Created by MJ Cullinane, the Crow Tarot exemplifies the majesty and mysticism of ravens and crows in all 78 cards. The tarot card meanings, which pay homage to the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith deck, are easy to understand if you’re familiar with RWS. If you’re not, an 86-page guidebook included with the deck walks you through upright and reversed meanings of each illustrated card filled with crows, ravens, and other members of the animal kingdom.

Printed on heavy cardstock, the full-color cards are traditionally-sized and are 5″ tall by 3 1/4″ wide and are stored in a sturdy, illustrated deck box. The back of the cards are printed with a repetitive pattern that appears the same in both the upright and reversed position. Art heavy and color-rich, each card is its own work of art and a mosaic of tea-stained borders contributes to the uniqueness of each card. Cullinane’s style, which I can only describe as a mixed media with a bold watercolor feel, is beautifully rendered lending a fresh, modern take on tarot.

The Crow Tarot delves deeply into esoteric imagery and does not include any human figures. In fact, art is predominant in each card. The Major Arcana cards are labeled along with the aces of each suit and their corresponding court cards. The remaining cards are simply numbered with roman numerals; you’ll need to mark the symbols of the cards rather than just relying on the card’s printed title.

Reading the cards is a slow, almost meditative process, because the images are rich and full of meaning. When I was working with this deck, I found myself naturally slowing down and leaning into three-card draws when I was short on time. Included with the guidebook is an 8-card spread, simply titled “The Crow Tarot Spread,” that offers you insight. Instead of shuffling and drawing cards in order, Cullinane encourages you to draw cards randomly and build the body of the crow. This tactic encourages you, as the reader, to slow down and review each card at a time rather than assess meanings at a glance.

The Crow Tarot strikes the balance between an artist’s exploration of tarot and a practical deck that encourages the reader to listen to your intuition, appreciate the art, and be inspired.

This review contains Amazon affiliate links. The Crow Tarot is also available at fine bookstores like Barnes and Noble.

Our Brilliant Ruin is: “the first story-world developed by Studio Hermitage. Created for multiple formats including tabletop and video games, Our Brilliant Ruin features the Dramark, an elitist society unraveling against the backdrop of a preternatural catastrophe. Welcome to a gilded age in which upstairs-downstairs personal and sociological drama meets existential horror.”

Created by Justin Achilli, Pam Punzalan, and Rachel J. Wilkinson, the Our Brilliant Ruin tabletop roleplaying game is a speculative fiction setting-rich in a class-divided world falling into catastrophe inspired by Victoriana, Lovecraft, and Downton Abbey. The location for the game is a world spurred to invention in the wake of a dead star’s light touching the planet centuries ago. At first, the ruling upper classes failed to identify and deal with the issues caused by the Ruin. Now, all of humankind is suffering, and a deep-seated hatred bubbles through every interaction. The game centers human interactions in a class-based society of three strata that’s falling apart. Choose from the aristocracy, the truefolk operating in guilds, and the unbonded who refuse to live according to society’s dictates. Then, choose your faction within those layers, to align your values within a family, guild, or selected archetype.

The Lovecraftian elements quickly come into play, because before you create a character you learn there is no possible way to “win”. The light of the Ruin cannot be stopped and will continue to exact a heavy toll. Thus, what matters is whatever you decide. What would you do in the wake of fatalism? What would you do knowing the world will end no matter what you do?

Basic Rules and Character Creation

After almost ninety pages of setting, it’s time to build a character. Character creation is split into three templates pending your decision to play as a member of the aristocracy, truefolk, or an unbonded. Before making a decision, I recommend reviewing the character sheet on page 280 to give you a preview of the narrative-heavy gameplay. I would also strongly recommend reading through the rules before making your decisions, because your choices are important.

The rules of the game are explained in chapter 4 and outline the gamemaster’s and players’ roles. Whenever a player wants to take action, a negotiation between them and the gamemaster is triggered before the player rolls a pool of six-sided dice. This is to acknowledge there are several ways to approach a potential action, and it’s up to the player to declare how they want to proceed. After dice are rolled, the results are tabulated: only sixes and ones matter. Sixes are “brills” and indicated measures of success, whereas ones are “gloom” and represent failure or catastrophe. Health is measured by your physical well-being, Vitality, and by your mental and emotional health, or Distress. When either drops to zero, the player can no longer take any actions. In addition to your core stats, you can also affect your dice pool by adding Passion. Lastly, in Chapter 5, you and your fellow players devise “community property” or a shared estate you can use as your home base of operations.

The second-half of Our Brilliant Ruin is designed for the gamemaster and includes NPCs, both friends and foes, along with monsters, obstacles, environmental challenges, and a full gazetteer. Most gamemasters will want to pay special attention to the introductory adventure found on page 262. Fortunes Turn at Crowscroft Manor is essential to understanding gameplay and the roles both gamemasters and players have. A game centered on human interactions requires a different type of adventure design, because there needs to be pain-or-pressure points that invites the players to act.

Impressions

Though the societal structure is dominant in character creation, the Ruin (pgs. 78-79 and pg. 145) is omnipresent and disaster is all but guaranteed in subtle and overt ways. This style of horror can be both unpredictable and fun at the table, because the mold on a cellar’s walls could be caused by the Ruin–or it could simply be a moldy cellar. To counteract this, clear objectives, like the missions laid out in the sample adventure, are a necessity.

Who would enjoy playing this game? My first thought was fans of The Walking Dead. Though the society and its technology is circa early 20th century on a world succumbing to alien starlight, you and your friends are struggling investigators who know full well how dangerous the Ruin is–even if other people pretend they don’t. Just like a virus, you can’t fight the Ruin–but you must deal with its effects on people who suffer from its taint, whether they’re human or forever changed.

Art, Format, and Availability

Heavy on aesthetics, Our Brilliant Ruin provides gorgeous, evocative art that underlines the Dramark. The effects of the Ruin aren’t as dominant in the art as the characters, manors, and setting, however, and some white text is harder to read on the dark backgrounds in the two-column format. The hardcover has been printed in a brilliant edition, funded on Kickstarter, and a standard edition; collectors will want to know the brilliant edition’s cover art is designed similarly to the standard edition published by Dark Horse. The brilliant edition’s cover, however, is bound to perfection and covered with a fine, emerald-green linen and embellished with black-and-gold details. Inside, the brilliant edition features embossed end pages, gold foil edges, silk ribbons, and superior color printing to highlight the thematic art.

Our Brilliant Ruin is now available in hardcover and digital. The Our Brilliant Ruin TRPG corebook, map packs, and several Clawmoor Heights character packs are available for free on DriveThruRPG.com.

Also available from Dark Horse is the Our Brilliant Ruin: Horror at Crane Mansion graphic novel adaptation. You can read our review of the graphic novel here at FlamesRising.com.


An unsigned brilliant edition of the Our Brilliant Ruin TRPG was provided to FlamesRising.com for review. This review, written by Allie Brooks, contains affiliate links.

There, in a crooked house lives a Crooked Man with a crooked grin. He raises crooked arms to a Crooked Tree at the edge of midnight and hears the whispers of the Old Ones…

The Crooked Moon is a 632-page folk horror compendium of setting, species, subclasses, backgrounds, feats, dark bargains, spells, monsters, and a self-titled adventure. Designed as a 5th edition-compatible supplement, The Crooked Moon is a blend of atmospheric worldbuilding and new rules to run and play a 5th Edition horror campaign.

The book, in many ways, is three separate full-length supplements combined into one massive book: a setting guide, a player’s guide, and a ready-to-run campaign that provides one-to-two years’ worth of play. Sectioned into three parts, players will run from (or play as) monsters in the land between life and death: Druskenvald.

Druskenvald features thirteen, distinct provinces that provided unique opportunities for original and thematic horror adventures. They include:

Ardengloom: A dark forest of long-forgotten tales filled with the bones of ancient feyfolk and new species like the gnarlborn.

Astramar: Celestial mysteries and the arcane arts can be found in the azure sky and lands of this magical province. This province includes some Grecian overtones.

Bubonia: A plague-ridden province, a nod to 14th century Europe during the Black Plague, filled with the plagueborn, sinister guilds, and mutant creatures.

Chernabos: Lawlessness and guile reign supreme in this provincial hellscape where the ashborn live amongst erupting volcanoes, earth-splitting quakes, and bold seekers of fortune.

Edwardia:: Edwardian gaslight fantasy is dimmed in the province of Edwardia where the Grey threatens all. An entity, an omnipresent fog, and a curse, the Grey pushes back against innovative inventions.

Enoch: The agrarian cycle of planting, harvesting, and dark rituals is dominant in Enoch, where fields are magically grown in the dark of night.

Kalero: Inspired by the Mexican holiday Dia de Muertos, life and death are celebrated in equal measure in a province filled with the relicborn and untold treasure.

Nerukhet: Deep below ground, labyrinthine caverns riddled with lightbearing geodes house the silkborn and the divine, gemstone-encrusted Bejeweled: sacred insects and oversized arachnids.

Olmarsh: A Lovecraftian province in the dark seas surrounding Druskenvald, the people of Olmarsh and the deepborn face nautical phantoms, eldritch horrors, and the abyss.

Pholsense: Inspired by the deadly European witch trials, Pholsense inquisitors demand its residents live and practice magic according to a law called the Silver Path.

Picco: Picco is a dark carnivale-themed province of chaotic, gleeful fun. Its locales are distinct, like Dinopolis and Captain Bone’s Lagoon, offering a customizable experience and a break from the horrors omnipresent throughout the other provinces. It also includes a nod to Curse of Strahd.

Syndramas: Eternal winter and endless battles are fought throughout the Drakkonite mine-filled necropolis of Syndramas. A trio of undead factions that includes the Rimeshade, Bloodboil, and Marrowfeast Legions are locked in an unceasing war.

Zulrogg: Humid, swampy jungles riddled with bogs, ancestral spirits, and spirit beasts are home to the trollish bogborn and their spirit priests.

Next, players are introduced to thirteen new playable species including the humanoid, harpy Azureborn, the doll-like construct Threadborn, and the undead Relicborn. Players can further flesh out their characters with 15 new subclasses and 13 new backgrounds as well as new feats, dark bargains, and spells. The subclasses are tied to the twelve, core classes and infuse straightforward classes with horror. For example, the Bard can specialize in the College of Whistles to “whistle” ghostly companions, while the Fighter can become a Barrow Guard and command the undead. The new subclasses and backgrounds infuse several horror tropes, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, into character creation for a creative and more well-rounded player character.

The book’s third and longest portion is The Crooked Moon adventure, which I’m not going to narrate in its entirety to avoid spoilers. It is a campaign that walks players from level one to level fourteen; it is filled with multiple characters, monsters, and locations that includes a broad range of horrific and supernatural elements.

Capped by over 145 pages of appendices, stats and write-ups are included for monsters, familiars, fabled heirlooms, cursed curios, paranormal potions, curses, music, tarot–and more!

A personal favorite is the Reveler of Stories, because that monster is not limited to one, unique form. The chaotic neutral Dingpot is cute in a mischievous way, and can be easily outfitted to other, similar yokai-themed creatures. Cursed objects like the Midwife Shears are thematic and flesh out urban legends that can be wielded by both new and existing species, while potions and tonics have useful purposes, like the Nightwatcher potion, as well as narrative hooks, like the Tincture of Mourning.

Based on the Edge of Midnight, a folk horror campaign produced by Legends of Avantris, the material in The Crooked Moon is dense, playable, and adaptable. A “must have” for players who want to plump the depths of folk horror and its tropes, The Crooked Moon is now available in the following formats:

* The Crooked Moon 5th Ed (2014) PDF
* The Crooked Moon 5th Edition (2024)
* The Crooked Moon Roll 20 VTT
* The Crooked Moon Hardcover

The Crooked Moon is a one-of-a-kind 5th edition supplement and Avantris Entertainment’s first product.


This post contains Amazon and DriveThruRPG affiliate links.

This review has been written by FlamesRising.com contributor Allie Brooks. A copy of The Crooked Moon was graciously provided by the publisher for review.

Continuing with my reviews of tarot decks, I’m diving into Tarot del Toro. This tarot deck and guidebook draws from the world of award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Designed and illustrated by Tomás Hijo, this deck features original artwork inspired by the themes, imagery, and characters of some of del Toro’s most popular films including Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water.

For many tarot card readers, the physical aspects of the cards and the deck box are important, so let me address that aspect before addressing the art and off-page elements of this unique horror-themed deck. The back of the cards has a design that does indicate which position it’s in. The position of the skull indicates whether you’ve drawn the cards in the upright or reversed position. The cards are printed in a limited color palette on a matte card stock that feels velvety-soft to the touch. The box the cards arrive in can be considered a true keepsake box: a red satin ribbon helps lift the cards from the interior box, exterior words are printed in raised, embossed lettering, and the box has a thematically-appropriate interior print that’s then covered with an additional piece of cover art. These details, along with the 87-page guidebook, present a deck worthy of del Toro’s vision.

I find the Tarot del Tarot deck interesting for a lot of reasons. First, if you didn’t know this was a deck of tarot cards based on del Toro’s works, Tomás Hijo’s art remains compelling regardless of whether you recognize the characters. By that, I mean that this deck feels like a work of love to encapsulate del Toro’s vision that doesn’t fall into the trap of reprinting images from films or concept art just to put art on the cards. Hijo’s linocut style and its limited palette are perfect for a deck inspired by the legendary director, because they are cards that depict the essence of a character, theme, or scene. The lines are sharp, and the card printing even captured the depth of the linocut lending each card a three-dimensional feel.

This deck is a departure from traditional tarot, however, because it’s a blend of filmmaking inspiration and symbols. Themes are present in the Major Arcana, the ace of each suit, and the court cards. So, cards two-through-eight in each suit of gears, goblets, knives, and branches are elements rather than full scenes. For some tarot card readers, that detail may be a turn-off, but for myself I think this artistic choice lends to the uniqueness of this deck rather than detracts from it. In so many tarot card decks, each suit has a minor, narrative arc. Here, those narrative arcs are harder to glean, but aren’t necessarily important to the overall theme. I can’t imagine choosing unique themes, symbols, and images found within all of del Toro’s popular movies to mark the traditional stories inherent within tarot–whether del Toro himself uses tarot to tell stories (as he describes in his introductory letter) or not.

To use the cards, you must read the small guidebook. I was especially interested in Hijo’s experiences with a member of his community, Don Miguel and the older Tarot des Marseilles (as opposed to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck), and the stories about his mother’s tarot card readings. It is refreshing to read about how an artist not only drew inspiration from another creator’s work, in this case Guillermo del Tarot, but also from other people in their community. Thus, what we get, as both tarot card readers and fans of del Toro’s work is a deep look into each card and the choices made. The minor arcana, as I mentioned earlier, is different because here Hijo describes how the progression of cards in each suit describes the same or similar journey within a suit. This is different from typical tarot. For example, the numbered cards each have a similar meaning described on page 70. Nine is the Harvest or Happy Ending of the process. If you read tarot, you might have had the same reaction I did: Wait, the Nine of Swords is the same as the Nine of Cups? But, yes, that is what Hijo intended. In this way, the departure from traditional tarot is intentional to ensure, just like del Toro’s popular films, that this deck stands apart.

Included in the booklet are Don Miguel’s sample readings and the encouragement to lean into your intuition when reading the cards. More than just a collectible, the beautifully-illustrated Tarot del Toro is truly a work of art.

Our Brilliant Ruin: Horror at Crane Mansion is described as: “upstairs-downstairs drama meets existential horror in this Edwardian-inspired comics tale of high society and creeping dread. Created in collaboration with Studio Hermitage and in association with the Our Brilliant Ruin TTRPG, the comic explores a gilded Edwardian setting where intricate social ties of allegiance and conflict are threatened by the presence of the Ruin—a mysterious force that turns creatures and people into horrific monsters.”

Published by Dark Horse Comics, Horror at Crane Mansion collects the first three issues into a graphic novel, and features writing by Cullen Bunn, art by Christopher Mitten, colors by Piky Hamilton, letters by Frank Cvetkovic, and covers by Helen Mask.

***WARNING***SPOILERS AHEAD***WARNING***SPOILERS AHEAD




Horror at Crane Mansion is about an investigator, Elizabeth Ranseur, who’s been hired to vet a wealthy woman’s suitors at her estate with her assistant, Arielle Wren. In Chapter One, Bunn introduces key characters and name-drops guilds that they’re associated with, but doesn’t explain what those terms mean or how much weight they bear for the story being told. Ending on a cliffhanger, Chapter Two opens with a grisly discovery and a mystery that forces Ranseur to switch gears lest anyone else get hurt. Here, Ranseur proposes that a monster is the culprit. We are introduced to the dark forces churning below the surface: The Ruin, a mysterious force that twists a human into a monstrous creature. Thinking quickly, the culprit is believed to be the host’s mother, Lady Milidreth, but is exposed as the host, Constance, herself. With the identity of the murderer revealed, the next piece in Ranseur’s investigation unfolds in Chapter Three. Though it is obvious Constance is affected by The Ruin–it is not clear how until rage triggers her. The lady’s ballgown, once worn by her mother, is the source of the taint, turning her into a chimera. In the penultimate chapter, knowing that The Ruin’s source and the murderer has been identified, Ranseur must eliminate the threat. Constance’s childhood friend and crush, Judith, desperately tries to help her friend remember who she is to restore her humanity. Though she attempts to jog her memory with a story, Ranseur dusts the room in powdered sugar and lights a match. Writhing in the flames, the chimera dies, and the investigators close the case.

In the confines of a dark Edwardian setting, it’s clear there are societal mechanisms present at Crane Mansion that are not fully fleshed out. While the factions were the most mysterious and unclear aspects of the story, the emphasis on Ranseur’s investigation at Crane Manor kept the stakes focused and manageable. This allowed the setting’s horrors–THE RUIN–to take center stage. Not only was the monster interesting, the creation of the chimera was refreshing. Instead of chanting incantations, grafting skin, or changing due to a bit, The Ruin was found within the confines of a gown. Wearing that fabric changed her into something else, something monstrous, and she could not regain her humanity. What’s more, The Ruin tainted the family, forcing them to pretend that the horrors didn’t exist. Without explaining what The Ruin truly is or where it comes from, Horror at Crane Mansion relays unknown horrors are often more dangerous than what can be dealt with.

Horror at Crane Mansion is a well-paced story that works well as an introduction for the TTRPG, because it’s atmospheric, provides a clear example of the type of investigation a player can expect during the game, and hints there’s a lot more setting to latch onto. The choices made, from the colors to the art to the dialogue, are all expertly managed. If you’re curious about the new TTRPG, this comic will scratch that itch. If you’re simply a fan of murder mysteries, pick up Our Brilliant Ruin for a story that touches on society’s ills and the horrors in plain sight.

Review provided by Allie Brooks.

In Cultists & Cthulhu you lead a Cthulhu cult bent on completing nefarious rites while beset by incompetent underlings, meddling kids, and imminent madness.

Cultists and Cthulhu 2nd Edition was designed by William Sininger and John Harris, and is illustrated with full-color, entertaining art by Steve Robbins. The cards are full of geek culture references including Meddling Kids, LARP-ER, We Have Cookies, and several nods to popular Cthulhu Mythos tales by HP Lovecraft. The components are well made and include cute, little tentacle meeples and Ritual dice. Steve Robbins’ Lovecraftian art adds a healthy dose of humor and helps keep the gameplay light and fun.

Inside the box you’ll find:

* 82 Cult cards
* 28 Ritual cards
* 25 tentacle tokens
* 5 custom ritual dice
* 2 custom madness dice
* Rules sheet

Note: all of the components fit neatly back in the box after the game is over, which is an important detail not every game publisher seems to be aware of…

Setting up the 20-minute game for 2-8 players only takes a minute. All of the players start the game with three Cult cards, then roll the ritual dice to see who goes first.

Play begins with Ritual cards, either from the player’s hand or if they don’t have any, they draw from the Ritual deck. After that, they draw a Cultist card and play one card from their hand to various effects. Finally, the player rolls to Incant, which triggers a Ritual they have in play.

Various cards affect whether or not a player can complete a Ritual, including how many Cultists they have in front of them and certain other card effects from Sacrifices (can only be used once and then discarded), Books (also can only be used once, plus only if the Player has a Cultist in play), and Negatives (which can reduce the number of dice the Player has to work with).

When you’re playing the game, make sure you use the Renfield Rule. Though this rule is named after a character from Bram Stoker’s Dracula for some reason…it is a good rule to have in the game. Sometimes, the randomness of the cards drawn can block a player’s actions on their turn. This rule allows a player, who’s stuck with a bad hand, to discard their hand and draw three new cards instead. They’ll skip the rest of their turn, but having new cards can help them in the next round.

Once a Player completes a Ritual that card is set aside and kept for its value. The first player to achieve a total of 21 points in successfully-completed Rituals wins.

At first, the game can seem overwhelming because several variable cards are in play and Players have to plot out different stages before they get to roll dice. However, once you start playing Cultists & Cthulhu 2nd Edition, you’ll pick up the flow quickly. To help you learn how to play, the cards are printed with simple instructions.

If you’re looking to add a little Ia! Ia! in your life, Cultists and Cthulhu 2nd Edition is a fun, quick card game published by Jeff Tidball’s Prolific Games.

This review of Cultists and Cthulhu 2nd Edition was written by Monica Valentinelli and contains Amazon affiliate links. A complementary copy of the game was provided by the publisher.

Fen Inkwright is a folklorist and illustrator who has designed The Citadel: A Fantasy Oracle, a deck of sixty, copper-foil embossed cards inspired by fantasy myths and legends drawn from novels and tabletop roleplaying games.

The deck’s description reads: “Each of the 60 cards in this deck represents a person living within the Citadel. The guidebook describes different scenes that the reader will encounter while travelling through the city, including the stories of each character and the interpretation of each card.”

The Citadel is a truly unique oracle deck. The hexagonally-shaped cards are thematic and the linework is clear and sharp. Separated into four suits marked by the alchemical symbols for fire, air, earth, and water, each card has an upright and reversed meaning. The book outlines multiple uses for this deck. It offers multiple card spreads, instructions to complement tarot readings, and advice to build TTRPG characters and encounters.

What makes this deck a “must buy” for me is the quality. The deck box is fully illustrated and has a magnetic lid; the cards and fully-illustrated book are housed inside an interior box that’s also filled with art. Unique, beautifully-designed, well-written and filled with insight, if you’re looking for a multi-purpose oracle deck, I highly recommend The Citadel.

This deck is available at bookstores and at online retailers like Amazon.com.




This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977 is a 576-page, glossy-paged tome with silk bookmarks, color-coded sections, and a short commentary by gaming historian Jon Peterson. A museum-quality book that weighs a little over two pounds, the lightly annotated contents are reproductions of notes, drafts, and publications filled with handwriting, illustrations, and antique typefaces. Combined, they chronologically tell the story of how Dungeons & Dragons was designed and how its early concepts evolved from miniature war gaming to tabletop roleplaying.

Available now, The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977 is the type of book that encapsulates an entire gaming museum’s worth of history. Anyone who grew up with D&D will appreciate the careful choices made to arrange this book. Part 1: Precusors has a red border and includes materials such as “Warfare in Miniature” by Gary Gygax as well as Dave Arneson’s reports on his Blackmoor campaign. Part 2, the blue section, is the 1973 draft of Dungeons & Dragons. Readers will want to pay special attention to the summary on page 84 that discusses how Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson arranged the manuscript subtitled “Rules for Fantastic Medieval Paper & Pencil, Board, and Miniature Figure Campaign Games.”

Following the 1973 draft, Part 3: Original Dungeons & Dragons, bordered in gold, prefaces the reprint with a short, but crucial history on pages 201 and 202. This introduction provides a bridge between the draft and the finished version which has been included in its entirety. Lastly, the book ends with Part 4: Articles & Additions bordered in green. This section includes almost 250 pages of articles, fan-submitted maps and letters, the first Greyhawk and Blackmoor supplements, and so much more. To close, a short Afterword lightly touches on the monumental history presented in the aforementioned book.

The retail price of The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977 is $99.99, reflecting the fact that this book is a collected edition of multiple games, drafts, letters, and light commentary. The price does make sense due to the volume of content and quality of the book–it is quite beautiful and perfect for collectors as its both a celebration of Dungeons & Dragons and a commemorative edition for the 50th anniversary. If you’re thinking about holiday gift ideas, it is perfect for DMs and players who have a deep connection to the game.

If you’re searching for a copy online, you can purchase Dungeons & Dragons – the Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977 on Amazon. You can also find a copy at game and book stores, too, just don’t give up if you can’t find the book right away. Some places list the book as The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977 and others list the title similar to Amazon’s.

This review was written by Allie Brooks. A copy of The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977 was provided to FlamesRising.com for a review by Wizards of the Coast. The affiliate links in this review point to Amazon.

The Wishing Pool and Other Stories is a brand new collection of fourteen, masterful tales written by American horror writer Tananarive Due. Due, a multi-award winning writer, presents a bloody tapestry of Black horror across multiple timelines, ending with Afrofuturistic stories. The celebrated author’s first collection was published in 2015; now, almost ten years later, The Wishing Pool emerges as both vision and heart drawn from character-driven perspectives ranging from a mountain lion to a toddler.

Divided into four sections, the book starts with a brutally honest introduction that, for any aspiring writer, holds more lessons than perhaps Due realizes herself. Writing about “Last Stop on Route 9,” the author states that: “In those days as a creative writing student learning from the ‘canon,’ I lost sight of myself as I began writing contemporary realism about white male protagonists having epiphanies.”

If Due lost sight of herself years ago as a student, this collection shows no signs of inauthenticity. The Wishing Pool, to me, is personal, powerful, and full of pride. Immersed in each story and its beautifully-written qualities, I imagined Due was sitting next to me besides a campfire reading them aloud as I turned each page.

Embedded within the fourteen stories are visceral experiences tinged with mystery, acceptance, and hope. After reading “Haint in the Window,” about a haunted bookseller, I was immediately reminded of the original TV series Amazing Stories (1985-87), for its ability to take a seemingly ordinary circumstance in each episode and morph it into an extraordinary, horrifying, and believable experience. Then, after reading my favorite story “Thursday Night Shift,” I got the impression that Due’s stories are full of shared, lived truths so we, the readers, never feel completely alone in the dark.

What I find refreshing about these stories is their relatability, their realism, their honesty. Due does not shy away from the problems like racism and/or violence that plague her characters; she doesn’t demonize entire families for their generational trauma, their dire financial straits, or their mistakes, either. People, in Due’s worlds, are complex and have problems, but just because they have problems to begin with doesn’t automatically mean they are as evil or dangerous as the monsters pursuing them. The author still calls the proverbial spade a spade, mind you, but approaches each character, regardless of their identity and circumstances, uniquely to relay the multifacted human complexities of familial love and hate, obligation and desire, instinct and paranoia, and so many other dichotomies against backdrops that range from the horrifying to the fantastic.

If you’re new to Tananarive Due’s stories, this collection is a perfect place to start because you don’t have to read the entire book in one sitting. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend it: these stories are the kind that will haunt you–whether you want them to or not.

The Wishing Pool and Other Stories is available from Akashic Books. The collection can be pre-ordered before its launch date on August 6th, and will be offered wherever books are sold.


FlamesRising.com received an advance complementary copy of this collection for review from the publisher, Akashic Books. Some links in this post are Amazon affiliated.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons, Wizards of the Coast delves into the past, to dig up six, classic D&D adventures and present them with light updates, new art, and 5th edition rules. These beloved classics include “The Lost City” (1982), “When a Star Falls” (1984), “Beyond the Crystal Cave” (1983), “Pharaoh” (1982), “The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth,” first written in 1976 by Gary Gygax as a tournament adventure, and “Expeditions to the Barrier Peaks” (1980).

Quests from the Infinite Staircase is offered in two editions: a standard, full color edition and a premium edition with gorgeous, metallic foil featuring Nafas on the cover. The value of this compliation can be found in its careful and considerate updates to ensure the adventures designed in the 80s resonate with a modern audience. Remastered with new art, text, and updated rules, the adventures are framed by the mysterious and fantastic Infinite Staircase.

Quests from the Infinite Staircase seems to have been designed with accessibility in mind, because the title provides flexibility for DMs itching to run part or all of this collection. The connecting tissue, the Infinite Staircase, can be accessed by characters of any class or level–provided they find the right door. And, the collection of adventures can either be run as standalone adventures that best fits the party’s level or as a campaign. The Introduction (pg. 4) also points out that, “these adventures complement those in other D&D anthologies, such as Keys from the Golden Vault, Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, and Tales from the Yawning Portal–you can use the staircase to ferry the characters between the worlds in which those quests take place.”

Chapter 1: The Infinite Staircase provides much-needed setting and background to understand what the staircase is, how to access it, and who the titular character Nafas is. Following this framework, Chapter 2: The Lost City is presented in full-color with new illustrations and maps. Included, a short history sidebar credits the team who designed, developed, edited, illustrated, and playtested for the adventure and discusses how the adventure was updated. This sidebar helps make the adventures more accessible while acknowledging the original; new DMs are quickly brought up to speed on the adventure’s historic place in Dungeons and Dragons while marking what changes were made–just in case their players are already familiar with the content. The following adventures are laid out similarly, and the 224-page book ends with two, easy-to-reference appendices: Magic Items and Technology and Creatures.

Quests from the Infinite Staircase is a carefully-reviewed and remastered collection that celebrates the history of Dungeons and Dragons while welcoming existing players to explore an unusual and creative setting. Beautifully-rendered, players do not have to have prior knowledge of the setting or characters before rolling their dice to crawl through “old school-style” adventures filled with traps and surprises.

This collection of six, classic adventures listed at $59.95 appears to have limited availability in hardcover: it is not available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble as of July 16th but it is available at several game stores. Digitally, you can add Quests from the Infinite Staircase for Roll20. You can also purchase a print and digital bundle (or the hardcover) directly from Wizards of the Coast.

If you are curious or want the classic adventures, you can find the individual adventures included in Quests from the Infinite Staircase on DMsGuild.com by purchasing the classic Infinite Staircase adventures on DMsGuild.

This review of Quests from the Infinite Staircase was written by Allie Brooks. Links to DMsGuild are affiliate links. A copy of this title was provided to FlamesRising.com for review.

The campaign book is offered in two editions: standard and an alternate cover. The standard edition cover, illustrated by Kieran Yanner, features Vecna weaving a ritual whilst his enemy, the warlord Kas, pauses just before he rushes in to slay the lich. The alternate cover is a gorgeous, gilded rendering of runes and the Eye and Hand of Vecna by Hydro74.

Due to the contents and nature of this title, this review of Vecna: Eve of Ruin contains spoilers.

Vecna: Eve of Ruin is an eleven-chapter supplement with an introduction, three appendices, and a full color, double-sided, pull-out map. In addition to the story, the three appendices present a bestiary, character dossier, and a secrets tracker to help manage important reveals and plot twists for a new rule. The DM will need a copy of the Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide to run this campaign.

Produced to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons, the campaign spotlights a villain that even Strahd von Zarovich is afraid of: the lich-god, Vecna who dares to remake reality by performing a powerful ritual.

Starting in the iconic city of Neverwinter as level ten heroes, they quickly become embroiled in Vecna’s plot due to their lofty reputations. Throughout the campaign, the adventurers will find treasure, unlock secrets, and explore unique and labyrinthine locations while racing toward the lich-god. Each chapter takes place in a different, unusual location filled with puzzles, traps, and unlikely characters the party must bribe, assist, or battle.

Reminder: this review contains spoilers. If you don’t want your gaming experience ruined, please don’t read any further.

To hook the players, Lord Neverember asks the players to rescue kidnapped citizens in Neverdeath Graveyard where they’ll encounter Vecna’s cultists for the first time. During the rescue, when they thwart the cultists they become tied to the lich-god, and fall into a different reality. Though they can and do escape the nightmarish real of Evernight, their connection to Vecna remains along with a new mechanic that rewards players for gleaning secrets. It isn’t until the heroes encounter three wizards–some time later in chapter two–that the story continues, enabling them to learn how to defeat Vecna, by finding and reassembling the Rod of Seven Parts.

Using secrets as commerce is a great mechanic, but it also means that players will want to know what happens next and which secrets they should encounter. Glancing at the table of secrets in Appendix 3, the placement of the secrets is carefully managed design-wise and accommodates savvy players who uncover plot twists far ahead of their natural reveal.

Over the course of the campaign, the adventurers access portholes, travelling to other realms, to pursue the rod’s reassembly. Upon doing so, the heroes are ultimately betrayed by Kas, and are in danger of losing the legendary rod. Once the outcome of the battle is decided, the heroes are ready to face Vecna to save the multiverse.

The Eve of Ruin draws upon the best and iconic aspects of Dungeons and Dragons to celebrate its 50th anniversary. As such, it makes sense that the adventure has linear components. One piece of the rod reveals its next location, and when the pieces are almost assembled the party learns of Kas’s betrayal and must face him. The twist, however, hinges so much on Kas that gleaning this secret threatens to unravel the plot and shorten the campaign experience even before the players face Vecna. (Kas is even depicted in the cover art, preparing to slay Vecna.) Additionally, this campaign assumes the heroes are, in fact, true heroes and not evil-aligned warlocks or druids. This, in particular, is something that’s both missing and challenging to accommodate within the confines of this story.

Production-wise, Vecna: Eve of Ruin is a high quality supplement and a gorgeous nod to several fan-favorite elements in Dungeons and Dragons that span the game’s storied history. If you and your friends are keen on playing a straightforward campaign to emerge as heroes of the multiverse? Then pick up your dice and prepare to thwart Vecna’s plans.

Vecna: Eve of Ruin is available for pre-order in hardcover and digital. You can pick up a copy on Amazon.com, DMsGuild, and the official Wizards of the Coast website. This campaign supplement will be available wherever fine games are sold on May 21st.

This review provided by Allie Brooks. This review also contains Amazon affiliate links.

Hiya, I am breaking a review hiatus to offer a review of Loot Goblins, by Michael’s Mind Online. The creator generously offered me a review copy, and I am happy to support their game design efforts-especially since this is their first, published game on DriveThruRPG!

Loot Goblins was designed for PocketQuest 2024’s HEIST theme and, to that end, it fits thievery perfectly. It’s inspired by the movie Time Bandits (1981), putting you in the boots of conniving goblins adventuring through time, space, and reality in an endless search for treasure.

Priced at $5.95, the 25-page PDF highlights how the League Of Outstanding Thieves (L.O.O.T.) engages you and your fellow goblins to steal loot.

Loot Goblin‘s gameplay is simple and requires one, six-sided die; the mechanics are intuitive and comprehensive encouraging problem-solving. Instead of a pass/fail mechanic, you roll a Success (6), Complication (4 or 5), Failure (2 or 3), or Disaster (1). When the chips are down, your goblin can sacrifice one piece of loot to add 1d4 to your roll and change the outcome, too.

Character creation incorporates archetypes and gear you can purchase with coin. Some Gear, like the Smoke Bomb, is straightforward while others, like the Jar of Disruption, border on the fantastical–a great, thematic mix.

The game is managed by the Guy/Gal in the Chair, the goblin running the show, who plans the heists and Threats–which include Time Gnomes. Three mapped adventures with clear destinations, themes, and goals are available, too: Tavern, Museum, and Corpo (or Corporate) Heists with maps, keys, room guides, and loot are offered in this PDF.

For a game designer’s first-ever published game on DriveThruRPG.com, I am impressed with the instincts, creativity, and volume of care. To thematically present Loot Goblins, Michael also commissioned cute, goblin artwork from Dejw Mik which is on point and professionally rendered. To me, Loot Goblins is a compacted, full RPG that could potentially spill over into a larger game with more fleshed out Threats, a longer list of loot, more archetypes, etc.

That said, I have three minor nitpicks: one, I do find some of the terminology is a little dated. Gender-neutral terms can not only be more thematic, but also more inclusive to customers encouraging sales. Two, there are several other games and shows with the name “Loot Goblins.” The similarity in titles does this game a disservice, especially since “loot” and “LOOT” mean different things. And, lastly I’d loooooooooove to read more about the Time Gnomes because they’re so cool!

Ultimately, as a first-time game designer’s offering Loot Goblins is a stellar contribution to tabletop. Michael has a lot of creativity, and I am looking forward to watching them grow as a designer and publisher, polishing and refining, as they progress in their promising career.

Loot Goblins is now available on DriveThruRPG.com!

The 22-chapter sourcebook, which is available in standard and alternate printings, features Asteria (p. 188) on both covers and is structured around The Deck of Many Things as well as a standard deck of playing cards. This information-dense guidebook includes an introductory chapter written for history buffs that explains the origin and evolution of this titular magic deck. Following Chapter One: Fool, The Book of Many Things offers thematically-appropriate dungeon master tools, character creation options, factions, guilds, and cults, adventure locations, maps, monsters, and statistics for the deck’s creators (the human warrior, Asteria, and the medusa, Euryale) in twenty-one, idea-packed chapters.

Broken out into five, easy-to-reference sections, each chapter in The Book of Many Things draws inspiration from a card found in The Deck of Many Things‘ original set of 22 unique themes including Comet, Flames, Sun, and The Void. For this edition, 44 new cards have been added like Aberration, Crossroads, and Giant creating “the deck of many more things” (pg. 52). All of the new cards are addressed in Chapter 7: Sage (formerly The Vizier) as well as the guidebook accompanying The Deck of Many Things.

Though the sections for The Book of Many Things are cohesive, the strength of this supplement is the variety of ideas, rules, setting, and in character quips thematically designed around each card. For example, Chapter 9: Knight declares in the first sentence that “A character who draws the Knight card from a Deck of Many Things gains the service of a loyal warrior.” (pg. 65). This is followed by a descriptive paragraph explaining what can be found in the chapter before quickly launching into new magic items, narrative ideas, and an allied construct called the “Deck Defender.” In this way, the chapters offer idea-rich material that best fits that card rather than pigeonhole elements into a repetitive structure.

To offset the supplement, The Deck of Many Things has a guidebook that presents divinatory advice for in game-references and the means to generate adventures. Additionally, the guidebook does offer both upright and reversed meanings for each card in a tightly-structured and straightforward manner. Each card has five associated meanings for person, creature or trap, place, treasure, or situation as well as an addition five for the reversed meanings.

The Deck of Many Things is a physical and digital bundle available for pre-order at a discounted price of $99.99. Similar to other titles, if you purchase through Wizards.com players receive pre-order bonuses. Customers who pre-order through Wizards.com ahead of the release date on November 14, 2023 receive access to the digital edition of The Book of Many Things on D&D Beyond as well as a digital dice set, ten frames, and four backdrops. The physical product will ship at a later date that has yet to be announced.

According to Wizards.com, the official release date for the physical product (both the standard and alternate cover) has been pushed back from November 14th due to a manufacturing error. The Deck of Many Things Bundle has an MSRP of $109.99 at online stores like Amazon.com as well as your friendly local game store. The listing includes a digital copy of The Book of Many Things for your use on DnD Beyond. You can also pick up virtual gaming add-ons at DMsGuild.com (for Roll20) to enhance your experience.

Printing and packaging issues aside, The Deck of Many Things Bundle is a stellar offering from Wizards of the Coast and is easily one of the company’s best products for 2023.

A review copy of The Deck of Many Things physical bundle was provided to FlamesRising.com by Wizards of the Coast. This review was written by Allie Brooks, includes affiliate links to Amazon.com and DMsGuild.com, and has been published with the author’s permission.

Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse is a boxed set available in standard and alternate full color editions of Morte’s Planar Parade, Sigil and the Outlands, Turn of Fortune’s Wheel, and a Planescape-themed campaign screen. The alternate edition offers the same content, but is printed with collectibility in mind; all four pieces are part of a thematically-designed set with unique covers and cover art. The images of the standard and alternate covers provided in this post can be enlarged to review the art.

Planescape, designed by David “Zeb” Cook, debuted in 1994 as a boxed set that included a player’s guide and setting-rich information for the DM. It’s only fitting that the 5th Edition version follows a similar intent to launch the setting without falling into the trap of reprinting old material and only providing a rules update.

Sigil and the Outlands is a 96-page supplement outlining player options to traverse the mind-bending Planescape setting and includes a full-size, full color map. The book has three chapters: Character Options, Sigil: the City of Doors, and the Outlands. In Chapter One: Character Options, new backgrounds, factions, feats, magic spells, and items are presented to customize characters. Chapter Two: Sigil, the City of Doors delves more deeply into the factions, how magic and portals work, its guardian, the Lady of Pain, what daily life is like, and a full gazeteer. The factions are incredibly useful and distinct in their views. From the Heralds of Dust to the Society of Sensation, these twelve factions offer plenty of playable choices and political intrigue to an otherworldly setting and help keep gameplay grounded. Following the factions, Sigil is presented in full, with each ward described and presented with tables of adventure hooks. In Chapter 3: the Outlands, a full gazeteer with multiple locations is presented for the extraplanar realms at the center of the Outer Planes.

Turn of Fortune’s Wheel is a fifteen-chapter-long campaign adventure written in three parts set in the city of Sigil and the Outlands. At the beginning of the 96-page adventure, a disembodied talking skull named Morte, joins the party. Morte is sassy, chatty, and full of knowledge. To avoid further spoilers, a chapter-by-chapter summary has intentionally been avoided. The campaign is a mixture of dread, whimsy, otherworldliness, and chaos.

Morte’s Planar Parade is a “who’s who” of the creatures you can encounter in Planescape presented by a talking skull. “Like I always say: ‘Ignorant and happy beats cosmically knowledgeable and eternally tormented,” writes Morte. With in-character quips found throughout the 64-page book, the bestiary complements the campaign but may also be used for further adventures. The creatures themselves are a mix of terrifying while also including cute creatures, like the sun flies.

Lastly, the customized DM screen is a mix of rules and tables outlining encounters, factions, portals, etc. The screen highlight easy-to-reference information that’s essential to run a campaign.

Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse retails for $79.99 at Amazon.com and $49.99 at DMsGuild.com (for Roll20) or at your local game store.

A review copy of Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse Boxed Set was provided to FlamesRising.com by Wizards of the Coast. This review was written by Allie Brooks and has been published with the author’s permission.

Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk is a campaign supplement for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition that recently debuted in September 2023. Geared for DMs, the supplement builds off of The Lost Mine of Phandelver included in the Dungeons and Dragons Starter Set. That same adventure is reprinted in this supplement as well, and it’s worth nothing that the material has been slightly edited to better fit the campaign. The monsters from Chapters 1 through 4 are not included in the Bestiary, however, so if you require rules for non-named NPCs and creatures along with common magic items, you’ll need a copy of the Monster Manual and the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

The new material begins in Chapter 5: Paths of Peril. At Level 5, the adventurers return to Phandalin and find a city besieged by goblins. This new enemy is depicted in the cover art and full-page chapter introduction as well. In this chapter, there’s enough material–maps, locations, terrain, NPCs, sidequests, and run-ins with fan favorites like Daisy the Cow–for the heroes to advance to level seven. The style of writing and chapter structure is very similar to what you’ll find in the Lost Mine of Phandelver; the structure and style are strongly continuous from the debut adventure, presenting a seamless experience.

In Chapter 6: The Shattered Obelisk, the campaign’s subtitle and mystery emerges, taking the players from 7th to 9th level in the Starmetal Hills. It should be noted that the cover art and campaign book’s depiction doesn’t spoil the story’s thrust. With dire stakes introduced that affects the future of Phandelver and all its citizens, the plight of the adventurers shifts away from dungeons to press against the edges of realms hostile to most mortals. When the adventure concludes in Chapter 8: Beyond a Lightless Star, the heroes begin at level l0 to decide Phandelver’s fate.

As a campaign, the story offers multiple opportunities for side quests while setting the stakes high. To avoid spoilers, the theme is much darker, bordering on horror, and is a timely addition to the line if you’re hoping to find a Halloween-appropriate game. There is a lot of content for the players to explore that opens up adventuring possibilities without being repetitive. That said, players who have been adventuring since they first played the Lost Mine of Phandelver in 2014 may need encounter adjustments for higher levels. Luckily, the encounters are easy to scale.

In the appendices, DM’s will find new creatures and magic items featured in chapters five through ten along with a detailed, two-sided map. The map, unfortunately, isn’t player-facing because the locations and secrets are revealed, giving the DM a clear depiction of the campaign. Since the other side contains smaller maps found throughout the book, it’d be neat to see a double-sided map in the future that has a labelled and a non-labelled version. Adding full-page, non-labelled maps in the appendix for the smaller locations would be ideal as well, because the Wizards team excels at making interesting locations and adding evocative art to ensure an adventuring party’s mood is set.

Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk has a list price of $59.95. The campaign supplement is available on Amazon.com and wherever games and books are sold. The story is an excellent campaign for the first-time DM, but it’s also a mind-bending adventure that allows players to face nightmares and emerge the heroes in a way they might not expect. With puzzles to solve and dungeons to crawl, Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk rallies adventurers and tests their expectations. If possible, avoid spoilers to ensure that the twists and surprises can be part of their experience.

A review copy of Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk was provided to FlamesRising.com by Wizards of the Coast. This review was written by Allie Brooks and has been published with the author’s permission.