Kingbeast's Lair

-== What is it? ==-

Dungeon Crawl Classics #5 – Aerie Of The Crow God (DCC#5) is an old school D20 adventure for characters from levels 7 to 9. It was written by Andrew Hind and is published by Goodman Games as part of their Dungeon Crawl Classics series of adventures.

I have purchased print and PDF copies of the revised version of the product. (To be specific I am reviewing SKU GMG5004R.) The revised version includes a follow on adventure called Seed Of Evil and updated stats for D20. Both the print and PDF copies will be reviewed as part of this article. There are some spoilers in this review so stop reading here if that is a concern.

The book has color covers and an entirely black and white interior. It is 8.5” x 11” and is 64 pages in length. There is a 1 page table of contents and a half page OGL statement but the rest is content. I have converted the adventure to Fantasy Hero and run it for a group of players as part of my ongoing Spirit Storm campaign. Please keep the fact that I have not run the adventure using D20 in mind when reading this review.

-== What I Like ==-

The thing I like most about DCC#5 are the encounters. Each encounter is different but they hang together on a strong theme. The theme involves the invasion of a powerful forge by an evil crow goddess and her minions. The characters must scale a desolate rocky island to gain access to a tower then a hidden temple. Encounters are scattered along the ascent, in the tower, and in the temple. The temple encounters are my favorite as they vary in flavor and type of opponent.

DCC#5 was a perfect fit for my campaign. It required little to no rewrites for me to use the encounters as they are laid out in the module. I needed a raven themed big baddie with a magical forge…um…needless to say I was shocked when I discovered DCC#5. That said I do think this adventure could be easily adjusted to fit any campaign. The basic themes are ones that are not hard to integrate into any story and the adventure does provided several hooks for the GM.

Front and back cover artwork by Chuck Whelon and Brad McDevitt respectively are not great but the interior work is actually quite good. Interior pieces were done by Jason Edwards, Brad McDevitt, Stefan Poag, and Brian Tarsis. The maps are good except for the tower map. I had trouble figuring out how the tower levels connected and was forced to draw pencil arrows as aids.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

One aspect of the story for DCC#5 is around a collection of intelligent weapons. I did not like that part of the story as it does not fit my campaign world too well and the PC were not ready for items like these to appear. The good news is that this is not fundamental to the plot and I did not have a problem removing them entirely.

Although I did not run Seed Of Evil it did not feel as polished after reading Aerie Of The Crow God. As a follow on to Aerie Of The Crow God it might be fine. There was also an extra dimensional aspect to the adventure that is not to my taste. If you are hip to running adventures where part of the dungeon is in another dimension then it might work just fine.

One minor issue with the modules is that they could have picked different things for player handouts. For example, one of the handouts is a stack of skulls. There is nothing special about it at all. Why the handout? There are several handouts that struck me in the same fashion. I would have much rather had a handout of the cool chain shrouded ghast encounter!

The PDF copy of DCC#5 has a few broken links to the maps for Seed Of Evil but other than that it worked great for me. Note that I contacted Goodman Games about the issue and they fixed it almost immediately.

-== Summary ==-

DCC#5 was a 2004 ENnie nominee for Best Adventure and I think it deserved it. The encounters and theme are very strong and the adventure can easily be molded into most campaigns. The price point is also wonderful at $7 to $9. Cheap and fun…what else do you want!?!

You can get a copy of the module from DriveThruRPG at this URL for $8.99. Goodman Games OFTEN has sales on DriveThruRPG so if you wait and watch you could probably score a copy even cheaper. Noble Knight has copies at this URL for $7.95. Several sellers have the module for sale at Amazon for around $6 at this URL.

I give it 8 out of 10 paws.

Date At Start Of Game: 10/21/206

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 17th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Temple – Level 1

After unlocking the concealed door the PC carefully enter a set of underground chambers. The walls are carved but roughly hewn. The first room is a large natural cavern with a stone bridge. The drop is quite far so Bilby climbs to the roof with a rope. He ties one end to himself and the other to Cillian. When Cillian gets part way across Po notices something shadowy moving under the bridge and alerts the PC. Cillian runs back seconds before a monstrous centipede attacks! When the centipede closes Oren dishes it a blow. Bilby jumps down on it’s head killing it with a deadly strike. When the insect dies it changes into a shadow and dissipates. The PC have seen this effect from creatures that Narduhl has summoned.

With that the PC head down the rough hallways. They venture into one room where they find a strange onyx dais and a statue of a woman with a raven head. In the room is a horrific looking chain golem. The PC are lucky that the golems first strike misses them. When Cillian and Oren strike their blows glance off! Po’s curse spell also seems to have no effect! Bilby strikes the golem with an assassin’s blow dealing some damage but is then grabbed by chains and is quickly knocked unconscious. Leaving himself open after the grab Oren strikes home felling the foul creature. After destroying the creature the PC examine the statue and find that the head has been recently carved onto the statue.

In the next area they PC discover a stairway with a strange raven head rune on the stairwell entrance. Po detects that it is magic and that there is a command word to bypass it. He tries several Dark Lord chants and one of them turns the rune another color and he is allowed to pass. The other PC repeat the chant and are also allowed to pass.

The Temple – Level 2

In the second level of the temple the hallways are constructed of fitted stones. Carefully Cillian investigates the area using his stone sight. He finds a room with strange ferns and many ravens, a room with a strange cesspool channel, a small library, a mess hall, and a small room for prayer. The prayer room concerns Cillian as it is filled with 8 to 10 rooks. Venturing further down one hallway he finds a large room with a forge and a Pit Bull Kin smith! Once he finds the room the PC sneak down the hall and walk into the room. Oren takes the lead into the room. Once the party has entered the room Po closes the door. Oren begins to speak to the Pit Bull Kin smith explaining the situation. The Pit Bull Kin is immediately put on the defensive but eventually starts to listen to Oren. Oren explains that they have a magic sword that must be destroyed. Upon hearing the story of the sword the Pit Bull Kin smith asks how they were able to get Crimson Tears. He eyes Po and seems surprised when the PC tell him that they are NOT minions of the Dark Lord. The smith then asked to see the sword. Bilby comes out of the shadows and displays the blade. The Pit Bull Kins eyes widen and he tells the PC that instead of destroying it that they should sell it to Malotoch! He will arrange the deal for a 50% cut. The PC rebuff the Pit Bull and again confirm that they want his help to destroy it. The Pit Bull Kin smith eyes the sword one more time then blinded by greed swings his mighty hammer at Bilby. Bilby dodges out of the way. Next the smith calls forth flaming dogs from the furnace! The four dogs all process to move towards Bilby so that they can attack him. Using dodges and masterful two sword fighting techniques the cagey Bat Kin spy avoids his attackers while the rest of the PC move in to help. Cillian and Po start using ranged attacks while Oren closes and swings his hammer. Oren takes a blow from the hounds and finds that their teeth are very painful! The Pit Bill Kin smith then calls forth the power of Granite Head forge which causes his maul to alight in flames! When things start to get rough for the party Po calls for the power of the Dark Lord and throws several surged heals at Oren. Cillian who is standing next to Po seems to be affected by the power from these spells as well. Eventually the Pit Bull Kin falls after a pulled blow from Oren strikes home. The dogs attack one more time then retreat to protect the body of the smith. When they attack one nearly rips into Bilby but Oren manages to ball him up to take the blow. In the effort Oren is knocked unconscious with Bilby rolled up inside of him. With only Po and Cillian to face the dogs Cillian decides to act. He utters for power from the Dark Lord and a huge earthquake rocks the entire temple complex! The dogs, Oren, the smith, and Bilby are now unconscious but not dead. (Note that only Po and the dogs saw what Cillian actually did although Bilby swears that he heard Cillian NOT Po call for the power of the Dark Lord moments before the earthquake hits.)

Before healing their friends Po and Cillian looks down at the body of the Pit Bull Kin smith. If they kill him now then they may not have to destroy the sword. Po draws a knife and nears the body but Cillian stops him at the last moment. Cillian reminds Po that their friends would think ill of them if the Pit Bull Kin was found dead. This taint of evil has cursed Po and Cillian in a very potent and powerful fashion…the pair can only hope that they will soon find a cure to their dangerous sickness…

Date At End Of Game: 10/21/206

Here is a list of the 2010 ENnie Award winners. Pathfinder was the big winner by far. I’m very glad Hero 6e took the silver for Best Rules and that Day After Ragnarok took the gold in the Best Setting category.

Here is the complete list. ENJOY!

Best Cover Art
Silver: Eclipse Phase
Gold: Pathfinder Bestiary

Best Interior Art
Silver: Shadowrun 20th
Gold: Pathfinder Core Rulebook

Best Cartography
Silver: Aces & Eights: Judas Crossing
Gold: Pathfinder City Map Folio

Best Writing
Silver: Victoriana
Gold: Eclipse Phase

Best Production Values
Silver: Shadowrun
Gold: Pathfinder

Best Rules
Silver: Hero 6th Edition
Gold: Diaspora

Best Adventure
Silver: Trail of Cthulhu: Armitage Files
Gold: Pathfinder #31: Stolen Land

Best Monster or Adversary
Silver: Pathfinder: Classic Horrors Revisited
Gold: Pathfinder Bestiary

Best Setting
Silver: Rome: Life and Death of the Republic
Gold: Day After Ragnarok

Best Supplement
Silver: Players Handbook 3
Gold: Mysteries of the Hollow Earth

Best Aid or Accessory
Silver: Gaming Paper
Gold: Pathfinder GM Screen

Best Miniatures Product
Silver: Gaming Paper
Gold: D&D Minis

Best Regalia
Silver: Battletech
Gold: Cthulhu 101

Best Electronic Book
Silver: The Devil We Know
Gold: The Great City Player’s Guide

Best Free Product
Silver: Lady Blackbird
Gold: Advanced Players Guide Playtest

Best Website
Silver:d20PFSRD.com
Gold: Obsidian Portal

Best Podcast
Silver: All Games Considered
Gold: Atomic Array

Best Blog
Silver: Gnome Stew
Gold: Kobold Quarterly

Best Game
Silver: Shadowrun
Gold: Pathfinder

Product of the Year
Silver: Eclipse Phase
Gold: Pathfinder

Fan Award for Best Publisher
Silver: Fantasy Flight Games
Gold: Paizo Publishing

GAME ON!

-== What is it? ==-

Enchanted Items is a book of magical items for Fantasy Hero (5th edition) from Hero Games. It was written by Jason Walters in May 2007. The book starts with a brief introduction then has sections for different types of items. For example, Amulets, Armor, etc. The last section is full of miscellaneous items that do not fit into one of the other categories.

The book has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. The book is 8.5” x 11” and is 240 pages in length. I am reviewing the print AND PDF copies. I bought the print copy and was given the PDF copy for services rendered. See below for details.

-== What I Like ==-

The book has a great diversity of item types and they are divided into smaller subsections to make finding an item for that pesky PC easy. For example, if you have a mage you could go to the staff section then decide if you want Offensive, Defensive, Sensory, Movement, Miscellaneous, or Unique staffs. At the front of each major section there is about a page of text describing that type of item. These section are often quite good. The introductory text in the Potions section is exceptionally wonderful.

I also liked the approach of presenting first mundane items then moving up to more powerful unique items. This way you can also get something at the correct power level. The Unique subsection items are typically VERY powerful. These items often contain detailed stories that can be used to drive adventures and such in a campaign.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

A large percentage of the items in Enchanted Items have the same game effects with different “window dressings”. For example, how many items do you need that give Armor? Or aid Strength? etc. Some folks might not consider this bad but at times it felt like the book could have been shorter and cheaper if these repetitions were left out. I almost wonder what the book would have been like if it was constructed with a section on limitations for item types then a different section with effects. For example, here is a section on limitations that would typically be applied to Amulets. Next would be a section on Defensive Effects, Offensive Effects, etc. I would still like some fully constructed items but this approach might have been interesting and useful.

The printed copy of Enchanted Items has many printing flaws. I tallied up roughly 30 areas in the printed copy where text was missing. Unfortunately the missing text is typically in the rule detail material. When I brought it up with Hero they let me know that ALL copies of the book were in this state. I then offered to detail all of the locations where text was missing if they would give me a copy of the PDF. They kindly obliged. If you are interested in getting copies of the text that is missing send an email to Hero. With the document I sent to Hero it should not be too hard for them to write up an errata sheet for the product.

I would have liked to see more information about creating items and item related characters in Fantasy Hero. The big example here is the alchemist character. It might have been run to have a detailed section on creating a magic item related character with a write up.

The cover artwork is downright ugly. It depicts a simple yellow shield on a solid background. The graphic is juvenile and just plain unattractive. Interior artwork is primarily comprised of pieces from other documents and is fair at best.

-== Summary ==-

Even though Enchanted Items is by far the best coverage of magic items for the Hero System it is very hard to recommend unless you are a GM that really has trouble coming up with ideas. I really love a lot of Jason’s RPG products (check out Scourges Of The Galaxy) but this product is not one of his best. The best option for GM who wants to get a copy of the book is to look for a PDF copy at a cheap price. Wait for that DriveThruRPG sale if you can.

The cover price for the printed copy is $26.99. You can get a copy on Amazon.com at this URL for $26.97. Noble Knight Games has it at this URL for $20.00. You can get a copy of the PDF from DriveThruRPG at this URL for $23.00.

I give the printed copy 4 out of 10 paws. I give the PDF copy 6 out of 10 paws.

Date At Start Of Game: 10/21/206

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 16th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Way Up

After defeating the monstrous crab the avatars of the Great Tree proceed up Granite Head. Po and Bilby take to the air to survey the rocky outcropping. Near the top of the 300′ peak is a landing with a tower that appears to be roughly four floors tall. On top of the tower are two smaller lookout towers. The main tower looks like it has been in a siege as there is a large hole in the wall near the top floor. On top of one lookout tower is a metal flagpole with a body lashed to the top. The body is a skeleton wrapped in a green and blue banner.

After Oren and Cillian reach 2/3 of their climb they are surprised when crossbow bolts come out of the wall with a loud screeching sound! The bolts tear into Oren but he manages to ball over Cillian to protect them both. After the first volley the PC hear movement and crossbows being loaded. Cillian attempts to look through the wall but he cannot see any light. After a second volley Oren blocks the holes why Cillian finds the concealed door and picks the lock. When the door slides open the PC find a group of skeletons armed with crossbows. Oren charges into them destroying three in one arcing blow! Bilby lands with an acrobatic roll and strikes a couple of blows. The skeletons are defeated without much effort once the door is opened.

Eventually Oren and Cillian reach the landing below the tower. At this point the party considers running a rope from the hole in the 3rd floor and climbing inside that way. So that Cillian can get a better look inside Bilby throws a torch into the hole. When Bilby makes this move four Raven headed mutated creatures attack! Two assault Bilby who dodges to avoid getting hit. The other two swoop down to attack the rest of the party. When these two see Po they hesitate. A male speaking in Raven Kin beckons to a female that, “He is not the Dark Lord…we should attack!” Po tries to calm down the Rooks but this act seems to convince them that he is not the Dark Lord and they attack. Bilby lands near the party and quickly draws two blades with a deft acrobatic roll. Po then lands and draws Crimson Tears from his sheath! This surprises the PC as they thought Cillian had the blade. The male Rook seems frenzied and attacks Po. The female hesitates then caws in a booming fashion that sends chills down the spines of the PC! As the Rooks approach Oren downs one with a couple strikes. Cillian fires with his bow then quick draws his sword. Bilby starts landing blows as well. When Bilby takes a heavy blow Po calls for the Dark Lord then does a healing spell of immense strength. After all of the other Rooks have fallen the female flies back to the hole in the wall.

When the female Rook enters the hole in the tower Oren confronts Po about the sword. Oren is upset that Cillian is not carrying Crimson Tears and asks that Po gives it to Bilby. When Po tries to explain Oren gets angry and says he will take it away forcefully is needed. Po then hands Crimson Tears to Bilby. The PC then take a moment to rest then decide to enter the tower through the main door.

The Tower

After bashing down the door the PC start to explore the tower. They first proceed up the stairs to the top floor. At the top floor they then proceed up the tower to retrieve the body. The body appears to be wrapped in a blue and green banner from House Gunard. Oren relays that House Gunard is the name of the noble house that once ran the keep. Symbols on the man’s clothing tells Oren that he was the Captain Of The Guard. Cillian carefully searches his clothing and finds a key. Oren bags the chainmail. On the way down the tower the PC search some of the rooms. In one room they find a knocked over bedstand that has a blast mark in front of it. Po detects a damaging spell on the bedstand. Cillian carefully unlocks the drawer then stands back and opens it using his wind power. A blast goes out but does not hit anyone. With that the PC search the drawer. Inside is a velvet pouch with four magical arrowheads and a piece of paper. Po detects that the arrowheads are magical and can deduce how they are used. The paper has ramblings from the former resident of the room with clues about the last days of the Siege Of Sorrows.

On the lower tower levels that touch the base of the rock the PC look for concealed doors. Eventually they find one on the bottom floor of the tower. The lock on the concealed door is opened using the key from the Captain Of The Guard. After opening the door the PC venture forward very carefully…

Date At End Of Game: 10/21/206