Pyramid Review
The Root of All Evil (for Kingdoms of Kalamar/Dungeons & Dragons)
Published by Kenzer And Company
Written by Andy Miller
Illustrated by Hung Vinh Mac, Storn Cook, Arnie Swekel, Brad McDevitt, Matt Mitchell, Eric Olson and Allan Ditzig
64 pages; $12.99
The Root of All Evil is the first scenario from Kenzer And Company for their official Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition campaign setting, the Kingdoms of Kalamar. It is designed for a group of 1st-level characters, numbering between four and six, and should provide enough experience points to take the party through to third level. One glaring omission from either front or back cover is mention of the fact that this is the first part of a trilogy, which continues with Forging Darkness and is completed with Coin's End.
This is a 64-page book that combines a small amount of background material with the scenario itself. The book is well laid-out in a smaller typeface than is the norm for many d20 releases. One aspect of the presentation that does jar is the use of a grey background to highlight the colour text that is read out to the players as the adventure progresses. This format is perhaps a little stale and putting the colour text in boxes might have been easier upon the eye.
The most notable thing about The Root of All Evil is its illustrations. The book uses what Kenzer And Company terms its "ImageQUEST Adventure Illustrator." The purpose of this is to illustrate key scenes from the adventure and provides twenty pictures . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: June 29, 2001
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