Dark Visions opens with the Cultist Class. The Cultist is an outcast from society because of the taboos broken, dark deeds done, and secretive rituals performed in the name of his patron or deity. With ‘Ashes to Ashes’, he can burn Hit Points to increase damage inflicted and can cast a particular set of spells. The Inquisitor Class hunts for signs of heresy and heretics, and has Advantage when hunting the enemies of his god. He can use the Priest Class’ scrolls and wands and bring down the Judgement of ‘Mark of Hellfire’ or the ‘Mark of Radiance’ on a target. With ‘Mark of Hellfire’, the target is illuminated and if Chaos-aligned, at a Disadvantage for the next round, whilst ‘Mark of Radiance’ gives the target damage resistance and illuminates if they share the same alignment. The Covenant Knight is a Lawful-aligned knight dedicated to the ideals of the Covenant Council, which pass the ‘Final Word’ upon an enemy, inflicting maximum damage several times a day and ‘Resolute in Adversity’, is at Advantage to resist the abilities of devils and demons. At Third Level and above, the Covenant Knight can cast Priests’ spells.
The new Classes are an interesting mix, with the Covenant Knight feeling like a variant of the Paladin-type Class. The other two are potentially more interesting given that much of their flavour will come from the player’s choice of patron in terms of a god, demon, devil, or other entity. Nor are they exclusive, since the Cultist need not be Chaos-aligned and instead linked to the Celestial, the Draconic, Primordial, or Sylvan. With some thought, the three Classes could be found working together, as well as with other Classes for ShadowDark. In addition, there is a table of for ‘Cultists Backgrounds’ and a list of Cultist gear.
The Cultist also has its own table for ‘Cultist Mishaps’ as well as list of its own spells. Some of the spells do come from the ShadowDark core rulebook, whilst a few are taken from the official fanzine, Cursed Scroll 1: Diaberlie!, which does limit the Class’ usefulness. The new spells are grim in nature, such as Inflict Pain, a Tier 3 spell which enables a Cultist to inflict damage on his target by drawing his own blood, essentially exchanging his Hit Points for dice of damage, whilst the Tir 1 spell Misery, floods the mind of the target with guilt from dreadful deeds and ill-fortune, forcing them to roll at Disadvantage. There is also flavour too that the Cultist—whether a Player Character or the Game Master as an NPC—can bring into the casting and application of the spells.
The Cultist also has its own table for ‘Cultist Mishaps’ as well as list of its own spells. Some of the spells do come from the ShadowDark core rulebook, whilst a few are taken from the official fanzine, Cursed Scroll 1: Diaberlie!, which does limit the Class’ usefulness. The new spells are grim in nature, such as Inflict Pain, a Tier 3 spell which enables a Cultist to inflict damage on his target by drawing his own blood, essentially exchanging his Hit Points for dice of damage, whilst the Tir 1 spell Misery, floods the mind of the target with guilt from dreadful deeds and ill-fortune, forcing them to roll at Disadvantage. There is also flavour too that the Cultist—whether a Player Character or the Game Master as an NPC—can bring into the casting and application of the spells.
Dark Visions gives simple descriptions of various gods along with their Domains and those of various demi-gods not so detailed. Further, these pale into insignificance in comparison to the attention paid to the sixteen cults described in the supplement. These are archetypes, such as Ash cults, Blood cults, Doom cults, Moon cults, Plague cults, and more, that the Game Master can flesh out and develop. Each comes with a description, a special ability or sacred item, and then tables of rumours, encounters, and plot generator, as well as stats for associated NPCs and monsters. For example, the Gallows cult is Lawful and dedicated to levying capital punishment, its leaders wielding axes and regarding themselves as judge, jury, and executioner. Its holy item is the Axe of the Executioner, a +2 great axe that cannot be wielded by the Chaotically-aligned, has a better chance of rolling critical strikes and when its wielder does, inflicts maximum base damage. Yet at the end of a combat in which it did not inflict a killing blow, the wielder can suffer a loss of Intelligence. The rumours include stories of gallows suddenly appearing in the town squares of every nearby town, the encounters a band of cultists that has broken into a butcher’s shop where it is preparing a chopping block, and the stats are for standard cultists and cultists leaders. Combined with the ‘Plot Generator’ table and there is a decent amount of detail, flavour, and gameable content in all the cult descriptions. It is notable that not all of the cults are necessarily Chaotic (or evil) in nature and that expands the flexibility of the content.
Rounding out Dark Visions is a pair of scenarios that both involve cultists and together form the first two parts of a trilogy of scenarios that culminates with The Tower of Six. The campaign sees the Player Characters discover the activities of a band of cultists and then track it in order to find out what it is that the cultists are planning and try to put a stop to it. The given cult is the Cult of Nightmares, but the campaign suggests alternatives. The first scenario is ‘In Cultist’s Wake’, which is designed for First Level Player Characters and can be played in one or two sessions. They are employed by a farmer to investigate a water-logged crypt that has just opened up. What the Player Characters is a mini-dungeon where the cultists appear to be cleaning up after their activities in the crypt and looting what they can. What is interesting is that the crypt is for a Lawful lord and what that means is that the dungeon has become dangerous because of the cultists’ meddling rather than being a place of evil. It is pleasingly atmospheric, the Player Characters having to slosh through the lower level to find out what is going on.
‘In Cultist’s Wake’ ends with a map taken from the cultists and in the Player Characters’ hands. It is marked with locations that the cultists are also interested in and one of these is detailed in ‘As Above, So Below’. It is designed to be played in two to three sessions by Player Characters of Second and Third Level, either as direct sequel or another adventure or two afterwards. It details a partially collapsed dome structure that was once used by druids and mages to study the power of ley lines. Again, the cultists are clearing up after investigating the site, so are busy and going about their duties, which gives the Player Characters the opportunity to sneak in and strike. Things are complicated by the interest of a rival cult, which has sent thieves to steal what the Cult of Nightmares has found so far. It gives the adventure an energetic dynamic that plays out at dusk as the Player Characters discover what the cultists are doing, what they have been looking for, and what happened at the complex to cause its collapse.
Rounding out Dark Visions is a pair of scenarios that both involve cultists and together form the first two parts of a trilogy of scenarios that culminates with The Tower of Six. The campaign sees the Player Characters discover the activities of a band of cultists and then track it in order to find out what it is that the cultists are planning and try to put a stop to it. The given cult is the Cult of Nightmares, but the campaign suggests alternatives. The first scenario is ‘In Cultist’s Wake’, which is designed for First Level Player Characters and can be played in one or two sessions. They are employed by a farmer to investigate a water-logged crypt that has just opened up. What the Player Characters is a mini-dungeon where the cultists appear to be cleaning up after their activities in the crypt and looting what they can. What is interesting is that the crypt is for a Lawful lord and what that means is that the dungeon has become dangerous because of the cultists’ meddling rather than being a place of evil. It is pleasingly atmospheric, the Player Characters having to slosh through the lower level to find out what is going on.
‘In Cultist’s Wake’ ends with a map taken from the cultists and in the Player Characters’ hands. It is marked with locations that the cultists are also interested in and one of these is detailed in ‘As Above, So Below’. It is designed to be played in two to three sessions by Player Characters of Second and Third Level, either as direct sequel or another adventure or two afterwards. It details a partially collapsed dome structure that was once used by druids and mages to study the power of ley lines. Again, the cultists are clearing up after investigating the site, so are busy and going about their duties, which gives the Player Characters the opportunity to sneak in and strike. Things are complicated by the interest of a rival cult, which has sent thieves to steal what the Cult of Nightmares has found so far. It gives the adventure an energetic dynamic that plays out at dusk as the Player Characters discover what the cultists are doing, what they have been looking for, and what happened at the complex to cause its collapse.
Physically, Dark Visions is cleanly and tidily presented. It is a good read and although lightly illustrated, the artwork is good. Both dungeons are very clearly presented so that they are easy to run from the page. The maps do have slightly fuzzy feel.
Of course, cultists can be any Class or even none, but Dark Visions gives the cultist focus and role and causes and masters to be fervent over, as well as rewards for their service and devotion. Which can be as Player Characters or NPCs, and the fact that there are multiple cults described means that the Game Master can return to Dark Visions again and again for inspiration and opponents—or even use to set up a campaign in which the Player Characters are cultists fighting other cultists. Certainly, the two scenarios in that supplement can be used in fashion as well as with normal Player Characters. Dark Visions will not suit all campaigns given its nature, but for those it does suit and those with more mature themes and players, it is an excellent supplement, bringing a grimmer, darker tone to a ShadowDark campaign.
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