The second volume of Arthur Marques’s ShadowDark zine Crownphage explores some new locations in the city of Everwatch, though like the first, it would not be difficult to file off the serial numbers and use it in whatever Fantasy city you might want.  There are a pile of NPCs, factions, a few monsters, and an adventure where you find the new locations to explore.  As in the first volume, the adventure is intended for PCs of 2nd to 3rd level.

Unbroken, the scenario on this volume, deals with a demon cult that targets children for new membership.  That might be a no-go for some folks.  Generally, the themes of this one are pretty dark.  Children being recruited by a cult, a cult that murders people and sacrifices them to a demon. There’s demonic possession, general skullduggery, and the corruption runs deep.  There are a lot of moral gray areas, and I can imagine PCs making allies of some unsavory characters in order to stop a greater evil.

In uncovering the cult’s plot, the PCs might visit the slums, a temple to Ord, the city’s sewers, and some warehouses.  There are a bunch of Dyson Logos maps to help with that.  And there are plenty of NPCs to fill out the locations.  Some of the NPCs feel like they’re not really related to the scenario, especially, and might serve more as seeds for future adventures.  I specifically think of Grandmaster Stanislav and Gustav, who are tied to an aspect of High Priest Lucius that seems unlikely to come up in the adventure.  Though it could be interesting to follow-up on it in future adventures, if Lucius is still alive at the end and perhaps becomes a contact of the PCs.  It helps to make the city feel like it’s alive beyond the events the PCs are involved with, but that whole “subplot” around the High Priest is very odd and seems to come out of nowhere.  I thought the addition of the Queens Gambit and the Hummingbirds was interesting, and definitely fertile ground for future interactions.  The Hummingbirds are a nice alternative to the more typical “thieves guild” you might expect in a scenario like this.  Several of the locations and factions presented here are likely to make their return in an ongoing game.

Overall, I enjoyed reading through this.  I haven’t really done much more ShadowDark since I read the first volume.  But like when I read the first, it sparked a real desire for some urban adventure.  

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