The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Rob Kuntz has a problem with making multi-modules that never end. I know I’m still waiting for his other series by Necromancer Games (Maze of Zayene) to finish and I know I was waiting on a norse book he was working on for Troll Lords. Why then do we get another series of modules in a new Dark Quest line? Ah, cursed questions that can never be answered.

There are several problems with the book right off the bat. The back states that it’s for 9th-12th level characters and the interior for 8th-12th level characters. In many cases, designers are really pushing themselves into a corner by including these lower levels without including notes on how to properly scale the adventure. For instance, a 12th level character will have two more fats than an 8th level one, plus an extra ability point. Spellcasters will have access to 6th level spells and in many cases, more magic items. Notes on scaling the adventure for the proper party should’ve been included or the party should read for 10th-12th level characters. The days or characters being very similar in power levels are long gone.

Next up, Rob assumes that 9th level is ‘high’ level. In many campaigns I’ve played in, 15th was almost a high level with 18th being about right. I can tell from these two bits I’m going to have a problem with the book right away and break out a pen to start taking notes. I will note that the amount of major artifacts here is high and GMs should take note on what they'll be adding to the game by reading the module carefully.

Dark Druids pits the party against a group of Druids who are intent on wiping out humanity. The party is asked to search out these vile cretins and deal with them. The module starts off with some wilderness exploration as the party moves through a forest, which is fairly generic and can be slotted into almost any world, until they come onto a gate that leads them into the Fortress of the Dark Druids.

Unfortunately, the party isn’t really given a choice here. It’s do this or the adventure doesn’t start type of deal. A writer with Rob’s experience should’ve thrown in at least three adventure seeds to get the party started. How about family member disappeared while wandering the forest? How about old druid comrade started talking of more severe measures necessary to maintain the balance? A little something other than, “Go here, get this money, and do this.”

In some instances, the writing is bold. “It appears to be a treant!” Perhaps I’m old school of roleplaying or something, but what happened to describing what is approaching? What is the party doesn’t know what a treant is? What is the group is new and doesn’t know what a treant is? In other cases, the writing is vague. In a Ritual Room of Passage, the room isn’t described, but it’s contents are. The map shows no secret doors, but there’s only one way into the room itself. Is the other entrance invisible? How does it move when conditions are met? In another place, the party comes across a chest with “as much gold and silver pieces as the party could carry.” How much is that? Some parties will have bags of holding or other devices and this information should be listed.

Some other places suffer game mechanic wise. In one Antechamber, the party has to destroy two walls but each time they strike the wall, they take 3d8 points of either fire or slam damage. That’s a lot of damage for a mage or rogue to suck up each round and it’s an automatic hit with no chance to save. They’re better off sitting back and letting the warriors do all the damage and hoping they have enough healing potions to bring them up to snuff after the walls are destroyed.

Fortunately, what Rob lacks in descriptive text, he makes up for with different obstacles for the players to encounter. They’ll be pitted against several traps and numerous NPCs of different factions. The real trick here is going to be using the NPCs and playing to their strengths. The only reason the party has a chance in this module is due to the division between the Dark Druids as they’ve broken into two sects, the Black Hats Sect and the Umber Eye Sect. While these two wage war against one another, the party has a chance.

Unfortunately, the module is the first in a series and the ending of the module puts the party square in the middle of waiting for the next module. To not do so, according to the module, puts the party under a geas that inflicts some terrible penalties upon them. I guess the next question is where’s the next book? How soon will this series be finished? It’s a five part adventure collection and this is only the first. Each one, from description, looks to drag the party further and further down the rabbit hole. This is fine if you didn’t have any plans for the characters, but without knowing what levels the other modules are for, it makes setting the characters up more difficult.

Outside of the module itself, there are several appendixes to add meat to the campaign. A covers new monsters including Black Circle Demon, Misbegotten Template, and Thresher Demon. B introduces several new magic items like the Claw of N’Threxus, a major artifact, Hood of Mental Anguish, an executioner’s hood, used to interrogate those it’s placed on, the Tarrasque Spike, another major artifact, and the Urn of Elemental Darkness, another major artifact. C covers the Dark Druid Prestige Class, which is actually a variant core class. Several spells are changed and new spells are added to their casting ability, making them more dangerous with more damaging attacks.

One of the rules problems comes with the use of the Leadership Feat from the Dungeon Master’s Guide. This feat provides a character the ability to attract followers. Here, the author uses it as some sort of control device over one of the NPCs. In any case, the author should never count on a player having a feat. Another mistake is the Dark Druid itself. The text introduces it as a Prestige Class, but it’s a variant Druid Class. Lack of a table and statements to substitute or change different abilities is annoying and time consuming. If the class is going to be put into the book as an alternative core class, do it the right way. Put a table with the progression of spells, saving throws, and base attack bonuses. List the special abilities. Remove doubt from everyone’s mind.

The cover showcases a group of adventurers being attacked by a plant demon. Internal text spacing is fair and art by Brian Swartz is generally of good quality. The editors however, miss several errors in the D20 mechanics that even a person who’s only briefly played should know. The book has one page of advertising. Internal covers are not used. I have issues with the maps. While they’re readable, they aren’t clearly defined and there is no scale for quick listing. Is each of the half-scribbled lines a five foot square or a ten foot square or something else?

A personal problem I had with the writing is the constant use of exclamation points and the word Thus. In about 99% of all writing I’ve seen, Thus can be taken out without impacting the sentence too much.

So is this module a complete wash then? No. It’s very reasonably priced at $11.99 for 64 pages. It provides the GM some options if he wants to add a quick den of dark, evil druids to his campaign. Such a feature might be perfect for the Scarred Lands, for example, where druids served a wide variety of Titans and weren’t the standard sit back type of druids that many settings have. For those who play in the Erde setting, there is a page of notes on how to incorporate the material into that campaign. Some of the new monsters and magic items are also worth noting and are portable to almost any campaign.

In the end, let the buyer beware that there are many bad rules to be found here and some gems to be taken home and spit upon for proper shinning.

Dark Druids
Dark Druids Playtest Review by Joe G Kushner on 17/09/02 Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 3 (Average) Troll Lords brings forth another work from Rob Kuntz in a new series of Dark Quest. Product: Dark Druids Author: Rob Kuntz Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Troll Lords Line: Dark Quest Cost: 11.99 Page count: 64 Year published: 2002 ISBN: 1931275165 SKU: TLG5200 Comp copy?: yes Playtest Review by Joe G Kushner on 17/09/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Horror	Rob Kuntz has a problem with making multi-modules that never end. I know I’m still waiting for his other series by Necromancer Games (Maze of Zayene) to finish and I know I was waiting on a norse book he was working on for Troll Lords. Why then do we get another series of modules in a new Dark Quest line? Ah, cursed questions that can never be answered. There are several problems with the book right off the bat. The back states that it’s for 9th-12th level characters and the interior for 8th-12th level characters. In many cases, designers are really pushing themselves into a corner by including these lower levels without including notes on how to properly scale the adventure. For instance, a 12th level character will have two more fats than an 8th level one, plus an extra ability point. Spellcasters will have access to 6th level spells and in many cases, more magic items. Notes on scaling the adventure for the proper party should’ve been included or the party should read for 10th-12th level characters. The days or characters being very similar in power levels are long gone. Next up, Rob assumes that 9th level is ‘high’ level. In many campaigns I’ve played in, 15th was almost a high level with 18th being about right. I can tell from these two bits I’m going to have a problem with the book right away and break out a pen to start taking notes. I will note that the amount of major artifacts here is high and GMs should take note on what they'll be adding to the game by reading the module carefully. Dark Druids pits the party against a group of Druids who are intent on wiping out humanity. The party is asked to search out these vile cretins and deal with them. The module starts off with some wilderness exploration as the party moves through a forest, which is fairly generic and can be slotted into almost any world, until they come onto a gate that leads them into the Fortress of the Dark Druids. Unfortunately, the party isn’t really given a choice here. It’s do this or the adventure doesn’t start type of deal. A writer with Rob’s experience should’ve thrown in at least three adventure seeds to get the party started. How about family member disappeared while wandering the forest? How about old druid comrade started talking of more severe measures necessary to maintain the balance? A little something other than, “Go here, get this money, and do this.” In some instances, the writing is bold. “It appears to be a treant!” Perhaps I’m old school of roleplaying or something, but what happened to describing what is approaching? What is the party doesn’t know what a treant is? What is the group is new and doesn’t know what a treant is? In other cases, the writing is vague. In a Ritual Room of Passage, the room isn’t described, but it’s contents are. The map shows no secret doors, but there’s only one way into the room itself. Is the other entrance invisible? How does it move when conditions are met? In another place, the party comes across a chest with “as much gold and silver pieces as the party could carry.” How much is that? Some parties will have bags of holding or other devices and this information should be listed. Some other places suffer game mechanic wise. In one Antechamber, the party has to destroy two walls but each time they strike the wall, they take 3d8 points of either fire or slam damage. That’s a lot of damage for a mage or rogue to suck up each round and it’s an automatic hit with no chance to save. They’re better off sitting back and letting the warriors do all the damage and hoping they have enough healing potions to bring them up to snuff after the walls are destroyed. Fortunately, what Rob lacks in descriptive text, he makes up for with different obstacles for the players to encounter. They’ll be pitted against several traps and numerous NPCs of different factions. The real trick here is going to be using the NPCs and playing to their strengths. The only reason the party has a chance in this module is due to the division between the Dark Druids as they’ve broken into two sects, the Black Hats Sect and the Umber Eye Sect. While these two wage war against one another, the party has a chance. Unfortunately, the module is the first in a series and the ending of the module puts the party square in the middle of waiting for the next module. To not do so, according to the module, puts the party under a geas that inflicts some terrible penalties upon them. I guess the next question is where’s the next book? How soon will this series be finished? It’s a five part adventure collection and this is only the first. Each one, from description, looks to drag the party further and further down the rabbit hole. This is fine if you didn’t have any plans for the characters, but without knowing what levels the other modules are for, it makes setting the characters up more difficult. Outside of the module itself, there are several appendixes to add meat to the campaign. A covers new monsters including Black Circle Demon, Misbegotten Template, and Thresher Demon. B introduces several new magic items like the Claw of N’Threxus, a major artifact, Hood of Mental Anguish, an executioner’s hood, used to interrogate those it’s placed on, the Tarrasque Spike, another major artifact, and the Urn of Elemental Darkness, another major artifact. C covers the Dark Druid Prestige Class, which is actually a variant core class. Several spells are changed and new spells are added to their casting ability, making them more dangerous with more damaging attacks. One of the rules problems comes with the use of the Leadership Feat from the Dungeon Master’s Guide. This feat provides a character the ability to attract followers. Here, the author uses it as some sort of control device over one of the NPCs. In any case, the author should never count on a player having a feat. Another mistake is the Dark Druid itself. The text introduces it as a Prestige Class, but it’s a variant Druid Class. Lack of a table and statements to substitute or change different abilities is annoying and time consuming. If the class is going to be put into the book as an alternative core class, do it the right way. Put a table with the progression of spells, saving throws, and base attack bonuses. List the special abilities. Remove doubt from everyone’s mind. The cover showcases a group of adventurers being attacked by a plant demon. Internal text spacing is fair and art by Brian Swartz is generally of good quality. The editors however, miss several errors in the D20 mechanics that even a person who’s only briefly played should know. The book has one page of advertising. Internal covers are not used. I have issues with the maps. While they’re readable, they aren’t clearly defined and there is no scale for quick listing. Is each of the half-scribbled lines a five foot square or a ten foot square or something else? A personal problem I had with the writing is the constant use of exclamation points and the word Thus. In about 99% of all writing I’ve seen, Thus can be taken out without impacting the sentence too much. So is this module a complete wash then? No. It’s very reasonably priced at $11.99 for 64 pages. It provides the GM some options if he wants to add a quick den of dark, evil druids to his campaign. Such a feature might be perfect for the Scarred Lands, for example, where druids served a wide variety of Titans and weren’t the standard sit back type of druids that many settings have. For those who play in the Erde setting, there is a page of notes on how to incorporate the material into that campaign. Some of the new monsters and magic items are also worth noting and are portable to almost any campaign. In the end, let the buyer beware that there are many bad rules to be found here and some gems to be taken home and spit upon for proper shinning.