Monstrous Delve: Goblins of the Death Rune (SN) by Creighton Broadhurst is a generic role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press.
The supplement is available as a 17-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $3.75 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, two are ads, two the front matter and half the table of contents.
What is a Monstrous Delve is a standard piece explaining that these are not standard adventures but overviews that can be fleshed out, and that they are, generally, system neutral.
Customising a Monstrous Delve is also standard and has some tips for making one fit your campaign and setting.
Delve Background gives history of this delve, originally constructed by a gnomish clan until an accident resulted in part of the mine being flooded. It was then later taken over by goblins.
The Adventure Begins has three hooks to involve characters.
Whispers & Rumours has six rumours to hear; the GM decides which are true and which are false.
The Death Rune Tribe covers the goblins who have moved in. There’s an overview followed by society and organisation, major NPCs, ecology and lair and combat and tactics.
The Delve covers the goblin lair itself. There’s an overview followed by some lore that might be known.
Notable Locations at a Glance gives an overview of the important locations in the dungeon.
Generic Delve Features gives a description of the delve’s general features and how to use sidebars to add more details. This is followed by a map of the lair.
The delve itself is then covered, with the locations listed earlier covered in more details. Each page has two columns, one with the description and the other mostly blank except for some GM Notes, which have suggestions and details related to the locations.
Aftermath has resolutions for each of the three adventure hooks.
Further Adventures has suggestions for more adventures.
Monstrous Delve: Goblins of the Death Rune (SN) in Review
The PDF is bookmarked with major and minor sections linked and only sidebars missing. The table of 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.
Those familiar with the Dungeon Backdrop range will find this very similar in layout; in fact, it’s very nearly identical, with the main difference is that it doesn’t make out it isn’t anything but system neutral. This isn’t an adventure out of the box; it will need fleshing out before it can be used, so some preparation time is needed. This does make it easier to use for any appropriate level range – goblins aren’t usually that dangerous a foe – and any setting. Monstrous Delve: Goblins of the Death Rune (SN) can be found by clicking here.
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