Your First Animal Adventure

Published by Steamforged Games, Animal Adventures is a roleplaying game setting of anthropomorphic cats and dogs adventuring in a magical world a la Dungeons & Dragons. It is designed to be compatible with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition and notably, is supported by the Dungeons & Doggies and Cats & Catacombs line of miniatures. The entryway for the setting and the line is the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set: A spellbinding roleplaying game for beginners. This promises to contain everything that a gaming group needs to play a thrilling roleplaying campaign. However, it does not. Instead, it does contain a single adventure, which is ably supported by simple, easy-to-follow rules, four dog miniatures, cat miniatures, seven Player Character sheets, a double-sided game map, Game Master screen, a set of illustrated tokens, and a set of polyhedral dice.

The Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set is designed for ages thirteen and up, and intended to be played with a Game Master and up to seven players. From the outset, it is impressively presented. Everything is done in vibrant colour—perhaps a little too dark for the maps—and has a pleasing physical presence on the table. The large, double-sided map depicts a forest glade and mansion cellar on the one side, and the upper floors of the mansion on the other. They are marked with squares for use with the miniatures and the tokens also included in the box. The digest-sized Rulebook and Adventure booklet is brighter and breezier than the maps, its artwork tending towards the cute rather than the darker tones of the map. The three-panel digest-sized Game Master screen is likewise lighter on the Game Master’s side and lists in turn the roleplaying game’s combat rules, tables, monster stats, and spells and abilities of the Player Characters, all for easy reference. The thirty full-colour tokens are done on sturdy cardboard and are easy to read. The Player Character sheets are also double-sided and are clean, tidy, and again easy to read. Stats, equipment, attacks, and equipment are given on the front with a portrait of the animal, with special abilities on the back, whether that is spells or Class features. All of this fits atop a plastic tray with its own lid, the tray having space for the dice and the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set’s miniatures. The dice are decent, with the two twenty-sided dice marked with the paw symbol where their twenty would be.

The miniatures are for the seven pre-generated Player Characters found in the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set. They include Chantilly, a female Labrador and Fighter; Solan, a male Persian cat and Warlock; Whisper, a female Sphinx cat and Sorcerer; Elvis, a male Cavalier spaniel and Bard; Molly, a female Lyoki and Rogue; Brianna, a female Boxer and Paladin; and Kai, male Shiba Inu and Cleric. The miniatures are nicely detailed and emphasis the fact that the animals and thus the Player Characters in the world of Animal Adventures run on all four legs rather than on two. For example, Chantilly, a female Labrador and Fighter, wields her sword in her mouth rather than her paws!

The Rulebook and Adventure booklet is thirty-two pages long, of which six pages are devoted to the rules. These cover an introduction to and example of roleplaying, explain what the attributes are and how they work, how Advantage and Disadvantage works, and of course, combat. It is not a cursory treatment, but rather stripped down from that found in either the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set or the Player’s Handbook. Anyone familiar with Dungeons & Dragons, or indeed any roleplaying game, will grasp and understand the rules with ease, but anyone with less experience or new to the hobby might have more difficulty. In the general, the rules and adventure lend themselves towards being run by an experienced Game Master for new players. In addition, links are included for fuller versions of the character sheets, so that a Dungeon Master and player more familiar with Dungeons & Dragons could run the adventure in the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set.

The adventure in the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set is ‘The Kurse of Doktor Krankensteen’. It opens with the adventurers on the road to the village of Woofburg where they plan to attend the annual Festival of Furry Friends. Unfortunately, they are ambushed by Goblin ’Nappers who attempt to kidnap them. After the battle, the adventurers discover that a mysterious ‘Dok’ wants cats and dogs, and he wants them for his experiments. Following the trail of the Goblin ’Nappers leads to a sewer pipe that ultimately opens up in the cellar of an abandoned mansion. As the adventurers explore the dilapidated building, they will come across some of the Dok’s experiments and his experiments to be, before finally facing the bad Dok himself!

The adventure is decent enough, with a summary of the setting, the map needed overview, player aim, and enemies to be faced given at the start of each scene. GM tips in the margins also give advice and helpful suggestions throughout. However, the scenario is combat and exploration focused, and as much as the GM tip that throwing the players and their adventurers into the action gets them involved is applicable, it does not leave a lot of room for anything other than action. There is very little investigation and not a lot of roleplaying and a little more of both would have been just as involving and would have showcased the fact that roleplaying games are more than just action.

If the adventure is decent enough and should provide one or two sessions of fun, where both it and the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set come unstuck is in delivering the next step—or that is failing to deliver it. At the end of ‘The Kurse of Doktor Krankensteen’, the author suggests that the Game Master use the rules in the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set, plus other supplements in the Animal Adventures to create a sequel. Unless the Game Master wants to run a variant of ‘The Kurse of Doktor Krankensteen’, it does not have enough content to create a sequel, and also, which Animal Adventures supplement should the Game Master be using? Writing a sequel to Animal Adventures should be a problem if the Game Master has written adventures before, but what if he has not? There is no real advice to help her in ‘The Kurse of Doktor Krankensteen’. It would have been nice if the publisher had made available a sequel on its website, even one using the contents of the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set, so that the life of the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set could have been extended to beyond the one adventure.

One option here would actually be to look at another roleplaying game all together. Still involving dogs and cats, and that is the Pugmire Fantasy Tabletop Roleplaying Game. This is slightly more complex than the Animal Adventures world of the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set, but ‘The Kurse of Doktor Krankensteen’ could easily be run set in the world of Pugmire and the miniatures for the adventure would work in Pugmire too. Plus there is plenty of readily available support for it.

There can be no denying that the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set is a fantastic looking introduction to roleplaying and the hobby. It is one that works for a family audience too and the stripped-down mechanics and rules can also serve as an introduction to Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Ultimately though, as attractive as the Animal Adventures RPG Starter Set is, it simply does not follow through on what to do next, and consequently, it feels constrained rather than expansive.

A French Science Fantasy Starter

Lore & Legacy is a French science-fantasy role-playing game set on the fantastical world of Empyrea, a vast planet home to numerous species who have come from the stars and settled. In the long years since, they have forgotten their homeworlds, how they go to Empyrea, and how to operate much of the technology. Indeed that technology has come to be regarded as akin to magic and only a few have the skill to use what has become known as arcanotechnology. Empyrea is also a world of many ruins, especially of the grandiose and sinister necropolis left behind by the mysterious Astarite civilization that came before anyone settled on the planet. They are said to contain lost treasures and forgotten technological wonders, but also many dangers—antediluvian biomechanical guardians and creatures corrupted by the poison of the Alteration, a mysterious fungal gangrene that spreads over the regions that once formed the heart of the Astarite kingdoms. In recent years, the Alteration has begun to spread again and dragon seeds have fallen from the sky, giving birth to dragons, creatures of unrivalled destructive power. Where such threats occur, the Free-Lancers’ Guild steps forward to protect and investigate. Found throughout many nations, its members coming from many different species, the Free-Lancers’ Guild sends out those determined to unravel the mysteries of the past and to venture beyond the borders imposed by incomplete maps, to protect the population, lift the veil on ancient lore, and reclaim their lost legacies.

Lore & Legacy – Quick-Start Guide provides this background and more. Published by Empyreal Media Productions, it introduces the setting and the mechanics, plus an adventure designed for four players and their quartet of pre-generated Player Characters. A character in Lore & Legacy is defined by his People (or species), seven Attributes representing his physical and mental prowess, various Abilities in which has either been trained or is gifted, and a number of Traits representing his personality quirks, special talents, obsessions, phobias, and the like. The Attributes are Acumen, Fortune, Mastery, Presence, Robustness, Temper, and Vigour, and all bar Fortune are represented by a single six-sided die plus a modifier. Fortune is a straight value representing the number of Fortune dice can roll each day. Now not all of the remaining six Attributes are not exactly clear as to what they are from their names. So, Acumen is the character’s ability to observe, reflect, and analyse; Mastery is agility, dexterity, and precision, and ability to think and react quickly; Temper is his willpower; and Vigour his raw physical strength. This runs counter to most naming conventions for attributes and may well be confusing for some players.

Abilities include Arcanotech, Charge, Investigation, Melee Combat, Passion (Painting), Wizardry, and more. They are always represented by a single ten-sided die plus a modifier. Traits tend to apply situational modifiers. For example, ‘Beast of Burden’ increases a Player Character’s Luggage Points by three; Healer which grants a Fortune die any non-magical healing action; Agoraphobic, which levies an Adversity die on all actions when the Player Character is in an open space; Ancestral Weapon, which grants the Player Character a weapon with the aetheric, which reduces the Magic Resistance of a successfully struck opponent; and Remarkable, which marks the Player Character out in social interactions with members of other races, levying an Adversity die and adding a Fortune die. A Player Character also has a number of derived secondary characteristics, including Health Points, Magic Points, Physical, Magic and Mental Resistances, and so on.

Mechanically, Lore & Legacy uses the ‘3d’ engine, which uses three sizes of the dice and three types of dice. The three sizes are ten-sided or Ability dice, eight-sided or Damage dice, and six-sided or Attribute dice, and they are always used in specific situations. In general, when an Ability or Attribute is tested, or Damage is rolled, only one die, the Basic die is rolled, any modifier being added to the result to get a total. However, it can be as many as three. It cannot, though, be more than three. The extra dice can either be a Fortune die, an Adversity die, or even both! The result of the Fortune die is added to the result of the Basic die, whilst the result of the Adversity die is subtracted from the result of the Basic die. Adding both a Fortune die and an Adversity die to the dice to be rolled does not mean that they cancel each other out. Instead, their results are added and subtracted respectively.

When a Player Character undertakes an action, his player makes an Action Roll, consisting of the appropriate Basic die—whether a ten-sided die because the Player Character has an appropriate Ability or a six-sided die because he does not and must rely upon an Attribute instead—and applies any modifier. The Difficulty Rating for the Action Roll ranges from six for ‘simple’ to eighteen for ‘superhuman’. The success result can vary. A result equal to, or greater than the Difficulty Rating is a Standard Success and indicates that the Player Character has achieved his intended aim. A result one-and-a-half times or greater than the Difficulty Rating is a Major Success, and indicates that the Player Character has achieved his intended aim with positive benefits. A result less than the Difficulty Rating and less than half of the Difficulty Rating is a Partial Success, and indicates that the Player Character has achieved his intended aim, but with unforeseen complications. A result less than the Difficulty Rating and more than half of the Difficulty Rating is a Failure, and indicates that the Player Character has not achieved his intended aim.

In addition, a Player Character can also roll a Spectacular Success or Disastrous Failure. A Spectacular Success is achieved when a Fortune die is included in the Action Roll and a maximum result is rolled on the Fortune die, when the result of the Action Roll is a Standard or Major Success. Similarly, a Disastrous Failure is achieved when an Adversity die is included in the Action Roll and a maximum result is rolled on the Adversity die, when the result of the Action Roll is a Partial Success or Failure. Although a Disastrous Failure cannot result in the death of a Player-Character, the Game Master is free to be as creative as she wants, whether the result is a Spectacular Success or a Disastrous Failure.

Both combat and magic use the same mechanics. A combatant has a single gesture, move, and action each round, and if he attacks, his player’s Action Roll is against his opponent’s Physical Resistance as the Difficulty Rating or Magic Resistance if the weapon used involves arcanotech. A Fortune die can be added to an Action roll if the opponent is immobilised, paralysed, knocked down, unconscious, and so on, likewise an Adversity die can be added if the attacker is suffering from similar conditions. Damage is rolled on a single eight-sided die, plus the weapon’s damage bonus, and is halved if the outcome of the Action Roll is a Partial Success, but increased by a half if a Major Success. Damage inflicted equal or superior to an opponent’s Injury Threshold and an injury is inflicted. 

The Lore & Legacy – Quick-Start Guide only presents two types of magic, more being available in the core rules. These are Illusory and Material magic. The former deals with changing the perceptions of others about their environment, the latter being the scientific study of making real what was not, or transforming what is. As in combat, the outcome of a Partial or Superior Success on an Action Roll halves the effect of the spell, or increases it by half, respectively. Just a handful of spells are included in the Lore & Legacy – Quick-Start Guide.

The Lore & Legacy – Quick-Start Guide includes four pre-generated Player Characters, which come four of the species available. The Disincarnated are humanoid synthetic life forms left behind by the Astarites, but discovered and reactivated by Free-Lancers, who gather experiences until they reach maturity and individuality; Dakti are short and muscular, good engineers and builders with great physical strength, and nicknamed ‘Dwarves’; Ælfyn, or ‘Elves’ are graceful forest-dwellers deriving most of their energy from photosynthesis; and of course, Humans. Two other species, the reptilian, four-armed Agamids, and the hardy and muscular, felinoid Orcs, who originated from the same world as the Ælfyn, are mentioned, but do not appear. The four pre-generated Player Characters consist of a Disincarnated Healer, Dakti Wizard, Ælfyn Marksman, and a Human Warrior. Theya re of course, members of the Free-Lancers’ Guild, essentially the in-built reason for the Player Characters to explore and adventure on Empyrea. 

The adventure in the Lore & Legacy – Quick-Start Guide is ‘Froglins in the Mist’. Divided into five acts, it is a fairly linear and straightforward affair. It begins in the port of Brasto, a successful trading city-state in the Contested territories. The local branch of the Free-Lancers’ Guild has posted a mission—a celestial barge in distress was spotted over a mangrove swamp two days’ walk south and it wants someone to check for survivors. The adventure provides the players and their Player Characters the chance to test out the mechanics with some shopping and bargaining, followed by travelling, before getting into the meat of the scenario. The Player Characters easily locate the crash of the celestial barge and discover that it was attacked after it crashed, and both crew and passengers are missing. Very quickly, the Player Characters will themselves be under attack, but will ultimately discover what is going on and hopefully rescue both passengers and crew. To be fair, ‘Froglins in the Mist’ is a bit simplistic and too combat orientated, so there is not much in the way of plot to its story. As a one-shot or a starting point for a campaign, it is fine though, providing a reasonable showcase for the mechanics and a little of the world of Empyrea, which can be played through in a session or two.

Physically, the Lore & Legacy – Quick-Start Guide is well presented. Much of the artwork is excellent and much of it reminiscent of FASA’s Earthdawn roleplaying game—which should be no surprise given that artist Jeff Laubenstein worked on both. The writing is also good, and the translation is more than reasonable. It feels a little overwritten in places, the rules, though simple, often feel as if they have more terms than they really need.

If there is a downside to the Lore & Legacy – Quick-Start Guide, it is that both it and the ‘Froglins in the Mist’ adventure could have done with a little more mystery and a little more wonder to really hook both Game Master and her players into setting of the Empyrea. Perhaps the adventure could have been slightly longer and maybe gone into some ruins that might have delivered that needed mystery and wonder? It is a serviceable adventure though and perhaps a separate adventure which would work as a sequel—whether using the quartet of Player Characters included in the Lore & Legacy – Quick-Start Guide or created using the core rules, might deliver that? Nevertheless, the rules themselves are actually fairly simple and easy to understand, being on par in terms of complexity with something like Savage Worlds or Numenera. The setting of Empyrea itself has a post-apocalyptic set-up combined with Science Fantasy and Planetary Romance a la Skyrealms of Jorune or again, Numenera. Overall, the Lore & Legacy – Quick-Start Guide is a decently done little quick-start that can be played and enjoyed as is, but would really benefit from just a little more of its mystery.

Unseasonal Festivities: The Doom That Came to Christmas Town

Every year Goodman Games publishes a holiday-themed scenario. Some years it is for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game, other years it is for Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic. For 2020, the scenario is for the former rather than the latter. Dungeon Crawl Classics 2020 Holiday Module: The Doom That Came to Christmas Town is a Level 2 adventure, that is, it is designed for Player Characters of Second Level. Which means that it is not a Character Funnel, one of the features of both the Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game and the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game—in which initially, a player is expected to roll up three or four Level Zero characters and have them play through a generally nasty, deadly adventure, which surviving will prove a challenge. Those that do survive receive enough Experience Points to advance to First Level and gain all of the advantages of their Class. Dungeon Crawl Classics 2020 Holiday Module: The Doom That Came to Christmas Town is not even a scenario which can be easily slotted into a campaign. This is due to two factors. First, it thoroughly embraces its Christmas theme and second, it is intended as a one-shot.

Dungeon Crawl Classics 2020 Holiday Module: The Doom That Came to Christmas Town takes place in The Frozen North, home to Christmas Town where Lord Claus and Mrs. Claus resides together, a Peppermint Mine, Christmas Tree Forest, and more. At the centre of Christmas Town, atop a majestic pine tree, sits the Yule-Light, casting its joyful and life-enhancing light over the small town and its inhabitants. Yet its radiant light, a symbol of goodwill and hope to all, has of late, waned, and in its dim glow, a gloom has fallen over Christmas Town, just on Christmas Eve. At the same time, a sickly-sweet wind has begun to blow from the north, and Lord Claus himself has been stricken. Elsewhere, there are rumours that the Abominable Snow Monster of The North has returned from beyond the Polar Wastes in search of food, and Lord Claus’ trusted champions—Yukon of Cornelius, Rudolph the Red, and the powerful dental-mancer, Hermey, have all gone missing. Yet these pale into significance given the possibility of the Yule-Light being extinguished and allowing evil seep into the world… 

As Lord Claus lies sick in his bed, he urges a band of doubty adventurers, including an Elf Toymaker, a Who-Ville Halfling, Fledgling Reindeer, Mrs. Claus, a Snowman, a Special Delivery Courier, and a Lamplighter, to go forth and look for his missing lieutenants, before warning them that the Grinch has awoken, and that perhaps the true spirit of Christmas may be found in his lair… Wherever that is? Inspired by classic Christmas stories like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, and especially How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Dungeon Crawl Classics 2020 Holiday Module: The Doom That Came to Christmas Town comes with numerous maps, a puzzle or two, seven pre-generated Player Characters, and an eight-location sand-crawl. Initially, the Player Characters will have only a little idea as to which location to go to first, relying at first on what little knowledge they possess and rumours they can learn in Christmas Town, and then at each of the scenario eight locations. These include Christmas Tree Forest, the Isle of Misfits which is home to King Moonracer, a Peppermint Mine, the Winter Warlock’s Tower, and more. At most these, none of which run to more than a handful or two of entries, the Player Characters should be able to find not just clues, but also magical items which will help them elsewhere.

There is a duality to the tone of Dungeon Crawl Classics 2020 Holiday Module: The Doom That Came to Christmas Town. The most obvious is humorous and light-hearted, playing up the elements of traditional Christmas stories and especially How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, for this is very much an American Christmas. This is seen especially in the pre-generated Player Characters, which are Christmas-themed versions of traditional Dungeon Crawl Classics Classes. For example, Fireball the Reindeer is a Warrior who attacks with antlers and hooves, and has limited flight, and Mrs. Claus is actually a Cleric armed with a rolling pin and in addition to divine spells, can rustle up delectable dishes with ease. And of course, the choice of monsters drawn from Christmas stories are fairly humorous, as are some of the encounters, such as the Strange Metal Pole which the Player Characters are compelled to lick and have their tongues stuck which is not good for spellcasters). Conversely, the other side to Dungeon Crawl Classics 2020 Holiday Module: The Doom That Came to Christmas Town is fairly grim. Such as with an Abyssal Reindeer Demon armed with a crossbow capable of pecking out the eyes of his targets! Thankfully the grim bits counter the sugary sweet bits in the module.

Ultimately, the likelihood is that Dungeon Crawl Classics 2020 Holiday Module: The Doom That Came to Christmas Town will be completed in a single session—perhaps two at the very most. This can be done using two approaches. One would be to play through it like a typical sandbox adventure, primarily using brute force, and there is a lot of opportunity for that, but the other approach would be to play to the scenario’s Christmas theme, which when combined with good roleplaying will work in places. Similarly, the scenario’s puzzles, of which there are two, can be dealt with using either of these approaches. Both are fairly silly affairs and depending upon the play style of the group, may be accepted as is or considered to be just a little frustrating. That said, the scenario might have been improved with a third puzzle to really round it out a little—a trio of puzzles is more fitting than just a pair.

Physically, Dungeon Crawl Classics 2020 Holiday Module: The Doom That Came to Christmas Town is decently done. The artwork is fun, but the maps are perhaps a little dark and a lighter look might have suited the tone of the scenario better.

Dungeon Crawl Classics 2020 Holiday Module: The Doom That Came to Christmas Town is a thematically fun one-off, working best when players and Judge alike embrace and play up to its themes. It is good for that end of year palette cleanser, a change of pace and tone between campaigns or breaks in campaigns.

Titanic Tales

The gods have always fought against the generations of gods that came before them. In Greek myth, the Olympians—the gods with which we are most familiar from Greek and Roman mythology—fought a decade-long battle to see who would have dominion over the world. This is the ‘Titanomachy’, or War of the Titans. It is this war and this intergenerational conflict of young gods rebelling against and ultimately defeating their parents which is a major influence for Scion, the roleplaying game in which players roleplay the mortal descendants of gods—or Scions—who grow to become both the agents and the active presence of their parents in The World, the mortal realms as we know them. Of course, such tales of intergenerational godly conflict are not confined to Greek and Roman mythology, and neither are the Scions. Thus, in Scion: Origin and Scion: Hero, they include not just the Theoi or Greco-Roman pantheon, but also the Aesir or Norse Gods, the Manitou or Algonquian pantheon, Netjer or Egyptian pantheon, the Kami or Japanese Gods, the Tuatha Dé Danann or Irish Gods, the Óríshá or Yórúba pantheon, the Devá or Gods of South Asia, the Shén or Chinese pantheon, and Teōtl or Aztec pantheon. And each pantheon has its own set of Titans, older deities more archetypal embodiments of a particular purview whose pursuit of their primal urges tend to have destructive effects, especially on the mortal realms. Consequently, the Gods, many of them children of the Titans, imprisoned the Titans, who have rattled their chains ever since, more recently weakening them and allowing their more monstrous offspring to enter The World and threaten humanity. However, the relationships between the Gods and their Titans varies from one Pantheon to the next, and it is these relationships which are explored in Titanomachy, a supplement for both Scion: Origin and Scion: Hero which brings the second War against the Gods one step closer.

Published by Onyx Path Publishing, Titanomachy can be divided into three large chapters. The first of these is devoted to ‘The Titans’ and details the various Titans of Scion’s ten pantheons—or rather it does not. In each case, the Titan is fully detailed, including aliases, callings and purviews, relationships and agendas, view of other pantheons, and current priorities. There are typically three or four entries per pantheon, plus the Birthrights for the Scions of the Titans of that pantheon. These include creatures, followers, guides, and relics.

For example, the Titans for the Aesir are Jörð, Nidhoggr, Surtur, and Ymir. Jörð is described as the most beautiful of Aesir, an Earth Mother and creator of the Dwarves, whose father was killed by Asgardians and who was in turn abandoned by Odin, and ultimately, their son, Thor. Although she misses her son, her heart has grown bitter at the treatment by both him and his father. Jörð’s Callings are Guardian, Lover, and Primaeval,  and her Purviews are Beauty, Earth, Epic Stamina, Fertility, and Passion (Love). Her relationships and agendas primarily involve looking for companionship beyond the confines of the Pantheon, having grown bored of their repetitive behaviour, but as intelligent and skilled as she is, her own behaviour is often smothering and repetitive. Jörð holds the other Aesir in contempt, but is beginning beyond its confines for ideas and companionship, and her current priorities include protecting endangered species, and protecting and loving those Scions she creates—and of course, expecting much love in return. Automatically, Jörð makes for a great—or is that terrible mother figure?—especially if the Scion Player Character is related to Thor or Odin, or even simply red-headed. She could even be supporting radical eco-activists in their efforts to protect endangered species.

The other Titans of the Aesir—and of course, those of the other pantheons, are given a similar treatment. Thus for the rest of the Aesir, Nidhoggr is either the ‘Corpse-Chewer’ or ‘The Pretender’, who might be the serpent who gnaws the roots of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, or who might be the nemesis or simply a trick of Niõhöggr, who also gnaws the roots of Yggdrasil. It is intentionally confusing, but Scions of either are bent on the destruction of the other. As for Surtur, he is only concerned with his duty—fiery destruction and causing natural disasters for regrowth, and lastly, Ymir, the father-of-himself and all of the Aesir, plots to take Asgard as is his right, but his head-in-clouds mind and drive to micro-manage his fellow Titans and his own Scions means that he is rarely successful.

In terms of Birthrights, the Scions of the Titans of the Aesir might have access to creatures such as the cows sacred to Ymir, which he uses to send messages—whether in the slaughterhouse house or on the dairy farm, whilst Jörð uses her Followers the Dvergar, as her Messengers and Guides. An unaligned Guide and Messenger is Ratatoskr, the squirrel of the World Tree, who when not annoying Nidhoggr (or Niõhöggr) carries news and spreads lies, surely a great role model for a scurrilous gossip mongering Titan Scion! Then for relics, the ‘Brains in a Bottle’ provides a means of very limited communication with Ymir, ‘Jörð’s Bracelets’ allow the wearer to draw power directly from earth, ‘Nidhoggr’s Tooth’ is a dagger carved from a tooth capable of piercing any armour and holding any poison, and ‘Ymir’s Skull Fragment’ enables the user to view anywhere visible from the sky.

Titanomachy does this in turn for each of the Titans for almost all of the Pantheons, giving the Storyguide a wide range of options and foes to bring into her campaign. Where this diversity gets really interesting though, is how each of the various pantheons relates to its Titans. The Devá or Gods of South Asia loathe not only their own Titans, but those of other pantheons and take exception to pantheons who are more forgiving of them. The Titans and the Kami or Japanese Gods simply hate each other over a betrayal which happened centuries before, whilst those of the Manitou or Algonquian pantheon are simply seen as troublesome members of the same family. Similarly, the Titans of the Netjer or Egyptian pantheon are also accepted, but more as a balancing counterparts to their corresponding gods who defeat them over and over. The Titans facing the Shén of the Chinese pantheon are mired and quantified into the celestial bureaucracy, whilst those of the Teōtl or Aztec pantheon work to destroy the world completely, just as they have four times before. Of course, the gods of the Theoi or Greco-Roman pantheon hate their Titans, whilst the Tuatha Dé Domnann are only Titans because they lost their battle against the Tuatha Dé Danann or Irish Gods. Lastly, the exceptions are the gods of the Óríshá or Yórúba pantheon, which lacks Titans and dismisses the concept, fundamentally because of the divisive and delegitimizing nature of the categorisation.

Having presented the Storyguide with such a diverse range of mythological creatures, would be gods, former gods, and more, the second chapter to Titanomachy delves into ‘Storyguiding’. This highlights the questions a Storyguide needs to address before bringing Titans into her campaign—how big a role, which pantheons, has the Cold War between the gods and the Titans turned ‘hot’, and so on. What level are the Player Characters involved in the war—hot or cold—at street level, globetrotting across The World, or delving in and out of Terra Incognita, increasing the mythic stakes at each level? Along with numerous plot hooks covering numerous Titans presented in the previous chapter, there is also good advice on how to use the Titans. As NPCs, they might range free, come to the Player Characters for help (or vice versa), languish in prison (which is traditional) and thus requiring a visit, and even serve as allies. One interesting option covered is as Titan Scions, that is as Player Characters, having a Titan Calling instead of a Scion Calling. This lends itself to some great roleplaying challenges and storytelling possibilities as Titans are often prone to inhuman behaviour due to their parentage (whether actual or adopted). However, this may not be welcome in every playing group, and the authors suggest that for this reason, the inclusion of Titan Scions as Player Characters be discussed first.

The various levels of play—street level, globetrotting around The World, and into Terra Incognita are supported with three extended scenario outlines, each three acts long and accompanied by stats for the Storyguide characters. The street level scenario is  ‘Diaspora’, a locked room type mystery where the room is actually a whole airport in which the Scion must find some stolen relics, uncover imposters, solve a murder, and survive an apocalyptic boss fight in the course of an afternoon. The World scenario, ‘Lunar New Year’ is more open and can either start a campaign or be dropped into it as the Scions investigate the disruptive activities of a chaotic Titan Scion in New York. ‘Bring Forth a Greater Thunder’ is the Terra Incognito scenario and is far more open in its structure, consisting of key scenes and various subplots. All three scenarios involve the three areas of play intrinsic to Storypath games—action-adventure, intrigue, and procedural, and all nicely show what a Scion scenario can involve.

Lastly, the chapter on ‘Storyguiding’ discusses another type of entity key to many pantheons and mythologies—dragons! Dragons claim to have existed before the creation of The World and to have been the first in The World, which many Titans find objectionable. This is exacerbated by there being some overlap between Titans and Dragons, so that there may be two beings of the same name, but be different all together and be the same at the same time. As with the earlier Nidhoggr (or Niõhöggr), this is intended to be slightly confusing. Potentially though, Dragons represent a threat that Scions and Titans can both agree on.

The third and final chapter in Titanomachy consists of ‘Antagonists’, a wide range of enemies, potential allies, and other Storyguide characters. There is a guide to adjusting adversaries up and down to match the Scions and building archetypes adding Qualities and Flairs like ‘Bringing the House Down’, ‘Entrap’, and ‘Miasma’ to  base Spawn or Titanic minions, before listing over eighty examples. These include the familiar creatures of myth and legend, from Banshee, Fomorians, Gremlins to Internet Trolls (Lesser and Greater), Phouka, and Wendigo, alongside the unfamiliar and the individual. The former are drawn from mythologies less familiar to a Western audience, for example, the Harionago, female monsters who stalk the streets strangling with their hair anyone who returns their smiles or the Tikoloshe, creatures of polluted water and spite born to make the lives of others miserable. The latter are individual Titan Scions, such as Ed and Edie Jackson, sweet old pensioners adopted by Prometheus who setting fire to buildings and even Timothy Allgood, a tireless advocate for the release of Titans everywhere, who may be simply a good talk show guest or an actual Titan Scion.

Lastly, an appendix provides a raft of new rules. These include Collateral, a means of handling damage or events  to the environment around them when the Scions face Titan Scions or creatures of legendary size, and numerous Birthrights, from Cyclops, Dragon Secretary, and Grigori Rasputin to Cursed Copper Goods, Silk Spider Shawls, and Sinister Hands. The appendix is rounded off with a wide selection of Knacks that any Storyguide character or Player Character Titan Scion can have, depending upon their Titan Calling.

Physically, Titanomachy is well written and well presented. The artwork varies a little in quality, but otherwise, this is a decent looking book.

Titanomachy could simply have just been a book of monsters and their stats. Fortunately, it is much more than that. Many of the Titans and creatures and Titan Scions are monsters and are likely to serve as enemies to the Player Character Scions, but Titanomachy provides and discusses options to make them much more—frenemies, potential and/or temporary allies, and thus more interesting. In doing so, it builds on the thoroughly enjoyable descriptions of the Titans given for each of the pantheons that in turn lend themselves to great story hooks, interesting relationships with the Player Character Scions, and good roleplaying. All that and the descriptions also serve as more great introductions to the stories and myths of each pantheon such that the reader wants to find out more. Plus there are the detailed scenario outlines and plot hooks and actual monster, creature, and Titan Scion descriptions and stats which all together almost feel like a bonus!

Titanomachy is not just a great read for the Storyguide, but an indispensable guide to both the obvious foes of the Player Character Scions and how to turn a few of them into something more than just foes. Once the Storyguide has her Player Character Scions on their paths to divinity, Titanomachy is a next-step purchase for both Scion: Origin and Scion: Hero.

Substitute Souls

In comparison to Tales from the Loop, there is relatively little support for its sequel, Things from the Flood. Both share a setting in Mälaröarna, the islands of Lake Mälaren, east of Stockholm, first in the 1980s and then in 1990s, the site of the Facility for Research in High Energy Physics—or ‘The Loop’—the world’s largest particle accelerator, constructed and run by the government agency, Riksenergi. Both are settings drawn from Simon Stålenhag’s artwork, Tales from the Loop contrasting an almost pastoral idyll against a hi-tech world of the Loop, robots, and skies filled with ‘magnetrine vessels’, freighters and slow liners whose engines repel against the Earth’s magnetic field, an effect only possible in northern latitudes. In Things from the Flood, the pastoral idyll has been spoiled, the lands around the Loop spoiled by a hot, brown liquid bubbling up out of the ground, Riksenergi being shut down and the Loop being sold off, robots suffering from a strange cancer, and the resulting economic crisis would lead to depression, personality changes, divorces, gambling disorders, and more… Where Tales from the Loop is positive in tone and has a fascination with technology, Things from the Flood is darker and has a fear of technology.

Thankfully for fans of Things from the Flood—and other titles from Free League Publishing, there is the Free League Workshop. Much like the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons, this is a platform for creators to publish and distribute their own original content, which means that they also have a space to showcase their creativity and their inventiveness, to do something different, and perhaps even surprise us. So it is with Somethings are Better Left Unsaid.

Somethings are Better Left Unsaid is a scenario for Things from the Flood, and whilst it does involve things, it does not involve either floods, Loops, or even Sweden. It is still set in the 1990s though, but Australia, rather than Sweden, and the Teens are still teenagers. It is the second in a series of adventures—the first being Shakespeare’s Monkeys—involving the efforts of the research company, Northstar R&D, led by its founding CEO, Jeremy Longstaff, which wants to bring some of the technological and scientific benefits, in particular, the magic of magnetite, from the Loops in Sweden and Boulder City, Nevada, to the Southern Hemisphere. It is a short, one or two session scenario set in the lakeside town of Jindabyne, a small tourist resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.

Despite sharing the same location and being set in Australia, Somethings are Better Left Unsaid is a little different in comparison to Shakespeare’s Monkeys. In a way, it feels less Australian because it does not involve an intelligent creature a la the series, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (which in Shakespeare’s Monkeys manages to feel simultaneously appropriate and inappropriate). However, because it forgoes this obvious potential for parody, it allows the authors to bring in something which is genuinely Australian and so brings colour into the scenario which was not present in Shakespeare’s Monkeys. This is Behind the News, a long-running news programme broadcast on Australia’s ABC TV and aimed at upper primary and lower secondary students to help them understand issues and events outside their own lives. Show the players an episode of this—especially those from the nineties and perhaps worked into scenes earlier in Shakespeare’s Monkeys and that would go towards adding colour to the four scenarios.

The other difference between the two scenarios is that Somethings are Better Left Unsaid brings the threat at its heart closer to home—or at least closer to school. The Teens of Jindabyne begin to have the weirder feelings than the norm—that they almost know what others are thinking and of floating just above their bodies as they fall asleep at night, just as radios keep squawking static and the sound of voices begging. Could these be connected? The one day at school, just as they are about to watch the latest episode of Behind the News, their science teacher, along with a fellow student,  faints in class. If they go to check on either of them in hospital the next day, they discover that the local doctors are both perplexed and worried, but a strange old man, accompanied by bodyguards no less, seems to be taking an interest in them. Things take a really weird turn the next day when the substitute the science teacher who is sick, Doctor Matianov, is actually the strange old man who was seen at the hospital the day before. This is not just weird, for it gets worse when it becomes obvious that Doctor Matianov is actually a terrible teacher! Just what is going on and just what does it have to do with Doctor Matianov? Is he really a teacher? Has he joined the staff at the school for reasons of his own?

Somethings are Better Left Unsaid is creepy and weird and ties into our fears—and those of the Teens—of conspiracies (Doctor Matianov is actually Russian), loss (in particular of important mentors and friends), and the supernatural (the weird voices heard over the radio, at the very least). It is darker in tone than the earlier Shakespeare’s Monkeys and is more focused and confined to just the school and the hospital, rather than being more open in terms of its play area. The result is that Somethings are Better Left Unsaid is shorter and more likely to played through in a single, intense session (though it could stretch to two). Similarly, just as with Shakespeare’s Monkeys, the decently explained plot is easily adapted to other settings—even back to Mälaröarna or Boulder City! There is however one issue with Somethings are Better Left Unsaid which it shared with Shakespeare’s Monkeys. It leaves the connections to Northstar R&D undeveloped and unexplored, and perhaps it would have been better for this scenario and the previous one to have dropped some hints or foreshadowed at the corporation’s involvement.

Physically, Somethings are Better Left Unsaid is a decently laid out document and follows the format for Things from the Flood. Some of the artwork is decent too, and the maps are nicely done. The darker turn of Somethings are Better Left Unsaid is not unwelcome scenario in what is another likeable enough affair that offers the chance to explore the world of Things from the Flood from a different perspective. It feels as if it is laying the foundation for something larger, but not telling the Game Master what it is yet, and that really needs to come through in the next scenarios to be released.

The FATE of Yig

FATE of Cthulhu added two elements to Lovecraftian investigative roleplaying—time travel and foreknowledge. Published by Evil Hat Games, the 2020 horror roleplaying game was built around campaign frameworks that cast the Player Characters as survivors in a post-apocalyptic future thirty years into the future, the apocalypse itself involving various aspects and entities of the Mythos. Not only as survivors though, because having entered into a pact with the Old One, Yog-Sothoth, they have unlocked the secret of time travel and come back to the present. They have come back aware of the steps along the way which brought about the apocalypse and they come back ready to fight it. This though is not a fight against the Cthulhu Mythos in general, but rather a single Old One and its cultists, and each thwarting of an Old One is a self-contained campaign in its own right, in which no other element of the Mythos appears.

The five campaigns, or timelines, presented in FATE of Cthulhu in turn have the Investigators facing Cthulhu, Dagon, Shub-Nigggurath, Nyarlathotep, and the King in Yellow. Each consists of  five events, the last of which is always the rise of the Old One itself. The events represent the roadmap to that last apocalyptic confrontation, and can each be further broken down into four event catalysts which can be people, places, foes, and things. The significance of these events are represented by a die face, that is either a bank, a ‘–’, or a ‘+’. These start out with two blanks and two ‘–’, the aim of the players and their investigators being to try to prevent their being too many, if any ‘–’ symbols in play and ideally to flip them from ‘–’ to blank and from blank to ‘+’. Ultimately the more ‘+’ there are, the more positive the ripple will be back down the timeline and the more of a chance the investigators have to defeat or prevent the rise of the Old One. Conversely, too many ‘–’ and the known timeline will play out as follows and the less likely the chance the investigators have in stopping the Old One.

Each of the five timelines comes with details of what a time traveller from 2050 would know about it, more detail for the Game Master with a breakdown of the events and their Aspects, Stunts, Mythos creatures, and NPCs. Most of these can serve as useful inspiration for the Game Master as well as the advice given on running FATE of Cthulhu and her creating her own timelines. After all, there are numerous Mythos entities presenting the prospective Game Master ready to create her own timeline with a variety of different aspects, purviews, and even degrees of power, but nevertheless capable of bringing about an apocalypse. However, Evil Hat Games has already begun to do that with its own series of timelines, each again dealing with a different Mythos entity and a different downfall for mankind. The first of these is The Rise of Yig.

Darkest Timeline: The Rise of Yig is different. It is triggered by a surprise eclipse in 2020, visible only in northern Mexico and in the southern United States, casting the whole of the region into shadow and it was into this darkness that Yig—the Father of Serpents—awoke. Wherever he walked, civilisation was destroyed in his wake; his full psychic emanations led to terrifying dreams of snakes and other reptiles; new species of snakes appeared with a painfully venomous bite that defied science, only those that pledged themselves to the Father of Serpents and became his foot soldiers, the Children of Yig, proved to be immune; Serpentmen appeared and struck at important leaders; and the weather heated up the planet leading to the spread of a hothouse jungle which would swallow up city after city in less than a year. Only in the polar regions has mankind been able to find a refuge…

In that year, organisations also appeared to combat the threat faced by humanity. Organisations such as the Center for Defense against Elder Threats from the UN, the Chimalli Union, and the Dark Light Net which had all long prepared in secret in case such an event as this occurred. However, the one of the Old Ones that they had not been prepared for is Yig. That is the first difference in Darkest Timeline: The Rise of Yig in comparison with the five timelines given in FATE of Cthulhu. Yig is almost comprehensible in his actions, and has a reputation for benevolence when it comes to mankind, being mostly concerned with the well-being of his children—reptiles, snakes, and of course, Serpentmen. So the question is, was Yig planning the downfall of mankind in 2020, or was there something else going on with this most benign of Old Ones?

As with the timelines in the core rules, Darkest Timeline: The Rise of Yig details the history of its apocalypse and the four events which led up to it for the benefit of the Investigators who will be aware when they jump back from the future. It is accompanied by a more detailed timeline for Game Master along with their four event catalysts (which can be people, places, foes, or things) and their die face settings which the players and their Investigators will need to change by making enquiries and working to defeat the cult. There are details of threats and situations, including cultists like the Agents of the Snake and Snakepersons, the relics and magic associated with the cult, and in particular, the agents of Center for Defense against Elder Threats from the UN, the Chimalli Union, and the Dark Light Net.

If there is an issue with Darkest Timeline: The Rise of Yig it is that it is very busy and there is a lot going on, but the Game Master is given a clearer explanation at the end of the supplement. That is the other difference between Darkest Timeline: The Rise of Yig and the five timelines given in FATE of Cthulhu. It is more complex, not as straightforward, and there are multiple factions involved across the timeline. This makes for a much more challenging campaign, both to run and play, for the players and their Investigators to determine what is going on and what the motives are of the various factions involved in the apocalypse—on both sides. Then for the Game Master to depict the various members of these factions. Again, the clearer explanation at the end of the supplement is a big help with that.

Physically, Darkest Timeline: The Rise of Yig is cleanly presented. It is easy to read and the lay out is tidy, though it needs an edit in places. The artwork is good also.

Although Darkest Timeline: The Rise of Yig is specially written for use with FATE of Cthulhu and very much built around the Investigators coming back from the future forearmed with knowledge of the past, there is nothing to stop a Game Master from using to run from the opposite direction and from a point of ignorance. That is, as a standard campaign a la other roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror, whether that is actually for FATE of Cthulhu or another roleplaying game. Plus, given the nature of the threat faced in Darkest Timeline: The Rise of Yig, it is easy to comb the support for roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror to find, if not more Yig-related scenarios, then at least more Serpentmen scenarios. Which gives it a flexibility beyond FATE of Cthulhu.

Darkest Timeline: The Rise of Yig gets the ‘Darkest Timeline’ series off to a strong start. It serves up a horridly ophidiophobic and fairly complex framework that will take some effort to really run right, but delivers a surprising take on Yig and his associated Mythos.

Unseasonal Festivities: Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021

The Christmas Annual is a traditional thing—and all manner of things can receive a Christmas Annual. Those of our childhoods would have been tie-ins to the comic books we read, such as the Dandy or the Beano, or the television series that we enjoyed, for example, Doctor Who. Typically, here in the United Kingdom, they take the form of slim hardback books, full of extra stories and comic strips and puzzles and games, but annuals are found elsewhere too. In the USA, ongoing comic book series, like Batman or The X-Men, receive their own annuals, though these are simply longer stories or collections of stories rather than the combination of extra stories and comic strips and puzzles and games. In gaming, TSR, Inc.’s Dragon magazine received its own equivalent, the Dragon Annual, beginning in 1996, which would go from being a thick magazine to being a hardcover book of its own with the advent of Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition. For the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021, the format is very much a British one—puzzles and games, yes, and all themed with the fantasy and mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons, along with content designed to get you into the world’s premier roleplaying game.

Published by Harper Collins Publishers, the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 opens with a history, done as a timeline, which runs from the Dungeons & Dragons of 1974 to the recent release of the Baldur’s Gate III and Dark Alliance computer games. It includes each of the roleplaying game’s various editions, and highlights their best features, plus notable highlights such as the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon and the estimated number of players. The ‘D&D Quick-Start Guide’ suggests the first steps that a prospective player take to get into the game, from choosing the party and deciding who would be Dungeon Master to grabbing pencil and paper and selecting a campaign. Then it is onto ‘Creating a Character’, which actually serves as an easier to grasp guide to the process, and actually better than that given in the Player’s Handbook. As you would expect, it neatly breaks the character sheet down and takes the reader through the process step-by-step—though of course, the reader will still need to refer to the full rules.

The would-be Dungeon Master receives a similar treatment, beginning with ‘Master Dungeon-Mastering’, looking at a possible next step the player might want to take after playing a few games of Dungeons & Dragons. This takes her from ‘Choosing your Campaign’ and ‘Setting the Scene’ through to ‘Planning Encounters’ and ‘Roleplaying’, and includes a quick guide to running combat. The one issue with this article is really the choice of illustration for when choosing the beginning campaign—Dungeons & Dragons Essentials rather than the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set. There is nothing wrong with including the illustration of Dungeons & Dragons Essentials, but the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set is the more obvious entry point. The next step for the Dungeon Master is ‘Tips for World-Building’ which poses her several questions should she want to begin creating her own setting, her own campaign world. Unsurprisingly, it is fairly basic, but it serves as a set of beginning pointers.

One of the best features about any new roleplaying game is an example of play since it showcases how the game is intended to be played and be played. ‘A Tale of a First Encounter’ is a lengthy, three-part example of play which is set in an inn where several adventurers come together to form a party before an unexpected showdown with a bunch of bandits. It weaves in and out of game play and table talk and ultimately shows how dangerous combat can be as well as giving some idea of how Dungeons & Dragons can be played. Unfortunately not set in a dungeon, it does however show it is very much a social game, a game played by a diversity of players. If ‘A Tale of a First Encounter’ shows how the game is played, two other articles showcase how Dungeons & Dragons can also be consumed. The first is ‘Spectator Mode’ which features the seven most well-known real-play live streams, with Critical Role at the top of course. The second is ‘Audiophile’, which does the same for podcasts. Although there are no links, but they point to another way in which a prospective player can learn how the game can be played and enjoyed if he cannot immediately begin playing, and so ease himself into Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition vicariously. ‘Beyond the Tabletop’ does a similar thing, but points towards some of the card games, computer games, and comics currently available for Dungeons & Dragons.

Once a player begins play, the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 suggests options to improve both his gaming experience and that of his fellow players. ‘Level Up Your Table’ gives a host of accessories that he can add, such as DM Screens, maps, miniatures, apps, and more. Similarly, ‘Adventurers League’ and ‘Extra Life’ point to how a player can take his Dungeons & Dragons away from home and into the gaming community itself. The former with regular events at his local games shop (and ‘Your Friendly Neighbourhood Game Store’ points to just a very few of the very many available, as well as giving a player an idea of what they look like), whilst the latter tells the player how the gaming he normally does for fun can mean a bit more by raising money for charity through playing Dungeons & Dragons, and is a worthy inclusion in the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021.

Much of the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 can be divided into four strands, including ‘A Tale of a First Encounter’, that run throughout its pages. The first of these is ‘Xanathar’s Classes 101’, which provides an overview of each of the twelve Classes from the Player’s Handbook. Each profile states what a Class is good for, what Proficiencies and Special Skills it has, and why a player should select that particular Class and why he should avoid it. Thus a Bard is described as a jack-of-all-trades, has boosts to his Performance-based skills, and his special skill is Inspiration, used to boost the attacks and saving throws of his allies. Lastly, the descriptions suggest that a player chose the Bard if he wants a character who can perform, persuade, and strategise, but avoid if he instead wants to inflict lots of damage. The counterpart to this is ‘Folk of the Realms’ which does the same for the Player Character Races in the Forgotten Realms and thus the Player’s Handbook. ‘Adventures Across the Multiverse’ guides the reader round some of the most notable worlds and locations in Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Thus for ‘Adventures Across the Multiverse: Forgotten Realms’ it identifies Icewind Dale, Neverwinter, and the Lost Mine of Phandelver, whilst Waterdeep is linked to the campaign, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Baldur’s Gate to Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, and Chult to Tomb of Annihilation. The series does the same for Ravenloft and Eberron, although there are very few actual campaigns and supplements associated with them for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition in comparison to the Forgotten Realms. Later on though, the ‘Adventure Collection’ highlights all of the releases and campaigns for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition to date.

If ‘Xanathar’s Classes 101’ showcases the Classes of Dungeons & Dragons, then ‘Volo’s [Abridged] Guide to…’ does the same for its monsters. It covers the classics, including Rakshasa, Mimics, Wights, Liches, Beholder, and Duergar, telling the reader what they look like, what their favoured attacks are, how to defeat them, and other pertinent facts. This is a decent enough strand, but perhaps the choice of monsters is not as interesting as it could have been, but with so many to choose from…

Scattered throughout the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 is a handful of puzzles and games. This includes ‘Scrambled Spells’, anagrams of spells taken from Player’s Handbook, Sudukos for both spells and Player Character details, a treasure hunt set on the Sword Coast of the Forgotten Realms; a wordsearch of Dungeons & Dragons monsters, a spot the difference puzzle, a maze, and more. They are clearly designed for a younger audience—as is the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021—but do show whatever theme you apply to them, the puzzles themselves have hardly changed, if at all, in decades.

Physically, the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 is snappily presented. There is plenty of full colour artwork drawn from Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, and the writing is clear and kept short, so is an easy read for its intended audience. One nice touch is the inclusion of photographs of game shops and people playing, showing that the game has a broader appeal than just at the potential player’s table and that they are having fun at the table. In comparison to the annuals past, the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 is slim, but still packs a lot into its pages.

Unfortunately, the two elements that are missing from the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 are those of the very title of the roleplaying game itself—no dungeons and no dragons. As inclusive and as well written and as well presented as the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 actually is, that really is a major omission.

Over the years, there have been plenty of introductions to Dungeons & Dragons, some of them decent, some them of utterly pointless and useless, such as the Dungeon Survival Guide and the ‘What exactly were you thinking, Wizards of the Coast?!’ Wizards Presents: Races and Classes and Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters books that heralded the arrival of the Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition. Fortunately, the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 is far superior to any of those.

The Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 is genuinely an interesting and informative read. To be fair, this is not a book or supplement that a dedicated player or Dungeon Master is going to need, or even want, to read. After all, much of this will be familiar to him or her. However, the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 provides a good introduction to the roleplaying game, especially as a next step after reading the Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer’s Guides series and playing the Endless Quest series. It provides a broader overview than either of those two series and better showcases the next steps that a player and a Dungeon Master take should he or she want to start playing. And like all Christmas annuals, the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021 is a good gift to the younger reader, especially one with an interest in fantasy and games, but better than those Christmas annuals of old, for there is much, much more fun to be had beyond the pages of the Dungeons & Dragons Annual 2021.