Review: Against the Giants:The Liberation of Geoff

Date: Thu, 12 Aug 99 07:58AM PDT
From: "Wayne S. Rossi" Add To Address Book Add To Junk Mail
To: GREYTALK@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: [GREYTALK] Review: Against the Giants:The Liberation of Geoff

Against the Giants:The Liberation of Geoff (TSR 11413)
Authors: Gary Gygax (Against the Giants) and Sean K. Reynolds (Liberation of Geoff)
Format: 96 Page Supermodule/Sourcebook.
Price: $17.95 US
Rating: 9/10

This, for those of you who have been hiding in a cave these past 8 months, is in the third entry in TSR's Silver Anniversary "Return" theme modules.

Unlike Return to the Keep on the Borderlands, though, AtG:tLoG actually reprints those original modules with very little by way of modification.

There are also three new dungeons, G4 Mount Rungnirheim, G5 Castle Thrasmotnir, and G6 Cloud Islands of the Sakhut. In addition, the rest of what remains of Geoff is wonderfully detailed.

The Product

Is the book worth cover price? The answer, I'd say, is yes. The module's plot doesn't focus on the drow conspiracy, but rather on a group of cloud giants who directed the overthrow of Geoff (though the drow angle is mentioned, and it is suggested that they can ALSO be used). The only real weakness of the module is that not every location is on the unfortunately small map of Geoff-a poster map on the level of SB would've been appreciated here. Nonetheless, this supermodule contains six solid dungeon designs (three Gary's, three Sean's), and a number of very cool location descriptions, which combine to make AtG:tLoG one of the most variable adventures out there. There are a lot of neat things placed in there, and a variable number and fate of surviving humans. What happened to Geoff seems like a true tragedy in light of AtG:tLoG. It could easily be used to make a campaign that ends in the freeing of all Geoff from the giant tyrants, and is a very high-heroic campaign module.

The Presentation

The cover is dominated by the Silver Anniversary setup-the same one we've seen on RttKotB and the rerelease of Ravenloft. This is sad, because the cover art is quite nice, and we also miss out big time-there's no Greyhawk logo on the front! Fortunately, there is one on the back-but I don't like having something that is completely and utterly Greyhawk not bearing the logo proudly on the front and sides. Inside, the layout is nice-two columns (it bugs me that they weren't justified-that is, the right sides of the text were uneven), with a new border atop. The maps are usable (the one of Geoff should've been larger, and has no hexes) and not bad-looking. The artwork is quite nice, and provides an excellent portrait of what Geoff has become. The cover price-US $17.95-is steep, but worthwhile.

Overall

What can I say? Now that you're done reading the review, you can rush to your local game store and pick up a copy of Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff, and it can be read, and it can sit on your bookshelf next to The Scarlet Brotherhood while the only thing you have to ponder is which of Sean's excellent works this year to run. If you ever intend on going near Geoff, this is indispensable. Even if you'd never planned to go there, pick this one up. You won't be disappointed, and just maybe you'll decide that there's a group of intrepid adventurers who could use the job as true heroes.

Wayne