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This book is personal to me, because my 1st D&D campaign took place within the concept of one of the Elder Evil paths outlined in the the book. I was kicked out before I ever got to see it through, and I only understand where the plot went because I bought the book. I suppose reading what they went through was the next best thing? Yeah, I’ll go with that. Elder Evils was written with the intention of giving campaign endings to be remembered, or at the very least frustrate players. Outlined in the books are nine ending scenarios against a Big Bad, each of which have two established fights in the setting, and against the Big Bad itself. There’s also suggested plot examples given at the beginning of each chapter, along with powerful NPCs to compliment the scenario. Aside from the these nine Big Bad’s, their ending scenarios and the campaign path suggestions, there isn’t that much to the book. What’s inside is amazingly fun to read, with scenarios on how the universe was created and will thus be destroyed, a creature spawned from the throes of the early chaos of creation, and a demon who spawned the concept of divine magic without the assistance of a god. But this book is 159 pages long, of which only 15 pages aren’t devoted to what I mentioned above. Within those pages are good material, or at the very least potential for good. One item of interest is Signs, which act as notices of the campaign slowly changing due to the Elder Evil’s influence. These changes can be subtle, such as the sudden appearance of undead, which is fairly common should a villain be into necromancy. Others are more noticeable, such as a giant glyph in the sky that impedes certain conjuration magic. Over time the Sign gets stronger, and these subtle changes can no longer be ignored. Signs are an amazing idea, and act as means to evoke terrible change should the PCs not act. The Feat section is bland, with some reprinted from other books and not very special ones either. It could be overlooked save for it’s possible to give your allegiance to a specific Elder Evil and gain Bonus Feats. For crafting a powerful NPC this isn’t half bad, but as a player option that’s just plain awesome. A PC story or campaign built around making sure the Big Bad succeeds in their goals is a wonderful twist considering this book is built upon being the good guy (or evil guy working for the greater good). Other that small details of how Elder Evils described in the book work, that's it. An interesting addition would have been a layout for constructing your own Elder Evil. At most there’s a description of Elder Evil traits and Malefic Properties and how powerful they are, but it’s not enough for a foundation. It’s possible to emulate via examination of the Evils presented within, but it’s hard work making something balanced, and the Elder Evils described within are anything but, being far more powerful than their CR describes. At most, Elder Evils is a collection of adventure modules. Modules that take an entire 20 Level progression to play, but modules all the same. Nothing wrong with that, because they are good, and it’s possible to adopt the ideas presented from them. My issue is how long it takes to get to them, and playing out a story takes so long as it is, making the use of these modules sparse.Read full review
If you can finally get some characters up to the levels you need, this book is fantastic for that.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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