The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The Silver Marches

Regional Sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting By Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl 160 Pages Softcover Perfect Bound w/ Pull out (Perforated) Map.

The Book itself: If you have Magic of Faerun and/or Lord’s of Darkness you know what to expect. Textured cover, sturdy construction and amazing layout. Very nice. The cover art by Vance Kovaks is a little rough up close, but definitely captures the wild frontier feel. Pages are flat gloss premium paper and easy to read. Margins are very small and text density is very high. They really crammed a lot into this book (Though of course, more would have been better, as always). At $27.95 it has a good price point, especially for a Wizards product (that is not a condemnation, merely an observation)

Editing is fairly tight throughout, I noted one word replacement problem and a few stats that didn’t match perfectly (King Warcrown for instance, being listed on one page as a 17th level fighter and on the next as a 10th level fighter,/7th level Dwarven Defender). I am not incredibly picky though, they were not jarring to me and did not interrupt the flow of reading. Mileage will vary greatly I bet.

The Map: Very nice poster map. Perforation tore easily and smoothly. No glue or gum, I like that. I really wish Wizards would sell premium copies of these maps. Wow.

The top half of the map covers the Marches, an area a bit larger than my home state of Oregon (Nice free plug :) About 300 miles by 500 miles. Encompassing about half of the High Forest (Though slightly more is detailed in the book) to The Spine of the World (and including Hartsvale) North to South, and all of the Evermoors and change to Anauroch West to East.

The bottom half has six smaller maps with individual legends. 1. Everlund 2. Sundabar 3. Silverymoon 4. Citadel Adbar Cross Section 5. Citadel Felbarr Overview with fortifications 6. The Underdark in the North (With above and below ground landmarks and cities!!)

There are maps to other towns in the book, with good enough detail for easy use and close enough to most of the maps in the Interactive Atlas to easily allow its use where possible.

The Contents: As stated before, this is a 160 page sourcebook. Full color throughout with multiple illustrations, most of which are striking, solid or at worst, serviceable to their depictions.

The first and last page are a credits page and a house ad for Dissolution, there is no Index (A real pity with all the references buried in the text) but it is mitigated somewhat by the fairly detailed Table of Contents. A quick read through and some notes will get most of the references you might need.

There is a short (Two Page) Introduction and Eight chapters of varying lengths. I will cover all of the chapter individually though not in as much detail as I am tempted to.

Introduction: Standard fare mostly, the first paragraph or three is a nice overview that just begs to be read to the players. It then breaks down the chapters one by one as well as sets the Map scale (1 inch- = 30 miles). Finally it has the nice touch of listing substitution monsters for the Realms Specific creatures features therein. I heartily approve, though I own all the books that are referenced (MC: MoF, MoF, LoD, FRCS).

Chapter 1, The Lay of the Land: This sprawling chapter of 35 or so pages breaks down the major landmarks of The Silver Marches (TSM). It begins with a brief history of the North. Which does a serviceable job of breaking down reams of material into two pages or so. It then jumps to a short Geographic Overview then to the meat of the matter… Lands and Features. The first three pages really capture the flavor and set the tone of the book. Good stuff.

The chapter covers all the high points and some of the low as well (literally). The woods are well detailed, old material is brought up to date and condensed into a useable if not loquacious manner. It is difficult to cover the detail they achieve, seeding adventure ideas throughout as The Cold Wood, Moonwood, Druarwood, Arn Forest and the High Forest are detailed along with pretty much every copse of moderate size (Including the Night Trees).

The Nether and Rauvin Mountains are covered of course, as are the Vales (Rauvin, Sundabar, Delimbiyr etc). Border areas like Anauroch, The High Forest (Mentioned again because it is covered in solid detail including stats for Turlang) and the Evermoors are covered as well. The chapter ends with write-ups of The Spine of the World and a couple of pages specifically on the Underdark. King Obould and Dark arrow Keep have solid mention here.

Tombs, Caves (including Morueme’s) and a double dozen other locations are also covered. A big meaty chapter, for every place I mentioned there are two or three (or more) I did not.

Chapter 2, Exploring the Wilds: This chapter of about 154 pages covers a myriad of topics. It begins with Flora and Fauna of the Realms, including a short listing of the better known Wyrms. Trees shrubs and plants are listed along with uses and mechanics as necessary including a table for Herb Searches by commonality.

Then come the inevitable (and moderately welcome to me) encounter tables. Five pages including some capsule stats for groups of humanoids and barbarians. Not bad, YMMV for certain. Then it moves into details on Weather, a potent force indeed. This includes Fires, Landslides, Avalanches, Floods, Fog, Bogs, and Quicksand. Not to mention a host of precipitation effects.

A random weather generator caps off the chapter. I can see myself using it for flavor text more than actual campaign building. Looks solid though, and is broken up by very broad general “regions.”

Chapter 3, Cities of The Silver Marches A small bit of this is available in the sneak peek on the Wizards of the Coast site. (Sundabar and Everlund). The chapter is nearly thirty pages of solid information and mostly solid illustrations. I will break the cities down as succinctly as possible.

Silverymoon – What can I say, the Gem of the North is the gem of the book. Solid information, stats for Taern Hornblade (Not what I expected and likely to be modified a bit in individual campaigns) and info on the wards and Mythal of the city.

No information on the castle really, the first Dragon Annual is still the best place for that. I wish it would have been twice as much information to be honest, more than anyplace else. However, they give about a dozen pages over to Silverymoon, and do it justice as far as broad strokes go. The tools are there.

Sundabar – Basically exactly as you see it on line, though Helm looks a bit more imposing than my first impression. About 3-4 pages of material with pictures. Touches upon the Everfire as well.

Citadel Felbarr – No stats for King Emerus Warcrown unfortunately, but more detail on the retaking of Many Arrows and the defenses the Dwarves have since built and re-built are fairly meaty. It begs for a Dragon Magazine follow up piece though, or a Web Enhancement. I like what I read, just wanted about half a page more crunch.

Citadel Adbar – Stats for King Harbromm! History, nasty defenses including one never used and a broad overview make up this 3-4 page section. It is good to have nice detail on one of the mightiest Dwarf Hosts remaining. The disposition of troops is laid out in even more detail later on in the book.

Deadsnows – not incredibly detailed here, but has a full section/mini campaign in Chapter 8.

Everlund – About four pages, available on line as well. Good description of the council and the various plots being woven amongst them.

Mithral Hall – Stats for Bruennor (and Wulfgar stats are found later in the book) and a quick overview. No map, though the one in the Interactive Atlas would do well with slight touchups. A bit on Settlestone as well.

Quaervarr – Being harried greatly by the people of the Black Blood, this town receives about two pages of coverage. Includes updated stats for the Oak house and the Whistling Stag Inn.

Newfort – Mostly Zhent retirees as described in the FRCS. A nice job in capturing the pioneer spirit they were aiming for here with the threat of hidden spies to spice things up. Map included.

Chapter 4, People of the Silver Marches: This integral chapter focuses on a myriad of topics. Life and society are explored with detailed looks at Economy, Law and Order, how Adventurers are treated in all the signatory Cities, and a tiny bit on Ruins, Tombs and Dungeons. Then it launches into Defense and Warcraft, detailing Strategy and Tactics, the armed Muster of the Cities, the Argent Legion (The Armed forces of the Silver Marches itself) and touching upon Rangers and Scouts.

Armies and Militias are given basic individual (1st level) stats and the Knights in Silver and The Spellguard are covered in more detail.

Finally the Uthgardt Barbarians are covered, or at least five of the tribes. The Black Ravens are covered because they raid into the Marches. The Black Lion, Gray Wolf, Red Tiger, and Sky pony tribes are also touched upon. Stats for Tiger’s Claws are given as well as information on playing Pc’s from each of the five listed tribes. Rounding out this section is brief history, Wulfgar’s Stats, and a short bit on Ancestor Mounds (with no rules for protective spirits, alas).

Chapter 5, Politics and Power: In broad strokes this chapter covers (in moderately dry detail in some cases) a very brief recent history timeline, the articles of Confederation, League Bylaws (including information on “global” Throne decrees and “optional” Common decrees), League members, How things really work, and the Current Council itself and their inter-relationships.

One thing to note is that Alustriel will only be leading the council for seven years, though she will remain upon it representing all of the protectorates. There are nine members of the council. One from each of the six signatories, one representing the protectorates (Alustriel’s), the commander of the Argent Legion, and a Member at Large (High Herald Old Night).

The chapter then delves briefly into major enemies. The Arcane Brotherhood, People of the Black Blood, King Obould, the Daemonfey, The Drow, The Giants, The Shades and Minions of Evil deities are all touched upon.

Chapter Six, Heroes of the North This chapter present six relatively common Prestige classes. Most of them ten level. I will cover each briefly, where not stated the class is ten level.

Giant-Killer – More and more common with the Giants displacing the Trolls of the Evermoors and Nesme besieged, this Prestige class is easy to qualify for (5th Level Fighter can qualify easily) and should be quite popular. Giant lore and Smite Abilities are the meat of the class.

Hordebreaker – For those who think the Dwarven Defender is too tough to qualify for (or are not Dwarves) this is another fairly easily qualified for Prestige Class. It mixes some ranger favored “Horde enemies” with some Dwarven “Defenderesque” abilities. It is only five level though, so might be picked up as “filler.”

Knight-errant of Silverymoon – Four Feats and a range of skills are needed to qualify for this mounted specialist class. They get free leave to wander on quests though, so Adventurers should love them. Many classes could qualify by 5th – 7th level.

Orc Scout – A five level class with a twist. These are specially trained Orcs sent to spy on the Marches in preparation for the great Horde that is brewing. Cool stuff. They can hide well, get Sneak Attack Damage, and are fast. Should be tough opponents to catch, and could make effective assassins if absolutely needed.

Peerless Archer – A ten level non Arcane archer. They have a pretty slick ability to enchant arrows without feats or arcane ability needed, though they still must pay Exp and GP costs (based on an included chart). The arrows can go up to 5 at tenth level. They also get Ranged Sneak Attack among other things.

Wild Scout – Another ten level class, they are the eyes and ears of the Marches. They have camouflage abilities, can travel quickly and commune with nature at need for more information.

All in all a potent mix, all of which will eventually slide somewhere in my own campaign.

Chapter 7, Monsters of the Marches: This short four-page chapter covers a small spread of animals and monsters that can be encountered in The Silver Marches.

Deer, Elk and the Red Tiger begin the chapter. The tiger being a far more able foe than I initially gave it credit for. The Branta is next, a kind of long necked equine with bony horns that will fight if cornered.

Giant Ravens are then detailed, along with rules for training them. Very welcome for those who use Black Raven Tribe as opponents. The Rock Wyrm is next, a cousin of the Dragon it is a CR 8 moderately nasty predator. I cannot wait to toss one of these towards my party and see what happens.

Finally, Snowcloaks. These flying two headed aberrations are a little out of tune with the rest of the chapter in my opinion. Their omission could have freed up a full page elsewhere. They are well constructed but ultimately did not excite me.

Chapter 8, Adventures in the North: This, the final chapter of the book covers three short adventures and a mini campaign. Each details areas described elsewhere in the book. A level range is only given for the campaign, but I will attempt to approximate. No spoilers will be contained here, hopefully.

Black Fury – This adventure for approximately 6th level characters ( /- 1 level) details ore about the moonwood Black Blood tribe and their quest for vengeance and destruction. It has several Black Blood enemy stats and a range of encounters going from EL 4 to EL 9.

Dead Orc Pass- A careful level 4 party might make it through this. Level 5 or better is more likely though. A party that is not careful had best be at least 7th. It details, duh, Dead Orc Pass and is a nice travel diversion to drop into a campaign.

Telkoun’s Tower – This fairly nasty adventure will be challenging for PC’s of 8th to 10th level. Lower or higher will likely need some serious scaling. It has the capability of escalating into something nasty enough to wipe out an entire party if the wrong area is breached without at least moderate preparation. It is slightly “end heavy” so some DM’s might want to balance things out a little more to provide a more even challenge from start to finish.

Blood and Gold – This is a mini Campaign for Characters of 5th level set in and around the town of Deadsnows. It provides ample opportunity and plot hooks to give the PC’s at least a level by the end, perhaps two depending on what areas they delve into. It also provides a good “feel” for campaigns looking to branch out into the rest of the Marches, with a taste of different factions.

Conclusion: Well, this is it. End of the review. What did I think? I think I need to go prep for this weeks game. I have been running a Silver Marches Campaign for months now. The party is Sixth level for the most part. I can see using this book alone as a seed to get them several levels higher and several levels deeper into the inter-relationships of the Marches.

I want more, but what I got was more than enough to make me think my time and money were not wasted. A solid read, not dry at all for the vast majority. Errors were very few and not glaring. I would not only recommend this book, I would drive them to the store to get their copy. I dig it. This book gives the tools to run a game, and to take the huge amount of available material and carefully build the framework up into something even more breathtaking.

The Silver Marches
The Silver Marches Capsule Review by Timothy Whisenhunt on 14/07/02 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) What Regional sourcebooks should strive to be. Enter a harsh cold magical land that feels real enough that your fingers get numb just reading it. Product: The Silver Marches Author: Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: Forgotten Realms Cost: $27.95 Page count: 160 Year published: 2002 ISBN: 0-7869-2835-2 SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Timothy Whisenhunt on 14/07/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Generic Other	The Silver Marches Regional Sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting By Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl 160 Pages Softcover Perfect Bound w/ Pull out (Perforated) Map. The Book itself: If you have Magic of Faerun and/or Lord’s of Darkness you know what to expect. Textured cover, sturdy construction and amazing layout. Very nice. The cover art by Vance Kovaks is a little rough up close, but definitely captures the wild frontier feel. Pages are flat gloss premium paper and easy to read. Margins are very small and text density is very high. They really crammed a lot into this book (Though of course, more would have been better, as always). At $27.95 it has a good price point, especially for a Wizards product (that is not a condemnation, merely an observation) Editing is fairly tight throughout, I noted one word replacement problem and a few stats that didn’t match perfectly (King Warcrown for instance, being listed on one page as a 17th level fighter and on the next as a 10th level fighter,/7th level Dwarven Defender). I am not incredibly picky though, they were not jarring to me and did not interrupt the flow of reading. Mileage will vary greatly I bet. The Map: Very nice poster map. Perforation tore easily and smoothly. No glue or gum, I like that. I really wish Wizards would sell premium copies of these maps. Wow. The top half of the map covers the Marches, an area a bit larger than my home state of Oregon (Nice free plug :) About 300 miles by 500 miles. Encompassing about half of the High Forest (Though slightly more is detailed in the book) to The Spine of the World (and including Hartsvale) North to South, and all of the Evermoors and change to Anauroch West to East. The bottom half has six smaller maps with individual legends. 1. Everlund 2. Sundabar 3. Silverymoon 4. Citadel Adbar Cross Section 5. Citadel Felbarr Overview with fortifications 6. The Underdark in the North (With above and below ground landmarks and cities!!) There are maps to other towns in the book, with good enough detail for easy use and close enough to most of the maps in the Interactive Atlas to easily allow its use where possible. The Contents: As stated before, this is a 160 page sourcebook. Full color throughout with multiple illustrations, most of which are striking, solid or at worst, serviceable to their depictions. The first and last page are a credits page and a house ad for Dissolution, there is no Index (A real pity with all the references buried in the text) but it is mitigated somewhat by the fairly detailed Table of Contents. A quick read through and some notes will get most of the references you might need. There is a short (Two Page) Introduction and Eight chapters of varying lengths. I will cover all of the chapter individually though not in as much detail as I am tempted to. Introduction: Standard fare mostly, the first paragraph or three is a nice overview that just begs to be read to the players. It then breaks down the chapters one by one as well as sets the Map scale (1 inch- = 30 miles). Finally it has the nice touch of listing substitution monsters for the Realms Specific creatures features therein. I heartily approve, though I own all the books that are referenced (MC: MoF, MoF, LoD, FRCS). Chapter 1, The Lay of the Land: This sprawling chapter of 35 or so pages breaks down the major landmarks of The Silver Marches (TSM). It begins with a brief history of the North. Which does a serviceable job of breaking down reams of material into two pages or so. It then jumps to a short Geographic Overview then to the meat of the matter… Lands and Features. The first three pages really capture the flavor and set the tone of the book. Good stuff. The chapter covers all the high points and some of the low as well (literally). The woods are well detailed, old material is brought up to date and condensed into a useable if not loquacious manner. It is difficult to cover the detail they achieve, seeding adventure ideas throughout as The Cold Wood, Moonwood, Druarwood, Arn Forest and the High Forest are detailed along with pretty much every copse of moderate size (Including the Night Trees). The Nether and Rauvin Mountains are covered of course, as are the Vales (Rauvin, Sundabar, Delimbiyr etc). Border areas like Anauroch, The High Forest (Mentioned again because it is covered in solid detail including stats for Turlang) and the Evermoors are covered as well. The chapter ends with write-ups of The Spine of the World and a couple of pages specifically on the Underdark. King Obould and Dark arrow Keep have solid mention here. Tombs, Caves (including Morueme’s) and a double dozen other locations are also covered. A big meaty chapter, for every place I mentioned there are two or three (or more) I did not. Chapter 2, Exploring the Wilds: This chapter of about 154 pages covers a myriad of topics. It begins with Flora and Fauna of the Realms, including a short listing of the better known Wyrms. Trees shrubs and plants are listed along with uses and mechanics as necessary including a table for Herb Searches by commonality. Then come the inevitable (and moderately welcome to me) encounter tables. Five pages including some capsule stats for groups of humanoids and barbarians. Not bad, YMMV for certain. Then it moves into details on Weather, a potent force indeed. This includes Fires, Landslides, Avalanches, Floods, Fog, Bogs, and Quicksand. Not to mention a host of precipitation effects. A random weather generator caps off the chapter. I can see myself using it for flavor text more than actual campaign building. Looks solid though, and is broken up by very broad general “regions.” Chapter 3, Cities of The Silver Marches A small bit of this is available in the sneak peek on the Wizards of the Coast site. (Sundabar and Everlund). The chapter is nearly thirty pages of solid information and mostly solid illustrations. I will break the cities down as succinctly as possible. Silverymoon – What can I say, the Gem of the North is the gem of the book. Solid information, stats for Taern Hornblade (Not what I expected and likely to be modified a bit in individual campaigns) and info on the wards and Mythal of the city. No information on the castle really, the first Dragon Annual is still the best place for that. I wish it would have been twice as much information to be honest, more than anyplace else. However, they give about a dozen pages over to Silverymoon, and do it justice as far as broad strokes go. The tools are there. Sundabar – Basically exactly as you see it on line, though Helm looks a bit more imposing than my first impression. About 3-4 pages of material with pictures. Touches upon the Everfire as well. Citadel Felbarr – No stats for King Emerus Warcrown unfortunately, but more detail on the retaking of Many Arrows and the defenses the Dwarves have since built and re-built are fairly meaty. It begs for a Dragon Magazine follow up piece though, or a Web Enhancement. I like what I read, just wanted about half a page more crunch. Citadel Adbar – Stats for King Harbromm! History, nasty defenses including one never used and a broad overview make up this 3-4 page section. It is good to have nice detail on one of the mightiest Dwarf Hosts remaining. The disposition of troops is laid out in even more detail later on in the book. Deadsnows – not incredibly detailed here, but has a full section/mini campaign in Chapter 8. Everlund – About four pages, available on line as well. Good description of the council and the various plots being woven amongst them. Mithral Hall – Stats for Bruennor (and Wulfgar stats are found later in the book) and a quick overview. No map, though the one in the Interactive Atlas would do well with slight touchups. A bit on Settlestone as well. Quaervarr – Being harried greatly by the people of the Black Blood, this town receives about two pages of coverage. Includes updated stats for the Oak house and the Whistling Stag Inn. Newfort – Mostly Zhent retirees as described in the FRCS. A nice job in capturing the pioneer spirit they were aiming for here with the threat of hidden spies to spice things up. Map included. Chapter 4, People of the Silver Marches: This integral chapter focuses on a myriad of topics. Life and society are explored with detailed looks at Economy, Law and Order, how Adventurers are treated in all the signatory Cities, and a tiny bit on Ruins, Tombs and Dungeons. Then it launches into Defense and Warcraft, detailing Strategy and Tactics, the armed Muster of the Cities, the Argent Legion (The Armed forces of the Silver Marches itself) and touching upon Rangers and Scouts. Armies and Militias are given basic individual (1st level) stats and the Knights in Silver and The Spellguard are covered in more detail. Finally the Uthgardt Barbarians are covered, or at least five of the tribes. The Black Ravens are covered because they raid into the Marches. The Black Lion, Gray Wolf, Red Tiger, and Sky pony tribes are also touched upon. Stats for Tiger’s Claws are given as well as information on playing Pc’s from each of the five listed tribes. Rounding out this section is brief history, Wulfgar’s Stats, and a short bit on Ancestor Mounds (with no rules for protective spirits, alas). Chapter 5, Politics and Power: In broad strokes this chapter covers (in moderately dry detail in some cases) a very brief recent history timeline, the articles of Confederation, League Bylaws (including information on “global” Throne decrees and “optional” Common decrees), League members, How things really work, and the Current Council itself and their inter-relationships. One thing to note is that Alustriel will only be leading the council for seven years, though she will remain upon it representing all of the protectorates. There are nine members of the council. One from each of the six signatories, one representing the protectorates (Alustriel’s), the commander of the Argent Legion, and a Member at Large (High Herald Old Night). The chapter then delves briefly into major enemies. The Arcane Brotherhood, People of the Black Blood, King Obould, the Daemonfey, The Drow, The Giants, The Shades and Minions of Evil deities are all touched upon. Chapter Six, Heroes of the North This chapter present six relatively common Prestige classes. Most of them ten level. I will cover each briefly, where not stated the class is ten level. Giant-Killer – More and more common with the Giants displacing the Trolls of the Evermoors and Nesme besieged, this Prestige class is easy to qualify for (5th Level Fighter can qualify easily) and should be quite popular. Giant lore and Smite Abilities are the meat of the class. Hordebreaker – For those who think the Dwarven Defender is too tough to qualify for (or are not Dwarves) this is another fairly easily qualified for Prestige Class. It mixes some ranger favored “Horde enemies” with some Dwarven “Defenderesque” abilities. It is only five level though, so might be picked up as “filler.” Knight-errant of Silverymoon – Four Feats and a range of skills are needed to qualify for this mounted specialist class. They get free leave to wander on quests though, so Adventurers should love them. Many classes could qualify by 5th – 7th level. Orc Scout – A five level class with a twist. These are specially trained Orcs sent to spy on the Marches in preparation for the great Horde that is brewing. Cool stuff. They can hide well, get Sneak Attack Damage, and are fast. Should be tough opponents to catch, and could make effective assassins if absolutely needed. Peerless Archer – A ten level non Arcane archer. They have a pretty slick ability to enchant arrows without feats or arcane ability needed, though they still must pay Exp and GP costs (based on an included chart). The arrows can go up to 5 at tenth level. They also get Ranged Sneak Attack among other things. Wild Scout – Another ten level class, they are the eyes and ears of the Marches. They have camouflage abilities, can travel quickly and commune with nature at need for more information. All in all a potent mix, all of which will eventually slide somewhere in my own campaign. Chapter 7, Monsters of the Marches: This short four-page chapter covers a small spread of animals and monsters that can be encountered in The Silver Marches. Deer, Elk and the Red Tiger begin the chapter. The tiger being a far more able foe than I initially gave it credit for. The Branta is next, a kind of long necked equine with bony horns that will fight if cornered. Giant Ravens are then detailed, along with rules for training them. Very welcome for those who use Black Raven Tribe as opponents. The Rock Wyrm is next, a cousin of the Dragon it is a CR 8 moderately nasty predator. I cannot wait to toss one of these towards my party and see what happens. Finally, Snowcloaks. These flying two headed aberrations are a little out of tune with the rest of the chapter in my opinion. Their omission could have freed up a full page elsewhere. They are well constructed but ultimately did not excite me. Chapter 8, Adventures in the North: This, the final chapter of the book covers three short adventures and a mini campaign. Each details areas described elsewhere in the book. A level range is only given for the campaign, but I will attempt to approximate. No spoilers will be contained here, hopefully. Black Fury – This adventure for approximately 6th level characters ( /- 1 level) details ore about the moonwood Black Blood tribe and their quest for vengeance and destruction. It has several Black Blood enemy stats and a range of encounters going from EL 4 to EL 9. Dead Orc Pass- A careful level 4 party might make it through this. Level 5 or better is more likely though. A party that is not careful had best be at least 7th. It details, duh, Dead Orc Pass and is a nice travel diversion to drop into a campaign. Telkoun’s Tower – This fairly nasty adventure will be challenging for PC’s of 8th to 10th level. Lower or higher will likely need some serious scaling. It has the capability of escalating into something nasty enough to wipe out an entire party if the wrong area is breached without at least moderate preparation. It is slightly “end heavy” so some DM’s might want to balance things out a little more to provide a more even challenge from start to finish. Blood and Gold – This is a mini Campaign for Characters of 5th level set in and around the town of Deadsnows. It provides ample opportunity and plot hooks to give the PC’s at least a level by the end, perhaps two depending on what areas they delve into. It also provides a good “feel” for campaigns looking to branch out into the rest of the Marches, with a taste of different factions. Conclusion: Well, this is it. End of the review. What did I think? I think I need to go prep for this weeks game. I have been running a Silver Marches Campaign for months now. The party is Sixth level for the most part. I can see using this book alone as a seed to get them several levels higher and several levels deeper into the inter-relationships of the Marches. I want more, but what I got was more than enough to make me think my time and money were not wasted. A solid read, not dry at all for the vast majority. Errors were very few and not glaring. I would not only recommend this book, I would drive them to the store to get their copy. I dig it. This book gives the tools to run a game, and to take the huge amount of available material and carefully build the framework up into something even more breathtaking.