Just posting an old review I had done for the Slavers book for 2e.

Slavers is a compendium and re-issue of the old Slavers series for AD&D 2nd edition. It appears completely rewritten, being both a sourcebook for the World of Greyhawk and an extended adventure.

First, the book is softbound, with a nice cover by Jeff Easley. There is a decent glossary, but no index. The margins are fairly wide, with some landscape pictures at the corners. The typeset is small, which makes the reading a bit difficult at times, but there is a LOT of information crammed into these pages. The artwork in the book almost always had something to do with the text on the same page, which was nice. Overall, it was well set up.

Content is where this book truly shines. The City of Dyvers, town of Hardby, and the Pomarj are all described. These areas have never had much printed on them, so the information is quite valuable to us Greyhawkers. Ok, time to go through a page-by-page review.

The book starts with DM notes, which includes an overview of the adventure, a section on how to modify the adventure so that characters of different levels can have a chance of surviving it, a small section on quick character generation (useless to me, but some might like it), then a suggested adventure outline. This outline is quite handy, giving lots of ideas on how to keep the adventure moving. I like it, and hope WotC continues putting these in modules. There is also a rules insert on how to use catapults and other siege engines to destroy structures, which is good, though short.

The next section is the Land of Dyvers. There is a map of the Greyhawk area, a History of the City, then General Information on the city. Good stuff, lots of adventure ideas. Dyvers has a mediocre map with many important sites detailed. NPC's connected to the Slavers are presented, as well as ways in which PC's can encounter them. The descriptions are nice, but left me wanting more. There is plenty to build on though, and only so much space.

There is a nice Random Encounters table included for the Greyhawk area. An in-depth view of what the Slavers are doing is given after the city. Next is several pages on Naval Warfare. (Good information, wish it was in the DMG!) A large variety of ships are given stats, and naval weapons are described. I really liked this!

Next is the Slavers Cove, which is hidden on the banks of the Nyr Dyv (a sea). Tactics for the Slavers are given, as they are living in a secluded cove with a small cave system. In the additional adventures section, the Caverns of Blackthorn are investigated. These hidden caves house a large number of orcs, ogres, gnolls, and other creatures. Located in the Gnarley Forest, the humanoids provide ready opponents for anyone willing to seek them out. Warning, this area is Dangerous! Only a few caves are detailed, with the rest left for the DM to develop. The end of the chapter concerns Dyvers Intrigues, presenting a number of short adventure ideas for a group that has time to explore the city in detail. Nice addition.

The next chapter is the North Wooly Bay (south of the city of Greyhawk). First, the town of Hardby is described in a little detail. Several interesting adventure ideas present themselves here, along with a few Slaver agents. The Scarlet Brotherhood is also mentioned... This section is nice, but again, could be longer.

Next, a general overview of piracy and other fun things is given, along with what exactly the Slavers are doing in this area. A small table for sea encounters is given, good ideas. Bright Tower Keep, a base for the army of Greyhawk, is then described. Next, many of the towns in the region are given short descriptions. LOTS of adventure potential, as well as good info for the curious types. Another random encounters table for the area is given. This section is great, providing lots of stuff previously unavailable (as far as campaign information is concerned).

Next comes the Slaver specific information, including a Slaver mage who lives in a supposedly-abandoned tower. This provides a ready dungeon for PC's to explore, with a magic-using opponent to deal with. Then the Ruins of Cantona, a Wild Coast city conquered by the orcs, is described. The Slavers stop here regularly, so the PC's get to investigate it. There is also a small population of malenti (mutated sahuagin) living in the city's bay, who work with the orcs. Aspis also appear nearby, in a small lair. They deal with the orcs, and can be encountered by PC's. Fairly straightforward, this area is very dangerous. Orcs abound, and if the PC's aren't careful, they will be captured. The additional adventures section is ok, with many more ideas for short encounters in the general region.

Next chapter is the Orcish Wild Coast. First is the City of Elredd. This is a major Slavers base, and the PC's will come here eventually. Information on the city, local humanoid tribes, a human necromancer, and a good-aligned adventuring party are presented. Very nice stuff, with lots of plot hooks. Next is a section on what the Slavelords are doing here, as well as an in-depth view of the city and it's Slaver rulers. The possibility of a schism in the ranks of the slavelords is also found here. The PC's might be able to exploit this if they don't just charge in, wands a-blazing. Of course, if they try that, they will be quickly captured and enslaved :>. There is a ton of stuff you can do here, with many possibilities of intrigue. Probably the best chapter in the book.

The next chapter deals with the Pomarj. Several pages are immediately devoted the the various tribes of humanoids living in the land, which really goes a long way towards providing depth for the region. Invaluable. A map of the area is given, but there isn't a lot of detail. Only major areas are identified. Several ideas are presented for how PC's might travel into the area without being killed immediately, along with a general description of the Pomarj.

Next is the city of Highport, where the old Slavers modules ended. Lots of interesting details on the various humanoid churches is given, as well as a good view of the Slaver rulers. Several other cities are also given brief summaries (Blue and Stoneheim).

Finally, Mount Drachenkopf and the town of Kalen Lekos are detailed. This is the headquarters of the slavers. The town is given a skimpy description, but important information about the main Slaver leaders is given. Markessa the elven mage and Turrosh Mak, King of the Pomarj, are described, as well as a number of other NPC's. The Cult of the Earth Dragon is presented in full. A lot of tough opponents for any PC party are here, making the end almost definately climactic. The Temple of the Earth Dragon is also detailed in full, with plenty of evil clerics and fighters for the PC's to fight. This temple is VERY deadly, and only very strong parties will ever make it through. Next is some ideas on what to do after the campaign is over. Pretty standard, though there is plenty for PC's to do.

The Appendix gives a new History of the Pomarj, which is well thought out. I liked it. Then a new god, the Earth Dragon, is described, along with the abilities of his priests. Next come the magic items, standard stuff. Brief write-ups on Kelanen and Murlynd (hero-deities), end the book.

Overall, this book is really nice. It is as much campaign sourcebook as it is adventure. DEFINITELY worth the money.

Now for playtest spoilers....

The Dyvers section was good. It gave the PC's an area to explore as word of the Slavers first arrived. Not much action, but plenty of roleplaying. The PC's then got on a ship which was soon attacked by Slavers. They fought off the Slavers, and used magic to follow them to their hidden cove. I had the PC's run the ship combat, which they found to be a lot of fun. The PC ship was sunk as they charged into the base, but they managed to defeat the Slavers. They captured the Markessa clone and turned her into the Greyhawk authorities (whom they warned about the slaver operations).

Next they travelled to Hardby, where they managed to get tricked into exploring a tomb by Roban (a Slaver agent). They survived, and came back and captured him. He mumbled something about a slaver in a "Dark Tower" to the west, so they then headed west. After paying a few fines at Bright Tower Keep (a surly fighter just couldn't keep his mouth shut), they explored the abandoned tower housing the Slaver mage. They had a heck of a time here, and she escaped. Magic traps are nasty ;>. They then headed south to the port of Cantona, where they were promptly captured and shipped south to Elredd. They escaped in that city, and led the orcs on a merry chase through the countryside. It was a lot of fun watching them hide from small groups of orcs, just because the noise they would make fighting would attract a few hundred more. Help from the good adventurers in the area saved them.

After recouping their losses (one mage and one thief dead) by having two of the adventurers join them, they continued south to Highport (with the rest of the NPC party). Lots of night travel, hiding from roaming humanoids, made this trip take a long time. They did rescue some slaves, arranging for the NPC adventurers to take them north. Once in Highport, they disguised themselves as mercenaries. They explored the city, getting in a couple tavern brawls, before following a slaver caravan south (as guards) to Mount Drachenkopf.

Once here, they infiltrated the Temple. Unfortunately, they were overwhelmed by the evil priests and soon dropped down the bottomless pit where the Earth Dragon ate them. This adventure was very tough. If the PC's don't do everything just right, they will be captured. I gave them several opportunities to escape the Temple, but they missed them (they just didn't know when to run away).

The final encounter will be all but impossible for any but REALLY powerful groups to survive. Other than this, it was a lot of fun. The players were a bit disappointed, but they did manage to take several of the main bad guys with them (no more Turrosh Mak :>).

Great review. This book is a trove of information on things like the Wild Coast. I also really liked the cult of the Earth Dragon. It's a pity more reviews don't come with a play test as it really adds depth to the review. Slavers is easily the best Greyhawk product of the mid to late Greyhawk era.