66 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Expdition to Underwhelm, June 25, 2007
This review is from: Expedition to Undermountain (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Adventure) (Hardcover)
The original Undermountain campaign gave us a small look at the largest dungeon gamers had every seen. Monsters were everywhere, traps around every corner, all kinds of treasure (one of the subtle dangers of Undermountain was carrying too much treasure) and an adventure that just never seemed to end. This book is a 3.5 edition update of that original adventure, but it fails to capture the feel and adventure of the original.
First, one thing that anyone who saw the original boxed set remembers was the maps. They were poster sized and just huge. The Dungeon level map on page 19 is only a fraction of the original map (about one fifth of the original). The maps in this book are of lower quality and some are just wrong. The map of the Yawning Portal Inn is missing the yawning portal! The very well you use to descend into Undermountain.
Second were the rooms, each with traps, monsters and treasure. The original book had lots of new monsters and magic and the treasure was described in detail unique to the Forgotten Realms. In this book an encounter that would have taken up two paragraphs are expanded to fill two pages. There are very few new monsters (but there are many references to monsters from other D&D books), the treasure is blah and there are only a few new magic items.
One of the interesting aspects of the magic items in the original book, was that many basic items were given little quirks that made them special; A longsword +1 that was unbreakable, a dagger +1 that was invisible or chainmail armor +1 that would float. Unfortunately, 3rd edition D&D cannot do this without item creation details, creation costs and other information that the player really does not care about.
Perhaps it is the changes from 2nd to 3rd edition of D&D, but the original book did not waste so much space on behind the games details, a trap was just a trap and did not need exact technical details of its creation. In adding all this information, all the details that made the Realms special are lost. In the original the coins included those of individual nations, the gems were described by type and cut and alternate treasures such as food (we are in a deep dungeon) were included.
Overall, this book is just very disappointing. Not only for those of us looking to recapture memories of past adventures, but also foreboding of the upcoming Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk. I hope they put a little more effort into that one than they did into this one.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A weak product, July 9, 2007
This review is from: Expedition to Undermountain (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Adventure) (Hardcover)
Undermountain is supposed to be a well designed near epic dungeon. This is not. Start with a notion that an epic archmage, 30th level+, who enslaves living spell wishes, can suddenly be killed. 5th level characters are supposed to do something meaningful against the factions that are seeking to claim territory here? Absurd. Not to mention that there are power groups in Undermountain, Halaster's apprentices, one of which is an epic class villain, a beholder slavelord, and Skullport, who presumably would do something when the initial events of the book begin.
This is poor execution and some of the events of the book feel incredibly forced, like the writer is rushing to reach a rather insipid conclusion. The take in Dungeon Magazine on Vampires in Waterdeep is far superior and much more reminiscient of Undermountain as originally conceived.
Let's hope Expedition to Greyhawk is much better.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Once more into the breach..., June 22, 2007
This review is from: Expedition to Undermountain (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Adventure) (Hardcover)
It's back to Undermountain once again. For those of us who have either used previous versions of Undermountain or adventured through the underhalls, a new prettier vresion sounded like a good idea. So far I have enjoyed the layout and some of the more inventive plot hooks that have been introduced in the 3.5 version. One thing that isn't sitting well is the sheer number of other material that is being referenced (MM2/3/4, CoR, etc) that I either don't have or don't have ready access to at this time. As already mentioned, starting Undermountain at 1st level seems a bit suicidal for characters but I suppose if you let them leave to heal, etc. it might work. All in all, I would recomend it, even if you plan on disecting it and rebuilding from (nearly) scratch it is a well planned accessory.
Spoiler:
I will have to say that I'm going to miss the constant paranoia that having Halaster pop out generated though. That was one of the things most dreaded/enjoyed about the setting. I guess we'll have to move on to bigger better things eventually.
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