GREAT RULES! I LOVED THEM SO I BOUGHT THE HARD COPY BOOK.

This is a great product for the busy GM. I have recently started a starfinder campaign and I had been feeling rather lost as far as planet creation was concerned. After purchasing the Planetarium for Starfinder pdf, I suddenly had over a 100 pages of ideas that I could incorporate into my story, with detailed background on not only the planet, but species that lived on the planet, along with flora and fauna. I am extremely pleased with my purchase.

In the pdf you get: 10 detailed settings complete with unique monsters and environmental hazards that your players may encounter. Lots of plot hooks for each setting to help incorporate the planet into your campaign. More backstory than I would have made for any single setting in my campaign.

While I was initially sceptical of the price, 12 dollars was a fair price in my mind for all of the work that went into creating this product.

These new Character Cards add style and convenience to the Swords & Wizardry Light roleplaying game. Designed for immediate use and insertion into your S&WL sessions, these cards take all of the work out of character generation (which is under normal circumstances simple to begin with) and emphasize the on-the-go quick-play nature of the game. Great for Demos, conventions, and any other first time play experiences. Very handy for the last-minute add-on player, henchman, or NPC. Everything you need to start play is on the cards. The nice touch is that they are full-color and beautiful to boot! Highly recommended for anyone planning to play or run Swords & Wizardry Light.

Another PWYW product (read: free) from Frog God Games supporting Swords & Wizardry Light! Here is another batch of 'horrors' to throw at your S&WL adventurers, featuring a nice array of challege types and difficulties. From beasts, to human combatants, to mythical creatures like the medusa -- Tome of Horrors Light will add new threats and terrors to your games. Compact and beautifully laid out, it works well both as a digital file at the gaming table or as a printed document. The next piece of the expanding S&WL catalogue, ToHL is a must for every GM running this streamined and fast-paced OSR roleplaying game. I can't recommend it enough!

Did you or your kid get more fun out of the empty boxes than the gifts that came inside?

Are you consdered multi-classed because you work two jobs to keep up with the 100-lb sea anchor that is most rpg systems?

Take comfort beleaguered ones, the cavalry has arrived.

Swords and Wizardry Lightl is everything you need for a complete fantasy rpg experience for levels 1-3. Everything, everything, EVERYTHING is on two two-sided notebook sized pages: the four iconic classes with starting kits and spells, weapons, treasure, appropriate foes, and combat rules. Everything works on the roll of a d6 or a d20, so no more sounding like a junk wagon toting all those dice to the table.

Giving SWL as a gift and you don't want to seem cheap? Get the Character cards (beautiful artwork with a player's guide on one side and a character sheet on the other) and the Tome of Horrors Light Volume 1 for whatever you paid for SWL. Want more on-the-fly fantasy goodness? SW Continual Light, going all the way to Level 7, should be out at any time. Want to see the Light shined on other genres? Light City, for Supers, is currently in development and I imagine someone somewhere is working to shine the Light so we can seek out new life and new civilizations in a galaxy far, far away.

After delving through the dungeons of OSR I haven't yet found a treasure hoard more valuable than Swords & Wizardry Light. There are so many riches and gems inside these two pages (four pages when printed and bound together). The simplicity of this system is perfect. There is just enough information for a solid foundation with plenty of room to make it your own.

With this system you get all the information you need to take the four key classes from level one to level three. The four classes are The Fighter, The Cleric, The Magic-User and The Thief. Included are eighteen monsters from the minor foes such as goblins to the mighty foes such as wyverns. A nice mixture of humanoids, undead and monstrous creatures. The combat rules include both ascending armor class and descending armor class.

This system is perfect for both one-shots and long-term campaigns. The rules are simple enough for anyone to pick up and run a game (including my 11-year-old daughter). And it is free so what are you waiting for!?

It pains me to say that I was disappointed with this product. I've been a fan of Bill Webb's product line since the earliest days of Necromancer Games -- but The Sword Of Air (in my opinion) lacks the inherent panache which has traditionally set the Webb stuff apart from all the other old-school offerings based on somebody's homebrew campaign world. Given that the product is not exactly cheap as PDFs go, this is a purchase I personally regret.

For the most part, this product reads like a huge chunk of open-world game content set in Webb's "Lost Lands" campaign world. I say "open world" because while there is a questline in play, the story goes out of its way to provide a broad context (and broad content) for adventuring, rather than leading the players by the nose through pre-scripted steps to the quest objective.

So, the content is definitely there if you enjoy the Necromancer/Frog God style of game world -- there are a lot of pages in this PDF, to be sure -- but there is also an inescapable sense of the product preaching to the converted. If you already like Webb's gameworld, and the publisher's general style of content, then you'll probably like The Sword Of Air -- but there's very little here that stood out as particularly useful to me as someone who runs games, and has to convince others to spend time playing in them.

If I had to "pitch" this product to my players as something I could run for them, I'd be hard-pressed to find a particular aspect of the product which could draw their interest, and make them want to play this instead of something else. Don't get me wrong -- this product contains serviceable content throughout, and there is a lot of it, but we've seen this kind of content before. Sometimes, we've seen it before from Necromancer and Frog God, specifically. So, if you and your players are already huge fans, you'll love this, but it can be a harder sell to those gamers who aren't specifically fans of Webb's line.

The thing which probably disappointed me most in The Sword Of Air was the noticeable drop in production values. Necromancer and Frog God have always been known for having a slick visual style built into their products -- a panache which helps "sell" the adventure to the Dungeon Master, and through him or her, to the players. While the cover of The Sword Of Air is gorgeous, and some of the interior art is definitely up to the company's usual standards, the encounter maps are ... well, "unimpressive" is themost polite term I could use here. I was actually shocked when I first saw these. The overland maps (what few there are) are generally good, though.

So, my opinion -- if you and your players are already big fans of all things Necromancer/Frog God, you'll probably love this, and it will be worth the cost.

If not, though, I'm not sure there's enough unique and noteworthy content in The Sword Of Air to warrant a purchase at the going price. I already know that most of what's here won't be of particular use to any of my own game campaigns.

Call my opinion a Three Out Of Five, then. If you love the company's work, you'll likely love The Sword Of Air too. If you're simply looking for something new and noteworthy, there are probably better, more cost-effective options out there -- some of them from the Necromancer/Frog God product lines themselves.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This GIGANTIC tome clocks in at 795 pages if you take away editorial, ToC, etc.. No, that is NOT a typo. While I was a backer of the kickstarter that made this book, I was in no way involved in the production of this epic tome.

All right, so the introduction tells us a bit of what this is: A take on Norse adventuring, with a healthy dose of the weird, fantastic and sword & sorcery sprinkled in. It should be noted that the 8 pregens from the Player's Guide, as well as the excellent "Winter's Teeth" stand-alone module from the "Long Night of Winter"-series are included in the back of the tome.

Okay, so this massive AP (and before you complain about the price, compare this tome's content with other APs and you'll notice you're actually getting an excellent deal...) is situated within the Northlands of the Lost Lands, and as mentioned in my reviews of Player's Guide and the stand-alone plug-in-module-series, it gets the flavor of the North, what makes the culture work etc. rather well - but unlike in those previously-mentioned tomes, we begin this tome with a massive, mapped and lavishly-detailed sourcebook section that explains the peculiarities of the region not only on a local, but also on a global scale.

As mentioned, one central fixture, theme-wise, would be the blending of the fantastic and the general aesthetics of the sögur with the fantastic, so one should not expect historic analogues in the traditional sense; however, the book is very strict in its adherence to the sense of authenticity it creates. This level of commitment can be found in the modified nomenclature and the pronunciation guidelines provided within this gigantic tome, to just note once example. I wholeheartedly applaud the decision to maintain a Nordic nomenclature instead of butchering the names; the book explains the Umlauts etc. for native speakers of English and dares to assume gamers that actually are smart and interested, dare I say, intelligent. It is one of the aspects that imho too often falls by the wayside nowadays and lends a sense to the book that its readers actually are interested in portraying a concise feeling. That is a big plus, as far as I'm concerned.

The commitment to generating a sense of a believable world is astonishing in its details: From ring-giving to hacksilver as a currency to a concise list of common kennings (hand those out to players!), the flavor generated by the details so lavishly and passionately collected herein, in the end, manage to create a surprisingly respectful and "real" take on the subject matter, putting this tome into the exalted context of the best of the Lost Lands books and their unique vistas.

This never just stoops to a simple reproduction of historic myths, however, - from modifications of the pantheon to minor changes in nomenclature, the Northlands here are always almost like hours, retaining their fantastic nature. And yes, both a massive time-line in the different chronologies found in the Lost Lands, as well as a full pantheon write-up complement this first part of the book. Beyond the class options (which, alas, share the weaknesses I commented on in the review of the Player's Guide) and items, we also receive a collection of magic items - which brings me to another point: The Northlands are intended for gritty and relatively down-to-earth gameplay (15 pt.-buy preferred): As such, magic items are not for sale and rare (YES!) and, as mentioned in the PG, several classes are banned in favor of options that fit with the aesthetic of the North. Once again, I applaud this commitment to the overall vision. Speaking of vision: In this first par of the book, which covers almost 170 pages, we also get a massive gazetteer of the north, with plenty of settlements with full statblocks, overview maps and the like. Moreover, the section contains a rather massive bestiary that includes some seriously cool, fantastic creatures as well as strange fauna - and the critters all get gorgeous b/w-artworks.

But that is not nearly the main meat of this massive section either. Instead, much like in Bard's Gate and similar epic-length tomes by the Frogs, we get an extremely helpful section to bring pretty much any region to life: With random encounters that cover the regular and the weird, strange phenomena and more. Additionally, it should be noted that, by region and theme, adventure hooks are provided by the dozens to bring the respective sections further to life, should the PCs step off the rails.

All right, I know what you've been waiting for...the adventures. Now those of you who have been following this for a while will recall the 4 brief stand-alone Northlands-modules that predated this one and my reviews for them. The lowest-level module clocked, back in the day, in as intended for PCs level 5 - 6, but this saga is made for a whole campaign: As such, we get modules that start at level 1, leading up to those we already know...and then, things go much further. Already played the classic modules? Flashback is the way to go. Seriously. You want to play these.

And at this point, I have come to the section that contains the main meat of the book, the massive campaign of Northlands adventures. It should be noted that the massive amount of maps and handouts amounts to over 150 pages! No, I am not kidding you. This is EXCESSIVELY mapped and better yet - player-friendly maps included FOR ALL OF THEM. That alone is a colossal plus for me. Now, the PCs are intended to be in the employ of the mighty Jarl Olaf Henrikson, jarl of Halfstead and begins in Silvermeade Hall.

As a discussion of the adventures, the following obviously contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion. One more thing: I usually try to go into a lot of details in my discussions of adventures. If I did that here, the review would probably span at least 20 pages, which, even to my rather obsessive mind, would seem like overkill - as such, I will remain relatively brief and sketchy - this should not be taken to mean that the modules are short (or simple) for that matter; it is just a concession to the format of reviewing a single, ridiculously huge tome.

...

..

.

All right, only GMs/referees around? Great!

Kenneth Spencer's first module "Spears in the Ice", begins harmless enough: The PCs are to escort the Jarl's 3 daughters as they gather flowers in their sacred duty to Freyja for the spring rites - and as such, the beginning is a roleplaying-heavy section that can be used to establish dynamics, characters and yes, even a sense of the idyllic - via a number of small events, the shape of things to come are heralded and actions taken are bound to have serious consequences in the future. When a witch puts everyone to sleep and kidnaps the girls, the characters will have to get back their horses and find the girls in a race against time with various routes to save the girls. While the sleeping spell may look problematic in conjunction with e.g. elves, the module actually handles this minor railroad rather admirably.

Part II of this module, similarly a full-length piece, would be the "Wyrd of the Winter King" - herein, the Jarl sets forth upon his mighty ship, the Long Serpent, towards the farthest North. En route, the PCs discover a floating ice palace. Going ashore and surprised by a blizzard, the PCs explore the place to find it being an abode of the cult of dread Althunak - only by defeating this menace can they return successfully to their ship. This would be a rather grim, environment-driven and evocative piece, including dungeon-exploration.

These massive modules out of the way, we receive a fully updated and modified "Vengeance of the Long Serpent" - and yes, the original, alternate lead-in is still here, but no longer necessarily required. The module presents a free-form exploration of Ulnataland, a North Pole-style region of eternal, unremitting ice - and a storm, as is fated, claims the life of Hallbjorn here, the captain, here, allowing the PCs to step up. The exploration of these icy regions may net the PCs a magical weapon and put them, beyond trekking through the tundra, in conflict with the children of Althunak, breaking the grip of this dread cult over the local population.

From here on out, the PCs venture forth "Beyond the Wailing Mountains" to the city of the lord of winter at the lake of frozen screams. Read that sentence again. All things considered, the book manages to constantly generate an atmosphere so thick and almost palpable that you can almost taste the frigid cold, as the PCs cross these regions into the cold to brave a locale incredibly fantastic. If you're like me and love the theme (and employ, like me, a particularly slower-than-slow XP-progression), you may want to check out LotFP's "Weird New World" for a plethora of arctic threats of the most horrid and gruesome variety - particularly if you're playing the OSR-version of this epic! But that just as an aside.

After this, we're off to one of my favorite among the previously stand-alone adventures in the series, "The Death-Curse of Sven Oakenfist", which assumes that the PCs are wintering with Jarl Anud Cursespear, who once slew the legendary reaver and direct descendant of Odin, the blight upon the world called Sven Oakenfist. Unfortunately, he came to his success and riches by the death-curse of said hero and now, as an old man, the wight of the legend returns and barges into the hall of the Jarl to pronounce a final deadline - on the Feast of Freyja, Sven will kill and destroy everything and everyone who swears fealty to Jarl Arnuld. In order to vanquish the wight, the PCs will have to find a way to unravel his mighty death-curse.

Unfortunately, with essentially a divine bloodline, said death-curse will prove to be rather difficult to find even a HINT to unravel. Thankfully, the three utterly mad daughters of one of the norns might provide the answers - if the PCs manage to best their trials. From defeating a unique dragon to save a beautiful maid, to doing (rather dangerous)chores for a matronly lady and defeating an evil crone in a game (when she's cheating, nonetheless!), the trials are worthy of the legendary daughters - hopefully the PCs don't think they can best the mad demi-goddesses in battle...

If they play along with their mad delusions, they are rewarded with cryptic clues that add up to provide the information to kill the legendary wight - each successful trial also decreases the power of the final boss, unraveling some part of his wyrd, thus providing more than one way of finishing this adventure and rewarding PCs who manage to succeed in all tasks. The final showdown in Sven's cairn sees a furious finale, including a potentially fatal collapse and the heroes receive treasures befitting their actions during the adventure.

The next previously released module, "Blood on the Snow", takes place in Estenfird and could be considered to be the first of the modules that puts, as heralded before, the epic component into focus: Unbeknownst to just about all mighty beings, the beast-cult of the demon god Shibauroth has been gathering its strength: Making its adherents rather stupid, but enhancing them into deadly, primitive, cannibalistic killing machines via twisted runes, the cult has risen and seems to follow a surprisingly organized plan. The PC are to travel to the largest settlement, the town of Three Rivers, where local hero Hengrid Donarsdottir has traveled. On their way, they can recruit essentially a small army of undisciplined followers and hirthmen (alas, no Ultimate Campaign-synergy) to help the beleaguered capital of Estenfird.

On their way to Three Rivers, the PCs will have chances to deal with first encounters against the Beast Cult and, via befriending the Great White Stag, potentially even turn an otherwise lethal ambush upon the bestial cultists. In order to reach the city, they'll also have to sneak past the camps of the unorganized cult. Finally, inside the town, the PCs will have a bit of time to get accustomed to the fully mapped and lavishly detailed town before the horns are sounded and the assault begins - depending on the amount of followers the PCs have recruited, the respective monsters get hurt/decimated. Oh boy - the siege is awesome - standing on doomed ground, the PCs will have to combat elementals, badger-sapper-squads and even keep a war-mammoth from breaking the nigh-impregnable gates - all while ice trolls and drakes ravage the town in one of the most concise, superb depictions of a deadly siege I've ever seen.

As the dust settles, the PCs will be in for a shock - the aasimar warrior-maiden has been kidnapped! Thus, the PCs have to enter a haunted marsh and infiltrate the poison-thorned, hedge-labyrinth of a frozen marsh maze in which the beast cult seeks to sacrifice the daughter of Thor himself in order to bring down their deadly beast-god: The finale sees the Pcs storm the ritual and hopefully free Donar's daughter from her bonds - otherwise, the terror has just begun. Oh, and bravery is required here - essentially the final encounter is insanely hard and requires the PCs to focus on their goal of interrupting the ritual - should they succeed, Thor himself will annihilate the beat cult and scourge it from the lands. And while the treasure is rather weak due to the savage nature of the cult, the Aesir don't forget the PCs, as the module concludes with a feasting held by Thor himself to congratulate the PCs - if they succeeded, that is. If they failed, they'll have a CR 22 Thanatotic Titan on their hands and survival chances that are at best slim...

Oh, and just as an aside: These previously released modules have not simply been copied inside: Details have been streamlined and we actually get Ultimate Campaign-compatible MASS COMBAT RULES!!! EFFFIN' YES!!!

After this truly epic and challenging module, we proceed with "Raven Banners over Gatland", penned by both Kenneth Spencer and master of evocative environments Greg A. Vaughan. Situated against a backdrop of a brutal feud between Gats and Hrolfs, the two jarls have tried to fix burned bridges by marrying their children - but, alas, hostilities are flaring up when the bride-to-be vanishes...and soon after, the groom as well. The PCs and surprisingly pragmatic jarls soon find the hand of the dread Jomsvikings in the abduction - in order to prevent the feud from turning into all out warfare (the jarls have to take the opinions of their folks into account, after all!), the PCs will have to board a ship and survive a horrible marine assault by the Jomsvikings and their supernatural allies...and ultimately, they'll need to capture one of their ships to have a chance to infiltrate the notoriously powerful island of these feared raiders.

Only by securing an alliance with the island's supernatural inhabitants and releasing them from the yoke of a powerful, devilbound witch and her creatures, will the PCs have a chance to infiltrate the nigh-impregnable fortress and rescue the two star-crossed lover...whose wyrd may not be so grim, after all! That is, if the PCs can survive encounters with the unique Jomsbeast and horrid, chthonic creatures - and yes, both of the youngsters may well perish - and all has consequences... This module is PHENOMENAL in all the right ways, managing to blend perfectly the aesthetics of the North and classic Sword and Sorcery literature - no mean feat, mind you!

Kevin Wright's "Plague in Trotheim" brings a completely different doom to the PCs - the dreaded Straw Death has fallen upon the city of Trotheim as the (hopefully!) wedding of the two jarl's children is interrupted by Meg Skulsdottir unleashing this horrid plague upon the unwitting population. A horrid pox is unleashed upon the city and the PCs will deal with the consequences of the horrid outbreak throughout this module, allowing a GM to free-form the encounters - here, godi are taken, lillin roam and fire elemental constructs erupt from funeral pyres for a rather apocalyptic overall theme - and only a mystic tree may provide the means to stop to the outbreak. Thus, the PCs need to hexcrawl through the lethal Andøvan mountains and best the tests of Skrymir...and best underworld dragons at the roots of the world and cure the rot that has befallen the roots of Yggrdasil's sapling - and then, Wotan shows up...and with echoes of Ragnarök's promise, the PCs venture back - provided they live through the hazardous trek back.

Kenneth Spencer and Greg A. Vaughan join forces again in "The Return of Hallbjorn", which resounds with the previous modules: Thought dead, the man returns with tales of Nieuland, mirroring the discovery of the new world and sparking a land and trade rush. Unfortunately, the jomsvikings follow to the new world: And yes, the journey is depicted and the colony and the threats encountered are only exacerbated due to the incursions of the jomsvikings - who also provoke the local skraelings into hostility, as unique threats and a strange prophet escalate the proceedings. This section is literally something I haven't seen before - a colonist tale of the conquest of a new world, with a healthy dose of viking and fantastic aesthetics. And the appendix btw. also allows for one or more PCs to take the mantle of the jarl - and the wilderness exploration of these lands sports a great change of pace in its aesthetics, while still remaining true to the themes. Another glorious winner in my book!

Returning to the Northlands, Kevin Wright & Kenneth Spencer depict a module deeply steeped in the culture and taboos of the North - "The Hallburning" deals with the aftermath of the horrid crime of the mordbrand, a murder-burning where a whole hall and all within have been cowardly burned to death - as depicted in one of the glorious short-stories in the Player's Guide. Gundrik Arison, Jarl of the Vestfelmarken, has been killed, but Runa Gundrikswif survived, against all odds, the horrid ordeal. Some of the perpetrators were caught and the Althing pronounced the criminals free to be slaughtered - and the PCs will probably want to eliminate the cowardly murderers...but there is more to this, namely a horrid conspiracy...the hall-burners are patsies...but there would also be the issue of competing adventuring groups on the hunt...and yes, if the PCs are not wary, they may fall to hall-burners themselves - and beyond exploring tin-mines and testing their mettle, they will also find themselves in dire need of speed - all actions have consequences and, in order to bring true justice, the PCs will have to best the jarl in holmgang...but the deities themselves may actually intervene here! And yes, I abbreviated the structure of this surprisingly brainy module rather excessively - this one is LONG.

Based on material by Kenneth Spencer and written by the dream-team Kevin Wright and Greg A. Vaughan, "Daughter of Thunder and Storm", we rejoin the PCs 3 years after they have taken the mantle of Jarldom. Hengrid Donarsdottir has survived (hopefully) Blood on the Snow, though a stand-in exists. In the wake of Hengrid's devastating raid on the Hall of the Hearth Stone, the PCs are summoned, for the daughter of Donar has stolen Kroenarck, the legendary sword of the High Køenig and most sacred artifact of the Northlands. The PCs are to return this sacred blade, but a godi present, in the fits of prophecy, tells them about Hengrid being possessed and fighting the dread entity, beseeching the PCs to save her. The PCs must venture to the Virlik Cliffs, where their old foe Althunak raises his deific head - the entity is planning to usher in the Fumbulwinter to kickstart Ragnarök. Stakes high enough for you? Yeah, we're talking "epic" indeed, as the PCs follow the deific scion, still seeing signs of her struggle against the Lord of Winter - the PCs have to survive the creatures of the wild, the agents of the Lord of Winter and brave the legendary mountain Helgastervän's volcanic tubes, venturing to the gates of hell itself, opened by the sword - to save Donar's daughter, the PCs will have to venture into the Gunningagap and battle for the soul of the divine maiden - and yes, while combat is a means of solving this, we actually have a roleplaying encounter as an epic finale here: Smart PCs will have a significantly easier time, as no less than 5 iterations of this final fight are provided! Kudos indeed!

And there we are. 6 years later, in the final adventure herein, penned by Greg A. Vaughan and based on Kenneth Spencer's material. Levels 16 - 18. High level as can be. "The Broken Shieldwall" builds upon the consequences of the actions in previous modules and if the PCs have done their jobs right, Jarl Ljot Gatson, asks the PCs to raise an army to save his son and grandson from distant Mulstabha, braving the treacherous North Seas as they gather their forces, returning to Trotheim, Estenfird, speaking to the Althing, dealing with jomsvikings once again...and more, the PCs will amass an unprecedented host to lead into bloody battle. The war is on and the PCs will have to lead their campaign and infiltrate the citadel of Jem karteis, where the mysterious, ancient people of daemon-worshiping Huun and their legions prove to be the masterminds behind the plot. With no time and magic power, the PCs will also have to thwart a deadly assassination attempt on the man fated to become High Køenig of all the North...all while routing the forces of one of the most deadly and dangerous nations ever to spread its vile influence over the Lost Lands! And yes, once again, this truly epic, mind-boggling modules pits gigantic armies against each other in the most epic open warfare module I have ever seen - one that also pits the PCs against a titanic, quasi-deific monstrosity that will test their mettle to the breaking point. I have rarely, if ever seen such a fantastic conclusion to a saga.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting, particularly taking the sheer volume of this tome into account, are excellent, particularly considering that builds used herein do employ interesting combinations of creatures and crunch. Kudos to the editors Jeff Harkness, Dawn Fischer and Greg A. Vaughan. Layout by Charles Wright adheres to a printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard and the pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience. If you can, though, you may want to get the massive hardcover - build to last in the tradition of Frog God Games. The artworks deserve special mention: Artem Shukaev, Rowena Aitken, Colin Chan, Tyler Clark, Felipe Gaona, Chris McFann, MKUltra Studios, Terry Pavlet, Blake Wilkie, Brian LeBlanc, David Day, Talon Dunning, Eric Lofgren, Cara Mitten, Nate Pride, Richard Thomas and Tim Truman have created a book that is gorgeous to look at: Many of these artworks are absolutely stunning and incredibly evocative. A precious few artworks of monsters have been used before (which often represent the weaker pieces), but the vast majority (as in: 90%+) is new, original and glorious. The massive tome comes with exquisite amounts of solid maps in b/w, which, while less staggering, map pretty much EVERYTHING. The inclusion of player-friendly, key-less maps is a huge plus as well. The massive tome also sports a really nice full-color poster map of the Northlands on the inside of the back cover - big plus there as well.

The work of three men: Kenneth Spencer, Greg A. Vaughan and Kevin Wright - and it still feels like this one, amazing, whole, legend. The voices of the authors never clash and all is subservient to a shared vision of epic proportions that encompasses what's best about classic sögur, the fantastic and sword and sorcery. This book has managed to blend these potentially disparate elements into an incredibly concise whole. And, as you know by now, I am EXTREMELY particular about "my" North: Scandinavia and the old myths have a very special place in my heart and I'm extremely picky in what's "right."

The authors get it. They show a keen understanding of what works and what doesn't. Unlike a few of the stand-alone modules, none of the modules in this tome even remotely feels like its Northlands aspects are window-dressing: The themes resonate with a poignancy and internal consistence that is frickin' phenomenal and a pure joy to read. Time and again while reading this tome, I put it away. Why? Because I honestly wanted to savor every page. I didn't want it to end. It was one of the tomes I read when a series of frustrating reviews (writing bad reviews sometimes really does a number on me) had demoralized me. I read it when I had a bad day. For half a year, just reading this book has brought me more joy than you can probably fathom. It's that good.

...

While it does not have a linear plot per se, those of you who don't like the sandboxy nature of many Frog God Games books, well, this does deliver the more stringent and sequential sequence you wanted - though frankly, with the epic, multi-year timeframe of the saga, you will very well have a ton of opportunity to run your own material as well or insert other modules.

I am honestly sad to write this review. Why? because it means that the Northlands Saga, at least until I can run its entirety, is over for me. Now, this is not a perfect book: The player-content, as mentioned in my review of the Player's Guide, could be better. And while everything fits perfectly together, while consequences are evident, there could be a bit more repercussions from module to module, as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah, that's about everything I can say that could even be remotely construed to be negative.

The Northlands Saga, even in Frog God Games' canon of exalted adventure books, ranks as one of the best I have read. This gorgeous campaign delivers, with panache and aplomb, on the promise made of a true, Northern campaign, and that without bashing you over the head with Ragnarök. The themes resonate, a zeitgeist of the end-times seems to be slowly gaining traction, but if the PCs excel at their task, they may end this book on a truly heroic note. As an aside: This saga manages to portray high-level adventuring surprisingly well: Will the vast resources, epic armies clashing and ever more global problems, with metaphysical threats etc., the emphasis on roleplaying and the importance of brains is never lost - this is a book for roleplayers indeed. That does not mean, however, that there is not ample, amazing combat to be found herein - quite the contrary! The Northlands Saga manages to perfectly convey the grit and grime of the North, manages to depict, time and again, a harsh land steeped in mythology and horror, yes, but also in tantalizing beauty and wonder. This is not grim, nor is it dark. In a sense, it almost feels like a chronicle of a North that almost was, that could have been in another time, another world.

You know, I was excited for this and afraid at the same time. I am not a wealthy man and supporting a KS like this, for such a big book, is something I can't afford often. I also have a tendency to be very, very skeptical and nitpicky regarding the North. I also am not one of the guys who wants to like every KS I invest in; I am too jaded for that - years of reviewing will do that to you. ;) Supporting the KS for this book was only made possible by pinching pennies left and right for a prolonged period of time. TOTALLY WORTH IT! Worth every single day. I guess it was my wyrd to cave-in and get it -wyrd bið ful aræd.

This is epic and amazing in all the right ways, a thematically incredibly concise, glorious book that, according to my projections, should yield AT LEAST a whole year of gaming, probably multiples. And even if you don't want to run the whole saga, you can easily just extract individual modules - the plus-side of being less driven by an AP-like plot and more by the players and how the PCs interact with their surroundings.

This ranks among the cream of the crop. This book is exalted and a masterpiece that deserves an honored place on my book-shelf. If you're even remotely intrigued by vikings, northern themes, sword and sorcery, gritty gaming or just want a change of pace: You'll be very hard-pressed to find anything better than this magnificent monster.

The Frogs do it again, as far as I'm concerned - this is absolutely phenomenal and worth 5 stars + seal of approval and is a no-brainer candidate for my Top Ten of 2016. Heck, who am I kidding here, seriously? It'll score high on that list!

The one thing that really galls me about this book? It's unlikely that we get Northlands Saga II anytime soon and, even after more than 800 pages of Northlands, I still want more. And yes, I am aware that even now, even after all this praise, I can't properly convey how much I love this tome. Apologies, dear readers...but see for yourself. The North beckons.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

The series "The Long Night of Winter" was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project.

This module is intended for levels 12- 14 and is set in Frog God Games' Lost Lands campaign setting. It can be run in another context/setting without any hassle whatsoever, provided Norse deities exist; its raw content clocks in at 14 pages, if you take away the pdf's editorial, cover, etc..

This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion.

...

..

.

So, Freyja has an issue: Guess what happens when immortal warriors and valkyries get horribly drunk each and every night? Bingo, their capacity for investigative reasoning...well, isn't that developed. And lately, there has been strife among the einherjar, strife that can compromise the readiness for Ragnarök. Worse, souls that come to Valhalla are not yet einherjar before they have completed their feasting...and souls have gone missing. This is a troubling development and hence, the PCs are slipped some sacred mead...and as they slumber, ethereal, translucent forms emerge and manifest in FRICKIN' VALHALLA. These spirit forms are immune to the dazed, exhausted, fatigued, nauseated, sickened and stunned conditions...unless they get voluntarily drunk. Yeah, you may notice that this module does undertake some interesting modifications to the standard rules that make the adventure at once REALLY hard and really easy - It's easy because, upon being reduced below 2/3 of maximum hit points,, you're "flung back" a room via an involuntary teleportation and healed of half current damage and half ability score damage. Slain PCs become specters that can contribute via passive skills and thus help their fellows before fading away - and no PC can truly be slain: Detah just equals waking up, guarded by valkyries, back in the mortal realms.

This makes the characters at once feel like immortal einherjar and really fragile and emphasizes another aspect:

This module, in essence, has satirical angles and could be seen as one prolonged puzzle. You see, einherjar drinking songs and dirty jokes are included and the behavior of valkyries is similarly codified in a concise manner...and the feasthalls of Valhalla, these gigantic edifices, are connected in a linear manner, with relatively few terrain-based obstacles - special note would deserve the vomit/excrement slop-buckets and fire pits, which the PCs should learn to use for tactical advantages- after all, they're treading on the holy ground of their gods!

Their briefing is handled by Brunnaharr, the personal shield-maiden of Freyja...and the einherjar are not particularly cooperative: The PCs, in their interactions with them, have to get the mentality; craven behavior or groveling will get them nowhere - diplomatic aggression may actually be the contradictio in adjecto that best summarizes a valid strategy for success here - after all, the spirit-like shape of the PCs makes them suspicious to the mead-addled minds of the revelers!.

Beyond the social tasks that have to be roleplayed for true success, the PCs will have to e.g. pass Geri and Freki. No, I am not kidding you. And yes, they are brutal. And, once again, yes, killing them is a bad, bad idea. Have I mentioned the hall that has been infiltrated by draugr? Or the chance to interact with none other than Mímir and trade riddles? The encounters, in spite of the identical nature of the festhalls per se, are what makes this module in conjunction with its unique rules for mortals in Valhalla - this is very much a roleplayer's module and each combat herein, to some serious extent, has a tactical angle, feels like a little, unobtrusive puzzle. I love that! Ultimately, the PCs will find agents of Hel, Ganglati and ganglöt, shielded from the eyes of deities and if they manage to best these powerful foes, they may in fact leave this module with a powerful favor of the valkyries!!

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no significant glitches. Layout adheres to a nice two-column b/w-standard and the softcover I have has the glossy cover and high production values I expect from Frog God Games. The interior b/w-artwork is phenomenal, original and deserves the highest praise. Really cool: We not only get a b/w-map, we actually also get player-friendly version!! Big plus there!

Ed Greenwood is a legend for a reason. There. I said it. I am torn on quite a few old-school adventures, but this encapsulates perfectly what makes them work: Surprising amount of detail and a bit tongue-in-cheek, this module highlights aspects of Norse myths that usually are buried beneath hero's pathos. The unique spirit rules reward the PCs at once for their bravery AND emphasize the brains over brawn aspect, which renders the plaiyng of this module a rather unforgettable experience. Now yes, I would have very much preferred different maps for the different feasthalls, but that, ultimately remains a minor hiccup. It's uncanny once you stop and think about it: This module features linear rooms of the same size and general layout; it should be boring and unrewarding.

It's quite the opposite. This is incredibly entertaining, challenging and not for the faint of heart: Sure, PC lives are not at stake, but oh boy does the teleport makes things TOUGH. Unless your players are good at non-conventional problem-solving (read: Not bashing everything's brains in), they'll be in for a world of pain. As they should be. This is funny, challenging, awe-inspiring and epic in the right ways. Well worth 5 stars + seal of approval and one of the modules from the series that I consider a must-have, alongside "Winter's Teeth" and "Oath of the Predator".

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

The series "The Long Night of Winter" was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project.

This module is intended for levels 8- 10 and is set in Frog God Games' Lost Lands campaign setting. It can be run in another context, but I'd honestly wouldn't recommend it this time around.

This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion.

...

..

.

So, the first thing you have to know is that this module does not take place in the Northlands - instead, it takes place in Frog God Games' epic and amazing hub-city Bard's Gate. Not long ago, the longship Sea Bear, captained by Tjorvi Thurgorson, nephew to legendary Hallbjorn Bolverkson (that name made me cringe a bit - son of the bolverk?) arrived - his boisterous nature got him in trouble with none other than Duloth, basically a mover and shaker/Kingpin-style figure in Bard's Gate - untouchable and exceedingly potent. Well, Duloth is not one to let an embarrassment slide...much less being pushed into the canals.

The consequences arrive swiftly: Tjorvi disappears and Rölnut, his second in command, demands him being found in 3 days...or else we'll have a bad, bad escalation on our hands. Whether the PCs are members of Tjorvi's crew or living in Bard's Gate (or both) - they have to find the missing captain. Fast. Even if it means crossing Duloth. Thus, the first part of the adventure is an investigation at the docks of Bard's Gate - which can slowly yield the proper rumors and, provided the PCs don't run afoul of an untimely death at Duloth's men's blades, it'll bring them in contact with what may be considered to be a conspiracy nut..only this time, he's right.

Justin Greenwood guides the PCs towards the entrance to the catacombs in the Old Temple District - and here, the dungeon-crawl begins, for the man who has taken Tjorvi is none other than a vampiric mobile fighter/assassin with horrific skin-masks, a nasty agent named Entrade with ties to the notorious Underguild of vampiric killers first featured in "Liches & Vampires" and updated in "Quests of Doom." Beyond ossuary golems and deadly traps, the berserking temperament of Torvi and trauma he has undergone at the hands of the vampiric torturer represents other challenges the PCs will need to overcome.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no significant glitches. Layout adheres to a nice two-column b/w-standard and the softcover I have has the glossy cover and high production values I expect from Frog God Games. The interior b/w-artwork is phenomenal, original and deserves the highest praise. Really cool: We not only get a b/w-map, we actually also get player-friendly version!! Big plus there!

Casey W. Christofferson delivers a solid little module and I, as a person, really enjoyed it. As a person.

As a reviewer, I am more torn on it. You see, more so than any other module or supplement by Frog God Games, this completely relies on the setting to carry it - in a way, it is fanservice for those who, like me, love the lost lands campaign setting.

The tie-in to the epic Bard's Gate tome is really cool. I loved the tie-in to the Underguild, all the connections with the metropolis...but if you take these away, you arrive at a pretty standard rescue mission with a small dungeon crawl...hat ultimately isn't that remarkable. When run as intended, in the Lost lands, with the HUGE Bard's Gate tome as support, this is amazing.

On its own, however, divorced from the flavor, nods and external local color and detail...it becomes significantly less impressive. Neither the investigation nor the dungeon are really remarkable, both are rather linear and since this was released before the Bard's Gate book, it doesn't make use of the book's great status-mechanics either.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for such nods, tie-ins, for means of making a world fill "whole", concise, real - I love that. But here, it's doesn't sport that much amazing aspects beyond that. What remains is still good, but simply not as remarkable as I've come to expect from Frog God Games and their amazing modules. Try as I might, I can't rate this higher than 3.5 stars. If you're a fan of the Lost Lands, round up. If you don't care for Bard's Gate/don't have it/don't want to run this in the Lost lands, then round down instead. My final verdict will round up due to in dubio pro reo.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

The series "The Long Night of Winter" was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project.

This module is intended for levels 6- 8 and is set in Frog God Games' Lost Lands campaign setting. It can be run in another context/setting without any hassle and its raw content clocks in at 21 pages, if you take away the pdf's editorial, cover, etc..

This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion.

...

..

.

One generation has passed since the final journey of Thorvald the Wanderer, since the fateful day, when he, alongside his long-term companion Ivar, ventured into the deep woods to eliminate the otherworldly darkness that was terrorizing the area. He did not make it out of the woods, though his friend Ivar did - Ivar became the jarl of the village that he named for his friend's sacrifice, Thorvald's Gift. A generation has passed and Ivar's son Bóthvarr has taken the mantle of the jarl - but the horrid darkness has returned. Blood-thirsty beasts are assaulting the settlement once again, the dread sceadugenga are back and have even dragged Ivar from his place - unless the PCs interfere, the hamlet is doomed.

Crafty PCs will smell that there is more afoot here and thus, we get a proper rumor table as well as a rather detailed summary for the hamlet, including NPCs, settlement statblock and copious amounts of read-aloud text - and if the PCs are really good, they may actually find a secret journal of Ivar (represented as a cool one-page handout!), in which he explains the truth: You see, he had been cursed, a lycanthrope seeking a cure - and when he went inside the wood, the dark influence at its heart, the Black oak, took hold of his senses and made him slay his companion. Wracked with guilt, he swore an oath to whatever deity would listen - and a trickster god did...but now, alas, the oath's catch has been triggered and the Black Oak once again grows in power.

Thus, in order to stop the influx of deadly creatures, the PCs will have to embark into the wilds...provided they can repel the assault that is bound to happen at night. The journey into the forest, while not particularly detailed, features random encounters and manages to evoke a rather dire atmosphere, as terrain is more dense, flight not an option and a seemingly immortal beast, Ivar, is tailing them. Here, resource-conservation is already a crucial strategy, for within the dark woods, there lies the tainted, gigantic oak, from which a blood-red sap is flowing. Thorvald's erstwhile companions (and himself) have been perverted in horrible ways and provide lethal foes for the PCs, as they wade into the red liquid to make their way from the roots into the heart of the gigantic tree - where a unique golem and the black heart of the place make for an evocative and dangerous puzzle boss fight in a truly glorious environment.

On their way back, there is only one thing left to do: Slay Ivar, who, full of sorrow, expects to find a warrior's death at the hands of the PCs (and represents yet another way beyond the hostiles) to explain the plot if the PCs botched the investigation - ending the module on a somber note resonating with the morality and pragmatism, but also the heroism of the northlands.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no significant glitches. Layout adheres to a nice two-column b/w-standard and the softcover I have has the glossy cover and high production values I expect from Frog God Games. The interior b/w-artwork is phenomenal, original and deserves the highest praise. Really cool: We not only get a b/w-map, we actually also get player-friendly version!! Big plus there!

James M. Spahn delivers big time here: While easily transported to other environments, this module breathes the spirit and atmosphere of the north. Direct and indirect storytelling weave a narrative of woe and loss, betrayal and redemption against the backdrop of a very challenging and incredibly evocative backdrop. The creatures encountered demand different strategies, reward smart PCs and the immortal hunter stalking the trail of the PCs can generate a sense of horror and allow the GM to challenge even the best of groups and adjust the difficulty of the module. This gets what makes the north tick and its visuals are glorious. It also never feels like it tries to do too much: The evocative environments are all depicted in lavish detail, never falling prey to trying to do too much within the page-count allotted, making this feel very well-rounded. In short, this is a glorious module, well worth 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

The series "The Long Night of Winter" was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project.

This module is intended for levels 9- 11 and is set in the eponymous Northlands of Frog God Games' Lost Lands campaign setting. It does translate well to other fantasy campaign settings, though.

This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion.

...

..

.

There are multiple ways to immortality - founding a great family; becoming a legend, being carried off on the wings of the valkyries to Valhalla - but there is one more way: To be chosen as the progenitor of deific offspring. This module's premise is hence that one of the PCs is approached by a naked lady, clad in only algae and sodden hair and her alfar asrai attendants - and the druidess by the name of Ethlass does bear intriguing news for a PCs of known bravery and renown: One PC has bee chosen as betrothed by a daughter of the goddess Rán and the Jötnar Ægir - none other than Kólga, most beautiful of the deity's offspring. As a sign of the deity's favor, the PC will gain a magical mask denoting him as a suitor and also the legendary face of Kólga, a mask that should make the PC rather inclined to seek out Ethlass' home.

Which is a perfect example of evocative fantasy - a castle of sand that can only be found by the chosen, as the waves forever destroy it with each swelling of the tides, so do legions of crabs reassemble it in a continuous struggle versus the elements. Once the PCs have arrived there, however, they'll probably be...well, surprised. You see, Ethlass has forgotten to mention that the PC in question is not the only suitor. Beyond the PCs, nasty Jarl Unnr and his men have arrived and his boisterous posturing may actually work as a delayed Intimidate - while this is not a standard use of the rules, it makes sense in the social context here - same goes for the Bluffs and Charms attempted by the over-ambitious witch-mother of a less than enthusiastic skald. Oh, and then there are the Bors Brothers, werebears in cognito...and a powerful, lanky giant-blooded ranger with his stone-giant entourage. After the PCs have interacted with these folks and generated alliances or become wary of some of these beings, things take a turn for the worse as Ethlass announces that only the worthy will proceed to the next step - and violence in a nasty free for all ensues, with the exact parameters depending on the PC's actions.

The witch may or may not escape to haunt the PCs later and the same goes for the skald and jarl - but ultimately, we have to hope that the PCs prevail: If they do, Ethlass reveals a rite that provides the aquatic subtype for a limited amount of time - and the Drowned Maiden's Pearl will guide the victorious PCs toward sunken Hjallos - once rewarded by Rán for its devotion by being sunk beneath the waves. It is on the way to this legendary place that the Jarl and survivors may make their final bid to defeat the PCs...but sooner or later, they will have to venture beneath the waves, where a single drop of blood may attract sharks...

En route, the PCs may find the carcass of a gigantic narwhal, punctured by deep coral, a powerful new material introduced here...and brykolokas guarding the place. Indeed, it seems like jealous forces are at work, as sunken Hjallos is further guarded by Deep One Godshuscarls and lethal eyes of the deep, which must be fought in a gigantic sanctum of Rán, as they guard the crystalline coral that houses Kólga.

When the deity finally arrives, her face is breath-taking...as are the others, for the somewhat scatterbrained deity has failed to assume a form more pleasing to puny mortals - so let's hope the PCs can manage to stall tactfully while regaining their composure in the face of something rather uncanny and alien...before the chosen one can be...coerced/persuaded to fulfill his duty, however, the festivities are interrupted by a rather lethal enemy. Turns out that the narwhale carcass was in fact a narwight, undead member of a highly intelligent and long gone race of sentient creatures - previously staked with deep coral. And yes, the module has multiple justifications for the whale to attack. In the furious battle, the roe of Kólga is destroyed, but in "only 100 years" it'll be her time again! And the decidedly alien goddess will be gone - but depending on how the PCs managed their interaction with her, they may have gained a supernatural edge or bane when traveling the oceans wide...though one that may well elicit shudders from the erstwhile chosen...

It should be noted that the narwight-rules provides are pretty cool and flavorful and that the creature's artwork is phenomenal.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no significant glitches. Layout adheres to a nice two-column b/w-standard and the softcover I have has the glossy cover and high production values I expect from Frog God Games. The interior b/w-artwork is phenomenal, original and deserves the highest praise. Really cool: We not only get b/w-maps, we actually also get player-friendly versions!! Big plus there!

Kevin Wright's "The Drowned Maiden" is a weird one: Theme-wise, it is situated somewhere between a myth from the North and a fairy tale for adults à la Hans-Christian Andersen. The atmosphere, let me make that abundantly clear, is amazing: This module conjures truly fantastic vistas forth from the mind's eye and the selection of adversaries and locales are evocative and phenomenal. That being said, I do have two minor issues with the module: Number 1 would be that, apart from the cast of suitors, the Northlands-theme is a bit subdued here, but that's mostly aesthetic. The second one would be a bit more important: We have this amazing second with first the potential of ship-combat and the half under the waves and both primarily use their set-ups as a backdrop: The ship-sequence could have used a tactical map and the underwater combats are very much reliant of the GM to make them shine in 3d-glory - I'd strongly suggest using Alluria Publishing's Cerulean Seas-rules for streams, movement, etc. there. In the hands of a good GM, this can be amazing and it still may be if the players are blown away by the great foe, hilarious reveal and glorious environment - but similarly, this aspect may fall slightly short of what it could have offered in that component. Hence, my final verdict can't go higher than 4.5 stars - if you're confident working a bit with additional rules, then this module can deliver in spades!

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

The series "The Long Night of Winter" was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project.

This module is intended for levels 6- 8 and is set in the eponymous Northlands of Frog God Games' Lost Lands campaign setting. It does translate well to other fantasy campaign settings, though.

This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion.

...

..

.

Going on raids is a crucial part of the viking lifestyle and now, the skald Ake the Lost has returned to the North, last survivor of the proud fleet of Ulf Greymane. The PCs witness the skald's tale, which is a massive almost-1-page exposition-dump, at the local Thing-assembly. As a minor issue here: The skald's trauma makes him kinda come off as not particularly dignified -which is intentional, yes. Still, I couldn't help but feel that the presentation of the story could have been handled more dynamically. Anyway, Ulf's fleet has been vanquished - the Southrons he tried to raid, the Santherans, in their warm, turquoise waters, have seemingly struck an alliance with a kraken!

The PCs are hired by a cowardly, but prosperous landowner, one Fretr Bondason, to accompany him on his Vindurbrottingr to the shores of these folks as part of a retributive fleet. The epic-length journey to these faraway shores is completely glossed over - so, if you're like me and don't simply skip ahead over months of travel, keep those wilderness supplements ready, for the module does not cover the journey at all - which does take away the epic achievement On the plus-side, like the previous "The Long Night of Winter"-module, this is steeped in the lore and culture - though it here mostly pertains the presentation for the GM and how the PCs perceive the world.

As Santhera's secluded bay slowly comes into the sights of the PCs, they'll witness something epic - namely their fleet being attacked by berserking kraken. Yes, plural. They will fight mere tentacles of the epic beasts as their own foes (which is fine by me - in fact, it's how I handle really big critters in my home game as well) -what I'm not that happy with, though, would be that the PCs don't get a chance to pilot the vessel to safety or other meaningful decisions - the combat here could be so epic and amazing and it may play out as such, but the module per se does not make a lot of use of its glorious set-up, at least rules-wise.

Provided the PCs don't get annihilated, they'll make landfall, a few lone survivors, stranded on the shores of a hostile nation - and immediately find themselves struggling to reach a Santheran guard post - the few soldiers there may be easy to deal with, but more forces are approaching - glorious death seems inevitable...until the PCs find a secret tunnel, which leads under the bay, past chthonic traps, into the sunken ruins of the culture that is responsible for the shape of the Santheran island: Under a crystal glass dome, horribly mutated spellcasters are using an ancient artifact below the seas to cloud the mighty minds of the kraken in mating frenzies. And yes, these dread casters sport rules-relevant, twisted mutations, making them fit perfectly with the obvious Sword & Sorcery tropes evoked - in fact, during the combat with these masterminds, the lighthouse ruins below the sea may be torn from the sea, raised up by air pressure and the like, providing a sufficiently epic finale with the threat of death seeming certain.

Speaking of death. Guess who is not amused by being manipulated? Bingo. Turns out that clouding the minds of some of the most deadly beings to come from the monster manual can backfire horribly...if the PCs do their job, they thus won't have to worry about Santherans ever again...

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no significant glitches. Layout adheres to a nice two-column b/w-standard and the softcover I have has the glossy cover and high production values I expect from Frog God Games. The interior b/w-artwork is phenomenal, original and deserves the highest praise. Really cool: We not only get b/w-maps, we actually also get player-friendly versions!! Big plus there!

Jeff Provine's "The Raid" breathes the spirit of classic Sword & Sorcery - it feels like a classic Conan the Barbarian comic: Overwhelming odds, tentacled monsters, ancient, sunken ruins, degenerate magicians - this has all the ingredients that make me smile. At the same time, it does feel very minimalist and suffers from the 16-page page-count more than "Winter's Teeth" - from the glossed-over journey to the landing, there are aspects which feel hurried: I'd have expected some exploration/interrogation/Stealth action on Santheran soil to lead the PCs to the hideout of the mages. As written, it can feel a bit linear and like author's contrivance. Similarly, the epic doom of the fleet demands more detail, as far as I'm concerned. Granted, a capable GM can easily insert these in the module, but I still found myself thinking that this module tries to cram a bit too much into its pages. I also think that this...doesn't really feel like a viking raid, that the Northlands theme could be more pronounced...but all of that should be considered to be minor complaints. If you're looking for a great, if a bit linear sword and sorcery module, then this delivers in spades. My final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded down for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This colossal TOME clocks in at 535 pages of content, 1 page front cover, 2 pages editorial/introduction, 1 page advertisement/product checklist, 3 pages of ToC, 2 pages of SRD, 1 page obituaries, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 524 pages of content.

Yeah, I know. You expected Northlands Saga first. Well, while I was digging through THAT massive tome, I was asked by several people to cover this monster first. So I listened, put Northlands Saga on the back-burner (its review should hit site early 2017) and instead started devouring this massive tome. So consider seeing this first to be basically me listening to the vox populi.

Ahem. Let that page-count sink in. To call this book "enormous" or by any other name than "TOME" in allcaps, does not do it justice.

All right, but frankly, there are enough big city sourcebooks that simply weren't that good. Is Bard's Gate different? Well, we begin with one component often ignored in city sourcebooks, namely the fact that they do not end at the city's wall. Thus, bard's gate, as presented here, does not exist in a vacuum - the valley of the lyre, situated in Frog God Games' Lost Lands, is where we first turn our gaze upon opening this vast book: Within this context, we are introduced to Bard's Gate's suzerainty before getting a recap of technology levels found in the Lost Lands. Beyond the copious amounts of information pertaining unique places and adventuring potential, the book follows the precedence of the Borderland Provinces and the legendary Sword of Air in that it provides a vast array of random encounter tables by area and goes beyond that.

In stunning full color, we receive the local map, both as part of the over-arcing region and in a more detailed, iteration - from the valley of shrines and the region first featured in the by now legendary Tom of Abysthor (available for PFRPG in the Stoneheart Valley-book) we move towards the mining operations of the vast metropolis, learn about entrances to the underworld, abandoned villages now held by gnolls and barrows containing unique undead barbarians. Forests that are haunted by undead treants, the fully mapped citadel of griffons (and yes, other citadels have different maps) - there is ample of adventure to be found beyond the confines of the city.

It is only natural, then, to assume that the place obviously features more than a few individuals to defend its interests. From the lyreguard (Harpers, anyone?) to more mundane agents of law enforcement, navy, etc. to the various guilds, the book proceeds to acquaint us with the power players of the region: From coopers and shipwrights to solicitors and barristers and wheelwrights, the attention to detail provided is impressive; more impressive than the level of detail, though, at least for me, would be the fact that even these seemingly mundane organizations maintain a density of adventuring potential and story hooks that adds perfectly to the general notion of a world wherein the downfall of society's structures may be one adventuring group failing away. In the time-honored words: "Evil watches, evil waits. Goodness stumbles, evil takes."

This is not supposed to mean that this is a grimdark supplement; quite the contrary. It just means that there is enough for adventurers of all level to do. If you, for example, have been intrigued by the underguild, first featured in "Vampires & Liches" and updated to contemporary systems in "Quests of Doom I", then you'd be in the right place.

It should also be noted that this book, in spite of its copious level of detail, is very much cognizant of recent developments in the game: We can find, for example kinteicists or similar classes among the numerous NPC-builds. Similarly, from masked guilds of assassins to an order of female paladins, plenty of beings with whom to interact.

Now, as you may have noted if you've been following my reviews for some time, you'll notice a certain proclivity for details, for politics and intrigue: Well, rest assured that notes on the latter components indeed are provided and should keep groups busy for pretty much any time-frame you wish. More important in an age wherein kingdom building, downtime rules and the like exist, would be the fact that the pdf actually provides property values and taxes by district - including costs of upkeep! I absolutely adore this often-neglected component that no other city sourcebook, at least none I have recently read, covered in this way.

Speaking of aspects that made the simulationalist GM in me smile from ear to ear and jump up i my chair: Know how I commented on The Lost Lands in the Borderland Provinces books as a region that felt more plausible, more believable than in pretty much any other setting I had encountered in a while? Well, there was one aspect so far only Midgard got right (though it could have been emphasized more) - in earlier ages, social class was significantly more important than even today. Well, this book acknowledges a great catalyst of both adventuring and roleplaying and provides DETAILED rules for determining social class and wealth: Beyond class, race and ethnicity as determinants, rules for gossip, drops for in- and decreases in social status make for an amazing section, also since starting attitudes are determined by class - so yes, in this book and the Lost Lands in general, there may actually be a good reason to send the rogue to deal with the homeless, the paladin to deal with royalty. This may not sound like much, but I've been playing with my own homebrew social class rules and they have been a superb catalyst for roleplaying.

But this is a city sourcebook, in spite of the copious coverage of material beyond the city: As such, it should be noted that each and every district of the city can be found within these pages: From the tent city and stable row to the market district, each of the districts not only provides statblocks for local beings and notes on remarkable places alongside detailed maps of the respective environments, we also receive notes on local characteristics.

Beyond the glorious full-color artworks of the respective chapters depicting the districts, it ultimately would be the people that populate the city of Bard's Gate that render it evocative: From strange mages to notorious doppelgangers, the city presents a strange amalgam of mythological resonance and the fantastic established within the canon of the world: From the pied piper myth to the shapeshifting Grandfather; numerous fully mapped temples (including bacchae) , vampire hunters on the run...there are so many fully statted NPCs and hooks within this tome that even attempting to list them all would frankly be an exercise in futility. Just rest assured that, no matter your preferred themes, chances are you'll find their representation within the pages of this book.

The city, though, is something else: It can be read, provided you know where to look, as Frog God Games' love letter to the amazing community that supports the company, that supports the hobby: If you know where to look, you'll not only find the names of publishers and authors herein; you'll also find Tenkar's Tavern, the amazing old-school site's representation here. And yes, a humble medium that, coincidentally shares some traits with yours truly, can also be found within these pages. I won't lie - reading that entry was indeed humbling. To be immortalized in a book of this caliber is indeed amazing. (So yes, if you ever wanted to kill me by proxy in your game - there you go!)

More than 20 pages of NPCs, from the general to the specific, are featured in the first of the appendices, only to be followed by exceedingly detailed random encounter charts (including charts to determine attitudes of drunken folks!). New magic items galore as well as the spider domain and its associated spells add further material for those of us craving crunch. Speaking of which: Beggar NPC-class, baby! Oh, and a killer PrC, the disciple of orcus archetye and two racial variants can be found herein: The street dwarf and the wood elf. Both races are well-crafted, though the absence of age, height and weight tables for them constitutes one of the few gripes I could field against this book.

Even after all of that, we have barely reached page 387 - so what do we get beyond that? Well, adventures, obviously! And I'm not talking about the usual half-assed back-of-a-setting-book modules...after all, this is Frog God Games we're talking about. We're also not talking about 1 module...we're talking about 7.

All right, since to cover these, I need to go into SPOILER-territory, from here on out, I'd ask potential players to jump to the conclusion.

...

..

.

All right, the first one would be Crommlen's Ghosts, intended for characters level 1 - 3 and is about a mysterious group of raiders harassing the tent city district of the city, doubling basically as a means of introducing the PCs to the region. Via various rumors and interaction and, ultimately, their brawn, the PCs will have to deal with these dread raiders in an old salt mine...and in the course of events unearth the leitmotif of "all evil needs to triumph is ignorance/a lack of empathy."

A matter of faith, intended for characters level 3 - 6, puts the PCs on a trail of missing kids from the poorer sections of town, and in the process of the investigation, confronts them with the vast evil of a horrid child-slave-ring that needs to be purged...but how to go about said business? The schism between factions of an otherwise good church can potentially lead to a whole campaign worth of follow-up material. Have I mentioned that Dropsy the clown makes one of the most disturbing villains I've seen in a while or the cool gondola chase?

"The Over and the Under" would be a change of pace from politics and social issues. Intended for 5th to 7th level PCs, the adventure is basically a heist that is surprisingly well-structured regarding its preparation options; think of this basically as Ocean's 11 in a fantasy casino. Yes, I liked that...and, if you want to, you can make that also a nice module to send the PCs off to riches beyond belief (read: untimely deaths) in Rappan Athuk.

At the same level-range, we receive a cat-and-mouse themed module that centers around retrieving a magic item and sewer/tunnel-crawling as well as rescuing a captured priest of Bast...which coincidentally means that it would also fit pretty much perfectly within the Southlands-context, but that as an aside.

A fully-depicted black market basement would be up next (it doubles as basically a mini-module, if you choose to run it as such), before the level 8 Gnoll Fortress follows up on the gnoll raiding party featured in "The Stoneheart Valley" and gives them their proper due: And do NOT believe that these threats will be easy to eliminate: A lot of individuals sport class levels and with ettins etc. included in the mix, dealing with this constant threat to the region is most assuredly a task that will not come easy to the PCs.

"The Hidden Huscarl", for characters level 8 - 10, would be an amazing bridge from the city of Bard's Gate to the frigid regions of the Northlands Saga. The module focuses on finding a missing Northlander captain, who has crossed a powerful crime lord of the city...promptly dropping the man in his personal oubliette, a dungeon wherein not only ossuary golems, but also a vampire torturer need to be bested to win the freedom of the missing captain. (Which, coincidentally, also puts them on decent terms with a powerful jarl...)

"Slip-Gallows Abbey", intended for 10th+ level characters, deals with the exploration of the eponymous place: The result, among other things of the hubris of mortals believing they'd be capable of screwing over the dread entities of the city of brass, it is a highly-lethal dungeon-crawl through the cursed and shadow themed place.

Now the maps of this book deserve special mention: Full-color and gorgeous, they come with regular and key-less, player-friendly iterations of both the massive city, its environments, AND the locales featured in the city's write-up and the modules, providing maximum usefulness to the city and its environments.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are truly impressive for a book of this size - there is neither an accumulation of typos or the like, not an excess of rules/formatting hiccups to be found here. The book is precisely crafted. Layout adheres to a neat 2column full-color standard that manages to cram a metric ton of text upon each page: This book, in a less efficient layout, could have doubled in size. So yeah, there is A LOT in this book. The artworks provided for the tome are gorgeous and full-color...and yes, they are original pieces. While a few are used more than once herein, I am certainly not going to complain in the aesthetics department, particularly considering the HUGE amount of absolutely stunning full-color maps. Speaking of which: While I couldn't afford backing this massive beast of a book, I do believe that the colossal map of the city in print out to be something to look forward to. I wouldn't comment on the print copy since I do not have it in the case of any other publisher. However, Frog God Games have, at this point established that their massive hardcovers stand the test of time by virtue of their quality. So yeah...if in doubt, I'd try to go for that version.

Casey Christofferson, Matthew J. Finch, Skeeter Green and Greg A. Vaughan, with additional material by James M. Spahn, deliver something that exceeded my expectations by a long haul. Let me elaborate:

3.X was, among many unpleasant things, also the golden age of amazing city source-books: With particularly the scarred lands delivering some of my favorite places ever and with the Iron Kingdoms Great City, Ptolus and Freeport adding to the fray, I still count quite a few of the cities from that age among my favorites. Paizo has equally done an amazing job of crafting evocative, unique settlements since. However...as much as I love Necromancer Games, the original 3.X Bard's Gate will never be a book I fondly remember. It should have been a milestone and featured the worst editing of the NG-era, felt disparate and confused and lacked a cohesive, unique identity. It is a book I buried deep within the confines of my collection and never looked fondly upon.

This obviously meant that I could have been more excited to t review this book. To be quite honest, it is only my faith in Frog God Games that made me give this a go in the first place. After showing with the excellent Borderland Provinces books that the cadre of authors and designers can craft superb sourcebooks, I felt a glimmer of hope for this supposed lynchpin of the Lost Lands, hoped that it would finally bring justice to this massive city. The sheer scope of this book is frankly daunting; the fact that it actually manages to be that lynchpin, however, is what makes it amazing: This is the central puzzle piece around which the other aspects, all the extensive canon, is situated around...and it FEELS like it: From the humble small modules to the classics, from the old to the new, Bard's Gate manages, with almost encyclopedic aplomb, to connect a vast network of narrative threads and weave them into a cohesive whole that doubles as a compelling, meticulously planned city.

More importantly, it is now actually a place the PCs will want to protect: There is everything to be found and gained within bard's gate, everything to be lost as well. It can be a glorious place and a hell-hole at the same time and ultimately feels like an organic, breathing entity of a city you could wander through, managing to bring an attention to detail and a diversity of scopes from the mundane to the epic to the table that makes it a milestone of a city. Bard's Gate isn't a weird city, though it features such themes; it is not a grim city, though it can be. It is both decidedly fantastic and down to earth at the same time and manages to convey a sense of historicity you won't find in most fantastic metropolises. In short: This book's existence makes the previous iteration of the book as obsolete as humanly possible and doubles as one of the most compelling city sourcebooks I have read for PFRPG. The only other city sourcebook which has, by virtue of page-count, even the remotest chance of standing up to this juggernaut would be Freeport and I don't have that book since its first PFRPG-foray back in the day disappointed me.

In short: Bard's Gate stands very much as a class of its own, with in particular the acknowledgment of social classes being one of my favorite aspects within. Add to that the great prose, the winking love letters to the community and the creative, challenging modules and we have a book that oozes passion and heart's blood from every page. It should come as no surprise, then, that I consider this to be one fantastic tome, well worth of 5 stars + seal of approval as well as a candidate for my Top Ten of 2016.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

The series "The Long Night of Winter" was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project.

This module is intended for levels 6- 8 and is set in the eponymous Northlands of Frog God Games' Lost Lands campaign setting. It does translate well to other fantasy campaign settings, though. Minus editorial etc., we are left with 13 pages here, just fyi.

This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion.

...

..

.

All right, still here? Great! So, the PCs, on an epic binge, have inadvertently accepted the hospitality of Jarl Anbjorn Olefson, who has invited them to stay a couple of nights - thus the PCs have sailed towards the isolated homestead of the jarl into the bay that holds his meager holdings. It should be noted that the read-aloud text provided in this module manages to perfectly encapsulate the atmosphere of the North - as does the text. It's small things, really, but an easily decipherable kenning here and there really helps drive home the flavor.

Now, if you expected an intrigue/standard module, then you'd be wrong - in fact, this module would perfectly work in our very own world when used e.g. with LotFP or similar old-school rules. Why? Because, in a nut-shell, this module is viking survival horror.

...see, if I had read that in a review, I would have clicked "buy" so fast, my keyboard would be smoldering. Want to know more? All right, all right...So, remember in my review of the Player's Guide, where I commented on the fact that the guide explained the realities of life pretty well? The settlement of the jarl once exemplified this reality - very rural, secluded, with a couple of farms...and now all is ruins. Trails of gruesome carnage can be found as the PCs investigate the jarl's holdings and surrounding area: Signs of cowardice can be unearthed and the gruesome massacre and hints about the nature of the doom that befell his lands are slowly, but surely unearthed as the PCs gather the survivors, all of which come with detailed information and background regarding the attacks.

You see, the jarl's bearsarker has succumbed to the dread curse of the slåtten, consumed by the power that granted him his strength - now, an inhuman monstrosity bent on total destruction of the survivors, only a precious few have managed to survive - but e.g. a small girl may once, so wyrd wills it, become a fearsome champion...provided the PCs can defeat the monstrosity. In order to do so, they'll be hard-pressed: Even an optimized group will, provided the 15-pt-buy suggestion of northlands is heeded, will need the added strength and help the NPC-survivors can provide. Furthermore, careful observation may clue the PCs in on crucial weaknesses of the monster they can exploit to even the playing field - from a specific moss to a certain...respect towards specific beings, these angles can provided the crucial help they'll need...for the monster clocks in at a mighty CR 12! (And yes, this may well entail making friends with yetis that have suffered at teh hands of the monster!)

(And no, I am not spoiling what those are - suffice to say, this module runs pretty much like how I tend to write such scenarios - it rewards brains over brawns and is lethal.)

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no significant glitches. Layout adheres to a nice two-column b/w-standard and the softcover I have has the glossy cover and high production values I expect from Frog God Games. The interior b/w-artwork is phenomenal, original and deserves the highest praise. Really cool: We not only get b/w-maps, we actually also get player-friendly versions!! Big plus there!

I know, I know. I tend to gravitate towards complex modules with a lot of plots, stuff to do, detail, etc. I tend to like material that is on the high-complexity side of things. Kenneth Spencer's "Winter's Teeth" is pretty much the opposite - it is really, really simple. And it is GORGEOUS. The atmosphere the prose evokes is incredible; the execution of the per se simple plot is precise, to the point and amazing. Heck, you could run this in LotFP, dark ages CoC or similar environments and it'd still work. This is very much an "atomic" scenario in that it highlights that you don't need something structurally fancy all the time - all you need is a sharp pen, a gift for story-telling and there you go. In spite of my own preferences, I found myself completely engrossed in this module; in spite of it mirroring pretty much my own adventure-crafting style on a base level, I found myself incapable of putting it away. Its writing is simply that good.

Oh, and it plays better than it reads, at least if your PCs are smart. If not...well, then start prepping those obituaries... In short: Winter's Teeth is a superb example of what you can do with a small module. It is inspired, evocative and well worth a final verdict of 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.