caricatures of mankind. Grimy drops of moisture drip from the ceiling, plunking into a salty pool or onto the stone floor while rivulets of water rush down the walls as if seeking egress from this hole...

This is the world of Bergholt.

"By Shadow of Night" a new Companion Book brought to you by Troll Lord Games

 

[MEG Hal]

Cool looking cover.....is the book a horizontal sided book? If so why....I am intrigued.

 

[jaults]

    I think more likely that it is a wrap-around cover... but I could be wrong.

    Jason

 

[MEG Hal]

I think more likely that it is a wrap-around cover... but I could be wrong.
Jason

*I am a dork.....looking at it now that makes complete sense*
<strikes self with mallet of embarassment>

 

[tensen]

*looks over the above image and comments*

+2 mallet of embarassment...
don't forget the +2

 

[uv23]

So whats it all about? Other than a lot of vivid adjectives, the blurb doesn't say much.

 

[Turlogh]

Here's what the Troll Lord's product blurb says:

Walled Bergholt sits astride a transhipment point between far flung Realms of the east and west. A backwash, Bergholt is a town of simple folk; folk who consider themselves free of the chaos of the world. This myth rests well for those weary travelers seeking a city of respite from the horrors of the trail. But here you will find no innocence, for foul machinations are afoot, corruption and villainous deeds fester beneath the silken myth of Bergholt’s purity. The d20 enthusiast is introduced to the mysterious powers found in the Language of Destruction, a new series of spells and powers for the priestly class. This d20 system Companion book possesses the first part of the 3 part “Dens of Iniquity” adventure backdrop, a continuation of the “Death on the Treklant Trilogy” (TLG 1201, 1202, 1203) designed for 4-6 characters of levels 5-7.

I think they are empathizing foul machinations to be found in this product.

 

[Troll Lord]

By Shadow of Night is the second book in our line of Companion books. The Companion Books are marked by the distinctive logo at the top and by their multi-tiered content. Each possesses generic setting material, an adventure and source material that both goes with the setting and adventure and is aplicable to any game you run.

By Shadow of Night explores the city of Bergholt in the inner world of Inzae (or wherever you decide to place the city, it just needs be a coastal area). Bergholt is an ancient berg of twisting streets and narrow alleys, filled to the brim with mystery and intrigue. Within these 80 pages there are over 30 encounter areas detailed, city stats given (population, government, customs, society etc etc). With this you get an introduction to a new set of feats and spells for your Priestly class as well several new prestige classes, the Hexentoters being the most prominant.

There is also an adventure supplied. A mystery wherein the party is pitted against a ruthless band of magic weilding assassins and their masters. It is heavy on the roleplaying and fact finding side of things as in involves a host of secretive guilds struggling for power in the city itself. There are some tough encounters as well which should round you out with enough action to keep the party breathless. The author, Davis Chenault, is well known for his ferocious dming style and merciless attention to detail. This comes out a bit in the book itself.

Of course, like the Heart of Glass (see review, different post), the adventure in By Shadow of Night can serve the enterprising DM with a backdrop for his own adventures and encounters.

Look for it next month....in a store near you!!

Not-going-to-spell-check
Steve