Classic Review by Crothian
It is rare these days that a book surprises me. I have read a lot and seen even more. It just seems that while there are authors and publishes doing some great things, most seem to have been done or at least attempted. So when I opened up Bits of Darkness Dungeons by Tabletop Adventures I was expecting an adventure. Boy was I wrong. What I got were details. I have never seen a product like this and even as I write this I’m still not sure what I think of it. It is a creative idea and I for one like creativity.
Bits of Darkness Dungeons is a forty page PDF though it is sort of two version of the same book. I’ll explain that a bit more about that down the page. It comes in a zip file a little more then three megs in size and the PDF is not much bigger. The art is very little and I feel the weakest piece is the cover of the book. There is another full art piece on page six that I really like and think it would have served as a better cover. The layout is okay, but there are a few sections of large white spaces that really needed to be filled with more art or something. There are no book marks in the books but there is a nice index that would be great if it was used as the book marks. This is their first release and layout and book marks are common mistakes I see in early material by new companies.
So, what is Bits of Darkness Dungeons? It is not a module or campaign setting. It is not a player resource; it has no feats, spells, items, or classes inside it. It is a book on details. Not how to create ones own details but over a hundred specific details that can easily be added to any dungeon. These details are just descriptions but a lot of time descriptions can be a hard thing for DMs to create especially when one does not have adequate time to prepare them. Now, there are some interest ideas in the descriptions. They won’t change an adventure but can add an air of mystery and suspense when used right. There are descriptions of sights, smells, and sounds. They have some for rooms, hallways, and stairs. There are descriptions to enhance moods, inspire dread, and show signs of abandonment or previous explorations, or even the possibility of intelligence inhabitants.
As I was reading through it I came across a lot of good descriptions, but wasn’t sure how easy it would be to use them. Then I came to the second half of the book. It has all the descriptions reprinted and reformatted so when one prints them out they can be cut into index card size sheets. That is a great idea. There is plenty of room for DMs to note where they used the descriptions and to flip through looking for the right one. That is a great way to use these.
Bits of Darkness Dungeons is the rare product that is there to make the DMs job a little easier. It is also one of the rare products that can be used in any game system. There is nothing here the limits it to d20. The descriptions are aimed more at a fantasy game, but there are some that can easily be used in other genres. I like the usefulness and creativity of this product. I think it can really enhance games in a nice, easy way.
