Dungeonscape (D&D Accessory) [ハードカバー]

Dungeonscape is designed to give GMs and players plenty of focused material on one of the standard activities of Dungeons and Dragons: Dungeon Delving. It succeeds in this goal, providing a decent amount of material for gamers to augment their dungeon experience.

The book includes variants for each of the major classes - finally we see an underground druid. There is also a new base class - the Factotum, who is a jack-of-all-trades. There are also a few prestige classes, including one specifically for monsters (the Dungeon Lord).

New feats and magical items are few, though there is a good amount of new mundane equipment. There are only two new monsters, both of which previously appeared in earlier editions of D&D (the ascomoid and rot grub swarm). There are more templates, some of which are particularly interesting - the hivenest monster is particularly intriguing. There are also a pile of new traps.

There is a section on Dungeon Terrain, giving some good variants for walls, floors, and doors of unusual materials. A good amount of the book provides details on dungeon design, dungeons as systems, etc. A section on designing dungeons by theme provides some refreshing ideas for novel dungeons.

Unfortunately, the book fails in two critical areas. The substitution levels for the base classes fail some simple play-balance checks. In particular, what fighter isn't going to take the Dungeon Crasher option? The sorceror spellshield is similarly problematic. Likewise, the Factotum should have never seen print - why bother playing a single class when the Factotum can be any of them?

The second problem is the organization. There is a Dungeon Terrain section in the player's area, and a similar section in the Dungeon Features chapter. The two should have been combined, as they provide similar information. This type of organizational problem gets in the way - for instance, important details on Walls of Flesh occur both on page 21 and 142.

Overall, the book is probably useful for gamers who like to own every book, or who haven't been creating dungeons and adventures for years. A veteran gamer will be able to find useful nuggets within the pages, but will have already developed dungeon design skills. Still, there are some good ideas here.

Dungeonscape is another one of those fancy environment books, but this time it's for an environment that everyone is used to seeing. This obviously would be a bit of a challenge, but Buhlman and Burlew have approached this with creativity and ingenuity.

Still, this book isn't necessary. The Dungeon Master's Guide contains a fine guide to building dungeons, and if you're looking to get started, you don't need this book. This book is an advanced dungeon architecture guide, with creative ideas like walls made of souls, etc. etc.

From my perspective as an experienced DM with highly demanding players, this book will be very useful for putting them into new situations. The ideas presented here are very good, and the book offers information on their proper implementation. There is also advice on using existing dungeon features from the DMG more effectively.

The player-oriented material is pretty good. The Factotum is a fun class and has great synergy with many of the new options in Complete Scoundrel, making it a very "current" base class. It presents a "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" class. It can do just about anything that another class can do, but only for a very short period of time. This has the unexpected effect, however, of making Factotum excellent for players who want to qualify quickly for a prestige class that requires many disparate skill points.

The alternative class features- do not be misled by other reviews, there are no substitution levels in this book- are for the most part dungeon oriented and only make sense if you frequently adventure in dungeon environments. Otherwise they are not very useful. The only one that does have a lot of use is one that allows a rogue to do sneak attack damage, albeit lessened, to creatures that normally cannot take sneak attack damage.

Items in the book focus on mundane items that make it easier to adventure in the dungeon. New uses for DMG and PHB items are also presented.

For the DM, this book does not contain much in the way of monsters. There is a template, and one or two monsters. Moreso, there are TONS and TONS of new traps, and a very interesting Prestige Class meant only for NPCs that lets you create the ultimate dungeon super villain, magically aware of his entire dungeon domain and always a step ahead of the players.

I recommend this book if you want to give your character an edge in the dungeon environment (but not many other places), if you're interested in my description of the Factotum, or if you're a DM looking to bust out of the musty stone and mud dungeon into something a little more creative.

When it comes right down to it, the first word in the game is Dungeons, and despite revisionist gamers sometimes eschewing the "dungeon crawl" the fact it that the dungeon IS where most of the action takes place and still the favored place to adventure for players. The real key to a good dungeon adventure is the DM. It's up to him or her to make the adventure exciting and enticing to his players, and to not make it a linear, boring trek through a non-descript environment.

In Dungeonscape, the newest supplement from Wizards of the Coast, it's back to basis. Kind of like dungeon building 101, an exercise that has needed addressing for quite some time, especially in the case of the near endless supplements of new classes, spells, feats, and monsters. Chapters are devoted to Dungeon Design, Dungeon Encounters, Traps, and Dungeon Features. But the book is not all for the DM, players will find it useful as well with tips and tools for characters to use in the dungeon setting as well as new feats and yes, new prestige classes. Truly something for everyone!

The book begins with a look at the standard character classes and their respective roles in the dungeon environment. It is here where the rogue class can shine with their ability to detect and disable traps and opened locked doors and treasure chests. To best meet the challenges of the dungeon, a new class is presented, The Factotum. OK, the name is dumb but the Factotum is basically a Jack-of-all-trades. The class can essentially mimic the abilities of all other classes, combining just enough skill so that they can stand in as rogue, wizard, cleric, or fighter. Their knowledge base is broader than any other class and they are constantly in pursuit of new skills and abilities. They can be of any alignment. This is clearly a character built for life in the dungeon with their ability to adapt to any situation they are presented with.

The section on Dungeon Terrain will really add flavor to any dungeon. Instead of stone walls and wooden doors, liven things up with walls, and floors made of flesh, bone, ooze, or even insects. Or how about using the rather wicked golem door, capable of spewing deadly poison if someone tries to open it without the proper key or command.

The best chapter in the book is chapter four on Dungeon Design. This section takes a realistic yet dynamic approach to dungeon design, outside of the graph paper box. It presents ten traits of legendary dungeons such as the location of powerful artifacts, legendary figures, weird magic, or presents a world-shattering danger to all. Give your dungeon (and it doesn't have to be an underground dungeon) a history and an origin. Be creative in the design and layout...rooms need not be four square walls! Come up with a central theme for your dungeon and design the environment to match. Tons of sample rooms and ideas are provided to get DM's moving in the right direction.

Complementing the Dungeon Design chapter is the Dungeon Encounters and Traps chapters. These include logical ideas for encounters and include a host of new monsters and traps as well as NPC prestige classes. Several dozen sample traps are included from the merely annoying to the truly destructive Dance of Death Trap. These include magical, mechanical, and even psionic traps.

With its depth of detail and sheer creativity, Dungeonscape is one of the best D&D supplements, and one of the most useful to come along in quite some time. Best of all, it's value is just as good to experienced gamers as it is to novices.

Reviewed by Tim Janson