Third Edition Rules, First Edition Feel. Although not a full product in and of itself, The Wizard’s Amulet (W0) provides an excellent preview of what Necromancer Games is bringing to the table with their D20/D&D releases.
Review Originally Published November 15th, 2000
“Third Edition Rules, First Edition Feel.”
That’s the tagline that Necromancer Games is using for their line of D&D supplements (developed under the Open Gaming License), and it highlights one of the real strengths of the open gaming philosophy that Ryan Dancey (one of the VPs at WotC) has been championing over the past few months: If you feel there is a segment of the roleplaying fan base which is not having its needs addressed by the current roleplaying industry, there’s no need to go out and publish your own game to remedy the situation.
For example, if what you think is missing in the gaming marketplace are modules that feel and play like those produced for the first edition of AD&D, then publishing an entire roleplaying game so that you have something to supplement is entirely superfluous. And a licensing deal still, ultimately, leaves it up to someone else to determine what is and is not seen on the market.
The Wizard’s Amulet is was a free sample available from the Necromancer Games website.
THE PLOT
Warning: This review will contain spoilers for The Wizard’s Amulet. Players who may end up playing in this module are encouraged to stop reading now. Proceed at your own risk.
Lest there be any confusion, The Wizard’s Amulet is clearly designed to function as a prequel to Necromancer Games’ first series of modules. Taken by itself it feels bit like putting cream cheese on your bagel – it’s an accomplishment, but you haven’t actually eaten anything yet.
Basically the plot plays out like this: Corian, a sorceror fresh out of his apprenticeship, has stumbled across an amulet which once belonged to the wizard Eralion. Corian believes that Eralion attempted to become a lich and failed – and that his keep, to which the amulet will grant access, stands unguarded. So Corian gathers together a group of adventurers (the PCs) to go the keep and unlock its secrets and magical wonders.
Things become complicated, however, because Corian’s fellow student – Vortigern – wants the amulet (and Eralion’s secrets) for himself. Vortigern sets out after the PCs, along with his demonic familiar and a couple of hired thugs.
The Wizard’s Amulet comes to an end after a short, and somewhat indecisive, conflict with Vortigern. It is then directly continued in the first commercial adventure available from Necromancer Games, The Crucible of Freya.
HIGH POINTS & LOW POINTS
I think The Wizard’s Amulet is something D&D players should take a look at. Not so much because its actually playable in and of itself (because it really isn’t), but because it is a good sample of what Necromancer Games is capable of putting out. A number of good features are to be found here:
First, the module aims to introduce new players to roleplaying – and it does this very well. A clear-cut act/scene structure provides the same simplicity as an event-by-location guide, but with a greater emphasis on the narrative. Each scene is carefully handled and presented in a way which makes it easy for newbie DMs to use it with newbie players – good advice, combined with lots of options, makes the whole thing very accessible.
Second, they do a nice job of handling challenge options – addressing not only how two encounters which are identical in terms of challenge can be harder or easier to run during gameplay, but also addressing how to adjust endgame encounters based on the current status of the PCs. This is something which the structure of 3rd Edition makes very easy to do, and the authors have taken advantage of it.
Finally, the overall lay-out of the module is utilitarian without being ugly – a package which is not only pretty, but usable.
I would’ve liked to see a standard Challenge Rating/Encounter Level summary, though. Taking us through the steps for each encounter is fine, but it would have been even easier to modify the adventure if they had given us a clearer peek behind the curtain. I also think The Wizard’s Amulet would have better fulfilled its purpose (as a promo for the game line) if it had actually been a complete adventure (instead of an unfinished prequel) – it could have still led directly into the published adventure, but I would have liked to have seen a fully developed plot here, with a distinct beginning, middle, and end.
All that being said, I do think that you should take a look at this. It’s a solid package.
Style: 4
Substance: 3
Grade: B
Authors: Clark Peterson and Bill Webb
Company: Necromancer Games
Line: D20
Price: Free!
Page Count: 21
ISBN: n/a
Production Code: NCG1000
Originally Posted: 2000/11/15
From a quarter century later, it can be a little difficult to grok just how exciting and novel and strange the fall of 2000 was. The OGL was transforming D&D, the RPG industry, and our gaming tables in ways that were as clearly monumental as they were also uncertain. With Three Days to Kill, Death in Freeport, and the Creature Collection leading the way, by November, when I wrote this review, it was clear a gold rush was under way.
Less noticed at the time was that PDF e-books were ALSO beginning to transform the industry. It started in the mid-’90, when the internet and faster download speeds allowed every GM with a home system to share it online. (By 2000, I had likely downloaded literally hundreds of these.) The idea of “real” RPG publishers releasing books in the format was novel enough that The Wizard’s Amulet actually prompted a lot of discussion upon its release. Would we see more publishers release e-book adventures as free samples or promos? (Yes. And, of course, much more than that.)
Now, of course, every GM with a home system uploads it on DriveThruRPG, e-book releases vastly outnumber physical releases, and PDFs have even down yeoman’s work in unlocking the once out of print and inaccessible history of RPGs. This review is a little peek back at the cusp of a new world.
The Wizard’s Amulet, Crucible of Freya, and The Tomb of Abysthor are currently available in The Lost Lands: Stoneheart Valley, a collection published by Frog God Games.
For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.
Would this work as a good introduction for a new DM?
Wizard’s Amulet is the prequel to the prequel to the Tomb of Abysthor, which – perhaps for no reason other than I pulled it off my shelf at the right time – is one of my favorite dungeoncrawls; a dungeon clearly made (and previously run) by people who loved the game and played 1st or 2nd Ed, (incompletely) converted it to 3rd and published the result. ToA felt similar to Temple of Elemental Evil, at least as a module made by someone who’d played and loved ToEE, and thus Crucible of Freya is just a bit like Village of Hommlet…
… of course I’m showing my age.
Dracosahedron – it’s pretty clearly intended as such – there is plenty of extra narrative and instruction specifically for the beginning DM. (Justin may have a more experienced/informed opinion than I do as to whether it succeeds at this.)
That’s some eerie timing – I dug out and read through the Wizard’s Amulet on a whim just the other day. For some reason the final encounter has always stuck with me. I found the module as a whole almost torturous to read with the player actions dictated etc, but I realize I’m not reading from a “how do you even do this role playing thing anyways” perspective. That final encounter still has a hold on me, though.
Oh, hey, another Ex-RPG.net joint!
Nice. I’d been hoping the rest of these would come along one day.