Subterranean Enclaves: Dilath’s Hold

Subterranean Enclaves: Dilath’s Hold

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This installment of Raging Swan Press’ Subterranean Enclave-series clocks in at 10 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page advertisement, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving us with 5 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

 

As mentioned before, you can essentially consider this a pdf that depicts a settlement of the storied underdark, wherein the less than pleasant races roam. In this case, most people who come to the place do not want to be here. Why? Well, founded by an exiled drow noble, Dilath’s Hold is not a nice place – it is a slave hub. That being said, the danger rate of 10 the village’s statblock provides should net you a good idea that this is NOT a place to take shelter in. The marketplace’s offerings do mirror the theme of the locale and, as always, we not only receive a beautiful pencil-drawn cartography, but also DCs of the village’s lore and short notes on the nomenclature of the dominant cultures in the enclave, here that being drow and duergar.

 

It should be noted, though, that this is NOT simply a slaver’s village with a hack filing off of the serial numbers – from houses of gigantic snail shells to labyrinths of caverns and webs, this place breathes the wonder that should, nay, must suffuse subterranean settlements. Have I mentioned the nasty druid (fully statted!) with an unhealthy obsession of experimentation with fungi etc.? Finally, as always, some rumors which may or may not be true and sample events add a certain amount of local color to the place.

 

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to raging Swan Press’ two-column b/w–standard, with superb cartography in b/w. As always, you can download player-friendly high-res maps via Raging Swan Press’ patreon. The pdf comes in two versions, one optimized for screen-use and one optimized for the printer, with both being fully bookmarked.

 

Brian Wiborg Mønster’s subterranean enclave could have very well been bland – when I read the premise of this one, I was less than excited about it – how many times have I seen the like? Well, I’m happy to report that, while I’m not 100% blown away by the concept, it is in the small details and power-dealings, in the unique sense of wonder conveyed, that this settlement manages to surpass what otherwise would have been a common premise and become something unique and worthwhile. Capturing the wonder of the underdark exceedingly well, the pdf does this component rather well. Then again, as a slaver’s town, particularly as one so unique, I was missing the added spice – the unique drug used to ensure slave-compliance, the secret uprising in the making – some additional material would have definitely helped here. Now I am aware I am complaining at a very high level here, but still. In the end, my final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4 for the purpose of this platform.

 

You can get this underdark settlement here on OBS and here on d20pfsrd.com’s shop!

 

Endzeitgeist out.

 

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