Bram Blackfeather's page

I'm the first to say 'caveat emptor,' but this product really let me down. First, the ads in Dungeon and Dragon really do look like a hardcover, done with that sort of faux leather cover, and second, the ad says 'actual size' - and it's off by about half an inch.

The book is quite small - and the pages are full of blocked forms, which means unless you write tiny, you're not going to have fun filling this book in. Other reviews pointed out other issues (I think I'm lucky in that I didn't get a book with a bad binding), but for me the two issues are definitely those: too small, and it really just doesn't look like the ad at all. The product description said 'leatherette' but didn't mention a soft-cover binding.

I ordered this nearly two years ago, as well, so the wait time vs the arrival might have effected the overall let-down sensation.

The idea was very sound, the result was just too small.

Admit it, you've always wanted to be Belkar, or Haley, or Elan at the table. Now you can - and find your own little balance between "self-interested psychologically unstable" and "contractually obligated to work as a team." Basically, every time you play this game, the cards form a new dungeon that the Order of the Stick explores, facing such unforgettable monsters as the 'Forgettable Goblin' and even the Linear Guild (individually, or stacked). With priceless loot (including some of Belkar's faves, like, 'String of Ears' and 'Someone's Kidney') that you can dangle to attempt to gain help from other players, and your characters patented schticks (including Roy's 'Great Cleavage') this game is for you! Or really, it's for you and at least one other person you can stand. Seriously funny, and a lot of fun to play.

Issue 100 of Dungeon has a lot in it: the Critical threats, four adventures - including the ultimate finishing touch on the notion of a Githyanki "Incursion" campaign. For sheer size and content, I grant three stars.

But unfortunately, one of the four adventures is quite messed up. "Old Embers Never Die," is a two-part adventure that doesn't work. One the one hand, the maps are missing information or incorrect ('Guardians of the Pond' is missing half the information; 'Lake Haven' has an F6 that's never discussed, F5 is mislabeled, and there's a bridge on the map - but not in the text; a trap inside 'Flame's Lair' relies on knowing where a shaded area is - but there isn't a shaded area, and so on).

And on a challenge level, even fixing the map issues and trying to figure out what was supposed to really be where, in both halves of the adventure, the damage output just outright slays every adventuring band I've ever put through the adventure, despite precautions.

While, with a re-write and a bit of working of the maps, we found a way to make "Old Embers Never Die," work, it really wasn't functional as written. It's unfortunate, as Collins is usually an author I keep tabs on - don't let this adventure be your benchmark for him.