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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Background information, review, and corrections,
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This review is from: Adventures in High Fantasy (Paperback)
This is the second volume of the second edition of the core rule books for the High Fantasy game.
It is composed of three small adventures (Fortress Ellendar, Moorguard, Terra Ash) and rules for doing battles in the game (Lords of Conquest). The game was pretty good for its time, though like the rest, it should be revised to match improvements in game design and doing some corrections. Notes for this are in this article. ----- Fortress Ellendar. Please see the review for "Fortress Ellendar" which is when it was made for the first edition of the game. That review also contains information about this version as well. ----- Moorguard. Please see the review for "Moorguard" which is when it was made for the first edition of the game. That review also contains information about this version as well. ----- Terra Ash. This is an adventure where the player character group is given a mission to retrieve a magic weapon from buried temple, but they soon encounter treachery and strange events beyond a retrieval mission. This adventure introduces the concepts of: gladiatorial combat and arenas, magic potion-like substances (comparable to alchemical substances), a religion of an agricultural goddess (Tatria) though only heretical fanatics here, some unusual magic items, some unusual alchemical items (like androids), traps, magics, etc. It has been implied in various writings for High Fantasy, that unusual technologies can be considered by the Judge to be governed by rules as being similar to potions, with Innate being used like Armorers or Healers for doing repairs and possibly other effects. While it is okay as a "tournament" style adventure, the Judge would need to do a bit of work to fit into a larger game world and revising it to make it better. It will be necessary to locate the time period and location of "Temple Tatria" itself on the continental map that appears in a later High Fantasy product and does not contradict other sources. It was supposedly one of the main temples to the goddess Tatria in a powerful agricultural empire until a volcanic eruption covered it over a few centuries ago (sometime in the late Second Age). In a later product, it is mentioned that Tatria is also worshipped in Irliss (though it is dying out). Since Nautpolis had its own powerful empire during the Second Age and there was another brief powerful empire around the Dehysic Canyon, I suggest the temple be located somewhere in the North-Westernmost mountain areas of the continental map with the exit being in one of the valleys (West of Irliss, assuming that the mountains were the volcanoes that erupted). Comments on the layout of former temple will be given later. The present time for "Hero's Den" is a bit difficult as most of the products are apparently loosely in chronological order though with the other products it would seem that this is during the time that the Eastern Empire is subjugating the Western City-States and how "Hero's Den" manages to retain its apparent independence (given that it needed to hire a mercenary force to deal with assassin group turf war) and maintain its business (as it relies on nobles and various rich people to survive economically). Note that the mercenary force numbers "only" 50 which is significantly more than most adventuring groups, but is very small compared to most organized units in High Fantasy (generally several hundred each with multiple units acting together in a single battlefield). There is also the matter of how far its customers would be willing to travel (say one weeks travel on horseback at 210 miles for both nobles and rich merchants). Such a business would also needs a lot of support around or near it that is likely to be a town and there is at least one gold dragon cave at a distance a drunk can walk away from the bar (perhaps a mile away). One possible suggestion, it might be that the assassin groups make it a point to rely on assassinations on key people and the Eastern forces just prefer to avoid dealing with them and may be spread too thin to deal with them. Alternatively, the information given elsewhere is wrong about how effective the Eastern forces are and the area around Hero's Den have successfully kept the Eastern forces out of the area. The religious aspects in the background and in the game world may need to be more developed by the Judge. There has been mention of religions in other products but mostly as simply enemies to be fought. Gods range from simply powerful beings, huge giants with magical powers, and possibly false beings that do not exist in the game at all. Some are more like magical spiritual beings, which Tatria appears to be one and may be dying from lack of true worshippers. In most games and "sword and sorcery" fiction of this time of publishing, religions tend be either background or suppliers of adventure (magical artifacts, fanatical enemies, etc.), though whether the Judge wants it to be more with the possibility of the player characters being followers of one religion or another is up to the Judge to decide and detail. This another adventure that the Judge and the players would need to work together on. The beginning monologue should not be used directly as it could be considered "railroading" by the players. It would be better to use it to inspire how the players get hired by Eland. Another consideration is whether it is okay for the player characters to potentially kill everybody in Terra Ash as even with careful investigation they could end up deciding that the priests are too crazy to be allowed to live, the "Kingsmen" are too offensive to be allows to live (especially when they try to enslave their wizards), and the "Contaminated" are too much of a threat to their valuables (especially after the encounter TT8 at the "false cascade" trap). On the other hand, doing otherwise could end up with the player character losing all their valuables and being enslaved or killed. Making magic items apparently can be done relatively quickly from what appears in Terra Ash section that would have been made by the buried wizards. There is also apparently a way to make a spring or "stream" be magical from the description of the "elvish stream" for the bath in Hero's Den. An unusual note on part of the vagueness of the Familiar spell is that Eland/Oscan's familiar apparently has taken the form that looks like a young female human (Eland is an old male human though apparently immortal) and is apparently in telepathic contact with Eland even when transported to Terra Ash. The familiar also vanishes with Eland takes back the manna used to support the familiar to avoid taking damage from the backlash of damage and does so with split-second timing. This would imply the player character wizards should be able to do the same with their familiars as any enemy that knows anything about familiars would target them first to weaken the wizard. In the Hollow Lands section on the "Singing Rock" and the "Demon Devolt", it is strongly implied (and which is also hinted in later supplements) that the description on the nature of aether and manna in the High Fantasy book is wrong (or at least some wizards interpretation of it). Magic is actually the manipulation of aether to alter reality. Aether is something that can be created by life itself (and at least some demons) and has a symbiotic nature with life (feedback to enhance it). Manna is an energy that wizards (and some magical creatures) make to manipulate aether. Not all magic items or magical beings use manna to manipulate aether. The Detect spell for manna sensing actually can detect aether flows and levels and manna, though it is up to the Judge if the wizard (and Psychics) knows enough to differentiate them and how fine details can be gotten. The arena aspects of Hero's Den should be noted by the Judge for setting up and gladiatorial arenas, with some modification, in their own worlds for allowing players to get a feel for various forms of combat rules in practice and to let their characters to get experience points from them. Hero's Den structure and layout could be revised. There could be a number of roads, supporting nearby towns and nearby power structures to support the business of Hero's Den for both supplies and customers (such as traveling merchants). There needs to be ways for supplies to come into the business, storage and wastes and other material to leave. In the later publication "Goldchester" it notes that the drink "Bacus Bashers" is apparently bottled and sold to other taverns (10 silver tams per drink). For the area and game genre, the sleeping arrangements are generally about 15 individual high class rooms and a cheaper common room that holds up to 20 occupants (not including owners and employees) and the bar/restaurant might seat from 50 to 75 (some individual and others in groups). Note that the descriptions imply that the larger rooms can hold around 6 occupants each and can apparently be leased for long enough periods to install secret doors and traps and have their own plumbing. Unless the guests are paranoid, most guest rooms should be located to have windows to the outside with good views and ventilation but not exposed to smells from the stables. Given that the arena could be good source of revenue, the business, Hero's Den could be made up of two separate areas (the high end resort section and a less expensive section mainly for the locals) with the arena in between them to maximize profits (note the size of the arena stands and how much people they can hold). On the other hand if Hero's Den is kept completely only for the very rich, there is likely to be somewhere nearby a competitor (say a few days or weeks travel) that is willing to... Read more ›
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