Underdark Adventure Guide (d20)
The Underdark Adventure Guide details the strange¸ alien world of the underdark. The underdark is far more than just dungeons and caves. It is a veritable underground continent¸ populated by advanced civilizations¸ ancient ruins¸ sunless seas¸ alien magic¸ bizarre creatures¸ and the horrid denizens of the gloom. The standards of the surface world hold no sway in the underdark¸ and its mysteries¸ ferocity¸ and danger will challenge even the hardiest of adventurers.
This book includes everything you need to create a compelling underdark world. Underdark adventures are easy to integrate with an existing campaign¸ as the very nature of the underdark lends itself to layering - simply arrange for the discovery of a subterranean portal¸ and the land beneath your existing campaign has a new life.
The Underdark Adventure Guide is divided into four chapters:
- The first chapter examines the characters of the underdark¸ especially among the most populous races: the drow¸ duergar¸ derro¸ svirfneblin¸ and troglodytes. This section defines the most renowned traits of these races with a variety of new prestige classes¸ then concludes with new equipment¸ feats¸ and skill applications useful to everyone. You can use this section to flesh out the enemies your PCs will face¸ or apply them to the stats for these underdark races found in the MM and DMG to use them as player characters.
- Chapter two introduces a variety of new monsters suitable to life in the underdark.
- Chapter three provides guidelines for creating an underdark campaign. These are mostly for inspiration - a collection of keywords and ideas that can help you get started on a new campaign¸ or tie together elements of an existing one.
- The book concludes with chapter four¸ which describes several points of interest in great detail. These cities¸ camps¸ and other locations can be dropped into your own campaign as needed¸ or inserted in their totality as an already-defined area.
The Underdark Adventure Guide is a stand-alone book. It can be used in conjunction with the Aerial Adventure Guide¸ or used independently. If you're planning an underdark campaign¸ you might also be interested in Monsters of the Endless Dark¸ Complete Guide to Drow¸ and Complete Guide to Beholders.
Writers: Michael Mearls¸ Dean Poisso
Cover Artist: V. Shane
Interior Artists: Marcio Fiorito¸ William McAusland¸ V. Shane
GMG2003¸ 144 pages¸ $13.99.