Drow War III: The Darkest Hour is the final part of the Drow War campaign. This massive adventure is epic in both senses of the word familiar to d20 enthusiasts. It takes the action out into the manifold planes of existence, pitting the Player Characters against no less a threat than the extinction of all life and the final triumph of darkness – stakes far beyond anything faced before. The adventuring takes place on a cosmic scale, with allies and adversaries to match.
The action begins on the world of Ashfar, where the peace forged in the aftermath of the Player Characters’ apparent victory at the end of the last book has now been broken. Something is causing the barriers between worlds to collapse, smashing plane into plane, opening rifts through which atrocious fiends can step into the ordinary world and cause chaos. No hero could let this happen without acting against it, and on this world and others, armour is donned and swords are drawn.
Even former enemies recognise the threat. The Players must deal with shocking revelations concerning an old foe, who may well prove to be new friend. Is it written in the heavens that the Starborn and the drow must always be opposed, or can the dark ones truly change? Can the olive branch be accepted, or is this just another trick? There is no easy way to decide.
In the haven of a dead god’s skull, the most secure and yet the most isolated place in the many planes, the Assembly meets to investigate the fate of the worlds. Faced with a gathering of strange and sinister worthies from across the planes, the Players must choose their allies well. First impressions may well be misleading, and in a place where everyone has an agenda, nobody wants to trust anyone if they can help it. Can this motley band possibly act together and prevent the coming catastrophe, or will the Players have to go it alone? Will the wiles of schemers entrap them, turning one against another until good seems bad and bad seems good, or will they see through the manipulations and deceptions?
With persistence, luck and daring, the truth will finally begin to take shape. The quest leads through worlds of ocean and forest, into fortresses where forbidden things creep in the dark and a half-insane princess breeds an army of the damned, through storms of chaos and under skies of impossible colour, and ultimately into the bowels of a machine the size of a small country, where the final secrets are revealed. They have saved one world; now they must save a million worlds. The fate of the cosmos rests in the hands of the Starborn and those they choose to ally with. Now more than ever, there is no certain outcome and defeat is always a possibility.
The Player Characters move beyond the standard 20 levels of regular d20 and enter the realms of the epic rules. They will come into possession of astounding new magical items, learn feats and spells that outshine the heroes of legend and face down foes that cause entire civilisations to tremble.
Only one thing is certain. Whichever path the future takes, whichever side is victorious; this is the last battle of the Drow Wars. |
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