Points of Light

Points of Light
by Robert Conley

The pdf can be purchased here:  https://goodman-games.com
It can also be purchased in hard copy from Ebay for about $10.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

First things first, I own this in hard copy and do not have the pdf.  One thing which jumped out me right away is that there is no copyright which I can see in this product.  I was trying to find the date this product was printed and I don't see this either.  Based on the game systems it is designed for, according to Goodman Game's website, the product is designed for 3e, 4e, or system neutral.  Seeing that the Wizard's versions of "D&D" are so unrelated to real versions of D&D, if this book is to be used, the DM is going to have to ignore the class and level information included.

Just an off-the-top conversion note:  I suspect that if the Dungeon Master was to keep the levels in this setting, don't adjust levels 1-3, divide levels 4-6 by half, and divide levels 7+ by three.  This book is in the typical Wizard's style "D&D", where every back alley bum, sleeping in the street has a class and a level.  Even after doing the above math, if it seems reasonable that the NPC should be a normal man, just set him to HD 0 and ignore the uber-bum issue.

With that out of the way, you, dear reader, probably want to know what this product is all about.  This book is 48 pages of mini settings; three are in the remains of a fallen empire, and the fourth is a vast swamp on an outer plane which the Acheron River flows through.

The book introduces a new class named Myrmidon.  There are no class-specific details other than stating it is a lawful evil version of the paladin.  Speaking of mechanics, the setting does a good job of steering clear of them, other than the inflated level and class mumbo jumbo.  I recall reading one spot where a saving throw vs. paralyzation (I think) was needed and all other saving throws are in 3e-speak - save vs. reflex, etc.

The first setting is called Wildland.  It is set shortly after the empire fell.  It is advertised as being similar to the Dark Ages of Europe.  The second is called Southland.  It is a relatively empty land, where brave characters might carve out their own realms.  The third is called Borderland.  It takes place after the primary gods of the empire had a falling out and now two of the gods' followers are warring with each other.  The fourth is called Swamps of Acheron.  It is a massive swamp where one of the gods holds sway and tests his followers when they seek advancement in the hierarchy.

Each of the settings includes its own map and I really like the maps.  Each map is made of 5-mile hexes and takes up one page (say 125 miles in one direction and 100 miles in the other direction).  The Swamps of Acheron takes up about half a page.  I spent a few seconds looking, to see if the maps fit together, and it doesn't seem that they do.  They seem to be set in different parts of the fallen empire.

The Wildland setting is centered on a two very large rivers which dump into the ocean.  There are two large forests, which make up a decent portion of the map.  Trade centers around the massive rivers.  The background here is that about a hundred years after the Bright Empire fell due to civil war, tribes of barbarians and humanoids invaded the formerly peaceful lands.  

Several tribes of barbarians and humanoids live and survive in the Wildland.  The scattered towns are the only really peaceful places to be found here - and they may not be peaceful if you don't follow whichever deity is in vogue.  There was a large nation of elves living in the woods but they have been chased out by the humanoids; only a small number of them are left.  The town of Delen is the one place where the various locals can meet and discuss trade, treaties, and the like.  Even humanoids are allowed in this town to make their cases in regards to treaties and to trade.  This town also has some stone golems, which are used to punish peace-breakers by drowning them.

Wildland is very much the stereotypical D&Dish fantasy setting - but with more barbarians.  I like this one but I prefer the following setting.

The Southland setting is primarily desert and steppes, with some small wooded areas and a large river.  There is also a massive bog, called Olden Bog, which sits near the main river.  This setting is set somewhere between 200 and 1000 years after the fall of the Bright Empire (text isn't that clear, here).  Ruins are scattered here and there.

We have the standard humanoid invasion from the previous setting, as well as an invasion of dark elves.  There are fewer towns that in Wildland and trade is more rudimentary.  The author expects the PCs to find a nice place to settle and then conquer territory, setting up their own trade routes, etc.

Some of the fun names in this setting include Blood Forest, Forsaken Plains, Nightshade Canyon, and Titan Head Mountains.  There is a very Black Company-vibe naming scheme with some of these.  

Overall, I prefer Southland to Wildland.   

The Borderland setting is very mountainous with scattered hills and a couple of small forests.  The setting includes four main areas:  the side fighting for Sarrath (god), the side fighting for Delaquain (another god), the side who wants to remain neutral, and the side which is just trying to rebuild from the war.

This setting is set up so the player characters can join one faction or another, or spaghetti western the whole thing and play each side off the other, while making that shiny, shiny gold.

I find the geography in this setting the most boring.  It is nearly all mountain or hill.  There is one major river which separates the two warring sides from one another.  Most of this section details the small number of settlements and which faction they support.

This is the weakest of the three standard, prime plane settings, in my opinion.  It isn't bad but I find the "new civil war, but this time it's god vs. god!" not to my taste.

Scattered throughout the first three settings are small inset maps of towns or castles.

The final setting is The Swamps of Acheron.  As I stated earlier, this one takes place on the outer planes.  This setting confuses me a bit.  It is set up so followers of Sarrath make a pilgrimage to this swamp to be tested for advancement in the god's hierarchy.

The land is a swamp, which is fed by smaller rivers branching off the Acheron, with some mountains here and there.  This setting clocks in at five pages and isn't all that exciting.  The monsters, of course, are more powerful. The 999 story tower is the best part of this chapter, it has a few big bads to keep the peasantry at bay, but no map, which is to be expected in a supplement which is so short.

There are four main civilized deities which are used throughout the settings, and one which the humanoid scum prefer.  The big religious conflict is between Dalanquin and Sarrath.  We have:

• Dalanquin - goddess of honor and justice.  Lawful good.
  
• Sarrath - god of order, discipline, and war.  Lawful evil.
• Thoth - god of knowledge and wisdom.  No alignment stated.  I assume Lawful neutral.
• Veritas - god of truth and law.  No alignment stated but I also assume Lawful neutral.
• Azeel - god of blood.  Some form of evil, presumably Chaotic.

Overall, I really enjoy this supplement.  I doubt I would ever use the 4th setting but the first three (especially the first two) can be used quite easily.  The maps are lovely and usable, but would have to be edited to remove location information about monster lairs before they can be handed to players.

⇨ GRIT: ★★★★☆:  This supplement certainly accomplishes what it set out to do.  The owner gets four short settings which can be used for a fantasy adventure game.  Even though I am not a big fan of one of the settings, no doubt there are many people out there who love that extra-planar stuff.  I believe the author did a good job of capturing four settings different enough for different tables but all related, more or less, so a DM can combine them into one larger setting (this will take work for sure, plus some mapping).  Nearly everything in this setting is going to require the DM to put in a bit of work.

⇨ VIGOR: ★★★☆☆: Each of the first three settings have quite a number of detailed encounters of various difficulties for parties.  Goblins here for the Chuds just leaving the farm to an old dragon with lots of loot for the Chads which our farmer Chuds hope to become.  The fourth setting is a bit lacking in these details.  This is not a module and it won't work as one but a competent DM can take what is here and keep the campaign going for a while.

⇨ GRACE: ★★★★☆: This is a pretty good-looking book.  The page backgrounds are a faded map and do not interfere with reading the text at all.  There is a fancy border at the top and bottom of each page which also does not interfere.  The maps are hexed-based and each hex has a 4-digit number on it, which makes finding a description a piece of cake.  The maps are gorgeous!  There are a few tables in the book for wandering monsters and rumors.  They are too dark and would be nicer if they were light and dark rather than dark and darker.