DriveThruRPG.com
Browse Categories
$ to $















Back
pixel_trans.gif
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera $10.00
Average Rating:4.7 / 5
Ratings Reviews Total
28 7
8 0
1 1
1 0
0 0
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera
Click to view
You must be logged in to rate this
pixel_trans.gif
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera
Publisher: Dolorous Exhumation Press
by Jennifer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/06/2024 20:35:09

honestly the heckin best gazetteer ever written. while i have never run krevborna "out of the box" i have used my print copy so often in so many different contexts. also it's just so evocative with plug and play bits and bobs that makes for such a wonderful vibe



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera
Publisher: Dolorous Exhumation Press
by A. C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/06/2023 22:32:02

I'll admit at first I agreed with one of the other reviewers, that despite the 126 pg. length, the actual content was a little too concise.

I was about a third of the way through when the approach finally clicked for me. If you purchase this thinking it's a WotC-style "adventure path" where they do every little bit of the work for you, you may come away disappointed. Instead, think of it as a "backdrop" or "toolkit" to assemble your own Gothic-themed setting.

As I tend toward DIY, I loved it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera
Publisher: Dolorous Exhumation Press
by Ian W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/18/2021 09:46:16

It's a series of quick sketches for you to fill in. It does drip atmosphere and your version of the area will be like no-one else's, but that's because there simply isn't enough detail for there to be much in common.

Eleven of the 126 pages are blank, and the main areas get four pages each: 'here's some ideas for the aesthetics of the area, here are three themes for games here, here are five one sentence ideas for adventures, here are five or six character outlines (one or two sentences) for NPCs here, here are some sample names, here's a D20 encounter table'. Other areas just get two pages.

As you might expect given that, it's completely system agnostic. There are three pages of thoughts on using it in a 5E D&D campaign, but even most of that is applicable to any system.

I'd play in one of his campaigns, and I'd love to see a studio licence it to produce a video RPG, but I don't think I will ever use it myself.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera
Publisher: Dolorous Exhumation Press
by Patrick Y. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/07/2021 12:20:23

I wish there were more setting books like this on the market. Krevborna picks a theme (Gothic horror) and maintains that focus throughout. The broad outlines of cities and regions are here as well as seeds from which GM's can create all the details they want. While some people use it for 5e, Krevborna could just as easily serve as an imaginary region of a slightly-fantastical 18th-century Eastern Europe. It would work extremely well with Lamentations of the Flame Princess or For Coin & Blood. Any period from medieval to Victorian is possible because of what the author is careful not to emphasize. Of course, the other side of that coin is that GM's will need to do some work to fill-in the blanks. For my part, I'm delighted to have found a setting with big blanks exactly where I want them.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera
Publisher: Dolorous Exhumation Press
by Jordon C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/20/2019 22:54:12

This is a great book for anyone who wants to play gothic horror. SO many great ideas, names,places,etc. to assist a GM. I found it very helpful in my own gothic horror game and my players loved the hooks that the book provided.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera
Publisher: Dolorous Exhumation Press
by Kyle M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/31/2018 21:45:34

This is everything you need in a setting book, with nothing you don't. Krevborna starts off with four pages each on major locations, complete with important NPCs, example names, example quests, and encounter tables. Locations of lesser importance get two pages. Then you have material on player characters, religion and magic, and factions. The book wraps up with some succinct guidance on Gothic themes, adventure creation, and a bestiary.

Note that Krevborna is system-neutral, although it does include some suggestions on making it work with D&D 5e. You could use other systems without any trouble, though.

This is a setting book that invites the DM to make it their own. Krevborna encourages you to build and create, but it provides enough substance that you could sit down and run a Session 0 without too much trouble.

I do wish the map were a bit more legible, and a bit more interior art would have been nice. But those are small complaints and they don't take away from how much I enjoyed Krevborna.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera
Publisher: Dolorous Exhumation Press
by Cesare C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/28/2018 17:33:05

Here's the thing. If you are looking for a campaign setting where everything that has ever happened is minutely reported and where every meter of the world is accurately described, this is not the book for you.

Krevborna is presented in a very particular way, letting you get a really good idea of the main themes and atmosphere of the setting, while being vague enough in the small things in order to easily let you come up with your own stuff. Other campaign settings tend to drown you in details like dozens of dates, gods and other stuff, often limiting your imagination in the process, while Krevborna strikes a balance between being both flavorful and inspiring at the same time.

This is a setting meant to be played, not just read about.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera
Publisher: Dolorous Exhumation Press
by Andrew S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/16/2018 09:10:58

I reviewed the .pdf. For disclosure, I have played in the setting with Jack and also spent considerable effort adapting his previous Gothic Fantasy setting, World Between, to another game system. I'm mentioned in the book briefly as a player. Here are my thoughts about this book!

The rule for a good campfire is also good for a setting book; close enough for warmth, space enough to breathe. Jack Shear nailed down enough relative location information and suggestions beyond the edge of the map for those flavors to matter, but left a lot of vagueness all through the book for each game table to operate free of constricting canon.

He also provided the skeletal structure to support the GM. In addition to all the squirmy wet flavor bits, there are lines and joints and load-bearing anchor points that give direction for how to get in and started, with names and places and themes presented together.

There are cities, and they are focused to be gameable. There are factions, and individuals, and suggestions of threats and rewards. This setting is inspirational and functional right out of the box.

I could pick this book up, select a location and a prefab idea or two of things to do in it, grab a random NPC or two, maybe a faction for background menace. Add a monster or two. Jack's work aligns really well with the needs of the GM running the game in this book.

Jack Shear has my hearty congratulations on making a fine setting book that can proudly serve in the OSR, Indie territory, D&D, or (best of all) the wild space in between.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Displaying 1 to 8 (of 8 reviews) Result Pages:  1 
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif Back pixel_trans.gif
0 items
 Gift Certificates