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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2010019" data-attributes="member: 18387">By Bruce Boughner, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack and Co-host of Mortality Radio *Caution: Contains spoliers!! Sizing Up the Target The Dancing Hut a 76-page soft-cover adventure book published by MonkeyGod Enterprises. The author is Michael Tresca. The cover is by Scott Fischer and is a hag superimposed over a druid contemplating a crown towering over a Stonehenge-like circle. The interior art is by Sean Duereden and John Moniz and is available for $14.95 First Blood Inspired by Russian folklore, The Dancing Hut is a sequel adventure for Tsar Rising for adventurers of 8th to 9th level, but it is not necessary to have that module to play this one. The adventure takes place in the Russia-like land of Torassia. The wilderness of Russian folklore is shown to be the cold and merciless place in those myths. Russian terms are used throughout the text.Populated by the peasants and the wealthy boyars, this land is presided over by the Tsar, Petrov Nayavovich, known as Peter the Great. A bright visionary, yet volatile and violent man Peter fended off his usurper sister, consolidated his rule with a herd of War Mammoths, he declared a state religion of Khrestianin that was well received in the civilized areas of his domain, but made grave enemies of the druids of the old faith. This new faith was introduced by the mysterious Gregor (an Ostyuth devil in disguise), who insinuated himself into royal favor. Once in favor, he murdered the Tsarista and the youngest son (or so it was thought). After a long campaign, Peter fell gravely ill, his twin sons, Alexi and Dmitri are beginning to tear the country apart in civil war. Amid the chaos, rumors of Peter’s youngest son, Ivan, having survived, have surfaced. Peter realized that Ivan was the lone hope to save the kingdom. Healers from around the realm have been brought in to cure the Tsar with no success. That is until a hag, who was unable to cure the Tsar brought news that Ivan still lived. The hag, actually Baba Yaga, had in reality cursed the Tsar hoping his son Ivan, who was schooled in the old religion, would succeed him. It is here, as Peter commissions the search for his son that the adventure begins. At this point, information for the players is given in a shaded parchment area of text. The characters can be hired by the Tsar or by the two traitorous princes. The adventure then leads into the Torassian wilderness, onto the glacier and the coniferous taiga below it. A land filled with many dire animals. If hired by the Tsar, the party is given a magic item that leads them to a Djinn named Vikhor, who also seeks Ivan for his own sinister purposes, hoping to find him before his rival, Koshchei the Deathless. A second magic item leads Koshchei on his own quest for the whereabouts of Ivan. Yet a third item, this one leading to Baba Yaga, brings the party to her infamous hut. This rendition makes her a powerful medusa, quite a departure from the traditional hag she has been portrayed as. To gain Baba Yaga’s knowledge of the Prince’s location, the party must face death to complete two tasks. If successful she gives the party yet another device to lead them to Ivan. Ivan, now a druid of no mean strength is allowed to react in a number of ways. Still this is yet all but one more intrigue. The next 20 pages are filled with appendixes of NPC’s, new monsters, charts and magic items. The threads for a third module or a homegrown campaign resulting from the events of this adventure are given. Critical Hits This is certainly one of the more original modules I’ve seen in a while. The Dancing Hut brings a feeling of Mother Russia to the players. It is an interesting quest with enough political intrigue to baffle an experienced player. The traps and tricks are challenging enough for what they’re needed for but it is the human traps that are even more challenging. Critical Misses Most of the encounters are standard fare, the traps are nothing spectacular, yes they are challenging, but they are nothing out of the ordinary. Also I have to take exception with Baba Yaga as a medusa, c’mon guys, she’s an Annis or green hag, not a medusa. Coup de Grace This is a good middle of the road adventure, it is easily adaptable for any campaign and can be a good interlude while the campaign catches its breath before moving on. To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to Fast Tracks at <a href="http://www.d20zines.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index&catid=&topic=4" target="_blank">www.d20zines.com.</a></blockquote>

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