This article originally appeared in d20 Weekly

Pyramid Review: Seven Strongholds (for d20)

Seven Strongholds

Published by Atlas Games

Written by Robin D. Laws

Illustrated by Chris Pepper, Michael Clark, Mike Dutton, David Interdonato, Jennifer Meyer, Steven Sanders

128 b&w pages; $20.95

Seven Strongholds is another title released under Atlas Games' Penumbra imprint of d20 sourcebooks and adventures. It presents seven different castles, forts, and defensive locales, created by Robin D. Laws -- the author of numerous RPGS and supplements, including Rune and The Dying Earth RPG, and more recently, Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering from Steve Jackson Games. Each of the seven entries is designed so the DM can easily prepare and slip them into his own campaign, whether by immediate need or by planned design.

Behind Chris Pepper's cover, Seven Strongholds is laid out in the Penumbra house style, and thus up to Atlas Games' usual professional standards. The artwork helps capture the feel of each of the seven locations given in the book, but the maps reduce the book's ease of use. Actually, the maps themselves -- by Rob Lee -- are perfectly all right; it is the labeling that is the problem. Where the maps require numbering, an explanation of these numbers is given only alongside the map . . . not in the heading for each room description. Thus if the referee is reading these descriptions, he is forced to look at the map key before looking at the map itself. It would be easier if the DM was able to refer back and forth between the map and text without having to look at the key. The . . .

This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.



Article publication date: May 24, 2002

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