Customer Reviews

Underdark (Dungeons & Dragons d20 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Accessory)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm sorry but it's unfair to give 'Underdark' such a low rating. For those who don't play in the Forgotten Realms then it may be less useful--about 1/3 of the book relates to locales beneath the lands of the Forgotten Realms--but there's more to the book than that. There are new pretige classes (such as the deep diviner) and some revised ones (such as the archnemancer), plus some new feats. Some of the feats were included from other sources(such as "highborn drow") while others were warmed-over and given a new name, but there are some decent new ones. The concept of node-magic is introduced, which I liked. The playability of certain races (such as the kuo-toa and grimlocks) were expanded. Naturally, new PC races like the gloaming were included. And the new magic section had some interesting bits, such as the 'drowcraft' magic property (which brings back a bit of the old-style drow flavor to the setting--if you missed seeing drow-made weapons turn to dust in the sunlight you're in luck!). Also if you're a gamer who's chafed at the limits of teleportation in the sunless regions, the limitation's been relaxed somewhat so only Underdark areas with pockets of 'faerzress' radiation hinders teleportation/divination-based spells. This isn't a 5-star book except where production values are concerned, but I feel that 'Underdark' as a whole rates at least a 3 (for non-FR gamers) or 4 (FR gamer) rating.

I'm a tightwad when it comes to new RPG books. I just think most are overpriced for what you get. I'm happy to say I think that for the fun and use I and my various gaming groups are getting out of Underdark, this book is WELL worth the money.

Like most of the new WotC D&D books, you get a mix of information, like locales, races, spells, magic and mundane equipment, feats, PrCs, and so on. All of the information given is helpful to the DM running an underdark game in any setting. And while some of the information IS Realms specific, a good DM can change things to her world with little effort.

The new races in the book are welcome additions, and the artwork throughout is unique and moody.

I'm pleased by this book. And it's been waaaay too long since I've been able to say that about a WotC product.

I DO wish there was an index and a pull-out map of the regions the book talks about.

The free web items you can download from Wizards.com also help make this book a very handy tool for DMs and players.

This book is a great campaign buddy, as gives the reader excellent descriptions of underdark terrain and geography. When narrating an underground campaign, there are only so many variations of 'a cave,' or 'a tunnel,' that one can describe before the action gets tedious for the players. With this supplement, you get a range of interesting features, hazards, and ecologies to give it a more natural feel, for those of us with no real-life spelunking experience. Beyond that, it gives the usual WotC bundle of feats, PrC's, races, and spells. Most of this material is mediocre, but I still give the book 5*'s for being the only dungeoneering book out there that gives such a rich 'how-to' guide for making underground travel rich and interesting.

Initially going through the book, its full of excellent ideas and information, all the things you want to know about the Underdark. It was only when I started to look things up , I found that there was no index. How can a reference book have no index! Then after reading through the geography section trying to find what I was looking for I noticed , half the paces on the map have not enteries, which was quiet frustrating.
Overall, what there is is excellent, but it seems like the only wrote half the book.

I am an avid DM particularly in the Underdark and I thought frankly that it really was two hundred pages of nothing save for a few paragraphs. I have found more useful information from my old box sets and Drow of the Underdark supplements than this book provided. The maps were completely worthless and the city descriptions were paltry at best. Gone are the days when forgotten realms books were jam-packed with useful DM information ready to pop into a campaign. If you are looking for a general overview of the Underdark then it fills the need, however my imagination works much better than this book.

I guess if you are an old school player this book may not be up to your standards, but if you're a new school D&D guy like me this book is great. Tells you a lot of things about some hardly talked about underdark races and places of interest. Sure you may find it in the novels but they are "cliffnoted" in this version. Also has some very sweet arse monsters and if you plan on building an Underdark campaign it comes in very handy with geography. Being a drow fan I am, and no not due to Dritzz, this book has my recommendations for some help in Lloth based drow but it is a bit lacking. I could go on but to sum it all up, you like the Underdark or creatures in it I highly suggest getting this book to help you in the aspects it has to offer unless you read the novels enough to just know. That is why I give it a 5 star, for one it does what it says, Underdark. Tells you a summed up describtion of it and places of interest.

What group doesn't want to delve the mysterious depths of the Underdark? And as a DM, you should make them go, especially when the grouop gets to be high enough level to cast Teleport, because instead of being able to go home every night, they are stuck in the endless caverns until they walk out. And its dangerous, what with the terrible creatures that lurk in the dark. Fun for everyone!

I suppose I have liked almost all thes FR books. Actually the only thing I donot like is the lame 2 page map. A full size poster map for each book would really go a LONG ways in my book for making these FR books shine. Are we suppose to scan the little maps in the books? Or just use them until our book wears out?

PLEASE GIVE US POSTER MAPS!

This new generation of FR books has seen good products, like the core book, and weak books, like this one. If you have never read anything about the Underdark, maybe this book will interest you, but for old gamers, it is just another way for us to dish out $30 to get a couple of feats, and classes that you have encountered before, or can do without.

Wether you are a fan of 3rd or not, this book simply does not deliver the material you need to run an Underdark campaign, it is mostly nice art.

This book has about 50 good pages when they're talking about exploration and ecology of pretty much any entirely underground environment, underdark or just really dark. Some of the monsters -- undead swarm? kuo-toa leviathan? -- are also pretty nifty, though most aren't that great. The usual spattering of new magic, races, feats, and prestige classes are marginal and probably not worth the bother of inlcuding in your game, espeically if you're not building a new excluisively underdark campaign. The regional info is where this book really disappointed me -- they did cross-marketing with the War of the Spider Queen series, inserting spoilers for book #3 right in the middle of a rulebook. (I'd already read it, was disappointed with it, and even more disappointed when most of the plot advances were summarized with two paragraphs.) This cross-marketing during Lolth's silence made the "Arachnomancer" prestige class stand out as spectatularly dumb -- either the regional information is wrong or that PrC is really pretty de-valued from the get-go; either way you're shelling out money for both the PrC and the regional info. But the information on the ecology of the underdark is why I got my copy of this book. I just can't recommend that anybody pay full price.