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*** Again for those of you wishing to play through the adventure, spoilers will be discussed. And why would you read a review of the adventure in the first place. ***

Rant

Forging Darkness is an adventure designed for D20 play and like most such adventures requires that the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide & Monster Manual be used to run the adventure, at least the back cover states this. Inside the first thing you notice is that the Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign Sourcebook is also required. Likewise the introduction & background section for the DM enters into a lengthy discussion of the plotline of the scenario’s prequel adventure The Root of All Evil and the entire adventure ends with a mention of the third adventure Coins End. As soon as I read this I began scouring the front and back cover of the adventure, but there was no mention of this being second in trilogy. Much as I enjoyed The Empire Strikes Back I don’t want to walk in on it without knowing I should have watched Star Wars first.

You don’t really need the Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign book to run the adventure, or the previous adventure, but the scenario would play a little flat without the background. Especially without running your players through The Root of All Evil as I’ll explain. The players are hired to help a crotchety smithy to construct a magic coin which will be the twin of a magic coin wielded by Daresh an 11th level madwoman who is tormenting the land. The players are 2-4th level and the coin of power is intended to balance out the power of Daresh and allow the players to destroy her. The basic premise of the adventure is that the players have to help the smithy collect the ingredients required to construct the Coin of Power while protecting the smithy & assisting in the enchantment of the coin itself. Here’s where the adventure seems to fall apart.

Given that the players have established a report with the smithy in the previous adventure or are gullible/mercenary enough to assist in the construction of an all-powerful item, they should soon waver. Any group asked to retrieve a diamond touched by death, the breath of a blue dragon and the blood of a devil should wonder what they are doing and whom they are doing it for. Especially when the final sequence has the smithy asking for a blood sacrifice and if given an opportunity killing a downed opponent to get it. Who the heck is this guy? MIng the Merciless? Herr Mengela? A group with even a little bit of good, heaven forbid a Paladin, would sever their ties with the smithy and be on their way, or better yet turn him in to the authorities.

Now the coin of Power itself is an all corrupting item of very powerful magic that warps the alignment of the user to evil, while inducing dependency & madness. And this is the answer to Daresh’s threat? Which one of the players will volunteer to sacrifice an innocent then quickly become, evil, then mad to face off against an 11th level wizard? Not many I’ll expect. Essentially the adventure boiled down in the crucible of truth become the rhetorical question ‘What if Gandalf crafted a ring equal to Sauron’s One Ring and sends Frodo with it to destroy the dread lord? Why a rhetorical question, because Gandalf would never do such a thing, nor should he.

While I applaud Miller and the publisher to taking a nice plotline and crafting an adventure out of it I think they may have erred in its execution. I would be very interested to poll any groups that have actually run through the scenario and see if I’m the only one who has a problem with the premise. OF course I haven’t seen Coins End, nor The Root of All Evil, so I might be missing some sort of vital motivation here, but then so would any DM picking up what they believe to be a stand alone adventure. The cliffhanger at the end forces the DM to pick up Coins End to finish the adventure and doesn’t really leave any other option. If the scenario is part two of a trilogy, BILL it that way so customers know what they are buying. Sure you don’t need part one to start but you sure as heck need part three to end. It’s a dirty trick to curse one of your players at the end of a scenario, forcing the DM to buy and run the sequel.

Rave Aside from the basic premise of the scenario, which I really dislike, the adventure is remarkably well crafted. The writing is smooth and consistent. There were no typos that I could see and only one strange error, and it is minor. An NPC is renown for making short swords but everyone in his village wields falchions (guess he was an exporter). There is also a reference to a map in one encounter but there isn’t a map for it. The encounters are scaled for 2-4th level and even encounters with Daresh (11wzd) and a blue dragon are written in such a manner that only the brain dead or suicidal will screw it up. The blue dragon can and will eliminate the entire party if provoked, and just as well I say. Any player that lips off a Dragon at 4th level deserves to get stomped.

Visually the book is very nice. The image quest system is a wonderful touch. Essentially they are DM flashcards using ½ or full page pieces of art grouped in an appendix at the back of the book and keyed to specific encounters. Image quest isn’t a unique idea, and is really just a reworking of the old Tomb of Horrors adventure style. Enter a room, see a picture. It’s an old idea but still a very good one, and nicely executed as well. The city maps are well crafted and very distinct but I was perplexed by the lack of an area map, especially for an adventure that requires the players to travel large distances. I guess the Kalamar campaign book has such a map, but it would have been nice to have it here (essential if you’re not using the campaign book). There is also a random encounter table for wilderness travel. A very nice touch.

In spite of my most basic objections to the book, there is a lot of material here. Three quests, each with a different and distinct theme. The threats peoples and encounters are very distinct and exciting, which is no mean accomplishment. For players and DMs there is enough variety to remain enjoyable and keep you players on their toes.

Recap

If you can get past the basic premise and are forewarned that this is the second of a trilogy then you might like to run Forging Darkness, but be prepared to also run Coin’s End, as there is no way around the cliffhanger at the end of the scenario. Perhaps it was the back cover that most aggravated me about the book, but I still can’t get past thinking this was a stand alone adventure. Quality wise the craftmanship of the book is undeniable.

Forging Darkness
Forging Darkness Capsule Review by Andrew J Lucas on 22/02/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average) If you can get past the basic premise and are forewarned that this is the second of a trilogy then you might like to run Forging Darkness, but be prepared to also run Coin’s End Product: Forging Darkness Author: Andy Miller Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Kenzer & Company Line: Kingdoms of Kalamar Cost: 11.99 Page count: 46 Year published: 2001 ISBN: 1-889182-52-4 SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Andrew J Lucas on 22/02/02 Genre tags: Fantasy	* Again for those of you wishing to play through the adventure, spoilers will be discussed. And why would you read a review of the adventure in the first place. * Rant Forging Darkness is an adventure designed for D20 play and like most such adventures requires that the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide & Monster Manual be used to run the adventure, at least the back cover states this. Inside the first thing you notice is that the Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign Sourcebook is also required. Likewise the introduction & background section for the DM enters into a lengthy discussion of the plotline of the scenario’s prequel adventure The Root of All Evil and the entire adventure ends with a mention of the third adventure Coins End. As soon as I read this I began scouring the front and back cover of the adventure, but there was no mention of this being second in trilogy. Much as I enjoyed The Empire Strikes Back I don’t want to walk in on it without knowing I should have watched Star Wars first. You don’t really need the Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign book to run the adventure, or the previous adventure, but the scenario would play a little flat without the background. Especially without running your players through The Root of All Evil as I’ll explain. The players are hired to help a crotchety smithy to construct a magic coin which will be the twin of a magic coin wielded by Daresh an 11th level madwoman who is tormenting the land. The players are 2-4th level and the coin of power is intended to balance out the power of Daresh and allow the players to destroy her. The basic premise of the adventure is that the players have to help the smithy collect the ingredients required to construct the Coin of Power while protecting the smithy & assisting in the enchantment of the coin itself. Here’s where the adventure seems to fall apart. Given that the players have established a report with the smithy in the previous adventure or are gullible/mercenary enough to assist in the construction of an all-powerful item, they should soon waver. Any group asked to retrieve a diamond touched by death, the breath of a blue dragon and the blood of a devil should wonder what they are doing and whom they are doing it for. Especially when the final sequence has the smithy asking for a blood sacrifice and if given an opportunity killing a downed opponent to get it. Who the heck is this guy? MIng the Merciless? Herr Mengela? A group with even a little bit of good, heaven forbid a Paladin, would sever their ties with the smithy and be on their way, or better yet turn him in to the authorities. Now the coin of Power itself is an all corrupting item of very powerful magic that warps the alignment of the user to evil, while inducing dependency & madness. And this is the answer to Daresh’s threat? Which one of the players will volunteer to sacrifice an innocent then quickly become, evil, then mad to face off against an 11th level wizard? Not many I’ll expect. Essentially the adventure boiled down in the crucible of truth become the rhetorical question ‘What if Gandalf crafted a ring equal to Sauron’s One Ring and sends Frodo with it to destroy the dread lord? Why a rhetorical question, because Gandalf would never do such a thing, nor should he. While I applaud Miller and the publisher to taking a nice plotline and crafting an adventure out of it I think they may have erred in its execution. I would be very interested to poll any groups that have actually run through the scenario and see if I’m the only one who has a problem with the premise. OF course I haven’t seen Coins End, nor The Root of All Evil, so I might be missing some sort of vital motivation here, but then so would any DM picking up what they believe to be a stand alone adventure. The cliffhanger at the end forces the DM to pick up Coins End to finish the adventure and doesn’t really leave any other option. If the scenario is part two of a trilogy, BILL it that way so customers know what they are buying. Sure you don’t need part one to start but you sure as heck need part three to end. It’s a dirty trick to curse one of your players at the end of a scenario, forcing the DM to buy and run the sequel. Rave Aside from the basic premise of the scenario, which I really dislike, the adventure is remarkably well crafted. The writing is smooth and consistent. There were no typos that I could see and only one strange error, and it is minor. An NPC is renown for making short swords but everyone in his village wields falchions (guess he was an exporter). There is also a reference to a map in one encounter but there isn’t a map for it. The encounters are scaled for 2-4th level and even encounters with Daresh (11wzd) and a blue dragon are written in such a manner that only the brain dead or suicidal will screw it up. The blue dragon can and will eliminate the entire party if provoked, and just as well I say. Any player that lips off a Dragon at 4th level deserves to get stomped. Visually the book is very nice. The image quest system is a wonderful touch. Essentially they are DM flashcards using ½ or full page pieces of art grouped in an appendix at the back of the book and keyed to specific encounters. Image quest isn’t a unique idea, and is really just a reworking of the old Tomb of Horrors adventure style. Enter a room, see a picture. It’s an old idea but still a very good one, and nicely executed as well. The city maps are well crafted and very distinct but I was perplexed by the lack of an area map, especially for an adventure that requires the players to travel large distances. I guess the Kalamar campaign book has such a map, but it would have been nice to have it here (essential if you’re not using the campaign book). There is also a random encounter table for wilderness travel. A very nice touch. In spite of my most basic objections to the book, there is a lot of material here. Three quests, each with a different and distinct theme. The threats peoples and encounters are very distinct and exciting, which is no mean accomplishment. For players and DMs there is enough variety to remain enjoyable and keep you players on their toes. Recap If you can get past the basic premise and are forewarned that this is the second of a trilogy then you might like to run Forging Darkness, but be prepared to also run Coin’s End, as there is no way around the cliffhanger at the end of the scenario. Perhaps it was the back cover that most aggravated me about the book, but I still can’t get past thinking this was a stand alone adventure. Quality wise the craftmanship of the book is undeniable.