Book of Challenges - Dungeon Rooms, 
Puzzles, and Traps
by Daniel Kaufman, Gwendolyn Kestrel,
Mike Selinker, Skip Williams
Dungeon & Dragons Accessory (128 pages)
Product Code: 881680000, ISBN: 0-7869-2657-0
Wizards of the Coast, $21.95
Another softbound WotC sourcebook, this publication covers challenges that any Dungeon Master can use to spice up his campaign. Covered material ranges from minuscule traps and puzzles to the more deadly variety, and a bunch of stuff in-between.
The first part of this book is a small-four page section entitled “DM’s Dirty Little Secret.” In these few pages are ideas on running smart dungeon rooms where the monsters actually attack with a plan instead of the usual “fight till we die” tactic. There are also a few tips on running clever traps, and a listing of the Ten Indispensable Spells which many players may overlook that help get characters past many traps. There’s some decent advice here, but not a whole lot. Of course that’s because the magnitude of this book lies in the traps and encounters themselves.
The main bulk of this D&D accessory is a series of more than fifty so-called encounters that are designed to challenge any adventure group. These encounters, or as I call them “mini-adventures,” range from simple low-level traps and such to rather sophisticated situations that any seasoned player would have trouble getting through.
Many of the encounters in this book vary in their originality and complexity. Some are simply of little use except for filler in a campaign. Luckily, many of these contests are of decent design, and a good number of them are unique and well thought out. One of my favorites encounters is the Pool of Endless Froglings, a wonderful room puzzle that can literally have the group overwhelmed by small armed frogs in just mere minutes. I also found the Beholder Dome rather interesting -- picture Mad Max’s Thunder Dome with a beholder!
Artwork in this book is of good to excellent quality, and complements quite well an already good product. I couldn’t find a single drawing that I would consider bad, which is a good thing.
With puzzles, traps and unique encounters for characters of any level, I would recommend this book to any Dungeon Master looking to add some fascinating situations to any campaign, even if it’s a bit high priced.
(review (c) October 2002 / David Flemming)