Where’s the dwarven beef?

Review Originally Published October 9th, 2001

Azadmere is a HârnWorld supplement, containing four Encyclopedia Hârnica articles: Azadmere (10 pages), Khuzdul (4 pages), Habe (6 pages), and Zerhun (10 pages). It also includes full-page Player Maps (black and white, unlabelled) and Common Maps (full-color, labelled) for Azadmere (the kingdom), Habe, Zerhun, and Azadmere (the town).

AZADMERE

The titular subject of the supplement, the article on Azadmere devotes one page to discussing the history, government, economics, and religion of the Kingdom of Azadmere. In short: Azadmere is ancient, predating human civilization on Hârn by several millennia. When the first humans (the Jarin) reached Hârn, a symbiotic relationship grew up between the two cultures – with the dwarves increasingly focusing on their mining and craft, while the humans farmed the surrounding land for food. Eventually some human families were adopted into the dwarven clan structure. This caused some problems, however, because the original city of Azadmere was forbidden to humans. To solve this, the Outer City was constructed outside of the mountain (while the original city, within the mountain, became known as the Inner City).

Following this extremely brief summary (figure it out – if less than a page is spent in the book itself on this material, there can’t be that much information left out of my summary of the summary) we are given a full page map of the Outer City. The next two pages give a key for every single building in the outer city (naturally, almost all of these descriptions are extremely brief).

From there we get an even briefer look at the Inner City: Four pages of maps reveal the three primary levels of the Inner City (in relation to the Outer City and with detailed maps of Levels 1 and 2). The description of these maps is summarily squeezed into a single page, leaving room for a one page chart showing the clans of Azadmere and their primary assets.

And that’s it.

All right, I’ll be totally up front with you: My primary reason for buying the book was for the dwarven city. I’ve got a major dwarven city adventure looming on the horizon in my campaign, and so I went looking for extant dwarven city resources to draw upon.

But I’ve got to believe that I would be underwhelmed by this even if it hadn’t been my primary interest in the book.

I mean, the maps are fantastic. No doubt about it. Not only are they gorgeous in the execution, the Outer and Inner Cities are just plain well-designed from the look of it: They make sense, as so many fantasy cities do not.

But I have to admit that I want more description: I want to know what these rooms on the map look like. I want to know more about the people who live here. I want to know more about the politics. I want to know—

You know what? I just want to know more, period. And it’s not that “wow, you’ve told me so much and I’m still hungry for more” feeling (which is a great feeling) – it’s that “uh, did you forget to print something?” feeling (which is a bad feeling).

KHUZDUL

The four page Khuzdul article which follows the Azadmere article didn’t do much to alleviate my trepidations. Again, we are given the lightest coverage seemingly possible for dwarven history, culture, religion, and economics (and at least some of this is repeated from the Azadmere article).

To put this in perspective: The article on the Khuzdul in the Harndex (one of the books which comes as part of the second edition of HârnWorld) is nearly a page long. I would guess that the amount of information has only been expanded by approximately a factor of 5. Maybe.

Actually, the Khuzdul article as it stands in this book would make more sense as the Harndex entry. Or, at best, the outline for a Khuzdul supplement.

HABE & ZERHUN

The last two articles in the book are slightly better. Zerhun, in particular, seems to give a fairly complete picture of its subject matter (a dwarven fort guarding the southern reaches of the kingdom). But this actually serves as a major tip-off to the larger problems this supplement faces: If you need 10 pages to adequately describe a fort and the small town which supports it, what on earth makes you believe that 10 pages will be adequate to describe an entire dwarven city (which is 30 times larger in population alone)?

Habe is a small town, the oldest Jarin settlement in Azadmere. This article is still a little lighter than it probably should be, but doesn’t fare too badly. The maps of the keep in Habe, in particular, are a valuable resource. The maps of the Inn, in my opinion, less so.

CONCLUSION

The problem Azadmere has as a supplement can be summed up simply:

Where’s the dwarven beef?

If this book did nothing except describe the dwarven city of Azadmere, it could most likely do justice to its subject of choice. Similarly, if this book did nothing except describe dwarven culture and history, it could almost certainly do justice to its subject of choice.

Instead, Azadmere chooses to spread its focus too wide – and ends up failing to do justice to any of the material it chooses to present.

What’s in the book is of high quality. But the book remains deeply flawed because of what isn’t to be found here.

I, for one, am disappointed.

Style: 3
Substance: 3

Author: N.R. Crossby, Tom Dalgliesh, and Edwin King
Publisher: Columbia Games, Inc.
Line: Hârn
Price: $15.98
ISBN: 0-920711-09-X
Product Code: 5004
Pages: 40

Does, “Where’s the beef?” still have any cultural cachet?

I was, in fact, hunting for a great dwarven city supplement that I could plug into my ongoing D&D 3rd Edition campaign. Azadmere was not, as I recall, my only disappointment. (I believe there was also a Moria supplement I sampled and rejected, among others.) If I could go back in time and offer a guiding light to my younger self, I’d point him in the direction of DL4: Dragons of Desolation by Tracy Hickman and Michael Dobson, which includes an incredible set of dwarven city geomorphs.

Looking back, I’m realizing that my younger self had, in fact, read that module, but only in a used copy of the DLC1 reprint collection which, vitally, was missing all the geomorphs.

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

A classic fantasy world, Hârn continues to distinguish itself as a setting of unique detail, depth, and excellence.

Review Originally Published October 9th, 2001

Hârn is a fantasy world created by N.R. Crossby and first published in 1983 by Columbia Games. In 1990, a second edition of HârnWorld (which is being reviewed here) was released, including:

HârnWorld: A 64-page booklet – including the articles Hârn, Kethira, and Lythia — serving as a general introduction to the campaign setting.

Harndex: The “Master Index for Hârn”, an 80-page booklet serving as the specific source material for the campaign setting. (Although referred to as an “index”, it is probably easier to describe it as an “abridged” encyclopedia. Entries are arranged alphabetically, with short articles discussing each entry.)

Map: A full-color poster map of the campaign setting.

Since then, Hârn has been supported with a variety of supplements (all of which are kept in print by Columbia) and its own rule system (HarnMaster, also currently in its second edition). In general, however, the source material is kept separate from the rules.

The Hârn product line, as a whole, is organized into a series of modular articles. For example, as mentioned above, the HârnWorld booklet which comes as part of the second addition HârnWorld product is actually comprised of three articles: Hârn (describing the island of Hârn), Kethira (the world on which Hârn is located), and Lythia (the continent which Hârn is part of).

Each of these articles has its pages numbered individually, and are specifically designed so that you can cut the book apart and separate the articles from one another and place them in a binder. As you purchase other Hârn products (which contain their own articles) you can organize the articles in any order you want (or pull specific articles to take with you to a particular game session). The concept/conceit is that each of these articles is part of an ever-expanding Encyclopedia Hârnica, with each GM assembling their own Encyclopedia as they assemble official material and create their own material over time. I don’t know that I’ll ever take advantage of this design myself, but it’s a nice option to have available.

SETTING DETAILS

Hârn approaches fantasy with a light touch. For example: Humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs are the only significant races to be found here. Other intelligent races do exist, including the Ivashu (a sterile race of diverse magical creatures who are perpetually created anew by the god Ilvir from the limited number of souls available to him) and the mere-dragons (a distant cousin of the true dragons) – but their rarity gives them a special significance. Hârn succeeds at making the magical elements of its fantasy effective and special because those elements are rare, not despite it.

Hârn itself is a large island, just northwest of the continent Lythia on the world of Kethira. As the name on the front cover would suggest, Hârn itself is the primary center of focus for HârnWorld — although Lythia also receives enough attention that you can easily use it as part of your campaign without too many problems (although I, for one, would really like to see additional support material released for the non-Hârn areas of the world). The other two continents on Kethira are briefly described in a couple of paragraphs each.

One of the first things I do when looking at a new campaign setting is to look at the map. Not only does a good map give you insight into what type of world you’re looking at, it can also serve as a sort of alternative “Table of Contents” for the setting – providing a structure by which you can understand the campaign material in context. Although this is generally a good piece of advice, I found it to be literally true in the case of HârnWorld — the various maps found in the product, essentially, serve as the Table of Contents for the various indexes via which the bulk of information is conveyed. In other words, you look at a map, see something you want to know more about, and then look it up in the appropriate index and cross-reference from there.

What immediately caught my attention about the poster map of Hârn is that, unlike the usual fantasy campaign map, this one did not feature continuous strings of nations from one end of the map to another. What I discovered was that there were only nine civilized states on the island of Hârn, with vast swaths of territory between them being settled only be eighteen barbarian “nations” (read: largely nomadic, decentralized tribes).

This does two things: First, it helps carry Hârn away from the pseudo-Renaissance period which haunts so many fantasy worlds (historically Hârn is similar to Britain somewhere between the 9th and 14th centuries – although several unique cultures also exist). Secondly, it establishes a large frontier in which adventuring can take place.

In this same vein, Harn’s history is an alternation between sumptuous detail (dating back to roughly the first appearance of humans on the island) and ancient mystery (everything before that). This not only gives you a plethora of solid roots in which to plant your stories; it also gives you a plethora of mysteries with which to spice your campaign. Best of both worlds.

The major highlights:

The Feudal Kingdoms. Most of the human kingdoms on Hârn are feudal in the most classical sense of the term. This includes Kanday and Rethem in the east; as well as Chybisa and Kaldor in the west. As noted above, these kingdoms are strongly reminiscent of 9th- to 14th-century Britain. One of Harn’s primary strengths is the realism with which these feudal societies are imbued – both in terms of their present day composition, and the history which believably leads to their composition. There is a truly organic feeling to the world, insofar as its current state of existence seems to flow naturally and believably from past events. Hârn’s history may not be the most dramatic fantasy history you will ever read; but, in my opinion, it is possessed of incredible power because it rings with such incredible truth.

Azadmere. The last dwarven kingdom. There’s really not much more which can be said here.

Evael. The last remnant of the elven kingdom which once covered all of Hârn. Finally unable to withstand the human migrations from Lythia approximately fourteen centuries ago, the elves renounced claim to Harnic sovereignty and retired to the Shavan Forest – where they have remained ever since. (Both the elves and the dwarves are, essentially, dying cultures. There is definitely a sense of influence from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, insofar as both of these races seem poised on the edge of being wiped from the face of history by the growing strength of humanity.)

Orbaal. Orbaal was founded by the Ivinians, more recent human invaders from Lythia. The Ivinians are essentially a Norse culture, and I see strong parallels between Orbaal and the Norse invasion of Britain.

Melderyn. Another human realm, but one with strong mystical overtones. It exists primarily in a smaller island just southeast of Hârn itself – but its influence and domain extends onto the main island as well. It is rumored that Melderyn’s civilization is a descendant of the ancient civilizations which populated the world in long-forgotten days.

STRENGTHS

Hârn’s primary claim to fame it’s meticulous detail – particularly in the area of culture, society, and history. It has a truly medieval feel which is absent from every other fantasy RPG setting I’ve seen on the market.

Indeed, Hârn’s attention to detail is scrupulous enough that HârnWorld actually ends up distinguishing itself as an excellent reference for medieval societies – regardless of whether you use Hârn as your campaign setting or not. If you’re not familiar with true feudalism, Hârn will open your eyes to a wealth of information.

WEAKNESSES

The first thing you’ll notice about Hârn is the bland production values which run through the product line. Essentially, the “look and feel” of HârnWorld and its supplements was set back in 1983 – and nothing has changed much since then. It’s clear that an emphasis is being placed on information over the presentation of that information. (The exception to this is the full-color poster map. That’s gorgeous. Easily one of the most beautiful fantasy maps ever produced.)

Note, however, that “bland production values” does not mean “poor production values”. The paper is stiff and durable. The editing is faultless. The layout is clean and easily comprehensible. This is a product designed to be used.

Another problem I had with HârnWorld was that, despite the generally exemplary organization of information, the wealth of detail combined with the disjointed nature of the articles means that – eventually – some information just plain ends up getting lost. For example, it took me quite a while to figure out where to look for the calendar/timekeeping information.

HârnWorld’s largest pitfall, however, is this: Sometimes the real world parallels become just a little too… parallel. In general, the historical parallels Hârn chooses to draw do exactly what Crossby says they should be doing: Giving the audience a point of reference so that they can draw on historical resources in expanding and detailing the campaign setting.

But occasionally the line gets crossed and Hârn ends up looking like 7th Sea: A pseudo-clone of the real world, lacking both the significance of reality and the joy of creativity. The worst of both worlds.

Fortunately, this problem seems to be contained mostly to the distant lands of Lythia (I noticed it particularly in the Ivinian culture) – while Hârn itself manages to maintain the best of both worlds (offering the familiarity of real-world analogues; while still sustaining a creative freshness).

CONCLUSION

The world of Hârn is a classic campaign setting, which has built its reputation through nearly two decades of consistency and a scrupulous commitment to quality and detail. It succeeds at giving you a depth and reality which is rarely matched.

At the same time, Hârn delivers because it succeeds at offering something different and unique from the rest of the market – while still being almost definitionally “traditional fantasy”. Here you will find your fantasy favorites (dwarven kingdoms, elven forests, ancient ruins, strange magic, kings, princesses, knights, and adventure) – but you’ll find them in a distinctly different flavor of world. Ironically, Hârn finds this “distinctly different flavor of world” by adhering closely to the real world – simply choosing to embrace the medieval roots so many fantasy settings claim (while, in actuality, treading around in a pseudo-Renaissance).

In short: Hârn is excellent.

Style: 3
Substance: 5

Author: N.R. Crossby, Tom Dalgliesh, and Edwin King
Additional Contributions: Brad Carter, Brian Clemens, Rob Duff, Mike Dwyer, John Frazer, Doug Gillanders, John Greer, Stephen Hinchcliffe, David Kowan, Sharon MacLeod, Simon Matthews, Brad Murray, Gene Siegal, and Garry Steinhilber
Publisher: Columbia Games, Inc.
Line: Hârn
Price: $29.98
Product Code: 5001
Pages: 134

ADDITIONAL HARN REVIEWS

HârnWorld: Azadmere
HârnWorld: Kiraz

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

Rappan Athuk promises “the grand-daddy of all dungeon crawls”! It delivers.

Third Edition Rules, First Edition Feel.

That’s Necromancer Game’s tagline. In their introduction to Rappan Athuk they expand on what this means: “Why is the dungeon there? No one knows. Why do the monsters usually fight rather than talk? We aren’t really sure. Why are there 16 trolls in a cave with a jug of alchemy? No one cares. What do all the monsters eat? We don’t know that either. And we don’t have to know these things. This isn’t an ecology experiment; it’s a dungeon.”

So what’s the point?

To have fun, of course.

To a certain extent, though, I don’t feel that Rappan Athuk quite lives up to this ideal. Sure, they’ve adhered to the classic, first edition format: Here you have your tables of rumors about the dungeon (some true, some false); random encounters; a plethora of monsters, traps, and treasure. But Rappan Athuk isn’t quite as random or meaningless as their introduction would lead us to believe: There is a logic to why things are the way they are.

Does Rappan Athuk strain credulity? Perhaps. Is it really as illogical as TSR’s “classic” modules? I don’t think so. It seems more akin to Ruins of Undermountain than Palace of the Silver Princess.

Not that I’m criticizing this, by any stretch of the imagination. I am, to the contrary, more than happy to see that Rappan Athuk will not be featuring, for example, levels of bloodthirsty Lewis Carroll characters incomprehensibly assaulting adventurers (as Castle Greyhawk did).

In fact, for me, Rappan Athuk is an exciting product – a product that makes me itch to retrieve my game manuals, dice bag, and character sheets and start rolling up stats. The pure, high-octane fun of an epic-level dungeon crawl carried out with style really shouldn’t be underestimated.

Sure, there are folks who consider themselves too “mature” for this sort of thing. Those people are boring. Ignore ‘em and strap yourself in: It’s time for a ride…

CONCEPT

Warning: This review will contain spoilers for Rappan Athuk. Players who may end up playing in this module should stop reading now.

One thing to note right up front is that this particular module is the first in a trilogy of modules, covering only 6 of Rappan Athuk’s 37 levels.

That’s right: Thirty-seven levels!

Damn, that’s cool.

But I digress.

Rappan Athuk, the Dungeon of Graves, was founded by the Temple of Orcus, following their defeat in an ancient conflict between good and evil. The priests of Orcus’ foul temple escaped the final conflict, and fled to a vast complex of underground caverns. Over time, the priests adapted these caverns to their purposes, continuing with their foul rituals, and hidden from the light. Eventually their spreading influence could no longer be concealed, however, and parties of adventurers came to the dungeon seeking to end the evil for ever. They failed.

(One nice touch to the design of Rappan Athuk is that it is a “legendary dungeon” which takes into account the fact that, as a “legendary dungeon”, it will attract adventurers on a fairly regular basis. The upper levels of the dungeon, presented in this module, show the signs of recurrent adventuring parties – who can only delve so deep before retreating or being destroyed.)

Rappan Athuk: The Upper Levels presents Levels 1, 2, 3, 3A, and 4A of the dungeon (as well as Ground Level).

Ground Level: On the surface, Rappan Athuk is primarily accessed from a graveyard. The main order of the day here is traps, which are all designed with the intention of keeping adventurers out of the dungeons and away from the Temple of Orcus hidden deep beneath the earth. A number of access points to the dungeon below exist, including the Rat Tunnels, the Mausoleum… and the Well.

But those who have been to Rappan Athuk in the past have one very important piece of advice: Don’t go down the Well!

Another nice feature of Rappan Athuk is that it is not a linear dungeon: One does not simply go from one level down to the next. Rather, the levels link together in a complex myriad of possible approaches. Entering the dungeon itself can take you to a variety of locations: The rat tunnels can lead to Level 1 or Level 2. The Mausoleum leads to Level 1. The Well leads to Level 3A. From Level 1 one can go to Ground Level, Level 2, or Level 9. Level 2 has exits to Ground Level, Level 1, Level 3, and Level 4. And so forth.

Level 1: Level 1 is a natural cave system, primarily inhabited by wererats. However, the level as a whole is named after the “Dung Monster” – a mutated mimic which disguises itself as a toilet in order to lure in its victims. (Don’t laugh – it works in every single playtest I’ve run.)

Level 2: Level 2 is a finished level, featuring the home of Marthek the Madman and Ambro the Ogre. In a sealed portion of the level which adventurers have never successfully penetrated, one can also find the Tomb of Saracek – an undead, skeletal warrior with a history connected to the dungeon as a whole.

Here, again, you can see the nice contrast between “adventurers have plundered here” and “adventurers have not successfully plundered here” in the dungeon design. You can also begin to see, at this point, the subtle way in which Webb and Peterson have made Rappan Athuk believable, if not necessarily realistic: The wererats have a reason for living where they live. Marthek and Ambro have reasons for living where they live. The presence of the Tomb here makes sense.

Another strength which can be seen here, again, is the dynamic complexity of Rappan Athuk. PCs who come to Level 2 for the first time will most likely not be able to gain access to the Tomb of Saracek until they have delved deeper into the dungeon. Rappan Athuk defies a “loot it room by room” mentality – again helping to subtly reinforce its believability.

Level 3: Level 3 is a return to the natural caves which drew the Temple of Orcus to the location in the first place. This level is inhabited by purple worms, who hunt viciously. The entire level is known as a bane to adventurers – as witnessed by graffiti warnings over the level’s entrance. This level also features an oracle of the Temple, dating back to the earliest days of the Temple’s presence in the caverns – and remaining a sight of unholy pilgrimage for the priests who live below.

Level 3A: Level 3A is primarily accessed via the infamous Well. It is the lair of Zelkor, an extremely powerful, undead wizard. The lair is, essentially, a death-trap for all but the most powerful of adventurers. Cocky adventurers who ignore the plentiful warnings (not to mention the scratch marks of those unsuccessfully attempting to escape the lair via the Well after making the mistake of entry) will learn their lesson the hard way.

One thing I like about Necromancer’s modules is the fact that they refuse to pull their punches. Your players will learn fear in Rappan Athuk, and they will learn to respect the dungeon. This makes for a highly effective game session – and adds to the mystique.

Level 4A: Level 4A is known as the Basilisk Caverns, which should be pretty much self-explanatory. There are also some lost goblins in this level.

The lost goblins point to another nice strength of Rappan Athuk: The goblins journeyed up from Level 12A via Level 7A and became trapped by the basilisks. This is just one example of the foreshadowing of later dungeon levels which occurs throughout The Upper Levels. I have seen some reviewers criticize Rappan Athuk as a series of disconnected dungeon levels – but I simply can’t agree with this assessment (and am unsure how such a conclusion could ever be reached).

WEAK POINTS

Rappan Athuk has a lot going for it. Of course, it’s not without its share of flaws as well. A few things that caught my attention:

1. Several of the monster stats presented in the book are incorrect to one extent or another.

2. Necromancer Games should invest in a copy of a good mapping program. The maps I have seen in their products to date do not impress me. In products whose professional qualities shine throughout, the maps present themselves as oddly amateurish. Unfortunately, since the first place most people look in a dungeon module is the maps, I have the feeling that Necromancer is shooting itself in the foot by making the first impression of its products a potentially negative one.

3. The highly interconnected nature of the Rappan Athuk’s various sections really demands that the entire trilogy be released before you play it. It’s no good, for example, “starting to play now and not reaching the lower levels until they’re released” when, in point of fact, you can take a left turn one Level 1 and end up way down on Level 9. Although notes are included for playing the Upper Levels in isolation, they essentially consist of “the lower levels are completely, absolutely, and utterly inaccessible behind magical doors”. I don’t find this a satisfactory solution.

CONCLUSION

No one in the movie Casablanca says, “Play it again, Sam.” The words “Beam me up, Scotty” never appeared on an episode of the original Star Trek television series.

There are a lot of things in life which are seen in our memory only through rose-colored lenses. They exist in a state of “Platonic perfection”, and when we go back to view them again we realize that they do not – in fact – embody the archetypes which we have crafted for ourselves.

In my opinion, the “classic D&D modules” of the early days of the industry exist in this state: As a collective community, we remember them through rose-colored lenses. Perhaps we simply edit out the bad parts for ourselves. Or perhaps our DMs fixed up those modules before running us through them. Or perhaps we’re guilty of drawing a little bit from The Tomb of Horrors, a touch from Queen of the Demonweb Pits, and a smidgeon from The Keep of the Borderlands and making up a memory which is greater than any of its parts.

Where am I going with all this?

In my opinion, Rappan Athuk succeeds at capturing the spirit of the classic dungeon crawl in a way which the classic dungeon crawl, in point of fact, never captured on its own. Rappan Athuk is the epic dungeon which could only be found in nostalgia before now.

Although I’ll reserve final judgment until the fully trilogy is released, I will say this of The Upper Levels:

Rappan Athuk looks like a classic. Buy it today.

Style: 4
Substance: 4

Author: Bill Webb and Clark Peterson
Publisher: Necromancer Games
Price: $9.99
ISBN: 1-58846-156-4
Product Code: WW8360
Pages: 48

I’ve lost count of how many different editions of Rappan Athuk have been released. In addition to the original trilogy, Rappan Athuk Reloaded was a boxed set that expanded the Dungeon of Graves even further. Frog God Games has produced versions for Pathfinder, 5E, and Swords & Wizardry. I think there was also an abortive attempt to adapt it for Dungeon Crawl Classics?

Rappan Athuk is probably my favorite published megadungeon. I’ve run the first level many times, but — despite a couple of attempts — never managed to run a truly successful campaign of the whole thing. Some of the very earliest material here on the Alexandrian was actually new material that I created for one of these abortive campaigns:

The Lost Goblins

Level 5a: The Caverns of Mist
Level 7B: The Ethereal Palace

Level 6 Mazes: 6-2A, 6-2B, 6-2C, 6-2D
Level 7 Mazes: 7A-A, 7A-B, 7A-C, 7A-D, 7A-E, 7A-F

One of these days I’ll probably revisit those campaign notes and restructure them into an open table. Flipping through them, I see that I also did a massive remix of Level 7, considerably expanding the mind flayers there. I wonder if anyone would be interested in seeing that?

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

Although presenting a mystery which cannot be solved, The Murder of the Seven Points is probably worth checking out.

Review Originally Published October 1st, 2001

After initially being very enamored with the Adventure Boosters format pioneered by AEG, I found myself rapidly souring on the idea after a series of markedly lackluster efforts (my reviews can be found elsewhere on RPGNet by searching the Review Database). The Murder of the Seven Points offers some hope that the format will still realize its potential, but I remain skeptical.

PLOT

A series of grisly, ritualistic murders are being committed in a nameless city – and the PCs are drafted to help investigate them. Why, exactly, the PCs are singled out to help investigate the murders (rather than just patrol the streets like the other volunteers) is not exactly clear – but it appears that Yaple is attempting to provide an explanation by having the Captain of the Guard say: “You’re new in town. You couldn’t have committed the murders. I need your help.”

Okay, maybe I’m just needlessly paranoid: But if a bunch of strange murders started happening in my town (which is normally small and quiet) the first place I’d look would be recent arrivals. Looking for suspects I mean, not people to help with the investigation.

But I digress: The PCs go through a number of short scenes (checking out the murder scenes, interviewing family members, etc.), supposedly attempting to gather clues by which they will solve this mystery. In the end, though, they don’t really uncover all that much when it comes to valuable information. The next important plot point comes when the Captain of the Guard realizes he accidentally mixed up the order in which the murders took place – which makes it apparent that that murders are being committed in the pattern of a seven-pointed star.

While Yaple has a number of possible ways in which to explain why the Captain of the Guard might have gotten the order of the murders screwed up (perhaps the bodies were found out of order for some reason?), he instead decides to simply leave that as a Fact of Life™. Having concluded that this is all part of some sort of ritual, the Captain of the Guard will lead the PCs to a very specific scholar. They will have an unproductive conversation with that scholar – at which point we basically fast-forward to that evening, at which point that self-same scholar summons forth a demon and a Battle Royale ensues.

The PCs win (presumably). Roll credits.

CONCLUSION

In my opinion, The Murder of the Seven Points is not worth playing as it is written. To put it simply: It’s supposed to be a mystery; but it never lets the PCs solve anything.

But there’s a lot of interesting meat here which is being wasted: Yaple draws a number of interesting scenes and characters, and manages to evoke some rather effective images despite his railroaded plot. Essentially I would say that you need to do two things to make this playable:

1. Give the Captain of the Guards a solid reason to recruit the PCs into the investigation. (Simple solution: He’s heard about something heroic they’ve done in the past. He’s more than eager to accept their experienced help in strange matters like this.)

2. Strip out the railroading: Most notably, don’t obfuscate the order of the murders. Let the players figure out the seven-pointed star pattern for themselves. (And, if they don’t, then you can have someone point it out to them as the Big Deadline starts to approach.)

It’ll take a little bit of elbow grease, but I think there’s enough interesting material here to justify it considering the low price of admission.

Style: 4
Substance: 3

Author: Erik Yaple
Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group
Line: D20
Price: $2.49
Year of Release: 2001
Product Code: 8312
Pages: 16

It turns out I’ve always been remixing adventures.

I did, in fact, give up on the AEG Adventure Booster series after this. That may have been a mistake, but at the time I had a single dedicated table and it was settling into a long-term campaign that had been pretty well mapped out, so I was no longer looking around for new D&D adventures to plug in.

Next AEG Booster Review: Castle Zadrian / Sundered Faith

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

Although marred in the execution, Night Below is still a classic is well worth your attention and effort.

Review Originally Published October 1st, 2001

There needs to be more products like Night Below. Period. End sentence.

Night Below, a supplement for the now defunct AD&D, was marketed as both “The Ultimate Dungeon Adventure” and “An Underdark Campaign”. It fails at the former (there are a plethora of dungeons which succeed at being bigger, more innovative, more believable, more exciting, and/or some combination of the above), but its success at the latter is what makes it notable and worthy of imitation.

To put it simply, Night Below did not content itself with merely being a module: It is, in fact, a complete campaign – designed for months of gameplay and complete with more than a dozen adventures tied into a cohesive plot.

This is a type of product that the industry needs to see more of. (For other examples, check out Dream Pod 9’s The Paxton Gambit for Heavy Gear and Gold Rush Games’ Shiki for Sengoku.) I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I would welcome the ability to pick up a complete campaign in one shot and start playing. If nothing else, it gives me time to prepare for the next campaign.

Let’s take a closer look at what Night Below has to offer:

PLOT

Warning: From this point forward, this review will contain spoilers for Night Below. Players who may end up playing in these modules are encouraged to stop reading now. Proceed at your own risk.

The Big Concept: Deep within the Underdark, the Aboleth Savants – powerful creatures with the power to dominate others – lurk within the Sunless Sea. There they have laid plots for the construction of a massive magical artifact, designed to expand their innate domination powers for hundreds of miles, allowing them to subdue surface creatures without any need for battle or risk. The PCs, of course, have to stop them from doing this – although, for a very long time, they won’t have the slightest clue of the true evil which lurks behind their foes.

The Night Below campaign is split into three parts:

The Evils of Haranshire: In Part I of Night Below, the PCs begin as 1st or 2nd level characters in Haranshire, a typical, rural fantasy setting (which can be easily slipped into any campaign setting – suggestions are given for placement in Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms). In order to construct their artifact, the aboleths have need of spellcasters – and to get those spellcasters they have established bands of kidnappers on the surface. The campaign, in fact, opens with a kidnapping attempt involving one or more PC spellcasters. As the campaign unfolds, the PCs slowly uncover the full truth behind the kidnapping rings – while also going on some a few side-trips. In the big wrap up for the first part of the campaign, the PCs succeed in destroying what they believe to be the central lair for the kidnappers… only to discover the kidnappers’ connection to an unknown power in the underdark.

Perils in the Underdark: In Part II of Night Below, the PCs pursue their leads into the Underdark. They almost immediately make contact with friendly svirfneblin, who will provide them with cautious aid. This section of the campaign is largely concerned with the PCs slowly building up enough strength to assault the City of the Glass Pool – a settlement of kuo-tua deep within the Underdark which guards the gateway leading to the Sunless Sea and the root of the evil. Along the way, the PCs will make contact with a variety of bad guys (trolls, grells, quaggoth, hook horrors, puddings, oozes, and derro) and good guys (the svirfneblin and a group of good elves living in the Underdark). Part II comes to its smashing conclusion as the PCs succeed in overthrowing the City of the Glass Pool (or, at the very least, pushing through it into the depths beyond).

The Sunless Sea: In Part III of Night Below, the PCs have succeeded in penetrating all the way to the Sunless Sea – wherein dwell the sinister Aboleth Savants. But they will have to make their way the Aboleth’s city – and along the way will encounter a number of other enemies and allies. Again, a thin line needs to be tread in the forming and maintaining of alliances. In the campaign’s epic conclusion the PCs will (hopefully) defeat the Aboleth Savants and overthrow their seat of power for all time.

BOX CONTENTS

Night Below is one of those boxed sets which you can shake without hearing the echoes formed by empty space within. Three 64-page books, 16 pages of Player Handouts, 8 two-sided reference cards, 8 new Monstrous Compendium entries, and 6 full-color poster maps are packed into the box – making it a hearty value for the $30 price tag.

STRENGTHS

Night Below succeeds at crafting a comprehensive, epic campaign. Carl Sargent demonstrates how a well-constructed campaign looks less like a series of disjointed modules, and more like a cohesive story – with a distinct beginning, middle, and end all of its own. This, above all, is Night Below’s most impressive accomplishment, and is reason enough to pick up the boxed set in and of itself.

But you can also strip-mine Night Below with great ease: There’s a great wealth of material here (literally enough on which to base an entire campaign), and you can use large hunks of it without ever touching the overall structure of the campaign at all. For example, I plucked out the source material for two of the towns in Haranshire for use in completely different campaign. You could also pluck out such jewels as the Rockseer Elves subplot and use that as a stand-alone adventure in and of itself (or even as the basis for an entire campaign). And so forth.

WEAKNESSES

Unfortunately, Night Below also comes with its share of weaknesses:

1. The most pervasive problem in the campaign was the lack of clear organization and/or layout in the product. As I’ve mentioned before, there’s a lot of material here and – unfortunately – it’s organized in such a poor manner that it’s extremely easy to get lost in it all. In many ways, the campaign is presented almost as a stream of consciousness. As such, it desperately needed to be reorganized into distinct chunks: Here’s the section where the PCs fight the orcs. Here’s the section where we describe Haranshire. Here’s the section where the PCs investigate the troll lair. And so forth.

2. Although he’s constructed an extremely impressive story arc, I feel that Sargent doesn’t always take advantage of the opportunity to foreshadow future developments. Perhaps this is a minor complaint, but I feel that a little more interweaving of the overall structure would have resulted in a story with more depth.

3. Night Below suffers, unfortunately, from the standard 2nd edition problem of referencing/requiring every supplement under the sun. This type of thing drives me nuts: Did these people actually expect their fans to own all 10,000+ supplements they produced?

4. At several points in the course of the campaign, Sargent brings what I can only describe as “XP mentality” into the game world. Most notably, the svirfneblin are constantly advising the PCs to go take care of one threat or another in order to “strengthen them up” (i.e., gain the levels necessary) for the final challenge. I just can’t accept this with a straight face. For example, imagine the United States during World War II saying: “Well, we need to take on Japan. I think we need to go take out Argentina and Venezuela in order to ‘strengthen up’ for the final challenge.”

5. I’m not a big fan of the “1001 fantasy races” model of campaign world design – in which, every time you turn a corner, you’re bumping into a new race of intelligent humanoids. Night Below has this syndrome in spades – which is why, as much as I respect and appreciate the product, I will probably never run it in full myself. If you have a similar distaste for this particular style of D&D, be warned that Night Below will require significant amounts of alteration (and may, in the end analysis, simply not work for you).

CONCLUSION

Night Below is a bang well worth your buck. If you can track down a copy, it’s well worth your time – either to use in whole or in part.

Style: 3
Substance: 4

Author: Carl Sargent
Publisher: TSR
Line: AD&D
Price: $30.00
ISBN: 0-7869-0179-9
Year of Release: 1995
Product Code: 1125
Pages: 225

Now that the full campaign model of Night Below has become almost bog standard in the RPG industry, it’s interesting to look back at a time when that wasn’t true. With that being said, I think Night Below has still stolen a march: There are a lot of reasons why these big campaigns just work better as boxed sets. (Although we’re starting to see more and more of that from third-party D&D publishers.)

As I mentioned at the end of the review, Night Below is not a campaign that I ever ran for myself (although I did cut off chunks and use them elsewhere). There was a point where I was dabbling with the idea of remixing it to have a less linear form, but the group I was running for back then fell apart and I haven’t revisited it since.

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.