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Reviewing Magnamund
Basic Information Name: Lone Wolf #3: The Caverns of Kalte
Ratings Plot: 2
Plot: The plot for Caverns of Kalte is a solid one with its main premise being Lone Wolf's journey through the perilous wastelands of Kalte to Ikaya in order to capture Vonotar the traitor. Players who have read the first two books of the series a few times may have already learned of Vonotar's treachery and possibly met him, but to many players, it is a revelation. The overall mission is a good one, but after the initial explanation of the mission to capture Vonotar, there is little further plot through most of the book. Instead, the book is spent attempting to reach Ikaya and eventually navigating through the Caverns of Kalte and Ikaya itself. Late in the book, a bit more of the plot is revealed, but it's all direct exposition. Some interesting information can be gained from exploring the Caverns of Kalte and the depths of Ikaya (including the explanation of how Ikaya was built), but most of it isn't relevant to the book's main plot. Overall, the plot for this adventure is solid, but plot itself isn't one of the book's strengths. The Caverns of Kalte may have a lacking plot compared to other adventures, but the plot it does have is adequate for the book's needs. Writing: While the plot of The Caverns of Kalte may be a bit below average for the Lone Wolf series, the writing is well done. The book is successful in conveying the horrible and trying terrain and environment of Kalte. Like Lone Wolf, the reader soon comes to loathe Kalte, yet he or she still gains an odd sense of awe from the occasional beauty and majesty of the Kalte landscapes, the massive fortress of Ikaya, and the great Caverns of Kalte themselves. Whereas the countryside of Sommerlund in Flight from the Dark wasn't particularly notable (though a better job is done with Ragadorn and the various landscapes in Fire on the Water), Kalte is original and has a feel all to itself. One of the great aspects of the Lone Wolf series is being able to travel to various variegated and intriguing places of which Kalte is one of the first. The only area in which the writing of The Caverns of Kalte lacks is in interaction with other characters. Kalte is mostly devoid of people, though the Ice Barbarians do show a bit of character with their skis and child-archers. Your guides don't really show much character and merely fulfill the goal of guiding you. Loi-Kymar is an interesting look at a magician of Toran, though he only appears near the end of the book. Still, this flaw is understandable, since it was important to portray Kalte as a barren and primarily lonely place. Overall, the writing in The Caverns of Kalte is another step forward for the Lone Wolf series and portrays Kalte very well. Gameplay: The gameplay in The Caverns of Kalte is well done and gives the right feeling of a desperate journey to the book. Right from the start the player has to make decisions about the journey, when they select which path to take. The gameplay can be vicious during the journey through Kalte (especially if you get bad random number rolls), but this makes sense, since Kalte is not supposed to be a hospitable land. Once you enter the Caverns of Kalte, gameplay proceeds in a dungeon-crawl style. Readers who have read many gamebooks may be tired of this dungeon-crawl style gameplay, but I felt it was appropriate and mostly well done. Whoever built the Caverns of Kalte and Ikaya sure was fond of levers though, and you'll find at least a dozen within. There are several useful items to be gained from searching through the many passages of the Caverns of Kalte and Ikaya. There are a few keys to find as is common with dungeon crawls as well. The Kai Disciplines are used much better here than in the previous two books. Almost every discipline comes in handy at one point or another in the book and the uses make sense (though Mind Over Matter doesn't seem to come in handy much as usual). This is also the first book to incorporate Kai Ranks into the gameplay, though most players will either have played all previous books and thus always be at top rank, or be reminded how annoying it is to miss out on a previous book. Plus, from a plot perspective, shouldn't Lone Wolf be at top rank even if the player hasn't played all books? (I suppose it could be explained that he was lax in his training.) On a similar note, it's a bit odd that if the player never plays Fire on the Water, he never gets to use the Sommerswerd, even though he had to have had it to defeat Darklord Zagarna in the background of the books. I suppose it could be explained that he misplaced it... At any rate, the Kai Rank gameplay addition is still a nice little nuance. Gold Crowns won't come in handy this book, save to take on to the next book. Then again, it wouldn't make much sense for Lone Wolf to happen upon a shop in the wastelands of Kalte or the depths of Ikaya. The main problem with the gameplay in The Caverns of Kalte is that after the first playing it starts to feel inevitable. There is no way to safely reach Ikaya. Lone Wolf always falls into the Caverns of Kalte at one point or another (it's generally best to fall in sooner rather than later). Also, while it can be interesting to explore the Caverns of Kalte and Ikaya, many of the chambers inside are merely incidental to the adventure. The gameplay doesn't have a very active plot to augment it as it does in many later books either. Overall, several good new features are added to the gameplay in the Caverns of Kalte and older concepts are improved upon, though the book's gameplay isn't as engaging as in later books. Overall: Strides forward in writing and gameplay are made in The Caverns of Kalte and all in all it is a solid adventure that you'll want to replay at least a few times at least to fully explore. In the early Lone Wolf books, a steady increase in quality can be seen in the earlier books as Joe Dever gains experience in writing gamebooks. The only aspect The Caverns of Kalte is lacking in is its plot, which is a bit thin. Still, while not as good as later adventures, The Caverns of Kalte is a fine book that you'll enjoy playing. Ratings at a Glance
Difficulty Solo Play Difficulty: Normal
Solo Play Difficulty: Normal. Without the benefit of extra Kai Disciplines and most importantly the Sommerswerd, the Caverns of Kalte can be difficult at some points. Watch out for dangerous encounters with Baknar and other creatures, including a surprise enemy near the end. Healing is a necessity and anything that increases Combat Skill (including Weaponskill and Mindblast) is very helpful. It seems best to take the shorter route at the beginning of the book, since you're more likely to have difficult combats on the longer route. A cautious player should be able to avoid many combats, but don't be surprised if you play a lot of this book with lower Endurance Points. As for the Caverns of Kalte and Ikaya, generally the sooner you enter them the better (to this end, it's best to take the shorter route to Ikaya), since you'll have a better chance of gaining important items if you get in sooner. Campaign Play Difficulty: Easy. The Sommerswerd makes all the difference for this book's difficulty, though having the extra Kai Disciplines is very nice too. With the Sommerswerd, many of the difficult combats in this book are much easier and the book on the whole is less deadly. The Sommerswerd is so useful in this and later adventures that I think it may be a bit too powerful. True, it's supposed to be a mighty and legendary weapon, but it makes Lone Wolf really powerful (true, he's supposed to be a great warrior too). Then again, the Lone Wolf series puts more emphasis on story than difficulty. With the Sommerswerd, most enemies won't be as much trouble for you, though Healing is still a very useful Discipline and you might consider packing some potions (perhaps you still have some left from earlier adventures), if you're going by the rule that Healing only heals combat damage (which the books seem to indicate). Character Strength Notes: It's helpful to have a strong character in the Caverns of Kalte since it has more tricky combats than previous books, especially if you don't have the Sommerswerd. Strong characters can afford to be more bold as they explore the Caverns of Kalte and depths of Ikaya, since they can handle more of what's sent at them. Weak characters may have their hands full with combat if they don't have the Sommerwserd to help them out. It's essential that weak characters take everything and anything they can get to increase their Combat Skill and Endurance Points, including Weaponskill, Mindblast, Healing, and potions. A weak character who has the Sommerswerd should have an easy time, since they'll have extra Kai Disciplines by now and the Sommerswerd covers for their lower Combat Skill. The bottom line is watch out for those Baknar and Ice Barbarians if you've got a low Combat Skill, otherwise explore the caverns, but don't leave all caution behind. In Conclusion The Lone Wolf series continues to improve in these early books and I'm looking forward to continuing reading and reviewing the Lone Wolf series next issue. If you have questions, comments, or constructive criticism on this or my other articles, or you just want to say hello, feel free to e-mail me at ryan_cross@yahoo.com. Until next time, may you have the wisdom of the Kai and the time to occasionally read through a Lone Wolf book or two again (or for the first time). |
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