Introduction
[This review is spoiler-free, as regards story, monsters, and NPCs. However, a few villages will be generically described, and the number of dungeon locations will be given.]
I ordered Barrowmaze Complete on 5/16/2015 and received it via USPS ten days later. The binding is of the highest quality, apparently the same binding that existed for the Kickstarter copies. Some images of the product are at the following links (or just search for “Barrowmaze Complete” on Google images):
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?- f=48&t=69622
http://www.dragonsfoot.org- /forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=58367&start=30#p1588647
The above images match my product exactly.
Gazetteer
The Gazetteer for the surrounding towns and settlements, new to this ‘Complete’ product, is excellent. The geography includes 3 settlements, 3 rivers, 3 forests, a very large swamp, and a mountain range, all indicated via text description and hex map. The three settlements are Bogtown (village), Ironguard Motte (town plus castle), and Helix (village). The first two are detailed in a page or two each, whereas Helix is very detailed - at least eight pages of text description - and includes a village map with numbered locations. This is important, because Helix will be the PCs main base camp as they travel to and from the Barrowmaze. About forty NPCs are described across these three settlements (with handy pictures for fifteen of them, and stats for 22 of them), and the map for Helix details about sixteen places to visit. Nine deities are described, and interesting interrelations between them and their followers are included (basically, old gods vs. new gods). Many NPCs are members of different religious, mercantile, or political organizations or factions (some legit, some shady), which sets up the potential for quite a bit of intrigue and player intervention, if they’re looking for it. (There’s no ‘story’ per se, just real-life connections that can be discovered and exploited by resourceful players. There is a backstory for the Barrowmaze, of course; its history is neatly laid out in about five paragraphs.)
The Megadungeon
As for the dungeon itself, there are about 70 barrow mounds to visit just below the surface of the swampy Barrowmoor (all located on a single hex map, but each one individually described, many with multiple rooms and corresponding mini-maps). But this is just the introduction, as there are a further 375 locations in the much deeper Barrowmaze itself, which are also described and keyed to a lavish map that spans six pages. (BTW, purchasing the pdf product gets you the entire book, plus black-and-white and blue-and-white maps of the Barrowmaze in separate, one-page files.)
After the megadungeon proper there are descriptions of new magic items, spells, and monsters, six pregenerated characters for player use, seven fully-statted adventurer parties the PCs might encounter, a blank character sheet, an illustration book with 36 illustrations (each referenced in the text of the megadungeon itself), about seven random tables, and an excellent random crypt generator (in the spirit of the multi-step dungeon generator in the AD&D DMG, but contextualized for the Barrowmaze environment). There are adventure hooks, a random rumor table, four new treasure types (death masks, funerary figures, scarabs, canopic jars), and nine factions described (along with their interrelations, should the PCs want to take sides).
Art and Layout
Artwork is abundant and well-placed, picturing dozens of evocative scenes and situations. Fourteen artists are at work here. There are multiple, gorgeous full-page pieces, half-page pieces, quarter-page pieces, and smaller square pieces, all scattered throughout the volume. The new monsters are individually statted, described, and illustrated in their own section. The layout includes fixed headings appropriate for the ‘section’ of the dungeon you are in, so that you can quickly flip through the book and know what section you’re in based on the heading at the top of the page. Adding this was a nice touch. The amount of text devoted to each dungeon location hits the sweet spot that avoids two extremes: ‘so detailed that my players will get bored while I review it all’ and ‘so sparse that I wonder why I bought this product.’ In every location description, both the name of the location and any monsters there are in bold, so that they jump out at you from the page. Any monsters have their stats given in just a line or two (OSR style), so that you don’t have to pull out any monster manuals if you don’t want to.
Concluding Thoughts
This is a multi-year campaign in a book. It is an obvious labor of love. The production values are through the roof: binding, layout, descriptions, art, full-color cover. Even the ink is dark, genuinely black rather than faded, so that the text crisply stands out and the artwork pops, yet there is no bleedthrough to the other side of the page, because the paper is high quality. Yes, there are a few typos, particularly in the Gazetteer section. But if this product doesn’t deserve five stars - easily deserve it! - then no product deserves it. I also own the Dwimmermount hardback (Kickstarter supporter) and Castle of the Mad Archmage, and Barrowmaze Complete compares quite favorably to these: more detail than Castle, not as unwieldy as Dwimmermount. (Don’t get me wrong: these other two products deserve five stars as well.) I plan on running this in Swords & Wizardry, though it is statted for Labyrinth Lord.
What follows is a full table of contents for Barrowmaze Complete, for those who only have Barrowmaze I and II. I have blanked out descriptions that could be construed as real spoilers. Greg Gillespie worked hard on this; no need to spoil it in a review:
Credits and Acknowledgements.................2
Preface..................................3
Table of Contents...........................3
Introduction...............................4
Gazetteer.............................- ...6
Religion, Faith, and The Gods.................8
Towns and Settlements.....................10
Bogtown...............................10
Ironguard Motte .........................11
Helix.................................12
Personalities of Helix......................16
The Campaign Begins.....................20
Adventure Hooks.........................20
Barrowmaze Random Rumor Table.............20
Running Barrowmaze........................21
Barrowmaze New Treasure Types.............24
Barrowmaze Factions......................26
Barrowmaze: Endgame....................27
The Barrow Mounds........................28
The Barrow Mounds Hex Map...............29
Area One: ..........61
Area Two: .................81
Area Three: .............94
Area Four: ........100
Area Five: .............103
Area Six: ................112
Area Seven: . . .124
Area Eight: ...............139
Area Nine: ....153
Area Ten: .........157
ong>........................166
ng>....................167
_ong>____........................168
New Magic Items.........................169
New Spells.............................174
New Monsters...........................177
Pregenerated Characters....................202
Rival Adventuring Parties....................204
Barrowmaze Character Sheet.................209
Barrowmaze Illustration Book.................211
Maps..................................234
Random Tables...........................240
Table 1: Barrowmoor Random Encounters.......240
Table 2: Brazen Strumpet Random Patron Generator........................241
Table 3: Dungeon Dressing.................242
Table 4: Pit Contents.....................243
Table 5: Graffiti.........................243
Table 6: Runic Tablet Result.................243
Table 7: Dungeon Restock..................243
Table 8: Sarcophagus Contents..............244
Barrow Mound Random Crypt Generator.........245
Open Game Content.......................253
Further differences between earlier incarnations of Barrowmaze (I and II) and Barrowmaze Complete are listed at the Indiegogo site for this project:
https://www.indiegogo.com- /projects/barrowmaze-complete-official-miniatures-by-ow#/story
Just scroll down to ‘New Material’ to see the list.
Yes, it’s expensive. I don’t know what to say about that. Junk is usually cheap, but good things often cost more. I could only afford this product because I was the proofreader for Richard LeBlanc’s Creature Compendium, and part of the cash he paid me went toward paying for this. And this is now one of the highest quality products I own. But paying for this should be easy if you’re smart. Just get five players to pony up $10 each for years of gaming. Cover the remaining $25 yourself and you’ve got yourself a deal.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |