Right off a semi-non-sequitor strategy game, DL12: Dragons of Faith (1986) gets right into…another mass combat heavy scenario. Hooray. Again, there is a ton of stuff in the package — the module and its folder, a sheet of little tarot cards, die-cut chits for the Battlesystem bits, another big ol’ map. Borderline decadent product design, tbh.

The digression of DL11 aside, this picks up directly from the action of DL10. I don’t honestly know what novel we are mirroring at this point — my recollection of Spring Dawning is spotty, and these modules have never really reflected the novels with any great care. At least part of the action here is still in the tail end of Winter Night. There is a ton of stuff in here that isn’t in the books, for sure. I don’t remember Spring Dawning well, but I am SURE there wasn’t a gigantic underwater battle in it. Conversely, I am pretty sure there are character moments in the novels that aren’t reflected in the module, but I’ve already come to terms with that since Sturm is potentially still alive at the tabletop. At any rate, the game is structured like the previous installments — narrative heavy, with players really navigating a series of events more than a dungeon, city or wilderness. The formula does feel like it has become rather refined at this point (it better be, with nearly 60 events in the chain!) even if I don’t really love how it is brought to bear, if that makes sense.

The little tarot deck is interesting. In a way, it is a regurgitation from I6: Ravenloft: they get drawn and tell the players about specific things that are going on in the game. It’s…OK? I don’t feel like, thematically, they fit very well, but what do I know? They are used in the subsequent modules and, like, become the basis of a whole new game with SAGA System in the late ‘90s (which powered the Dragonlance Fifth Age game and a Marvel Super Heroes game).