A Glorious Death by Robert J. Schwalb is a role playing game supplement published by Schwalb Entertainment for use with Shadow of the Demon Lord. This is a regional sourcebook that covers the southern end of the continent of Rûl.
The supplement is available as a 48 page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $8, as a softcover print on demand book for $19.99 or as both softcover and PDF for $19.99. It can also be found in printed for from sites such as Amazon. The PDF is the version reviewed although it was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, one page is the front matter, one the Table of Contents, two pages an Index and one an ad for Uncertain Faith.
Chapter 1: Into the Wastes contains material needed to create characters from the Frozen Wastes. The wastes are the homeland of the jotun, but other ancestries can also be found there. Humans, dwarfs and orcs are the most common; since King Drudge broke the compulsion tying the orcs – who were created from the jotun – to the Alabaster Throne, many have been travelling to the wastes, but they have not been welcomed by the jotun.
Suitable professions for characters from the wastes, religion – the jotun worship the Dark Gods and there is a reference to Uncertain Faith – and starting equipment are in this chapter, as well as a new table of interesting things.
The jotun themselves are introduced as a new playable race and there are new paths, Juggernaut, an Expert path, and four new Master paths, Cryomancer, Seer, Skald and Warrior Spirit.
Finally in this chapter are a handful of new spells for existing traditions.
Chapter 2: The Frozen Wastes describes the lands themselves. The Blasted Lands join the Frozen Wastes onto the Patchwork Lands. Although generally barren, there are some sites of interest. The Frozen Sea is the ocean to the west, with a small monastery descended from people who fled the Witch-King. Iron Bay is the water to the east. Blötland is the kingdom of the jotun, who have largely recovered from their near-destruction at the hands of the Empire centuries ago. Blötland is covered in the greatest detail, as it is the most populated region. Sidebars cover freezing to death and freezing water.
The hidden kingdoms of Svartalfheim and Valhalla are covered briefly and there are a few suggestions as to what might be found beyond the Dragon Fangs mountain range to the south.
Secrets of the Wastes has a new d20 table of special features, has some adventure ideas for different levels and mentions Heart of Winter as a suitable adventure to introduce characters to the region. The effects that the Shadow of the Demon Lord might have are covered and finally there are some new relics. One of which is potentially world-ending.
Chapter 3: Denizens of the Wastes has suggestions on using existing commonly-occurring animals in the wastes as well as stats for a variety of new creatures of different types. There is also Eitr, a liquid that supposedly came from the world serpent that can be found in pools. This liquid is not only toxic pools of it spawn monsters, and these pools are probably the source of all monsters in the region.
Chapter 4: Kill Them All is the final chapter and is a Master level adventure. In this adventure a troll leads a dragon to a jotun village, one that has a vault containing one of the relics from Chapter 2 in it. Of course this relic is the one that could potentially end the world if it is activated. Should the characters fail to stop the troll, a huge portal to the Void will be opened and demons will spill out. So, no pressure.
A Glorious Death in Review
The PDF is bookmarked, but not as thoroughly as it could be. The Table of Contents is to a greater level of depth and is also hyperlinked. The Index is also hyperlinked. Navigation is generally very good; it’s only the bookmarks that let it down. The text maintains a two column full colour layout and appeared to be free of errors. There are a variety of full colour illustrations, including a map of the region. Presentation is very good.
In case it wasn’t already obvious from the names – Valhalla, Svartalfheim, jotun – and the behaviour of the jotun – raiding the coasts in longships – this region and culture is clearly based on the Norse. Only Norse where the Vikings are related to the giants. Playing in the region may be a bit of a problem for non-jotun characters. They will need to really impress the natives, who average at 9′ tall and weigh in at 500 lbs, to make sure that they don’t get enslaved. Even though the jotun really don’t like humans, they do seem to be impressed by skill in battle, so characters of a decent level stand a decent chance of impressing them enough (but will still probably be ranked below many jotun). Or perhaps be taken as a challenge. A race that believes that their entire life is predestined will try stuff knowing that the consequences for their actions have already been determined. Which makes them dangerous. This is one of the more dangerous regions to explore, with jotun, lots of dragons, wyverns, other dangerous creatures and the environment itself all trying to kill the characters. A Glorious Death is an interesting, albeit dangerous, expansion to the possibilities on Urth and it can be found by clicking here.
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