Dungeon Backdrop: Drowned Fane of the Elder God (P1) by Bart Wynants is a role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available as a 17-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $3.75 but was purchased at a reduced price in a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, two are ads, two the front matter and Contents and one the Open Game License. The PDF comes in two versions, one optimised for print and high-end devices and the other for low end devices and mobile.
Using a Dungeon Backdrop is a fairly standard piece for the series. It explains that the backdrop is set in the Duchy of Ashlar but can be moved easily, that location descriptions only cover the basics and that treasure is only minor and level appropriate treasure needs adding. There are some notes as to where the backdrop is located in Ashlar and that it assumes that the adventure starts in Dunstone. It also explains that the GM Notes columns can be used to make the adventure your own and to decide the fate of an NPC beforehand.
Dungeon Backdrop talks about the aboleth empire and the skum, and how this fane of the skum wasn’t dedicated to Dagon but to an embodiment of Hastur. The fane has attracted a few people and a wizard of ill repute explored the fane and woke something in it.
The Adventure Begins has three adventure hooks.
Whispers & Rumours has six rumours to hear, one of which is marked as being false.
The Surrounding Locality has some brief details on the area around the fane, along with ten pieces of wilderness dressing and ten things to find. A sidebar has some rules for determining how flooded the fane is.
Notable Locations at a Glance gives an overview of the important locations in the dungeon.
Generic Dungeon Features gives a description of the general features along with ten pieces of dungeon dressing and ten things to find, followed by a map of the fane.
The fane itself is then described, with the locations covered in more detail. The pages have two columns, one with the descriptions and the other being in most cases nearly empty, apart from some notes and suggestions related to the locations. In one case, an encounter is covered in the sidebar as if it’s a trap.
Aftermath wraps things up, with resolutions for each adventure hook.
Further Adventures has some options for follow on adventures, one of which is dealing with potential xenomorph infestations – the thing as described as a large tadpole with teeth, which certainly describes a young xenomorph, even if it’s not outright called such.
Dungeon Backdrop: Drowned Fane of the Elder God (P1) in Review
The PDF is bookmarked with major and minor sections linked and only sidebars missing. The Contents is to a similar level of depth and is hyperlinked. The text maintains a two-column format and appears to be free of errors. As well as the map, there are some stock black and white illustrations. Presentation is okay.
Though this does have a default setting in the Duchy of Ashlar, it’s just a ruin in the wilderness, so is easy enough to drop in elsewhere. Those settings that don’t use Cthulhu Mythos deities may want to change Hastur to something more appropriate, but this is a minor change, especially as the embodiment isn’t the King in Yellow but a different figure. The xenomorph proxies do have the potential to be dangerous. Dungeon Backdrop: Drowned Fane of the Elder God (P1) can be found by clicking here.
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