Overview
D1 - Crown of the Kobold King is set in the same locale as its prequel module, D0 - Hollow's Last Hope. It is a full-sized, 32-page adventure and can be run easily without the introductory adventure.

When the kobold king kidnaps 5 human children, the PCs are hired to rescue them. By following clues that take them to a burned orphanage and through the Darkmoon Vale forest, the party finds themselves at the ruins of a dwarven monastery, and the lair of the kobold tribe.

Organization/Layout (10 out of 10)
Similar to the D0 module, the layout of the module is excellent. There is plenty of art scattered throughout along with sidebars and designer notes. The presentation is extremely well done with the main maps found in the interior covers. The minimal Paizo stat blocks are used here again along with their standard combat and tactical details.

Writing (7/10)
Nicolas Logue is a good writer with a good track record and it shows in this module. But although he adds some nice humor when discussing the kobold king, that's as far as it goes. This module’s writing is above average, but it's lacking sparkle or that extra oomph that would make me want to keep reading.

Maps (8/10)
Two levels of the monastery dungeon are detailed in separate maps on the inside covers. Cartographer Christopher West does a nice job using minimal details and furnishings. The ground level of the monastery which was detailed in module D0 no longer exists and the entrance to the lower level is just a set of stairs in the rubble. So much for continuity.

Innovations (7/10)
This is a basic module with little complexity. However there were couple of interesting ideas that I’ll probably use in some way or another. I’m not going to give many details because I don’t think I should be revealing all the module’s secrets.

The first is a clan of evil dwarves. I guess in my mind, dwarves are these helpful mountain dwelling folk with a their own unique type of problems. The dwarves in this module are evil, but in a natural way as an extension of their virtues. Very interesting idea and something I can use with any race in my campaign.

There is also an interesting cursed item that makes me look twice at cursed items. Isn’t it possible that some people wouldn’t consider the item cursed at all? Again, it gave me pause to think and I like that.

Art quality (7/10)
Like the first module, the art is excellent and plentiful. It is much in the style of Dungeon magazine. I have to say that the cover art doesn't really appeal to me, but that's probably a matter of taste. The three heads on the kobold make me do a double take every time.

Editing (7/10)
The editing is a bit disappointing. Not because of typos but because of the story flaws in the setup. They are relatively easy to fix making them just an annoyance, but it makes me wonder whether the product was read as a whole before being released.

For example, the story is set again in Falcon's Hope and it seems to have gotten grittier and more dangerous than the first module. The town is now a haven for lunatics and people escaping normal life. And the forest just outside of town has become more dangerous forbidding. But then part of the backstory has a family going on a picnic where of course they are attacked by a werewolf. And you have the orphanage 8-miles out of town, in order to get away from the lunatic fringe, and in the shadow of the forest.

Then there are the 5 youngsters who travel by themselves out to the orphanage to see the haunted building. Like they couldn’t find any danger closer to home? Most likely these kids would be so full of bogeyman stories that they wouldn’t step outside their door. So they decide to camp overnight and something happens.

Another example is the Adventure Background on the first page. It is a difficult read because there are so few paragraphs. A couple of extra paragraph breaks are needed or graphic to break it. This is the only page where this is evident but it stands out sharply.

Overall Rating (6/10)
Like the first module, this one is also a dungeon crawl with little depth, complexity or intrigue. It can be dropped into any campaign or setting. The bad guys are mostly static, waiting in their respective rooms.

I have to compare these Paizo modules to the Goodman Games dungeon crawl modules. Now I'm not putting down Goodman Games because I happen to have a good number of their modules because they are easy to adapt and add my own spin. These Paizo modules are very similar but done in a very slick presentation and with a lot more background.

But knowing that, I'll pick and chose my Paizo modules depending on my needs like I do with the Goodman Games modules.

dDemonicAngels is the online identity of Bil White, a freelance writer from Montreal. Despite the reviews, Bil really likes Paizo and has been a long time Dragon and Dungeon magazines fan. D2 has to be better...

Comments (2)

2  Written by kepli, on 06-12-2007 03:03 Nice review. Sounds like a module I don't mind using, provided I am able to change a few of the things you mention.  Thanks

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