Review – Dungeons & Dragons: Fell’s Five by John Rogers

They aren’t the crew of Leverage but they are pretty close.

Adric Fell and his merry band of misfits – the murder-happy halfling Bree Three-Hands, the ostracized elf Varis, and the dwarf Paladin Khal Khalundurrin – are on a mission to rescue some kidnapped travelers held in the Underdark. When they get there, they meet Tisha Swornheart, a tiefling sorceress who proves quite capable in battle. She also shows she is able and willing to help them with their rescue, even though it threw off her own plans to save everyone. After this successful adventure, they sign Tisha up as part of their group and enjoy a nice evening in a tavern. At least until the zombies show up.

Hey, it’s Dungeons and Dragons. The world is an open sandbox so players are free to make their own stories. When is it ever peaceful there?

The Story

The zombies erupt from the tavern floor before the ink on Tisha’s signature on the contract is dry. Since the five adventurers are accustomed to being attacked, they naturally hack, shoot, bespell, and stab in defense of themselves and the other unzombified patrons. Unfortunately for them, the zombies were merely possessed innocent villagers from the town of Fallcrest, not true undead. Now the five of them are charged with murder.

…Oops?

When Fell and his crew’s trial is interrupted with more weird magic turning the administrators meant to determine their fate into zombies, the group must once again enter the Underdark (the tunnels beneath the world of Dungeons and Dragons) to find the source of this evil and stop it. From there things get crazier as Fell’s Five chase after changelings, fight orcs, and otherwise fall or step into more trouble than they can shake their weapons at. And that’s before Khal’s girlfriend stops sending him love letters!

They are Fell’s Five, ordinary blue-collar adventurers trying to make a living in a crazy world. Care to join the party? The volume has the characters’ stats and instructions on how to play a D&D game in the back….

The Characters

The volume doesn’t give readers every bit of background about the characters, as they are meant to be taken up and played by readers once the book concludes. Thus, bits about Adric’s past, Tisha’s history, and Varis’ background are hinted at but never explored. Even so, what is there is worthwhile and makes the three fun: Adric is a smart fighter who plays dumb and has a heart of gold he doesn’t dare show off lest it be stolen, while Tisha is much kinder and nicer than her appearance would suggest. Varis isn’t a stock Legolas knock-off but an elf with attitude who likes to quip and make fun of his friends without actually hurting their feelings. (The bad or annoying guys’ feelings are fair game.)

Bree is a murder-happy thief who would as soon kill someone as steal from them, though she leans more toward thieving than killing – most of the time. Of the Five, she is perhaps the one whom Adric fears the most, and he spends a lot of his time watching her closely so she doesn’t kill anyone who doesn’t need it. Khal is, in Adric’s own words, “the only genuinely good person” on the crew. He is a lousy liar but a great friend and a solid fighter, and without him, the Five may not have lived this long. Now if only they could settle that kerfuffle around his girlfriend….

The World

Since the world is that of Dungeons and Dragons, it is something of a sandbox. The characters get to visit the Feywild, the Underdark, and the regular world – which is mostly summed up in the little village of Fallcrest. After that, the locations vary enough to be interesting without being the slightest bit boring.

Politics

None. It’s Dungeons and Dragons – there’s no ROOM for politics. Everything else is too busy grabbing and holding the spotlight!

Content Warning

There is no sex, and while Tisha is the token fan-service character, her outfit is revealing without being blatantly in-the-reader’s-face about it. Blood and gore feature prominently but the book never takes it to extremes even with the zombie elves that declare they want to eat livers. So put this on the higher end of the PG-13 rating, depending on the maturity of the reader.

Who is it for?

Dungeons and Dragons’ fans, naturally, but if you like comics and fantasy, you will love Fell’s Five. Mr. John Rogers states in his introduction that he wanted the story to be about straight heroes and he succeeded admirably. Not only are there no anti-heroes in sight, if you want a story where the characters (with one notable exception in the halfling’s case) are unapologetically heroic, this is a book you will love. Heck, even the murder-happy halfling isn’t all bad – she likes killing because that is who and what she is, not because she is evil. Not only could the world of D&D use more heroes and heroines like these, but so could the real world. This book is good for both!

Why buy it

If you want an easy-to-read entrance tale for Dungeons and Dragons or to introduce a friend to that franchise, then this volume would be a very good place to start. Those of you looking for a new campaign to start on game night or a soothing romp in a fantasy that doesn’t tax your tired mind too much will like it as well. Join Fell’s Five on their adventures today – and then see if you can complete those adventures in your own D&D campaign!