Dungeons of Despair (1999) is the companion to Road to Adventure. As with its predecessor, this is an anthology of scenarios that were previously published in Dungeon Magazine. Bold font choice for the title, I appreciate the lean-in on the campy horror. Also, very into this Fred Fields cover that features a Bone Devil. Thor’s padawan there is gonna have a bad day, I think.

Six scenarios and as before, the majority are drawn from earlier issues that originally used 1E rules. Their tuned for slightly more experienced characters than the first batch.

The first scenario is a Nigel Findley jam, and a damn good one: an isolated village, an evil coven, a devil stalking the moors. The villagers know they have a problem, but won’t admit the truth of it and thus work against the players, who are part of a timed investigation where their failure will herald disaster. Top shelf stuff. The second is a treasure hunt, complete with map. It’s rather elaborate, maybe outstaying its welcome slightly, but the dungeon is a solid design and I love an obelisk in a swamp. Scenario three has the players going up against a giant in order to get a magic cauldron for a king. This is not something that went well for King Arthur. There’s not much to this one, but I appreciate that it allows for a non-violent solution. It’s also interesting that all three of these have somewhat Celtic flavor.

The fourth is a little less exciting, pitting the players against a large force of gnolls. The fifth involves a bizarre gang of bandits. That one is quite good and I won’t spoil it, but it is nice little set-up. The final scenario involves a protein polymorph. It’s a little more than it needs to be (the cover painting is also for this one) but it’s pretty solid and again, less said, the better.

Basically, if you have to choose between this and Road to Adventure, choose this.

Dennis Cramer illustrations inside, some good, some seemingly rushed. Good effort over all, though.