First of all, I want to thank Dungeoneer Games & Simulations for sending us a copy of Dungeons – Lost Tales in order to be able to write this review of the new installment of this fantastic series.
Dungeons laid the foundation with a simple and extremely fun game. Advanced Dungeons added the multi-character component, giving the possibility of playing in the company of friends. Dungeons Companion – Dark Journeys transformed the game into a living, breathing open world. Finally Dungeons Forgotten Lands introduced four new territories. Today we talk about the last volume of the series, written by Antonello Molella, Simone Anselmi and Simone Giusti.
Before starting to see this new expansion in detail, let’s see how the manual is composed. With its 84 pages in A5 format with flexible cover, it is the biggest of the five manuals, stealing the primacy of Dungeon – Forgotten Lands. The authors seem to want to maintain the fact that a new manual should always be more substantial than the last one and for this we are grateful.
The graphics maintains the level we have been accustomed to for all the volumes of the series. Peter Pagano, Dean Spenser, Francesco Accordi, Ryck Hersey and William Mc Ausland have done an excellent job with black and white illustrations that help us imagine the threats of this world in pure OSR style.
You can find the physical version (with the PDF included) of Dungeons – Lost Tales on the La Terra dei Giochi website at a cost of €12; if you prefer to get just the digital version, you can find it here at a cost of €6.
Review of the New Mechanics of Dungeons – Lost Tales
Dungeons – Lost Tales is an expansion, so to be able to play we will need the basic manual, but also Dark Journeys. In theory we strictly need only the basic manual, but in my opinion our experience will be a little limited and highly deadly. Unlike the latest manuals, this new expansion does not add new lands to explore, but offers mechanics that can easily be inserted into previous adventures to offer an even more complete experience.
First of all, Dungeons – Lost Tales expands the generation of the Background, inserting statistic modifiers linked to different factors. The body size as well as the class of origin will make changes to our parameters; similarly, particular marks, hair and clothing will add further details to our appearance. The last three tables instead concern our mental traits, adding goals and phobias which will increase even more the difficulty and sense of satisfaction of completing a quest.
Alchemy and Herbology in Dungeons – Lost Tales
Dungeons – Lost Tales adds two interesting mechanics related to alchemy and herbology.
If until now we have always been forced to give our money to merchants, now we can finally create our own potions. Of course, it takes special talent and a good dose of luck, but the beneficial effects far outweigh the risks. Obviously the ingredients can also be bought. This is a useful addition that allows us to create our own potions without having to search for years for that one missing ingredient.
The second innovation introduced is linked to herbology. Armed with a useful breviary, we can start looking for plants useful for our survival. These plants are not related to alchemy and will have effects unrelated to potions. You don’t need a special talent to look for plants, but having one will make it easier to avoid unwanted effects. Yes, because it wouldn’t be Dungeons if it didn’t introduce a potentially lethal new mechanic. For each plant we will have to do a test to recognize the type and by making mistakes we could also get our hands on poisonous plants with unwanted effects.
Lost Adventures
After the mechanics, we arrive at the most substantial part of the manual. Dungeons – Lost Tales finally brings together the official adventures released in recent years outside of the four official manuals. For those who missed them, we are talking about seven adventures in which you can put your heroes to the test. They are:
- I Demoni di Nargoth (“The Demons of Nargoth”)
- Buio su Ruud-Mazar (“Darkness on Ruud-Mazar”)
- Il Mausoleo del Culto dell’Abisso (“The Mausoleum of the Cult of the Abyss”)
- Assedio a Kerbia (“Siege of Kerbia”)
- La Torre di Dreshan (“Dreshan’s Tower”)
- Le Terre dell’Hammerlands (“The Hammerlands”)
- Il Dungeon di Exhabat – Dragonquest (“The Dungeon of Exhabat – Dragonsquest”)
I don’t need to tell you that it took me several attempts to survive, since I preferred not to use the heroes of the previous chapters but to start each new and lethal adventure from scratch. An exciting challenge that led to the death of numerous adventurers.
Final Considerations
Finally, the manual adds a new playable race: the halfling. With their hiding abilities, they will be an interesting addition to our group of heroes.
Dungeons – Lost Tales once again increases the fun and high mortality typical of this game. I therefore recommend it to anyone who has appreciated the previous manuals in this series and wants to add further possibilities.
0 Comments