In my previous post, I indicated my unhappiness with the Marmoreal Tomb versus what I thought I was getting. Certainly, the long winding road traveled by this Kickstarter has biased my viewpoint (Funded in September 2015, promised for 2016, Troll Lords takes over and cracks the whip 2019, last .pdf received by me January 2023). I will attempt to put my biases aside and review the delivered products on their merits. Benoist's maps are gorgeous and have been available for a long time. I have five main products: the Tomb itself, the Wilderness Expansion, the Underworld Expansion, the Players Guide, and the Prismatic Maze. So far the best ones are the Underworld Expansion and the Prismatic Maze. Please note most of my detailed review is in the spoilers below (I have a hard time reviewing things without talking about them). At $150 for the boxed set, it is a bit pricey but there is a lot of stuff within. Unfortunately, the Prismatic Maze does not appear to be included in the box set.
RATING
Art ****
Writing ***
Creativity ****
Overall ***1/2
****** Spoilers below******
Tomb Main Module
THE PREFACE
Mostly explaining how
the game was played back in the day. I'll ignore the references to forthcoming
products as they are unlikely to appear soon other than the Underworld and
Wilderness which are already published.
INTRODUCTION
History of the
region, suggestions for starting character background, rumors and other helpful
stuff
CHAPTER 1 VIPER PASS.
Description of the
Wilderness surrounding the dungeon. Not really a concept I am enamored with
since parties can be easily be distracted by the wilderness and never make it
to the dungeon at all. The network of goblin tunnels is intriguing. The
frequent tremors in the pass can open some interesting side adventures.
CHAPTER 2 ENVIRONS
AND CAVE SYSTEM
I feel this chapter
is redundant with the prior one. Smart parties will just walk straight up to the
entrance to the first level and not mess with any of these encounters.
CHAPTER 3 GRUN GALEB
the dungeon finally.
Pretty standard monster selection. some interesting coordination between rooms.
a dwarven ally hidden out.
CHAPTER 4 THE BURIAL
VAULTS
undead and stone
giants interesting combinations. I like the rhinoceros stone giant chariot
CHAPTER 5 THE CRYPT
Urns and Sarcophagi are guarded by vengeful spirits and Cyclops Priests
Marmoreal Tomb Wilderness
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I - PRIMER TO THE LOWER MIDLANDS
Overview of the Geography, history and religion of the lower midlands
CHAPTER 2 – FIGURES AND FACTIONS
People and groups of the lower midlands. I like that most of the profiles include some adventure suggestions.
CHAPTER 3 – CROM CAEMLOCH
A town to use as a homebase for adventuring. Of course there is a tunnel network underneath
CHAPTER 4 - THE TWIN TANKARD
A tavern to use as a homebase for those who don’t like towns. The cellar has a passage to the underworld
CHAPTER 5 – ENCOUNTERS
Several different approaches to wilderness encounters. Includes the random castle system for outdoor survival.
APPENDIX A – MONSTERS AND CHARACTERS
APPENDIX B – HIRELING EXTRAVAGANZA
Marmoreal Tomb Underworld
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I – EXTENDED BURIAL VAULTS
Addition to core burial vaults level. More rooms become available off the core map as tremors clear passages
tsCHAPTER II – THE HEARTH OF CHAOS
A crazy high level adventure with a lake of fire and magic
artfact forge. Even though it is an 82 room level the authors feel the need to
include suggestions for making it bigger
CHAPTER 3: THE PROVINCE OF THE SHOKO-JUMI
Linked to the Hearth by a portal this adventure takes place in
the far east with a Japanese vibe. Wilderness map so I’m not sure why its in
this book
CHAPTER IV – THE MELLIFLUOUS SHRINE
An extra-dimensional nexus with gates to numerous other
planes.
CHAPTER V – THE HIVEWORLD OF UR-SHAMATH
Seeming a large beehive in the Mellifluous Shrine expands to
world size when entered by one of the planar gates in the Shrine
APPENDIX A: BESTIARY
New monsters
APPENDIX B: SHADES OF IYON
Additional planes using the outdoor map
APPENDIX C: HANDOUTS REFERENCE LIST
List and Handouts. Includes a dungeon cross-section
APPENDIX D: SECRETS OF THE HEARTH
Timeline of the setting. Location of major artifacts in the
modules.
Marmoreal Tomb Players Guide
I. INTRODUCTION TO THE DUINNSMERE
Background and history for the region
II. CHARACTER CREATION
How to roll up a character. Little specific to the settling
so perhaps redundant with your core rules
III. ADDITIONAL RULES
House rules for this campaign including gnomes, extra stuff
for your primary character, and cold iron as a special weapon.
Character Sheets and Maps
Prismatic Maze
INTRODUCTION
this module and the main setting
CHAPTER I – DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Large quantities of NPCs with long backstories
CHAPTER 2 – GAME OPENINGS
A bunch of different options on how to connect this dungeon
to the core campaign
CHAPTER 3 – DUNGEON FEATURES
Explanation of how the dungeon works. Having both three
rotating middle sections and shifting effects dependant on region color
explanation is required.
CHAPTER 4 – DUNGEON KEY
Encounters include the NPC adventuring party, A hidden gem and
boss monster for each color, a maintenance drew capable of melding with the
walls, and a surprising number of sea creatures for dry level with only fountains.
Mummies, and a lich also. Numerous unlocks are available by manipulating the
rotating sections, color gems, and beams of light. Many creatures reform so have
to be defeated more than once.
OVERALL
THE GOOD
More great ideas than you can shake a stick at. My favorite
level is the Hearth of Chaos. My Second favorite is the Prismatic Maze. Years
of adventuring material. The clean black and white text layout is highly readable. Pen
and ink drawings definitely harken back to the Erol Otis days. Hand-colored
maps are gorgeous. Motivations are given for most encounters enabling
roleplaying beyond hack and slash. I like that most of the profiles in FIGURES
AND FACTIONS include some adventure suggestions. Players Guide is a great idea to introduce the players to the setting.
THE BAD
Verbose, many entries suffer from wall-of-text syndrome. Introductions
tout many products that will never be.
THE UGLY
The long journey from CROM CAEMLOCH to the tomb is rough on
low-level characters. The many encounters outside the tomb also threaten low-level parties. I didn’t like having TWO chapters on encounters outside the tomb.
When I run this I’ll probably delete the outdoor environs encounters (or move
them to Viper Pass) and use the caves as an additional level for the tomb
itself. Not sure why there are two bases a town and a tavern in the wilderness
guide but at least I can place the tavern close to Viper Pass and cut out the
three days and two nights of wilderness encounters
