Designer’s Spotlight: Damned Souls of Fenleist with Mike Myler

B16 1Why should someone check out the Damned Souls of Fenleist?

Do you remember Castlevania?

I do.

That was my original plan when I pitched this to AdventureAWeek.com and the follow through became so much more without abandoning that wonderful Eastern European feel and sense of horror. The only thing missing was vampires, but I promise there’s a solid equivalent for you at the end. If you want an adventure that rides the rails of traditional Western fantasy as hard as they’ll allow, this guy is for you.

 

What makes the Damned Souls of Fenleist different from other adventures?

For one thing, there’s a massive construction object in the center of the town. Secondly, the antagonists are a wonderful twist on the old animated trope we often get bogged down in with D&D and thirdly, it’s built and ready to go for 3.5 or Pathfinder, and what more, each version is quite different from its counterpart (props to Joshua Gullion for making that fit inside of 60 pages).

Did you put cool stuff in there?

Hell yes I did. Replicating shurikens, dervish boots and an I’m-Not-Undead charm, undead familiars for animated spellcasters, folding puzzles (yes, plural, as in three), maps by Todd Gamble, two dungeons (one of which is map-less) and plausible reasons for throwing everything and the kitchen sink at your players.  I reckon there’s some cool stuff in there, yes.

 

B16 2What was your favorite part of the adventure?

While I love the harrowing crossing of a narrow bridge (it really plays out well) ultimately my favorite part is the description for successfully completing the aforementioned folding puzzle correctly. Writing bizarre stuff is my forte (apparently) and I really blew it out of the water with that. Maybe, time willing, we can expand that whole crazy dimension into a proper adventure all its own.

 

 

Did you focus on Investigation, Encounters, Puzzles or Dungeons?

Honestly I focused on all of them. There are multiple threads of investigation for the PCs to follow, encounters with a panoply of creatures, that ridiculously cool puzzle and then two dungeons to delve into. In playtesting though, the investigations took the most time (you can read about why exactly that is over here.)

 

In one sentence, what can expect from this adventure?

The Damned Souls of Fenleist will truly test the mettle of your party’s courage and fortitude, leaving them with an insatiable desire to drive forward and learn what the hell is happening to this isolated and one-of-a-kind settlement throughout the wonderfully tinged horror that is this superb adventure module.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Shopping Cart
Scroll to Top
×