Dungeons & Dragons

Series · 5 books · 2010-2011

By Matthew Beard, James Wyatt, Don Bassingthwaite, and more

Books in series

The Mark of Nerath

2010

It is a time of magic and monsters, a time when only a few scattered points of light glow with stubborn determination amid a rising tide of shadows. It is a time when only the bravest heroes dare tread the wild of the unknown… About a century ago, the collapse of Nerath, the last empire of the world, ushered in a dark age that continues to this day, the peace and prosperity of the past seemingly lost forever. However, even those fabled days weren’t without a few blemishes. One of these was Emperor Magroth the First, a tyrant and a conqueror; cruel, ambitious, filled with delusions of grandeur and dreams of destiny, and more than a bit insane. During Magroth’s reign, rumors of necromancy and demon worship were rampant, but the truth was far worse. Thanks to deals he made, pacts he agreed to, and rituals he performed, death was not the end Emperor Magroth. Instead, a piece of him was drawn into the Shadowfell where he became the ruler of a domain of dead. From this vantage, the old king prepared for his return—and the new empire he would forge from the ruins of old. Now Magroth has made a new deal with Orcus, the Demon Prince of Undeath, that frees him from his eternal prison for a year and a day. In that time, Magroth must re-establish his ancient kingdom while also accomplishing a series of terrible tasks for Orcus. To this end, Magroth’s plans intersect with two other threats that are rising in the world. Where these threats meet, the world shudders. And it falls to our heroes to keep the fragile lights of civilization burning for another day

The Seal of Karga Kul

2010

A tale of heroism and exploit in the tradition of Robert E. Howard... Enter Remy, a quick-witted courier whose dangerous freight leads him into the vanguard of an ancient war between forces of light and the rising tide of shadows that threatens to overwhelm the burgeoning civilizations of the Two Rivers Gulf. The story opens with Remy alone and near death after an encounter with several stormclaw scorpions. His horse dead and poison sapping his strength, Remy collapses with his package at his side, undelivered. When he awakes, he is in the company of a band of adventurers who found him by the side of the road and nursed him back to health. Among them is a grim dragonborn paladin named Biri-Daar, whose wariness of the magical seals on Remy’s freight is outweighed by an overwhelming sense of duty to those in need. As they journey on, the nature of Remy’s package becomes a greater and greater curiosity. Soon the party, which has come to comprise some six-strong adventurers, finds itself to be the lynchpin that holds an army of netherworld forces at bay. Award-winning author and veteran shared-world writer Alex Irvine brings his unique characters and considerable storytelling talents to bear in the world of Dungeons & Dragons®.

The Temple of Yellow Skulls

2011

Following close on the heels of The Mark of Nerath, Don Bassingthwaite picks up the action and takes the characters into the eye of a new kind of Dungeons & Dragons® adventure... Imprisoned in the void of a ruined universe by vengeful gods, Tharizdun—the Chained God, the Elder Elemental Eye—shares his exile with the Progenitor, a pool of liquid crystal that is all that remains of the Abyss that destroyed his universe. Enter our heroes Albanon, Shara and Uldane—all three adventurers readers will know from The Mark of Nerath. They thought their quests were over and done with, but danger still burns like the embers of a smoldering fire in the tall grass. The Progenitor was locked safely away, guarded by Albanon’s dead master, but early on our heroes realize it was stolen and released in the presence of the green dragon Vestapalk as he fell at Shara’s sword. Now, alerted to the danger of the liquid crystal by a mysterious cleric who claims allegiance to an order that has protected the substance for time immemorial, they must go in search of the dragon’s body, to ensure his demise has not been exaggerated. What they discover has consequences that could change the world...

Oath of Vigilance

2011

Following directly in the wake of The Temple of Yellow Skulls, our heroes face the totality of the destructive and pestilent forces presented by the Abyssal Plague. The disease of the liquid crystal Voidharrow spreads throughout the land, transforming unsuspecting creatures into plague demons. Shara, Uldane, and the unlikely drow hero Valmaggar join forces with Tempest and Rohgar from The Mark Of Nerath, and together they set out in search of the green dragon Vestapalk, or the creature Vestapalk has become—the patient zero of this abyssal plague. Meanwhile, Albanon and the mysterious cleric Kri Redshal—the last remaining member of the Order of Vigilance, an order dedicated to guarding the Voidharrow—go in search of answers to the disease that sweeps the land. While their search takes them deep into the heart of the darkness that is enveloping the land, the answers they find are truly in need of new questions. As they become aware of the true scale of the tragedy at hand, they see the forces behind them are more powerful than they had ever dreamed, and perhaps more seductive.

The Last Garrison

2011

In the shadows between the living world and the land of the dead, the night's terrors lurk… For as long as anyone can remember, the mountain village of Haven has been under the protection of an ancient warlock known as the Old Stargazer. But after countless years spent deciphering the mysteries of the night sky, the old man is starting to slip. Now, a dark figure controls the forest with minions of kenku marauders—crowlike humanoids that menace the villagers with violence and mayhem. If the Old Stargazer cannot or will not protect them, the villagers will have to find someone who can. Nergei, an orphan raised by the warlock, is chosen to find help. Since Nergei has nothing to offer potential mercenaries, his task seems futile until he meets Sten, a battle-weary adventurer whose sense of justice is stronger than his desire for gold. Together they recruit an unlikely band of heroes to protect Haven from the ever-threatening incursions of the kenku minions. When the group flushes the marauders into the light of day, the shadows cast by the crow-men are like none they had ever imagined.

Authors

James Wyatt is an award-winning game designer at Wizards of the Coast, and now holds the position of Design Manager for Dungeons & Dragons. He was one of the lead designers for D&D 4th Edition and one of the original designers of the Eberron Campaign Setting, and has written and co-authored dozens of game supplements. He grew up in Ithaca, New York, and now lives in Washington State with his wife and son.

Don Bassingthwaite

Author · 15 books

Don lives with his partner in Toronto, surrounded by gadgets, spice jars, and too many books. No, I don’t normally refer to myself in the third person. That’s the official author bio from the back of my most recent books. You want some other trivia? I’m a fan of the serial comma. I’m a huge fan of breakfast cereal. I own one (and only one) stuffed animal—a Highland cow from Edinburgh named “Ewan MooGregor.” I love Edinburgh and London—other large cities visited in the UK include Bath and Plymouth. I’ve also been to Cheddar where I ate a really good cheese sandwich. I like cheese, especially hard and blue cheeses (Mmmm. Stilton.). I look terrible in hats with the exception (for unknown reasons) of a few ball caps of particular colour and design. I look good in rugby shirts, but don’t really own any as I neither play rugby nor follow the sport enough to feel honest buying the shirt of any particular team. I don’t play or follow soccer either, but that didn’t stop me from choosing a “shirt team” in the last World Cup, wearing their shirt, and cheering for them in pubs. Go Netherlands! To quote Paul S. Kemp, “Mmm. Beer.” I have seriously considered buying a kilt. Update March 2008: The kilt has been bought! Kilt, cow, and fondness for Edinburgh aside, I’m not Scottish. More to come, I’m sure!

Alexander C. Irvine

Author · 52 books

Alexander C. Irvine is an American fantasist and science fiction writer. He also writes under the pseudonym Alex Irvine. He first gained attention with his novel A Scattering of Jades and the stories that would form the collection Unintended Consequences. He has also published the Grail quest novel One King, One Soldier, and the World War II-era historical fantasy The Narrows. In addition to his original works, Irvine has published Have Robot, Will Travel, a novel set in Isaac Asimov's positronic robot milieu; and Batman: Inferno, about the DC Comics superhero. His academic background includes an M.A. in English from the University of Maine and a PhD from the University of Denver. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the Portland Phoenix.

Bill Slavicsek

Author · 31 books