A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Backdrops III (P1)

GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Backdrops III (P1) by Creighton Broadhurst and 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 PDF from DriveThruRPG for $5.95, as a softcover print on demand book for $9.99 or as both PDF and print on demand for $9.99. The PDF is the version reviewed but it was purchased at a reduced price in a special bundle. It has 39 pages with two pages being the front and rear covers, two being ads, two the front matter, one the 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 explaining how to use this. It also explains that location descriptions only cover the basics and that treasure is only minor and level appropriate treasure needs adding.

The three dungeon backdrops in this collection are Blasted Donjon of the Erdkur Dwarves, Cursed Tower of the Astromancer and Drowned Fane of the Elder God. The three are all copied from their original separate supplements. All three supplements are set in the Duchy of Ashlar, with the Cursed Tower in the town of Dunstone, though all are self-contained enough that they should be easy enough to drop into other settings.

GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Backdrops III (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 maps, there are some stock black and white illustrations. Presentation is okay.

This is a collection of Dungeon Backdrops into one supplement, though unlike the storyline supplements, such as Sacred Blood, none of the adventures are linked together. As with the individual backdrops, work needs to be done in order to use them; they can’t be used as-is, though this does make them more flexible in terms of level. For those who have the original three supplements, this adds nothing new, unless there’s a desire to have the print on demand version; for those who lack them, this is a more cost-effective way of getting them. GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Backdrops III (P1) can be found by clicking here.