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The Pulp Dungeons take you back to the early days of gaming. Pulp Dungeons are generic adventures that are adaptable to any game systems. Halls of the Coven pits a party of adventurers against a coven of mysterious magic users. Halls of the Coven is designed for low- to mid-level adventurers and is Adventure 1 in Pulp Dungeons Series 2: The Elements of Terror. The dungeon is presented in a single digest-sized 16-page book.

The Halls of the Coven opens with the party descending through a rock fissure into the dungeon. No description or clue is offered to suggest where the dungeon may be. The mysterious Coven is used as a device for presenting a number of "magical" mysteries. The Coven's magic gives the dungeon atmosphere but not reason. The magical encounters increase in complexity until the players are placed in a room from which there is no escape unless the party solves the magical puzzel. Also, after the building-up a powerful reputation for the mysterious Coven in the first series of Pulp Dungeons, the Coven comes across in this dungeon as more demented than dangerous.

Several rooms include clues to encounters in other dungeons in this series. Some clues suggest that this dungeon may be the lower levels of the dungeons described in Pulp Dungeons Series 1: Just Above the Pit. Surprisingly, there is no random encounter table. So, a GM will have to develop his own, because what's a pulp dungeon without wandering monsters.

The mechanics of the Pulp Dungeons are presented in a straightforward fashion using common monsters that are described in terms of hits of damage inflicted and hits of damage sustained, with one hit being the equivalent of an average sword hit. Random events are presented as checks on a d6. Magic is presented with an emphasis on the effects rather than spell mechanics. The mechanics of the Pulp Dungeons work easily enough. The only limitation is that no value is given for an attack ability. Apparently, it is assumed that gamemasters are using a system that bases attack ability on number of hit dice (e.g. AD&D). If anything, the monsters used are a bit anemic - a pack of timber wolves comes across more like feral poodles. Alternatively, because the monsters used are standard fantasy creatures (elves, goblins, skeletons, etc.), a gamemaster may easily substitute the monsters and mechanics of his favorite game system. A GM will also want to adjust the numbers of opponents encountered to suit the numbers and abilities of the player characters.

Overall, Halls of the Coven is a disappointing example of a dungeon that does things just because it wants to.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Halls of the Coven
Author: Timothy Brown Category: Dungeon Company/Publisher: Pulp Dungeons Cost: $3.95 Page count: 16 Playtest Review by Jeb Boyt on 01/09/98. Genre tags: none	The Pulp Dungeons take you back to the early days of gaming. Pulp Dungeons are generic adventures that are adaptable to any game systems. Halls of the Coven pits a party of adventurers against a coven of mysterious magic users. Halls of the Coven is designed for low- to mid-level adventurers and is Adventure 1 in Pulp Dungeons Series 2: The Elements of Terror. The dungeon is presented in a single digest-sized 16-page book. The Halls of the Coven opens with the party descending through a rock fissure into the dungeon. No description or clue is offered to suggest where the dungeon may be. The mysterious Coven is used as a device for presenting a number of "magical" mysteries. The Coven's magic gives the dungeon atmosphere but not reason. The magical encounters increase in complexity until the players are placed in a room from which there is no escape unless the party solves the magical puzzel. Also, after the building-up a powerful reputation for the mysterious Coven in the first series of Pulp Dungeons, the Coven comes across in this dungeon as more demented than dangerous. Several rooms include clues to encounters in other dungeons in this series. Some clues suggest that this dungeon may be the lower levels of the dungeons described in Pulp Dungeons Series 1: Just Above the Pit. Surprisingly, there is no random encounter table. So, a GM will have to develop his own, because what's a pulp dungeon without wandering monsters. The mechanics of the Pulp Dungeons are presented in a straightforward fashion using common monsters that are described in terms of hits of damage inflicted and hits of damage sustained, with one hit being the equivalent of an average sword hit. Random events are presented as checks on a d6. Magic is presented with an emphasis on the effects rather than spell mechanics. The mechanics of the Pulp Dungeons work easily enough. The only limitation is that no value is given for an attack ability. Apparently, it is assumed that gamemasters are using a system that bases attack ability on number of hit dice (e.g. AD&D). If anything, the monsters used are a bit anemic - a pack of timber wolves comes across more like feral poodles. Alternatively, because the monsters used are standard fantasy creatures (elves, goblins, skeletons, etc.), a gamemaster may easily substitute the monsters and mechanics of his favorite game system. A GM will also want to adjust the numbers of opponents encountered to suit the numbers and abilities of the player characters. Overall, Halls of the Coven is a disappointing example of a dungeon that does things just because it wants to. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 2 (Sparse)