Lords of Darkness (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Setting) [Paperback]

Sean K. Reynolds (Author), Jason Carl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

Evil Powers Threaten Faerun

Sinister cabals plot in shadows, while merciless armies gather for war. Explore the inner workings of infamous factions such as the Red Wizards and the Zhentarim. Discover more recently unveiled enemies, including the shades and the People of the Black Blood. With detailed descriptions of key villains, secret headquarters, and more, this guide covers everything a Dungeon Master needs to conspire against the heroes of the Forgotten Realms game setting.

28 villainous groups
Maps of evil strongholds
New spells, feats, and magic items

To use this accessory, you also need the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, the Monster Manual, and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786919892
• ISBN-13: 978-0786919895
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Gaming > Dungeons & Dragons

More About the Author

Jason Carl makes his home in Seattle, where it can in fact rain all the time: fortunately, he finds inspiration in the constant overcast. Currently he is a Producer at Filter Digital as an independent IT consultant. He's been a professional game writer and producer for over a decade, authoring Vampire the Masquerade books for White Wolf Game Studios and other market leaders.

Jason's diverse interests include travel, fitness, art, wine, history, literature, music, coffee and catering to the whims of Puck, his cat and the world's smallest domesticated black panther. Since 2010 he has also been the Event Programming Director for The Grand Masquerade, an annual vampire-themed costume event in New Orleans (http://www.thegrandmasquerade.com/).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent supplement for Forgotten Realms DM's, November 12, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lords of Darkness (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Setting) (Paperback)

If you play in the Realms and want to flesh out your villians, this book is wonderful. It's the same size and layout as Magic of Faerun, so that right there is a plus. Personally, i think the artwork is much better than Magic of Faerun, and some of the power groups detailed therein are quite intriguing. From the Daemonfey to the old Red Wizards, the book covers dozens and dozens of personalities, locales, and enemies to throw against your party.

If you don't play in the Realms, the book is not as useful, but it is still GRADE A gaming material that could have pieces used in other campaigns. It seems like WOTC is pumping all their best talent and money into the FR series, which is fine by me, but it means that some other lines end up lacking (like the class supplement books).

Yes, the book is very pricey, but for a DM who wants a whole slew of villians, monsters and plots, it's worth the money.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well done but lacking in some areas., November 6, 2001

By 

Faebinder "malec" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lords of Darkness (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Setting) (Paperback)

I'll start by saying the book is a good book for anyone playing in the Forgotten Realms setting. This book is perfect for DMs and not as important for players, although players who wish to play in an evil group will find this book very useful. Any DM that wishes to tackle the pcs with an evil group will find a lot of support and ideas in this book including stats, items, influence, npcs, allies, locations, maps etc. It also adds a handful of prestige classes specific to some of the evil groups including Church of Cyric (Spur Lords), Worshipers of Entropy(Entropist), Zhentarim's Sky mages, Thayan Knights of the Red Wizards and even the Darkmask for surface drow that follow Vhaeraun. The end of the book contains favored magical items and favored spells to some of the groups. Some of the groups have character leaders stats and items. I had to hold back from rating this book as a single reason which I thought is important as someone who plays with psionics. The books contains no psionical support, or even a psionical option, for cults like the Mindflayers which are obviously psionically oriented. Other than that, I highly recommend the book, especially for playing in or against evil groups.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All our favorite bad guys!, September 18, 2002

By 

Yu-jin Chia "Yu-Jin Chia" (Cupertino, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lords of Darkness (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Setting) (Paperback)

Truth be told, you probably have enough information in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting to pass through or conduct simple quests with regard to most of the evil groups of Faerun. All of the organizations in this book are mentioned, with varying detail, in the campaign. They are also described in Forgotten Realms novels, so if you have read a great deal of those, you might not need this accessory.

If you want to get into real detail with the powers of darkness and haven't read that much fiction, then this is the book to have. Even if you have done your homework, there's quite a lot of original material in here. As an example, if you'd like to actually visit the City of Shade, Lord of Darkness contains a wealth of information about how you would describe it. The campaign provides more simple demographics and locations than in-depth detail, so this is most welcome. There are also new encounters, weapons, and spells for the organizations, as well as some pre-made dungeons to explore. Specific points of interest in lands held by the enemy are also noted, as well as details on particular leaders of each order.

In all, every major evil organization is covered, as well as a host of lesser ones. Lords of Darkness has enough info about how they operate and what they look like to give a DM totally unacquainted with the FR setting the capability to correctly portray enemies and guide adventurers through enemy territory.