The Arduin Grimoire Series
Dave Hargrave’s Arduin Grimoire series has been around since 1976, arguably representing the first unofficial line of third-party AD&D supplements ever. From its initial inception, the purchasing public has been deeply divided over the Arduin Grimoire series, some people hailing it as the work of a genius and others dismissing it as a set of third rate house rules. Despite this divide, the series has endured on the open market for more than twenty-nine years, undergoing multiple revisions, three printings and spawning two complete game systems of its own - love it or hate it, one can’t deny that the Arduin Grimoire series is doing something right.
Arduin Grimoire IV: The Lost Grimoire
The fourth book in the Arduin Grimoire series, The Lost Grimoire provides a wealth of information culled from Dave Hargrove’s infamous Arduin campaign setting - from basic advice for the Game Master to new creatures, spells, set pieces, and more. Primarily written for Game Masters and players of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons or The Arduin Adventure, The Lost Grimoire has quite a bit to offer those individuals who prefer other game systems, as well.
Production Values
Weighing in it at 148 pages of content, The Lost Grimoire is a digest-sized, soft-cover, book that sports black and white line drawings of a bustling city on both the front and back covers. The cover art in question is the work of Roland Brown and, although it lacks the polish of artwork in (or on, as the case may be) most modern role playing games, it is certainly evocative of old school fantasy gaming and the baroque atmosphere for which Arduin is well known.
The interior artwork is of a similar quality to that seen on the covers, also rendered in black and white, and also evoking that ‘old school’ feel. The layout leaves a lot to be desired.- in addition to switching font sizes seemingly at random (there are some shifts between 8pt. and 10pt. fonts throughout the book), the single column presentation doesn’t bleed from one page to the next in many places, leaving large margins of unused white space at the bottom of many pages.
Overall, I’m not very impressed with the layout, but that’s really not what I buy role playing products for. If polished layout is something that you purchase role playing products for, you may want to weigh The Lost Grimoire’s poor layout against the actual content that it has to offer before you decide to purchase it.
Product Content
Although the organization of the content in The Lost Grimoire leaves something to be desired, I can’t rightfully hold this against the folks at Emperor’s Choice, as it is is, in fact, a reprint of a product originally hand-typed on a Smith Corona. I suspect that the organization was left unchanged from the original product specifically to preserve some of that product’s atmospheric nuances (which it does).
As to the content itself, its utility depends largely upon what kind of game you play (or are looking to play), as well as the themes that you enjoy exploring in your campaigns. As a fan of both old school fantasy gaming and older editions of D&D, I found that The Lost Grimoire has a lot to offer folks like me. If you like those things, too, I suspect that you’ll enjoy The Lost Grimoire.
The Game Master Advice
The Game Master advice in The Lost Grimoire is divided up into seven different sections spread throughout the book. All of the Game Master advice can be applied to a number of different game systems and, in fact, the book opens specifically with a section of advice designed to assist the Game Master in doing just that.
The first section of Game Master advice will be of use to all readers of the Grimoire, and is entitled Integration of Arduin Rules in Other Role Playing Systems. While not a step by step conversion guide, this the advice offered here covers the Grimoire’s design philosophy and offers suggestions on how the Grimoire rules options can be shaped with that same philosophy to work with other game systems (including AD&D).
The second section of Gam Master advice specifically tackled the topic of what a role playing game is and how it can be best explained to hobby newcomers. It’s worth noting that Mr. Hargrave doesn’t default to the “Let’s pretend with rules!” explanation that has been prevalent throughout our hobby’s history, but rather, as a “free style” cooperative gaming experience.
The following section of advice for the Game Master offers tips to overcome the pitfalls of “system hopping” (i.e., introducing players of one system to a new system) and some good basic rules for making a game session more enjoyable for everybody. In point of fact, this sections reads a lot like a primer for new Game Masters and I think that it can offer a lot in that capacity.
The next two pieces of Game Master advice in the Lost Grimoire provide short check lists for creating believable monster and dungeon ecologies, topics often left completely to the imagination in many other systems. Even as a seasoned veteran of role playing, these lists have provided me some serious food for thought the next time that I map out a dungeon.
Finally, the last two sections of advice for the Game Master offers some ‘tricks’ that the Game Master can use to frustrate players. While this kind of game mastering isn’t something that I personally condone, I know that a great many people build entire groups around the ‘GM vs Players’ paradigm. For such people, these tricks will undoubtedly prove an invaluable resource.
Magical Options
The Lost Grimoire offers a plethora of new options for magic, from a very flexible system of classifying spell users to a table of magical fumbles reminiscent of the infamous Arduin ‘critical’ tables. There are five sections of the Grimoire dedicated to such discussion as outlined below.
The first section of the Grimoire devoted to the discussion of magical things presents the aforementioned system of classifying spell users. Similar to the system of ‘schools’ implemented in later AD&D products, albeit slightly more open, this classification system can be applied to any game system that utilizes spell lists.
The following magical option in the Lost Grimoire is the Advanced Magickal Phumble Chart, a nasty random assortment of magical mishaps that may befall a spell caster who unsuccessfully attempts to invoke arcane powers. While it is better suited for use with a skill-based system of casting, there’s no reason that it can’t be adapted for use with ‘fire and forget’ systems.
The third magical option is another chart, the Random Magical Matrix, which is essentially a random encounter chart for unusual spell effects. While it is a very neat idea, it’s a bit too short to be of much use in an extended campaign (it can, of course, be expanded upon by an inventive Game Master).
Finally, the remaining two sections of the Lost Grimoire devoted to things magical in nature present arcane and divine spells, respectively. There are a total of twenty-six new Arduinian wizard spells and fourteen new Arduinian priest spells found herein. Do not miss the entry for Aldone’s Spell of Withered Manhood, as it is especially evocative of that ‘Arduin atmosphere’ ;)
Character Options
While it composes the smallest portion of the Lost Grimoire, there are some options set aside specifically for the player in the form of new character races. Herein you will find write-ups for Froglings (i.e., frog folk), Red Dwarves, and Tzikki (i.e., ant people). While the stats presented for each of these character races are presented for use with The Arduin Adventure, the nature of that system makes converting these stats to be used with AD&D or other systems a simple endeavor.
It is worth noting that Red Dwarves are ill-intentioned, nasty, little people who suffer from numerous moral detriments that range from an unbridled jealousy of those who are ‘better off’ than they are ( a jealousy bordering on hatred) to a murderously short temper. In short, they’re effectively the antithesis of the typical AD&D Dwarves. I think that they may make interesting NPCs, but I can’t see them being anything but a problem as members of a PC party.
Arduin Shopping Lists
There are several lists of items indigenous to the Arduin setting contained in the Lost Grimoire. While culled from Mr. Hargrave’s Arduin campaign, these items will be just at home in many an AD&D or Castles & Crusades campaign. The breakdown of items presented in the Grimoire is as outlined directly below.
First, you have an assortment of seventeen unique magical items, most of which are weapons and many of which arguably qualify for the status of ‘minor artifact’ (such as the intelligent dagger “Coffin Nail”). If you’re a fan of products such as 17 Magic Rings or TSR’s Treasure Chest, you’ll certainly enjoy some of the items presented herein.
The second list of Arduinian items presented in the Lost Grimoire is that of potions, salves, and other alchemical concoctions. Like the preceding list of magical weapons and other items, this list of alchemical goods can be used to shake up an otherwise mundane campaign by introducing a little bit of Arduin into you own setting.
The following selection of Arduin goods is a bit more mundane than the previous two lists, focusing on the notable potables (i.e., beverages) of the setting. Tired of ordering nothing but “Ale, please!” at the local inn? Order up a glass of Eight Legs Liqueur (mad from freshly squeezed Myrkwood Spyders) or White Warg Vodkha (a dwarven favorite).
Finally, the Lost Grimoire rounds out this body of options with a detailed write-up of Dirty Dorg’s, a black market dining establishment that will literally hunt down and serve up anything that you request, provided that you can pay the price. While a full menu is presented here, I can easily see the establishment itself serve as the cornerstone of an entire campaign, with the PCs serving as intrepid ‘filed chefs’, hunting down exotic entrees for their setting’s corrupt upper class.
Monsters
No general purpose role playing supplement would be complete without serving up some monsters, and the Lost Grimoire is no exception. Included here are twenty-five new monsters, each of which is fully statted up for use with The Arduin Adventure, but which can easily be converted for use with other game systems, such as AD&D, D&D, or Castles and Crusades.
Of special note here is the Falkynor. This “Luck Dragon” is an obvious adaptation of Michael Ende’s luck dragon of similar name from The Neverending Story. Despite not being at all original, the inclusion of the Falkynor really brought back a flood of nostalgic memory for me and, thus, was a welcome addition to the array of otherwise nasty creatures.
Setting Information
On top of everything else that the Lost Grimoire offers up, it also presents a brief overview of Arduin’s fifteen month calendar and all of the country’s important holidays, as well as a brief excerpt from the World Book of Khaas that details the nation of Hyrkhalla (this latter information is, of course, a new addition to the Lost Grimoire - it didn’t appear in previous printings).
This small bit of setting information can conceivably serve as the jumping off point for a proper Khassian campaign (i.e., a campaign set on the same planet as Arduin) and can be expanded upon by purchasing either other volumes in the Arduin Grimoire series, incorporating adventure modules from other game systems, or creating your own material to supplement it.
The Final Verdict
If the lack of efficient and aesthetically pleasing layout is a deal breaker for you when purchasing role playing supplements, you’ll probably want to steer clear of the Lost Grimoire. Otherwise, if you like old school fantasy adventure or have a love of older game systems, I think that you’ll be pleased with what the Lost Grimoire has to offer you. Really, given the low price of $10.99, I think that the book is a great deal, despite the layout issues.
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Comped Capsule Review
James D. Hargrove
March 10, 2006
Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)
A blast from the past, the Arduin Grimoire series still delivers after more than twenty-nine years on the market.
James D. Hargrove has written 10 reviews, with average style of 3.30 and average substance of 3.60. The reviewer's previous review was of Epic Role Playing (Rules Manual). This review has been read 2425 times. |
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