An Endzeitgeist.com review

So, before we get into it - let me make one thing abundantly clear: This is NOT a regular gaming supplement. Instead, this is one massive blue-white old-school map. The gigantic map is intended for the massive size of 34'' times 44'' and it comes in two high-res iterations - one in the classic blue and white and one in full-color and a parchment-style look.

Now this would not be Kort'thalis Publishing if the massive map didn't have some fun details showing up - cartographer Glynn Seal has included, among others, tentacles, clearly visible and erupting from pits and walls, black holes, magical vortices, sarcophagi, obviously magical circles and the like. The pdf does have grids and between the rooms, decorative skeletons of dragons can be seen in the earth. The vault itself provides a great selection of artificially created rooms as well as natural caverns and pools connected with subterranean tunnels, rifts and the like make for an inspiring dungeon - the map is one of the kind that you can put before an experienced GM and just watch him or her improvise a great game around - so yeah, the main selling-point of this product is excellent.

One note, though - if you're using a lot of mobile devices and the like, you should be aware of the fact that the high-res maps clock in at over 20 MBs for the blue-white-version, over 100 mbs for the parchment version.

Okay, that out of the way, the product does come with a pdf - this pdf clocks in at 21 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page blank, 2 pages of editorial, 1 page inside of back cover, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 15 pages. One of these pages is devoted to a nice char-sheet and one page is devoted to notes.

The pdf depicts the history of the S'rulyan Vault, speaking of the rise of a champion of mankind, the pact of the horrid snake-men with the demon lord S'rul...and how a band of brave adventurers defeated the snake-men just as they were about to exterminate mankind. They achieved this feat with the Helm of Power, a mighty relic...and three adventurers emerged...their children and heirs taking the mantles of kingdoms. One of these, alas, has reawakened S'rul...and the genocidal plans of the demon and its powerful allies once again are in full motion.

1 million gold pieces are the ostensible reward for the demon's head...so who will claim it? Okay, this back-story is AWESOME. Cheesy and cliché in just the right ways to evoke classic tropes. The pdf provides 10 sample motivations to make the quest personal and 12 rumors are provided to add more local color to the proceedings. There even is read-aloud text for the facade of the dungeon and advice on the chance for random encounters.

The pdf then proceeds to provide a d20 table of random things that can be found - treasure, traps, monsters, discovery, science-fantasy gizmos - the like. But, you know, since this is not a module, but more of a geomorph, these remain somewhat opaque, which slightly hampers their impact. The pdf also provides a 20-entry generator for the behavior of encountered humanoids, and a 100-entry table of strange things to find - from platinum pieces to toe clippings and weird vials or erotic lithographies, the treasure table is a definite highlight herein.

As the PCs explore the vault, they will find a weird brotherhood - men that claim that the world has ended in the meanwhile - and RAW, there is a 50% chance the world has indeed ended, with 4 sample cataclysms provided, in case you can't make up your own. A snake-men spy, 12 sample magic item treasures are also in here...and may make some purists scowl: A dagger +3 with a 1 in 4 chance of making a target hit a sentient ooze (no save) will probably annoy new-school fans for not sporting a save, old-school purists for its plusses. These aren't bad, mind you, but they could use some refinement and suffer from the quasi-system-neutral approach. 3 sample artifacts and relics follow and, oddly, one actually sports a save. Indeed, the rules for these are actually better - perhaps due to the extended space allotted to them. An 8-entry table of cursed item modifications can also be found here.

The final section of the pdf contains a fortunes/fortune-reading generator: D4 for the fortune teller, d12 for the means of reading fortunes, d10 and d8 for the two components of the reading itself, d6 for the third part of the reading...and d20 for the price the fortune teller expects.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good, I didn't notice any significant glitches. Layout of the pdf adheres to an elegant, nice 2-column b/w-standard and the pdf does come with great b/w-artworks. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience. The maps are excellent high-res jpgs - Glynn Seal's cartography is excellent here.

Venger As' Nas Satanis' and Glynn Seal's S'rulyan Vault is a glorious map, let me make that abundantly clear. It is not particularly inexpensive, but if you enjoy evocative maps, it is most certainly worth getting.

That being said, the accompanying pdf is less focused than what we usually get from Venger: The pdf can't seem to decide whether it wants to be a hyper-specific, detailed adventure-outline or a highly-generic collection of various generators. These are not bad, mind you, but everything in the pdf never really clicks together, never forms a cohesive whole. The parts are pretty much amazing when they are specific...and when they are generic, they feel suddenly like they have less gravitas...resulting in a somewhat strange disjoint in the internal flavor.

Now, since his product is billed primarily as the map, I am going to rate it as such - and as a map, it is a very good offering. At the same time, I found myself wishing there was a version sans the hidden tunnel below the pool, for example. The pdf is a nice bonus, but not enough to catapult this to the level I'd consider excellent. Hence, my final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4 for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.

So says the sales text. One needs to understand that this product REALLY -just- is

• the short history of the region and the vault
• one map (offered in two visual styles) that may be used as a geomorph to create the dungeon
• about one page of descriptions for four named NPC
• about a dozen random tables (the largest a d100 table) to generate the dungeon (or: ideas to generate the dungeon). Six of these are meant to generate some random fortune telling which (quote from the product) "may or may not have any bearing upon the campaign".

To give an example of what the tables are like, I will reveal to you the first six entries of a d20 table that is titled „What is in the dungeon?“ (and is meant to be used to determine what is in a given room or corridor, I guess).

######################################################################### 1# Doom!: Anything from unkillable monsters, death rays, or crystals placed in a particular sequence that will destroy the world.

2# Trap with monster: Laser beams, falling boulders, acid splash, floor opening into abyss, dimensional doorways leading realm of giant man-eating spiders, etc.

3# Trap: Pit traps, poison needles, spiked walls closing in, paralyzing gas, chamber filling up with water, etc.

4# Monster without treasure:

5# Nothing obvious:

6# Evil humanoid NPC(s): … 1) orcs, 2) goblins, 3) dark elves, 4) lizard-men, 5) snake-men, 6) demons.

If a set of tables like this, the background ideas provided by this supplement and some really nice artwork is all you need (and ask for), you will be as pleased with this product as any of the other reviewers who gave five out of five starts for it.

I for one expected a dungeon crawl, and there are just the tools to make one. Perhaps I am unjust here, but I am a bit disappointed.

• The resulst of the tables are to vague to me. At least, for the price I paid.
• I would have liked some key rooms and perhaps a clear "center point" or "end point"
• Some descriptions for monsters would have been nice instead of just ideas

A great little inexpensive resource. Although it can be used "as-is", It's true value is in pulling it apart and using the various bits and pieces as needed.

Originally posted at my blog (http://punverse.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-srulyan-vault.html). The product is a high quality made-to-be-printed map in two styles: classic module blue and parchment. In addition to the map files you get a 20 page pdf chock full of goodness. While it doesn't fill your mega dungeon, it provides you with all the back story and charts of random awesome that you need to do so. At 7.00, this is a product I really recommend.

So last night I received my copy of The S'rulyan Vault From Kort'thalis Publishing from the pen of Venger Satanis. It reminds me of some of the Eighties products that I've seen over the years. This is a third tier OSR product and it hearkens back to some of the dungeon adventure kits that have come out over the years with better production values, designs, and more. If you've got two or three hours before your players arrive to create your brad new old school dungeon that you've been promising all week, but work, real life, and more have gotten in the way but you want to run a bad ass dungeon then the The S'rulyan Vault is for you. This product works with just about any old school edition so using it with an old D&D edition or retroclone system of your choice would be a snap. So besides two old school style maps what exactly does The S'rulyan Vault have to offer? Well, essentially its a dungeon kit built around the maps and offers an adventure setting that highlights the background, history, and D&D elements with a Lovecraftian twist in the Kort'thalis Publishing style. But is it worth your time for the seven dollar price tag? I think so because of the fact that lots of folks are using tablets and other mobile tech to enhance their old school table top rpg experience. The S'rulyan Vault plugs into that and brings to the experience a bunch of interesting options for the dungeon master to pull from for their own unique take on the adventure. The tables, elements, bits and pieces within the Vault all pull from the adventure's history;"

For as long as anyone living can remember, the world was full of men and the darker, stranger forms of life remained at the farthest edges of it. But the scrolls contained within the many temples of Tyr’Urden tell us that this was not always so.

Demonic things came in the night to feed upon mortal souls, ripping and tearing at humanity’s soft, exposed belly. Our people lived in fear. Like children, man was afraid of the dark and what lay beyond the walls of his cities.

Then, one day, a champion came. He slayed many of the evil ones, the creatures who looked like walking serpents. Eventually, his mighty deeds became so numerous that thousands followed him into battle against the forces of evil. Man had both the numbers and the will to push back against these malevolent beings until his cities and forests were relatively free of hell-spawn.

Snake-men were the most powerful humanoid creatures, as they knew the secrets of blackest sorcery, having made a pact with the Demon Lord known as S’rul. Under his satanic tutelage, the snake-men became powerful enough to slaughter the armies of mankind. Before long, the entire race of snake-men were known as the Sect of S’rulyan… (S’rulyan meaning the great and terrible wisdom of S’rul).

At the height of their serpentine reign, a subterranean domain was constructed on the outskirts of the human realm. It became an outpost from where the snake-men continually raided – taking weapons, gold, slaves, and sorcerous objects from man’s cities. This vault was the crowning glory of S’rul and his loathsome worshipers.

Just as the Sect of S’rulyan could see the extermination of man in sight, a large band of adventurers retrieved a lost relic - the Helm of Power, an artifact that siphons the magical energy from everything surrounding it… and gives that magic to the wearer. The Helm of Power protected the adventurers as they waded into the darkness of S’rul’s foul dungeon.

Only three heroes emerged from the S’rulyan Vault, victorious over the evil ones with their spiked armor covered in gore and shreds of serpent flesh. Alas, the Helm of Power was destroyed in the final battle against S’rul. Yet, the Demon Lord was also destroyed, and so the people rejoiced!

The three surviving heroes, Artello, Urden, and D’meskus, established themselves as Kings of the central territories. For decades they ruled and now their children’s children are crowned Kings and Queens of Razira.

One such present-day ruler is Queen Zinnia, an alluring but jealous and ill-advised woman. She reigns over the smallest realm with the greatest ambition for power. Queen Zinnia forced her royal wizard to search deep within the magical abyss where hideous horrors frolic and feed. Upon her instructions, the wizard awakened an entity strong enough to shatter her siblings’ kingdoms – the Demon Lord S’rul.

S’rul’s first order of business was to revive his slumbering legion of snake-men far below the S’rulyan Vault. Brought back to life, the walking serpents felt their sorcery invigorated as never before and concocted a spell that would mean sickness and death for thousands of men, women, and children.

Almost three-quarters of a century after S’rul’s original defeat, nary a snake-man has been seen upon the surface of Razira. Today is the 74th anniversary of the assault upon the S’rulyan Vault. The entire realm celebrates the snake-men’s defeat with feasting, dancing, and merriment. Unfortunately, such revelry was not to last.

At mid-day, the celebration ended with black skies, a broken blood-red moon, and some mysterious plague that immediately killed off a fifth of those living in Tyr’Urden, the largest kingdom and closest to the S’rulyan Vault.

King Urdenson’s seers know that S’rul and his snake-men slumber no more. The King decreed this a time of war, and those who return from the S’rulyan Vault with the Demon Lord’s severed head in hand shall share in the reward: one million pieces of gold… a King’s ransom, to be sure!" The art and cartography by Glynn Seal, James V West, and Bojan Sucevic really does make The S'rulyan Vault as both a resource and a solid entrance onto the rpg market. This is a both a kid friendly and nasty adventure at the same time that will give players a run for their money. All in all I do think its worth the download and your time to take a look into the The S'rulyan Vault From Kort'thalis Publishing for both yourself and your players. I think that you will all have a great time and a unique experience with this homage to the old days of gaming. We can only hope that Venger Satanis and Kort'thalis Publishing continue down this path of old school fun and weirdness. Five out of five because for me it has everything I'm looking for in an old school product.

Eric Fabiaschi Sword and Stitchery Blog Want to get more reviews and support for products such as this one? Subscribe to the Sword and Stitchery blog http://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/