Pyramid Review
When The Sky Falls (for d20 System)
Published by Malhavoc Press
Written by Bruce R. Cordell
Illustrated by Kieran Yanner
Cover by Alan Pollack
64-page b&w softcover; $13.95
Should a meteor of a particularly destructive size ever hit this planet again, our options and reactions will be somewhat limited: (a) scream, cry and panic; (b) call Bruce Willis and Steve Buscemi to see if they can save us; and (c) see (a) above. Actually, in game terms, the impact of a planet killer will be the subject of Eden's Odyssey Prime RPG setting, published under their Odyssey imprint. This will be for a modern or near future set game, but the question remains, "What happens if a meteorite hits the average Dungeons & Dragons fantasy world?" Such a question is addressed in When the Sky Falls, authored by Bruce A. Cordell, whose previous noted d20 System titles include the Origins Award-winning Return to the Tomb of Horrors and the Epic Level Handbook. This is the second "Event Book" to be published by Monte Cook's Malhavoc Press, the first being Cook's own Requiem for a God, an excellent sourcebook that explored the possibilities wrought by the death of a god!
The aim of an Event Book is to shake up a campaign, in this instance by having a meteor strike a world . . . and do so hard. The effect is at least to make the ground tremble and leave behind an impact crater, but in the Afterfall, there could be firestorms, a tsunami, showers of acid rain, changes in weather or climate -- and all this . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: July 11, 2003
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