Shadowrealm: The Twilight War Book III by Paul S. Kemp

Below I'll be discussing some things I'll try to remember and apply when I'm running my Forgotten Realms 4e set in 3e campaign. It's going to be a quote and spoiler filled discussion so if you're not hunting for any spoilers for Paul S. Kemp's Shadowrealm, read no further.


"Rivalen recalled his own fight with the green dragon outside the walls of Selgaunt. He'd learned a lesson in that combat, one he intended to teach to Kesson." (p.274)

While the comic, Order of the Stick, did what Rivalen is speaking of, it could be any stragety that the players themselves did not think of. When breaking out the big guns or unusual methods when having the monsters battle the characters, remember that the characters could be impressed enough by these actions to take them as their own. Then as a Game Master you've got to figure out a way to make sure it doesn't become the default strategy. Few things are more boring than having every fight go the exact same way. This may involve using more opponents, it may involve using enemies who have a completely different specialty. It may involve a shift in the campaign focus while you try to figure out how to get the game moving again.

"A sculpture of glistening black stone dominated the courtyard. It depicted a tall, faceless woman in flowing robes. A circle of tarnished silver, ringed in amethysts, adorned her breast. Before her in a fighting crouch stood a shorter male figure, a man clad in a long cloak. Leather armor peaked from under the cloak and he held a slim blade in each ahnd. A black disc adorned his chest." (p. 200)

Shake things up. If all of the players know that certain deities act a certain way and have certain relationship with other deities, don't be afraid to take what's in the settings history and flip it on its head. Prior to the books of the Twilight War, Shar and Mask have little interaction in most Forgotten Realms products. One of the last books on the gods of the setting noted that Shar had taken an interest in claiming Mask's portfolio. Some may find it works too much against the history and not appreciate it.

However, from the players point of view, from the characters point of view, what they've experienced and encounterd in your own campaign should count for more than antying written in a supplement that they may or may not have read.

"Furlinastis," Cale called into the shadows." (p.231)

When a player does something with no expectation of a reward, the Game Master can take those times and provide one. In this case, Cale is calling on a shadow dragon that he brought back from the dead because the creature had been ill used by a former chosen of Mask. Without asking for anything, the creature agreed to perform one service for Cale in the future. There is no reward system like this in most role playing games. This requires the Game Master to roll up his sleeves and decide if something like this is warranted. It's a reward that has no gold piece value. It's a treasure that can't be spent easily.

Note that unlike previous books in the series, this one includes an epilogue. If the campaign has reached it's organic end and the players and Game Master know what the future of the campaign is going to hold, an epilogue may be appropriate. Give the players a taste of what's to come. Let them know what happened to all of the friends and enemies they made. Let them know what happened to the cities they walked through and the treasures they once had. Allow them to share in it even by allowing them to describe how they imagine their own characters, those that survived it at least, enjoy retirement.

Shadowrealm takes a lot of high powered action to a level where chosen and dragons must ally themselves with former enemies to have a hope of fighting stronger evils. Lot artifacts must be recovered and friendships taken to the ultimate level of sacrifice. Game Masters should be able to pilfer themes, elements, and scope of elements that a campaign can enjoy

Shadowstorm: The Twilight War Book II by Paul S. Kemp

Below are some ideas dregged up from my ole brain by reading Shadowstorm and how they might apply to your own role playing game. As usual I'll be using quotes from the book with a page indicator so spoilers will be here. Reader beware.

"A bargain, devil." (p. 12)

There are times when the players will get themselves into events far beyond their ability to control. In such instances, if the players have anything of value, even if that is information, if possible, nudge the players into that direction if you wish to avoid what is commonly referred to as a Total Party Kill (TPK). In some instances, the party may be setting up their own future adventurers and will have a chance to come back to the situation that lead them to the bargain in the first place.

Dawn's light, as pink as a rose, radiated through the slats of the closed shutters. Abelar rushed to them and threw them open. Rose-colored light bathed the room. Its touch warmed Abelar, calmned him. The light washed over the entire village, casting it all in a pastel glow." (p.114).

Sometimes the actions of a deity do not take form of a massive column of flame enguling the enemy. It's not a parted sea rushing together to crush the foe. Sometimes it's something that will be of help to the party that is not of direct combat. It could be the saving of resources for latter. It could be the temporary boost of power that a group needs in order to be somewhere else.

In many cases, the divine favor should be used sparingly. The players should never come to rely on divine intervention nor come to expect it. Players that do so are going to be let down when the Game Master does not provide that extra assistance.

"He and the Maskarrans learned only what you wished, Divine One. They destroyed your simulacrum and think you dead." (p. 229)

Everyone loves a good villain. An enemy that is harder to kill than originally thought. A villain that keeps coming back for more. If the Game Master has a villain that the players enjoy fighting and thrwarting, there are numerous ways to keep such a villain in the game. In the case above, the heroes of the novel weren't even fighting what they suspected they were but rather a duplicate. In fantasy role playing games, such an event can be common ranging from an actual clone to a dupe dressed as the villain. Marvel Comics was notorious for using robots for Thanos and Dr. Doom to explain their numerous losses to what would be considered 'C' listers.

"Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding..." "All is fleeting." (p.79)
"The Light is in you, my friend. It shines brightly." (p.112)
"May Lathander watch over you and the dawn bring you hope." (p. 113)

In terms of players having a patron deity, if the GM has a list of catch phrases that is common to the faith, it can help the players to bring more to the table in terms of potential for role playing. A character with strong faith may have have an outlook that is colored by the faith. If the rest of the party members share the faith, it can provide some common bonds for them. If they do not, it can create friction. In many fantasy settings, including the Forgotten Realms, generally only classes that directly rely on divine power have a single patron deity with others praying to whatever deity is in charge of the current issue. For example, the 'Bitch Queen' is the patron of storms and sailors often pray to her to spare their ships as they sail across the waves.

Look for ways to bring details to the game that will give each campaign setting its own flavor and the players will look for that flavor. Some will pick up on it and bring their own ideas that can be incorporated, making the game as much theirs as yours.

Twilight Falling

Twilight Falling is Book I in the Erevis Cale Trilogy by Paul S. Kemp. I read a previous book by Paul called Shadow's Witness. That book also featured Erevis Cale. In addition, it seems that after this trilogy, there was another, also with the same character so some odd seven books with the same character. If you're not into spoilers, best to look away. Below I'll point out a few things that made my 'gaming' brain work while reading.

"He had finally concluded that serving Mask was different than serving other gods. The priests of Faerun's other faiths proselytized ministered, preached, and in that way won converts and served their gods. Mask's priests did no such thing. There were no Maskarran preachers, no street ministers, no pilgrims. Mask did not require his priests to win converts. Either the darkness spoke to you of it didn't. If it did, you were already Mask's. If it didn't you never would be." (p. 11)

What role do the gods play in your campaign? More importantly, at least from the player's side of things, what role do the priests of the gods play in your campaign. Do they have temple quarters? Do they have special weapons? Do they pray at a special time? Do they have a special ritual that needs to be enacted at certain times? A useful thing about answering some of these questions is that later on, you can find exceptions to the cause. Things like lost branches of the religion or faithful who aren't actually priests, 'merely' worshippers of the cause.

"I knew a psionicist once. Little different than an ordinary wizard." (p.126)

"I told you I once knew a mind mage." (p.272)

Foreshadowing is a useful tool. Try to give the players ideas of what may be coming down the road. Sometimes this may be failry easy when tales of war and war refuges start steaming into town. Othertimes it may be as mysterous or unknowable as a dream or a different way of looking at things. If the players can 'crack the code', they may have a leg up on things.

"Before long, the two-story brick and wood buildings of the Foreign Quarter gave way to the more elegant and architecturally varied worked-stone residences near the Temple District." (p.147)

What does the architechture of the city say about it? Is it one unified style? Are there several styles to it? How old is the city? Are there foreign quarters? Are there parts of the city that are unsafe to go?

Twilight Falling does a nice job of showcasing how three rogues, two of them multi-classed into rogue priests, work together with a rogue whose more assassin than rogue. It's a nice example of how players who are of similiar talents might work together and showcases some of the strengths and weaknessess of such an approach. For example, with no wizard, things aren't as always easy to... to take a 4e term "control" as they might be.

The book showcases a lot of action in several locations. A good indication that a Game Master should never become too comfortable in one region for too long. For example, I generally tend to love city based adventurers. Waterdeep, with it's various incarnations, is one of the most detailed cities in the market for long time gamers. Ptolus, with one massive sourcebook is another.

However, sometimes the party needs to get on the road. The characters here travel by boat. They travel overland. They travel to another city with a much different guise than their starting point. Showcase the breadth and wide of the world when the game calls for it.

More importantly though, you have an opportunity to do so for free. The Wizards of the Coast site has a free PDF of this novel here.