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"She was only a child when she saw her mother executed for the crime of witchcraft. She only wants to have her mother back. Is that so wrong? But sometimes, if you want to get something done, you have to knockdown a city with a horde of undead"

The first part of an epic fantasy adventure trilogy, The Longest Night infuses a breath of fresh air in the genre. The developers have blended parts of gothic Hammer-esque horror and steamtech with the tried and true conventions of high fantasy, resulting in a setting as innovative and invigorating as Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay when it made it's debut over a decade ago.

From the beautiful cover by Matt Wilson (featuring the villainess among her zombie followers)in, production quality is topnotch. Interior art is superb and evocative of the setting, while the maps are well done. It is as well put together a book as any Wizards of the Coast would produce. Visually, it's superb.

Author Matt Staroscik has put great effort into making the book useful as a sourcebook, in addition to it's considerable measure as a scenario. More companies must strive to do this, as it adds immeasurably to the value of the book, a consideration of importance to consumers.

There is an extensive bestiary containing some well conceived monsters: cavewort, a carnivorous fungus that grows on ceilings of abandoned structures and ensnares victims in it's tentacles; Devil Rats, cross between a monkey and a rodent, waist high and vicious; swamp dwelling goblinoids called Swamp Gobblers, and several classifications of zombies.

The book also provides detail for the city of Corvis, the primary setting for the adventure. While the map, well rendered as it may be, is rather basic, Corvis itself has immense character. Points of interest, information on important guilds, legends and rumours, religion, taxes, and law and order (including a sidebar with punishments for various crimes) are all discussed. As part of the Iron Kingdoms, Corvis is a renaissance era city with elements of the middle ages and the industrial revolution added liberally. Firearms, well not common, are available (powered by alchemical concoctions instead of blackpowder), and steamtech is in wide use---steam ships, iron war machines, and robotic labourers called steamjacks.

The adventure itself begins with the pc's escorting a caravan to Corvis. The action starts immediately with an ambush by Swamp Gobblers. Once they reach the city, the heroes are asked to investigate a rash of graverobberies. Of course, this sucks them into the insidious plot by the villainess to get revenge for those who slew her mother. Their investigations take them to the tombs of long dead witches, ancient catacombs beneath a church, and an ancient fortress. The stunning climax takes place during a festival known as the Longest Night, as an army of undead is unleashed upon the unsuspecting city. With this battle as an exciting backdrop, amidst the rubble and burning remains of Corvis, the heroes engage in a personal confrontational of their own.

To give away any more of the plot would be a crime, but needless to say it is epic in scope and very well written. The variety of scenes, from wilderness and city encounters to dungeon crawls (each of which is of a very manageable size), from roleplaying encounters to investigations and well-staged combats, combined make for an adventure with great pace.

There are perhaps only a few minor problems with The Longest Night. First, the map of Corvis is rather vague, leading to some work on the gm's part unless he is willing to wait until the Corvis Companion is released in the summer. Second, there is little attempt made to help a gm expand upon the adventure while he awaits the second installment in May (though, to their credit, Privateer Press is releasing material on their website that was originally to be held over for the second book, which should tide gm's over in the meantime). Finally, the very uniqueness of the Iron Kingdoms would make it problematic to drop down The Witchfire Trilogy in an existing game world.

The Longest Night is an unpredictable epic-fantasy thriller, the likes of which are rarely seen in the rpg market. This exciting adventure kick starts what promises to be one of the best fantasy gaming settings released during the past decade, an outstanding inaugural release from a new d20 publisher. Anyone who likes fantasy roleplaying owes it to themselves to check out The Longest Night.

The Longest Night
The Longest Night Playtest Review by Andrew Hind on 05/04/01 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) An excellent adventure in one of the freshest fantasy settings seen in the past decade. Product: The Longest Night Author: Matt Staroscik Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Privateer Press Line: Iron Kingdoms d20 setting Cost: $9.95 Page count: 64 Year published: 2001 ISBN: 0-9706970-0-7 SKU: WF001 Playtest Review by Andrew Hind on 05/04/01 Genre tags: Fantasy	"She was only a child when she saw her mother executed for the crime of witchcraft. She only wants to have her mother back. Is that so wrong? But sometimes, if you want to get something done, you have to knockdown a city with a horde of undead" The first part of an epic fantasy adventure trilogy, The Longest Night infuses a breath of fresh air in the genre. The developers have blended parts of gothic Hammer-esque horror and steamtech with the tried and true conventions of high fantasy, resulting in a setting as innovative and invigorating as Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay when it made it's debut over a decade ago. From the beautiful cover by Matt Wilson (featuring the villainess among her zombie followers)in, production quality is topnotch. Interior art is superb and evocative of the setting, while the maps are well done. It is as well put together a book as any Wizards of the Coast would produce. Visually, it's superb. Author Matt Staroscik has put great effort into making the book useful as a sourcebook, in addition to it's considerable measure as a scenario. More companies must strive to do this, as it adds immeasurably to the value of the book, a consideration of importance to consumers. There is an extensive bestiary containing some well conceived monsters: cavewort, a carnivorous fungus that grows on ceilings of abandoned structures and ensnares victims in it's tentacles; Devil Rats, cross between a monkey and a rodent, waist high and vicious; swamp dwelling goblinoids called Swamp Gobblers, and several classifications of zombies. The book also provides detail for the city of Corvis, the primary setting for the adventure. While the map, well rendered as it may be, is rather basic, Corvis itself has immense character. Points of interest, information on important guilds, legends and rumours, religion, taxes, and law and order (including a sidebar with punishments for various crimes) are all discussed. As part of the Iron Kingdoms, Corvis is a renaissance era city with elements of the middle ages and the industrial revolution added liberally. Firearms, well not common, are available (powered by alchemical concoctions instead of blackpowder), and steamtech is in wide use---steam ships, iron war machines, and robotic labourers called steamjacks. The adventure itself begins with the pc's escorting a caravan to Corvis. The action starts immediately with an ambush by Swamp Gobblers. Once they reach the city, the heroes are asked to investigate a rash of graverobberies. Of course, this sucks them into the insidious plot by the villainess to get revenge for those who slew her mother. Their investigations take them to the tombs of long dead witches, ancient catacombs beneath a church, and an ancient fortress. The stunning climax takes place during a festival known as the Longest Night, as an army of undead is unleashed upon the unsuspecting city. With this battle as an exciting backdrop, amidst the rubble and burning remains of Corvis, the heroes engage in a personal confrontational of their own. To give away any more of the plot would be a crime, but needless to say it is epic in scope and very well written. The variety of scenes, from wilderness and city encounters to dungeon crawls (each of which is of a very manageable size), from roleplaying encounters to investigations and well-staged combats, combined make for an adventure with great pace. There are perhaps only a few minor problems with The Longest Night. First, the map of Corvis is rather vague, leading to some work on the gm's part unless he is willing to wait until the Corvis Companion is released in the summer. Second, there is little attempt made to help a gm expand upon the adventure while he awaits the second installment in May (though, to their credit, Privateer Press is releasing material on their website that was originally to be held over for the second book, which should tide gm's over in the meantime). Finally, the very uniqueness of the Iron Kingdoms would make it problematic to drop down The Witchfire Trilogy in an existing game world. The Longest Night is an unpredictable epic-fantasy thriller, the likes of which are rarely seen in the rpg market. This exciting adventure kick starts what promises to be one of the best fantasy gaming settings released during the past decade, an outstanding inaugural release from a new d20 publisher. Anyone who likes fantasy roleplaying owes it to themselves to check out The Longest Night.