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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Selvarin" data-source="post: 2010864" data-attributes="member: 6102">Underdark is the latest game book in the Forgotten Realms line. It's a 192-page hardcover with the trademark FR 'parchment' page look within and a suitably creepy cover image on the outside by Sam Wood (three  out-of-luck adventurers find them being surrounded by minions of an aboleth, who stays comfortably safe within a waterfall-fed lake where an eerie light akin to moonlight filters in from somewhere beyond). As with the Book of Exalted Deeds, several share writing/design credit, in this instance Bruce Cordell, Gwendolyn F.M.  Kestrel, and Jeff Quick. How does this shape up against expectations, not to mention previous works (such as Drizzt's Guide to the Underdark, which is listed as one of several resources)? You're about to find out.There are nine chapter in Underdark.  Starting with the introduction,  it provides a basic layout of what's to follow as well as a primer on what you needs to play and a list of recommended monsters from sources beyond the Monster Manual.  Short and sweet, No problem. Chapter 1 deals with races and runs for 16 pages. Besides the usual sorts we've come to expect (the drow, duergar, and svirfneblin), a number of others are introduced as character option. There's the chitine and grimlock, both of whom you may be more used to being harried by in darkend tunnels, but three new options have been added. the first are the deep imaskari, basically humans who fled into the Underdark to escape persecution when their empire crumbled. It's rather strange to find another group of ancient humans who've managed to survive (I thought the Shadovari were enough), but there's room for a few more I guess. Next is the gloaming, and quite honestly I don't know if they're an updated creature from a previous TSR/WotC product or not. They're planetouched beings whose otherworldly heritage comes from the Plane of Shadow. Interestingly enough they have wings, and have an affinity for shadow-based spells but they aren't prone to evil as a race. And then there are the slyths, humanoid shapechangers who see themselves as custodians of the Underdark. As with gloamings they have a +2 level Adjustment. Thus, a slyth who's a 1st-level druidhas an ECL (Effective Character Level) of 3. The ECLs of other possible races are also provided, such as derro (ECL 4) and tanarukks (ECL 8). Frankly I wonder what the value is of playing a character with such a high ECL, especially when a given race or template doesn't necessarily have the hit dice to back it up. But hey, it's an art and not a science, and beyond the scope of this book.Chapter 2, Regions & Feats, is thankfully short. I say 'thankfully' because too often multiple feats are little more than variations of the same feat (such as the varies "+2 to x and y' feats) and it does nothing but take up space. There are 6 new region/race feats, one each for the chitine, deep imaskar, gloaming, grimlock, kuo-toa, and slyth. Not bad, although I wonder if they'll be in line with what the upcoming Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms has planned.   There are 25 character feats, some of which are also found in  Races of Faerun (Highborn Drow, Improved Levitation). The  Elfhunter feat is a retread of the Foehunter feat found in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Is it necessary? Not really, could've just expanded the choices for the Foehunter feat here according to race. Several are retreads of previously published feats. One new feat of note include Graft Illithid Flesh (woohoo!), which allows you--if you're an illithid with a  sufficient Heal rank, to create illithidgrafts and put them on you or other beings. Nice. In addition there are several feats concerning 'node spellcasting', which  relates to node magic. Without looking too far ahead in the book I can say that some of the spells relating to node magic are  reminiscent of certain magic which was utilized by the rockseer elves (without being elaborated upon) in the "ight Below  mega-adventure by Carl Sargent. Don't recall it? It's 2nd Edition AD&D, and while and while that product uses the term 'magical  flux point' it feels like node magic is an elaboration upon that idea. I'm surprised the Night Below boxed set wasn't mentionedamong the resources as it was (and still is) a fantastic adventure with some interesting ideas relating to the Underdark.In chapter 3 we're given twelve new prestige classes. The first, the arachnemancer, made its debut a while back in a Dungeon adventure called "The Harrowing" (#84 by monte Cook). It's a pretty good PRC, although I just noticed it's been slightly augmented (the  arachnemancer's poison touch is more powerful at 6th and 10th level). Another welcome change is that the arachnemancer's spellcasting ablity increases at 1st/3rd/4th/6th/7th/9th/10th level, whereas in the Dungeons #84 version one was restricted to gaining extra spells from a spider magic list. They still have access to 'spider magic' per se, but instead one gains access to them as part of their normal spell acquisition. Thus, if you attain 7th level sellcasting ability you can tack on Giant Vermin, Repel Vermin, and Summon Huge Monstrous Spider. This is much, much better. Beyond that there's the Cavelord, a type of Underdark protector that should appeal to druids, rangers, and barbarians more than anyone else. the deep diviner specifically deals with node magic. It's a very attractive prestige class that gives setting 'flavor' to an Underdark-based campaign. other prestige classes found here are geared towards specifc races, such as the drow inquisitor (unholy warrior of Selvetarm in service to Lolth) or Inquisitor  of the Drowning Queen. The Shadowcrafter makes illusions of shadow that are more powerful than usual, the Vermin Keeper is a different take on the Vermin Lord PRC found in the Book of Vile Darkness, a bit less disgusting and not requiring that one be of evil disposition.The Prime Underdark Guide is, so far as I can tell, the only class suitable for surface dwellers to take initially. Those taking it gain bonus languages, a bonus to Underdark lore, and other nice perks.In chapter 4, Magic & Spells, we finally get a good glimpse at what node magic is. Essentially, node magic taps into natural pools and streams of power that collect and run below the earth (straight from the book, folks). This apparently has some relation to the idea of ley lines, of which I've heard of but know nothing about. Earth nodes can be detected when coming within x number of feet of it, the Difficulty Class determined by the distance. A number of bonuses can be accrued from being within the range of an earth node, from a bonus to one's effective caster level to granted spells. It's pretty involved, something that I definitely want to make use of in my own campaign. Faerzress is also mentioned in this section, and its attendant effect upon divination and teleportation spells. Portals are also given further mention.Past that are several new domains, one of which (Portal) is merely a nice alternative to the one provided in the FRCS. Since it's an improvement over the earlier version, it's worth taking. There are 45 spells, and again some of these look familiar whie others are most definitely  original. One thing I'm noticing is that in addition to an emphasis on node  and earth-based magic spells there are also a few which relateto the concept of neutrality, such as Word of Balance, which affects all LG, LE, CG, and CE creatures in range. (Wouldn't you hate to be part of an elf-band within grasp of annhilating some drow and a slyth decides to lay this on the whole lot for disturbing the sanctity of the cavern?) Overall I liked the selection of spells.Equipment and magic items are handled in chapter 5. The adventuring gear is ho-hum, but then again I've never been as psyched about new weapons as I am about magic itself. The butterfly knife meets the Forgotten Realms, in a manner of speaking, in the form of the flutter blade. Granted, it's larger than a butterfly knife but you get the picture. Several kuo-toan items, such as the pincer staff and steel fin, are included, while exotic armor made of spidersilk managed to catch my eye (it's as good as studded leather but lighter and more flexible, just what I'd like if I were a rogue or someone with a low strength score). Some additional adventuring items are also detailed, such as paint that's visible only to those  with darkvision, plus a few new poisons. I'd hate to have my character get struck by any of it, not surprisingly. In the magic item section we find several new weapon properties/special abilities, such as Bloodthirsty (grants the wielder a morale bonus on attack rolls as long as the weapon's used to kill a creature of 4HD or higher every 24 hours). Not all provide a +1 to +4 market price modifier, some just add to the price. 'Drowcraft' can be  added to both magic weapons and armor, so if you liked the 1E-2E era wherein drow items corroded or turned to dust when exposed to sunlight you're in luck. It isn't automatic (there is a DC 8 Fort save but if you leave a drowcraft item out exposed to the sun it'll eventually dissolve. Moving further along there are a few new (and updated) rings, rods, and so forth. The expected assortment, but nonetheless highly useful. There's even a rod which negates the effects of faerzress, how cool is that? Yet another good way to add flavor to your Underdark campaign. A few more artifacts and wondrous items round out the rest of the chapter. I find nothing in particular lacking here.Chapter 6 deals with monsters, which is okay. My picks are the elder brain, the  faerzness-infusd template, and mindwitness (a beholder that has the half-illithid template behind---very nasty!). If you think the encounter tables would be found here, guess again. They're found in Chapter 7: Exploring the Underdark. Here it goes into the geology and the like, giving a good overview of what to expect, plus the amusing little hazards we've come to expect from crawling through lightless tunnels and caverns. You'll find tidbits on the general ecology, Underdark diseases, and the penalties one suffers when fighting in constricted tunnel spaces (the latter of which is highly useful and will make your players think twice about what to have handy should they get accosted in a tight squeeze). Encounter tables for the Underdark, from the upper portions to the lowerdark, round out the rest of chapter 7, something that I've come to expect in Forgotten Realms regional sourcebooks. What saves me time and effort is a good thing.Where the previous chapters were generic enough to be useful to non-FR gamers, chapter 8: Geography is more Realms specific. It goes for 62 pages, touching  upon a number of places written about by Eric Boyd in Drizzt's Guide tothe Underdark, albeit in a tighter format. I wouldn't say that it makes the latter obsolete or less useful, however it's still an informative read for those of us who want to know more about what lies  a few miles below your heroes' home town. Instead of a huge pull-out map as in the 'good old days', two maps are provided which accomplish the same thing in regard to general placement, with the surface geography drawn in black or a negative image of itself. It works, and I like it. There are some new places written about or expanded upon, but I do have a bone to pick with the writers concerning Llurth Dreir--What did you do to it?! Eric Boyd wrote about Llurth Dreir in Polyhedron some time ago and in that version the drow were ruled from the shadows by aboleth servants of Ghaunadaur. It was a good explanation for why the city's drow population was several hundred thousand strong. Llurth Dreier, as detailed in this chapter, is rather boring in comparison. In addition its martial strength has been severely reduced. For what reason? I know that previous material shouldn't become a straightjacket for other writers but this is ludicrous. The newer interpretation just doesn't cut it. Those who don't have access to "Llurth Dreier: City of Ooze" (Polyhedron 140) won't really care about this, nonetheless I felt I should bring it up. And lastly, chapter 9 deals with adventures in the Underdark. Pretty straightforward, has a list of dungeons within the Underdark as well as three fleshinging-out bits on Drowned Multim, Gduar's Garden, and 'The Shape of Water'. They are adventure pieces, complete with some stats, but they're pretty short. I have no idea  whether due to lack of space or the notion that gamers weren't happy the last time an adventure hogged too many pages in a FR sourcebook.Conclusion and last thoughts...'Underdark' is a fairly well-written book with artwork I can appreciate and enough material for me to use and abuse in future campaigns set in its lightless depths. Those who don't care for the Forgotten Realms should still give it a try because most of it can be yanked for use in non-FR campaigns, although it provides more utility for FR gamers (1/3 of the book is devoted to FR Underdark geography, after all). My irritation over Llurth Dreier's treatment is only minor, as the book as a whole does what it's  supposed to and gives me a lot to work with. Thus, it deserves a 4. Not an overly enthusiastic 4 but a 4 nonetheless.Now if only this and the Book of Exalted Deeds were to get 'etooled' early next year, that would make things even better.Postscript regarding Llurth Dreier: While in an IRC chat that included Richard Baker and Gwendolyn Kestrel, I got my question answered. Basically they found out about the article late in the process, and when comparing the two it was decided that the new material worked better (I'm paraphrasing this). There isn't much more to be said about it. I respectfully disagree with the assessment (Eric Boyd's article had better adventure hooks as a result of his take on Llurth Dreier), but them's the breaks. C'est la vie.</blockquote>

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