Elven Crystals!!

[bulya]

The Elven Crystals is a short campaign of four linked adventures: a quest across the kingdom of Ereworn to find four shards of an ancient crystal that forms a gateway to another world. But were they originally split up to stop anyone leaving this world... or to prevent something from getting in?

Along the way they will find themselves searching for a kidnapped girl in a forest populated by dark and supernatural beings; hunting a corrupted nobleman through his terrifying castle; a desperate chase through a coastal village where a recent shipwreck has brought an ancient cult to light; and a battle to halt the invasion of a force of darkness and shadow.

This book is based on the classic 1986 adventure by Oliver Johnson, but has been re-edited and expanded by Adrian (‘Book of Hell’) Bott to meet the expectations of a new market.

Cover by Jon Hodgson, interior art by Jon Hodgson, Erik Wilson, Andy Hepworth and Scott Neil.


Interesting! Thoughts?

Looks like the crystals powers may have changed a bit.

 

[Cowboy]

They are now called SUP4L33T KRYSTALZZ and grant the power of TEH 4W5UM!!!

Okay, probably not...

 

[Jiminy]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that Adrian was revising the ending - maybe expanding it?

 

[Jiminy]

James Wallis posted this on RPG.net in September 2008: "a re-edit with a new ending by Adrian Bott."
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=325866&page=6

And that's as much as I know about it.

BTW: The post also mentions a limited-edition volume, but I seem to recall that James has subsequently stated that the LE was not and will not be published due to high costs.

 

[bulya]

Im mainly looking for a new map of Erewon, some broad description of the land and its history and some more 'believable' details about the old High Kings Castle and its inhabitants.

 

[bulya]

Anyone received yet?

 

[Rictus]

Got it today at midday -

The intro/chapter 1 gives a history of Ereworn complete with narrative in italics, which takes up 2 pages, and a map. The map gave me some confusion until I realised that Skull Island must lie on the river which almost splits Ereworn in two (p.150 of the core book).

The layout is similar to Sleeping Gods, though there is a lot more referring to the Bestiary for creature traits. Though most of the traits are listed in the core book as well, under Chapter 19.

The Castle of Terror (Chapter 3) seems to be well stocked, which reminds me of the original version, so expect some casualties. Which reminds me, I think I spot my first typo/error under the optional PCs on p.39, where Reflexes seems to be missing 'fl'. Although that could just be my copy...

Other than that I like it.

 

[hal]

I have mine too. My comments are:

1. Most maps are new by Andy Law.
2. Art continues to be very good.
3. No major changes notable on a quick glance, including to the ending.

 

[Magnum Opus Press]

I have mine too. My comments are:

1. Most maps are new by Andy Law.
2. Art continues to be very good.
3. No major changes notable on a quick glance, including to the ending.

If I can jump in--some of the changes are quite subtle. The most obvious alteration is that the whole Rimfax/Fengris thing has been tidied up and brought properly into the story, so that the final part of the adventure provides a fitting climax.

 

[hal]

If I can jump in--some of the changes are quite subtle. The most obvious alteration is that the whole Rimfax/Fengris thing has been tidied up and brought properly into the story, so that the final part of the adventure provides a fitting climax.

On another glance, I agree. The ending is much more satisfying than the original and ties the whole thing together better.

 

[hal]

So I am almost finished the revamped Elven Crystals and thought I would post some detailed comments for interested persons. I note that I haven't finished it so I can't comment on the ending yet.

I should also note that Elven Crystals is perhaps the single RPG campaign that got me GMing. (Enemy Within and U1 were also close contenders) As such, the book holds a special place for me.

The Elven Crystals has seen the most new text of all the DW books so far. On the surface, I didn't pick any changes except for a slightly expanded ending. However, having read the text in more detail (with the old book on hand) I can say that over 50%, if not as much as 80% of the encounters have been added to. Most of these additions are there to provide some explanation at seeming random occurences (the vampires in Duke Darian's castle or the black carriage), given more background behind locations (the Villa and Fabian's tower), provide links to encounters (the person in the gibbet + the haunted monastry, the ghost of the sorcerer on the road to the Castle) or provide exposition to the backstory.

The backstory has been expanded slightly to provide the PCs with much more idea as to what is going on and why they do what they do. The Elven Crystals plot is much stronger and , for example, the link to Chapter 3 and the coastal adventure has become much stronger.

In addition, to the above there is the odd new scene such as the introduction of Lady Alysa at the top of the Tower of Fear and also a slight rejigging of the atmosphere, especially in the Castle, to make it creepier and more in line with DW in general.

Overall, I am very impressed. I found reading Elven Crystals recently to be a difficult experience as it did seem much less compelling and cohesive than I remembered it. The additions made didn't change my memory of the book at all but they did give it that extra gloss that made it a much more fun read.

Here's hoping that Prince of Darkness sees a treatment as good as this.

One comment though: the armours are still not updated.

 

[wazza]

My copy has a curious printing error where any word beginning with the letters "fl" in italics are missing. I've checked the entire book and this is the case throughout. Has anyone else experienced this same problem?

 

[hal]

My copy has a curious printing error where any word beginning with the letters "fl" in italics are missing. I've checked the entire book and this is the case throughout. Has anyone else experienced this same problem?

Mine too. It probably an issue with the font change.

 

[Magnum Opus Press]

My copy has a curious printing error where any word beginning with the letters "fl" in italics are missing. I've checked the entire book and this is the case throughout. Has anyone else experienced this same problem?

That's incredibly odd. Can you scan a couple of affected pages and email them to me: james@magnumopuspress.com?

 

[hal]

My copy has a curious printing error where any word beginning with the letters "fl" in italics are missing. I've checked the entire book and this is the case throughout. Has anyone else experienced this same problem?

That's incredibly odd. Can you scan a couple of affected pages and email them to me: james@magnumopuspress.com?

To give a detailed description, in the italicised sections, any 'fl' is simply missing. This can happen when fonts gets changed.

 

[Magnum Opus Press]

To give a detailed description, in the italicised sections, any 'fl' is simply missing. This can happen when fonts gets changed.

I've just checked the PDFs that I sent to print and they're fine. I'm not in the office right now, but will check the printed copies I have there in a few hours.

Is there space where the letters ought to be? Does 'stifled' turn into 'sti ed' or 'stied'?

It's possible the printer has substituted a version of Caslon that doesn't have the 'fl' ligature, but since the original fonts were embedded in the PDF I can't imagine why that would have happened.

I'll take this up with Mongoose's print people.

 

[Blackyinkin]

Hi,

I have had this happen with embedded fonts and had to still send the fonts to the printer on several books I have had published. I think it has something to do with the version of the PDF readers they use.

Simon

 

[wazza]

Scanned pages sent to James as requested,

 

[hal]

Is there space where the letters ought to be? Does 'stifled' turn into 'sti ed' or 'stied'?

Space i.e. 'sti ed'

 

[Jiminy]

Received my copy today - unfortunately it's also affected by the missing "fl" problem. However, on a much lighter note, the rest of the book is top-notch! Art & prose are awesome, with excellent brand-new maps that are based on the originals (and therefore still show a curious southerly-facing shoreline). The remaining retouched original map scans have been edited to improve contrast on dark backgrounds. Overall score: 9/10