In short, I like it! Again, like Codex Superno, another work of the author's which I have reviewed, what I like most about The Devil's Pass is the ability to drop it into existing, potentially non-historical, campaigns.

SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW!

The Devi's Pass is a sandbox module for 2-4 players of levels 4-6 for use with OGL D20 system games. Set in n Late Medieval Europe, specifically the Franconian forest in, "what now is called Germany", it's written for a more low magic campaign and infuses elements of horror and fantasy into its historical setting.

Composed of a mico-module, Robbery at the Zur Höll as well as the main adventure, The Devil's Pass, the product features the goings on in a small valley populated by several groups both hostile and portentailly welcoming to the PCs.

First things first, this is designed to be a historical adventure. The breadth of detail is impressive and I think the author manages to give a great sense of history in a way that doesn't become dull lists of dates, or alienate readers who may (like I do) know less about the setting than the author.

I particularly like

Zur Holl

• "Marta, absent-mindedly singing an old hymn". These are the details that bring NPCs to life!
• the argument table on pg 14
• the addition of the abandoned church
• the detailed notes on how the bandit NPCs will behave

The Devil's Pass

• sandbox aspect! This is great and, imo, how scenarios should be designed. I like the constraint of the valley and the various groups within it.
• The maps are great too! They look easy enough to snip and blow up for VTT play.
• "15th Century urban defensive walls, Worms Germany. The walls of Tettau are very similar to this." Great stuff, having visual details is always very useful.
• Obviously I love "The Quiet House"! Unless I'm wrong this is a nod to The House on the Borderlands. I read William H. Hodgson at a young age and his Carnacki stories have been incredibly influential for me.
• This leads into the SWINEMANAPOCALYPSE plotline. Great stuff and definitely the one I'd want to use.
• the Witch is a great NPC
• the author maintains the 'low magic' feel without making elements of the supernatural meaningless.

In all, I think the author has succeeded again! I love site-based and sandbox modules, especially those with enough constraint to make the PCs hesitate simply leaving the area. I also love modules that set up various power blocks, so to speak, and then let the PCs deal with them as they will. When I get around to running a game that could accommodate this module I'll include it.

The historical detail, like always, is impeccable. I think it can be a little overwhelming at times, but since GMs don't need to adhere to it to play through the module, I don't think that's a huge problem! Certainly, for people who run strictly historical campaigns, the details provided will be much appreciated.

First and foremost, this book is packed to the brim with detail and is obviously a labor of love. It's written in a clear and concise style and if the idea of history texts bores you, and some certainly do, fear not, Codex Superno avoids any threat of boredom by making the history it discusses both accessible and, more importantly, easily applicable to your game.

Indeed, what I like most about it is the possibility of using bits and pieces of the spells and traditions it covers in the system of your choice.

I figure most people reading this are more than capable of converting gaming material to the preferred games and even if you don't want to use D&D derived systems (Codex Superno does, being compatible with the 3rd edition D&D SRD and related games) you can easily use the purely historical information it contains in your own games without any conversion whatsoever.

Codex Superno, with the book's emphasis on magic of, “the Late Medieval period in Central Europe”, generally breaks down the arcane into, “four distinct types or families”

Holy Magic: “the invocation of saintly miracles.”

Cunning Magic: magic derived from living Pagan and Shamanistic traditions.

Learned Magic: “the type of magic practiced by highly educated scholars.”

Clandestine Magic: “which consists of tidbits from the various other types of magic, and almost always the 'naughtier bits'”. The author notes that this is the type of magic most likely to draw unwanted attention to its practitioners and includes such legendary artifacts such as the Hand of Glory.

It adds several new Skills, like Mnemonics, Cartomancy, Astrology and, interestingly, Flyting (which, “can be used to undermine the morale of an enemy (take away MP), to chastise an evil spirit, or to simply hold one’s own in dangerous banter.”

I really enjoy the addition of Mnemonics, considering its use during the time period under review, and the rules for Memory Palaces, something which I find endlessly fascinating.

Codex Superno also contains an entire section on, “Magic and the Law,” and notes that, “the threat of legal prosecution, whether by the Church, or by seigniorial or municipal authorities was always a potential problem for any magic practitioner.”

This is a welcome addition, and gives a Game Master ample ammunition to demonstrate to their players that transgressive actions can, and perhaps should, have serious consequences for those who engage in them. While other D&D settings may have their own detailed rules on a given society's response to extra-mundane powers, the real-world reactions to such traditions make for interesting reading, no matter how rare they were in actual history.

This is especially interesting given that many historical practitioners were themselves in positions of religious power, which the book mentions by saying, “Historically, there is an irony in that it seems that some of the most perilously blasphemous deviltry was studied and practiced by members of the clerical estates: priests, monks, friars and nuns, scholars, ecclesiastical students and so on.”

The meat of the book is, of course, a list of Cantrips and Spells grouped under the four main types. Each Spell has a 'historical', 'semi-historical' or 'invented' tag, a useful bit of information for those who want to be strict with their historical games, and a Legal Status, which ties back into the Magic and Law chapter.

Each Spell also has a section on failures (every spell using this system needs a successful check to cast) which run the gamut from amusing, such as Fashionable Attire, whose failure causes the magician's clothes to split embarrassingly open, to the horrific, like Babe of the Woods, where the magician runs the risk of their dreadful servant turning against them.

Sections follow on Magic Artifacts, from Talismans to such legendary objects as the Lamp of Aladdin, Alchemy and Real Life Grimoires.

This review does not do the book justice. What the author has managed to do is to gather information from a wide variety of sources, many of them dense and confusing, and make it playable. The eye to detail here is impressive and, though I am not as familiar with the rule system used as I once was, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't run smoothly at the table, as long as the GM has a good understanding of the book's content.

There is a lot of detail here, which might be overwhelming for some, but from a first glance it doesn't look like ignoring some aspects of the system will cause the rest of it to come crashing down. This is a book that will reward repeated rereading and I think could be a worthy addition to any D20 game and any other game, providing the GM is willing to put some conversion work in.

I've missed a great deal in this short review, but I urge you to check it out for yourself.

Oh, and the book has a great index!