Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue

Review:  Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue by Anne Brown.  (with input from several others) Published in 1992.

An equipment buying supplement.  The catalog features food, clothing, and lots of miscellaneous adventuring gear that adventurers would choose to buy. Categories include Ranger's Field, Thieve's Corner, Bard's Emporium, Priest's Alcove, Wizards' Laboratory, Laborers' List, Inn and Tavern, Scribes' Desk, Storage Items, General Hardware, Tailors' Corner, Clothes and Shoes, Boom's Garden, Jewelry, Household Accoutrements, Personal Supplies, Illuminations, Diversions, Aurora's Larder, Breads, Cheese Shop, Wines and Ales, Exotics, Wilderness Gear, Priest in a Poke, and Daroni's Workshop.

The descriptions, prices, and items are all very good.  Most items have footnotes for any game effects such as healing, improvements to AC, just to name a few.  It is a great resource for players and DMs and it greatly expands the equipment list for a first or second edition campaign.  Some of these items are found in Complete ___ Handbooks such as instruments in Bard's or thief tools in Thief's, or lab items in Wizard's.  It is a good complement to Arms and Equipment Guide (DMGR3)

5 out of 5 stars.  Highly recommended for any AD&D campaign.  It is for sale at dndclassics.com

Front row wizards in 1e/2e it can be done

Looking at breaking out of the conventional mold of fighters in the front row, wizards in the back row.  Here are some alternatives:

Under the conventional rules, the best bet is probably a human wizard with a staff and bonuses to AC and to hp.  (hp 6, AC 6, 1-6 damage)  (Probably not realistic, this "warrior" will not last long)

Militant Wizards:  Kit from Complete Wizard's that allows wielding weapons like battle axes and swords.  So this kit would yield at best a 6 hp, AC 6 wizard wielding a long sword (d8 damage).  A little better.

Saurials:  Some saurials (a race of dinosaur-people from the Forgotten Realms.  The most famous being Dragonbait, a Saurial paladin.  His adventures are described in the Finder's Stone Trilogy) are able to get a low AC and others are able to get higher hp.  It would be possible to have a 10 hp, AC 5, hornhead saurial wizard- capable of wielding a special staff that does 2-12 hp of damage.  It is also possible to have a hp 6, AC 1 bladeback saurial  (also wielding the staff for 2-12).  Both of these take damage as size large creatures.

Barbarians! (in AD&D)

 

Today’s post looks at player character barbarians in first and second edition AD&D.

Unearthed Arcana:  A powerful class, barbarians are able to have a good AC without wearing much armor, they have high hit points and a fast movement rate.  This comes with a high experience point requirement of 6,000 xp to get to 2nd level.  Barbarians detest magic and often try to destroy magic items.  They are unable to associate with magic-users until 6th level.  It is unclear what this means in terms of a party of characters.  It would seem to mean that it would be difficult for a first level barbarian and first level wizard to work together.

Oriental Adventures:  A slightly toned-down version of the UA barbarians.  These barbarians have very similar special abilities and restrictions with only a few adjustments.  These barbarians also dislike wizards (wu jen).  Instead of the armor class bonus, they have the potential to gain 20 hp per level.  This is balanced somewhat by a reluctance to use magic items generally.  They also have wilderness stealth and climbing abilities (like the UA barbarians).  From the text, it is not clear why a barbarian character would have left home to venture closer to civilization or go adventuring.  The steppe barbarians are in the Hordelands of the Forgotten Realms.

Neither 1e barbarian is able to have weapon specialization.

Complete Fighters:  The second edition barbarian kit takes all of the 1e barbarian details and changes it to a fighter with equipment restrictions/requirements to start the game.  (Something that 1e barbarians have but the restrictions are a bit different).  The only benefit/hindrance that barbarians get is that their reaction modifier is extreme.  People who will be nice to the barbarian will be really nice and people who will be hostile to the barbarian will be really hostile.  However, 2e barbarians are allowed weapon specialization.

In terms of placing barbarians, Unearthed Arcana provides suggestions for several cultures in Greyhawk who have lots of barbarians (Tiger Nomads, Frost Barbarians, etc).  Oriental Adventures provides locations for Kara-Tur barbarians.  Krynn is probably another place where barbarians work well.  Minotaurs, Kagonesti (wild elves), Gully Dwarves, and Hill Dwarves can all be barbarians just to name some of the races/cultures.  In contrast Taladas does not have barbarians but has several barbarian-like kits available depending on the culture.  The special abilities of many of these kits are about as good as the 2e Complete Fighters barbarian kit.  The Forgotten Realms Cyclopedia of the Realms (from the 1987 boxed set) lists several locations where barbarian cultures are found (1e).  The Forgotten Realms Adventures hardcover book gracefully transitions Faerun barbarians from 1e to 2e. 

In conclusion, playing a campaign with a first edition barbarian would be a challenge but an interesting one that would probably be well worth the effort for the players and dungeon master.

The Ruins of Undermountain

Review:  Ruins of Undermountain.  By Ed Greenwood.  Published in 1991

The Ruins of Undermountain (RoU) details the first 3 levels of a 9 level superdungeon found under the Forgotten Realms city of Waterdeep.  Each level is on a fold-out map roughly 2’x3’.  The third level is twice as big.  Only about 25% of each level is described in terms of keyed locations giving the DM plenty to do in terms of filling in the details.  Generally high level characters are necessary to adventure into RoU.  There are lots of traps and there are some high-powered monsters on the first level.  A generous portion of the third level includes the city of Skullport.  Skullport is an intriguing idea.  A dangerous border-town between civilization and the Underdark where shady deals and so forth are conducted.  There are several pages of adventure ideas and two adventures included in the set.  Levels 4 through 9 are described in very general terms.  Although connected with Waterdeep, there is enough flexibility that Undermountain could be moved to a non-Forgotten Realms campaign with minimal difficulty.  An ambitious undertaking with the right amount of detail and flexibility and room for the DMs own ideas.  Highly recommended! 5 out of 5 stars.

Recreating the major battles of the Empires Trilogy

Review:  Horde Campaign (FR12) by Curtis Scott.  Published in 1991.

 

The Horde Campaign takes the story from the Empires Trilogy and converts a handful of major battles into the Battlesystem rules so that those events can be replayed and recreated in individual Forgotten Realms campaigns.  The narrow focus of this product makes it of value to collectors but of lesser value to others.  Overall it is a fine product for what it tries to do but probably only worthwhile for collectors and Battlesystem fans.  3 out of 5 stars.

Mercenaries in the Forgotten Realms

Review: Gold & Glory (FR15) by Tim Beach.  Published in 1992

This accessory details mercenary companies in the Forgotten Realms.  Considering the history of medieval warfare- that mercenaries were common and that it was not until the age of Napoleon that standing armies became universal, this is a rich and underdeveloped area of D&D.  The book details numerous mercenary and adventuring companies throughout the Forgotten Realms.  It also details Battlesystem statistics for the companies.  On the positive side it details lots of companies.  On the negative side some companies do not have a lot of detail other than their location.  The book would be improved by a few more adventure ideas and adventuring companies.  3 out of 5 stars.

Hall of Heroes

Review: Hall of Heroes (FR7).  Several authors.  Published in 1989

This supplement has the 2nd edition statistics for the main characters of the Forgotten Realms Moonshae, Icewind Dale, and Avatar trilogies.  It also has main characters from the Spellfire novel.  It also has background information relevant to the particular NPC that is broader detail about the culture that he or she comes from.  While it has obvious uses in a 1st or 2nd edition Forgotten Realms campaign, FR7 is also useful as a thought exercise for the DM planning another campaign and needing a powerful NPC like Elminster or Drizzt.  The DM can compare how Elminster or Drizzt is presented here and then think about how to present his or her powerful NPC.  A fair quality product with more limited use overall.  3 out of 5 stars.

Pirates in 2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons

Review:  Pirates of the Sea of Fallen Stars (FOR3) by Curtis Scott.  Published in 1992

 

Pirates is set in the Forgotten Realms.  It provides a solid starting point for a pirate themed campaign.  It has an overview of piracy in that region of the Forgotten Realms.  It has some commentary on how certain non-weapon proficiencies would be useful.  It describes some of the pirate isles.  It gives options for “good guy” pirate campaigns and “bad guy” pirate campaigns.  It has rules for naval combat.  The combat rules keep things strictly medieval in that there are no ship-mounted cannons.  The rules might be a bit thin in places but they are a good starting point.  There is a section on NPCs.  Overall it is a credible product.  It would provide a good start for a pirate-themed campaign.  Recommended for all.  2nd edition Forgotten Realms campaigns will get the most benefit.  3 out of 5 stars.