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Message: <blockquote data-quote="der_kluge" data-source="post: 9375529" data-attributes="member: 945">Speaking of reviews...Bane of the Shadowborn (Dungeon #31) <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="⭐" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/2b50.png" title="Star    :star:" data-shortname=":star:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" />  <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="⭐" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/2b50.png" title="Star    :star:" data-shortname=":star:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" />  <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="⭐" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/2b50.png" title="Star    :star:" data-shortname=":star:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" />Let’s hop back into our wayback machines and head to 1991 and Dungeon #31. The domain here is unspecified, other than “The Shadowborn estate” which is an island. It is intended for levels 6-9. Having access to the “Darklords” accessory is recommended, though not required, as the chief antagonist here is the Ebonbane, an evil intelligent sword.The setup assumes the PCs are coming into Ravenloft, but they could just as easily be coming through the mists from some other domain. It’s assumed that one of the PCs is a descendant of Lady Shadowborn, whose home this was centuries ago. It starts with the chosen descendant PC having a nightmare about fighting a man in a manor with a black sword. The dream sequence is supposed to end with the PC losing, and then actually waking up (along with the rest of the party) in the mists. Then they find a one-way wall, which leads into the courtyard of the manor house. Would you believe I’m 5 pages into this module at this point? Yea, it’s wordy. Also, the dream sequence is completely unnecessary.At the entrance to the manor, you are greeted by the ghost of Lady Shadowborn who introduces herself and tells the PCs that they have come here in her time of need. Then Ebonbane takes over and the message gets cut short, and a hideous version of the same face informs them that they will all die. It’s a nicely done scene. A rarity for what follows, unfortunately.The rest of the manor house is an overly dramatic, overly boxed-text heavy dungeon crawl. In fact, I think half of this module is just boxed-text. There’s a lot of combat as well, and most of it is in the form of an unavoidable encounter just by stepping into the room variety. Like Horror’s Harvest, the author makes a point to indicate that certain spells like wish, limited wish, or anti-magic shell can stop Ebonbane from hurling knives at the party while they’re in the kitchen but seems to have forgotten that this is a module written for 6th-9th level character. So unnecessary.There are about 25 rooms in the manor, and the PCs are tasked, through a vision with Lady Shadowbane, to retrieve four elemental keys. The keys are a vial of holy water, air from a sarcophagus in the crypt, dirt from a wine cellar, and then magical fire which the PCs are supposed to create themselves. The clue for this fourth one is given once they have acquired the first three. Anyone who attempts to open the final door without having all 4 keys must save or die, bursting into flames and ash as a result. Wow, ok. The clues to the first 3 keys are super vague, and I would expect a lot of parties to attempt to acquire fire from the angry fire in the kitchen (which tries to kill them). There’s absolutely no indication which “dirt” is the correct dirt. The air from the sarcophagus is interesting, though it’s not exactly on-brand for a former paladin in her estate. So, it seems reasonable that PCs will dismiss that as not being the correct “air” to acquire. There’s also a couple of red herrings (an earth weird, for example, or strong winds upstairs) that could also sufficiently throw them off the trail.In the end, the PCs confront Ebonbane, use the keys to weaken him, and then presumably are successful in returning to their home plane after fighting the sword while floating through the mists. There’s a lot to like here, unfortunately there’s probably more to not like. The entire thing reads like a cheesy Goosebumps novel. It’s sufficiently vague and hard that I could see PCs getting very easily frustrated by the lack of sufficient clues. The four elemental key puzzle feels like it’s been ripped from every video game I’ve ever played, and thematically aren’t relevant here anyway. Ebonbane, for his part, is just an evil sword, but is described as being able to do whatever it wants within the domain. Why it cowers in the cellar the entire time is a little weird. For a sword described as being such a narcissist, greeting them at the door and killing them, only to retreat, if necessary, would make more sense.</blockquote>

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