Bonegarden, The
d20 adventure (128 pages)
Written by Lance Hawvermale and Rob Mason
Product code: H1 (WW8384): ISBN 1-58846-993-X
Publisher: Necromancer Game, Inc., $21.99
"The Bonegarden" is an extensive and deadly module and a tribute to how a good adventure can be written. The adventure presented here is high level, from 12th to 14th, with some scaling in difficulty being possible. This first rate module will challenge both veteran players and their DM to plunder a large, ghastly cemetery.
For those DMs and players looking for a unique challenge in a large and open-ended area with no main plot, you've found the right place. Now this is not to say that this adventure is bad. In fact, it is quite the opposite. What you get is a one-mile circular cemetery built to house the worst criminals in the land. Very powerful magic wards prevent these undead, or rather their souls, from leaving the area. The area is very dangerous, and as mentioned before, is for high level characters only. The DM and players should be experienced too, especially at more than just fighting, which there is plenty of anyway. The undead in "The Bonegarden" are relentless, and don't just dissappear when destroyed.
Once they are in the cemetary, for whatever reason, the main objective in this adventure is to find a way back out again. Doing this while trying to stay alive is big challenge by itself. There are various plots amongst the undead, some of which are trying to get out of the cemetery too, while others are trying to take control of it. I found it interesting that groups of powerful undead would be part of an adventure plot. Some of the main and even minor undead NPCs are unique in both their motives and how they go about their various plans. Experienced players will enjoy the interaction with NPCs, if they play it right. An experienced DM will be needed to run this adventure, as the numerous NPCs, areas and sub-plots are rather intertangled and not really made for the beginner DM.
As for fitting this module into any campaign, Necromancer Games has made it easy to do so. The cemetery is set in their Hawkmoon campaign system, but it can be used in any setting with no difficulty at all. Of course, the main reason for this thing being easily transferable to any campaign is the simple fact that the module is self-contained in that all action happens (for the most part) within the main cemetery. You will find a bunch of new monsters, spells, feats and other such extra material in this booklet as well. I found that this added to the value of an already good module.
The module is broken up into three sections. These sections describe the cemetery and important encounters, more important structures, and finally the underground city of Descent. NPCs described here are given not only stats, but motives, desires, and their own method for trying to escape from the Bonegarden. In a very good way, this module involves a lot of politics, along with the hack n' slash. This aspect is what I really liked about this module — characters with depth in a rather open and somewhat plotless adventure. Very much old style 1st edition D&D recreated for 3rd edition. I've mentioned above that this is a high level adventure, and must point out that this thing is not for those who can't play as a group. A group that doesn't play well together will die together in this module. Cooperation and good roleplaying is essential here.
What particularly sets this module apart from others I've read recently is that the writers have really gone out of their way to set the atmosphere for adventure. The book virtually explodes with a macabre setting and would be a good fit for those who liked the old Ravenloft adventures from years ago. This module would be a perfect thing to run around Halloween time with the lights turned down low!
There are only a few issues with this module. The maps are a little on the simplistic side, but this can be overlooked as they are still workable. The other issue is the simple fact that they forgot to put the map of the city of Descent in the module! Can you say "Oops!" Those with internet access can find the missing map at NecromancerGames.com under the "support" section. This map is really needed to run the module properly.
If you're a 3rd edition person who loves the old 1st edition modules, and loves a module filled with creepy undead, you'll find this to be a superb adventure, well worth the money!
(review (c) June 2004 / David Flemming)