[PRESS RELEASE] ROSE CITY COMIC CON PREPS FOR ANOTHER JAM-PACKED EVENT

ROSE CITY COMIC CON PREPS FOR 
ANOTHER JAM-PACKED EVENT

 

Highlights Include the Villains of ‘The Boys’, Stargate: SG-1 & Atlantis Reunions, the Return of Retailer Day with ComicsPRO, Professional Master Classes, and
Over Fifty Comic Book Creators

This Year Offers Something for Everyone in the Family, Including Book Fair, Destination Cosplay, Rose City Jr., Top Comic Creators and Introducing Dave’s Hideaway

PORTLAND -- Having debuted in 2012, Rose City Comic Con has become one of the largest fan conventions on the West Coast, with guests and programming targeting all ages and interests. This year, Rose City Comic Con will take place September 11-13, 2026, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, OR. Some highlights include a star-studded line-up of actors from properties like The Boys, Daredevil, Alien, Guardians of the Galaxy, Stargate, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Resident Alien, Brooklyn Nine-Nine,and many more! Plus, comic book royalty, New York Times best-selling authors, and the introduction of Dave’s Hideaway.

Rose City Comic Con pulls together over 60,000 fans with their favorite comics, movies, television shows, books, toys, games, cosplay, and more. Section highlights include Book Fair – for book dragons, aspiring authors, and lit lovers of all ages, Rose City Jr. – a family-friendly destination for the next generation of fans, Anime Yokocho – a haven for lovers of anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture, and Destination Cosplay – where cosplay fanatics can meet, pose, and learn to improve their craft. Video & Tabletop Gaming features are where gamers, young and old alike, can enjoy everything from retro classics to the console hits of today! And new for 2026, Dave’s Hideaway – a spot for grown-ups to enjoy refreshing alcoholic beverages, live tattooing, live entertainment, and more.

"Rose City Comic Con has always been about finding your community, whatever your fandom, and this year, we've made room for all of them," said Lauren Dabb, Event Director of Rose City Comic Con. "From Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Daredevil reunions, to fifty-plus mega-talented comic creators and Creator Pro masterclasses, to the debut of Dave's Hideaway, we've built a weekend that's equal parts nostalgia, discovery, and pure Portland weirdness."

Rose City Comic Con panel highlights include: 

Friday (September 11, 2026): 

• Gotta Go Fast: The Voices of Sonic the Hedgehog – Featuring Roger Craig Smith, Lisa Ortiz, Pete Capella - Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 1:15 PM

• Dark Horse: Star-Powered Storytelling with Patton Oswalt & Jordan Blum – Featuring Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum – Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 2:15 PM

• Stephen Amell Spotlight – Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 3:15 PM

• Chevron Seven Locked: A Stargate SG-1 Reunion – Featuring Richard Dean Anderson, Tony Amendola, Ben Browder - Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 4:15 PM

• Off the Wall Drag Show – Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 6:00 PM

Saturday (September 12, 2026):

• Greetings, Humans: The Cast of Resident Alien – Featuring Alan Tudyk, Alice Wetterlund, Sara Tomko – Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 10:30 AM

• Dark Horse Comics: 40 Years of Comics Nerds – Room E141-144 – 1:00 PM

• Nine-Nine! A Brooklyn Nine-Nine Reunion – Featuring Joe Lo Truglio,       Melissa Fumero – Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 2:00 PM

• A Spotlight on Gail Simone – Room E141-144 – 2:45 PM

• Boldly Forward: The Cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Featuring Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Christina Chong - Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 3:00 PM

• Smut or Angst: The Fanfiction Gameshow – Keep it Weird Stage – 3:15 PM

• Indie Comics City: How Portland Built Its Own Comics Universe” from OPB’s Oregon Art Beat – Room D137-140 – 3:15 PM

• In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream: Celebrating Alien – Featuring Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright - Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 4:00 PM 

Sunday (September 13, 2026):

• Super Secrets: The Stars of The Boys – Featuring Antony Starr, Chase Crawford – Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 10:15 AM 

• Puppetcore Studios: Five-Fingers of Death Puppet Show – Keep it Weird Stage – 10:45 AM

• A Queen Among Legends – Featuring Lena Headey – Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 11:15 AM

• The Ravagers Return: A Guardians of the Galaxy Reunion – Featuring Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn – Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 2:00 PM

• Rising to the Stars: A Stargate Atlantis Reunion – Featuring Rachel Luttrell, Joe Flanigan, Torri Higginson – Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 3:00 PM

• Justice Is Blind: A Daredevil Reunion – Featuring Vincent D’Onofrio,       Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson – Main Stage (Portland Ballroom) – 4:00 PM

(All times and guest appearances are subject to change)

Other Key Highlights at Rose City Comic Con Include: 

• Comic Guests: Rose City Comic Con is proud to host more than 50 comic book creators from up-and-comers to seasoned professionals. Attending this year will be Gail Simone, Patton Oswalt, Cullen Bunn, G. Willow Wilson, Tom Raney, Sean Galloway, Tom Sneigowski, Jim Valentino, Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, David F. Walker, and many more.
  

• Book Fair: Panels with featured author guests and free author signings at the   Rose City Comic Con Bookstore Powered by Powell’s Books (Booth #201). Authors attending include TJ Klune, Chloe Gong, Caitlin Starling, Terry Brooks, Delilah S. Dawson, Kamilah Cole, Annalee Newitz, Evan Leikam, Petra Lord, Sarah Gailey, and Soman Chainani. Readers can enjoy book-themed meetups throughout the weekend, which include a free ribbon as part of the Ribbon Rally! More info is here https://rosecitycomiccon.com/book-fair/
  

• Destination Cosplay: Cosplay Meetups will take place in Prefunction C, across the hall from the Cosplay Repair & Community Room powered by the PNW Guild of Cosplayers (C-120-122) and Cosplay Photoshoots with Mahou Photo (C125-126). Our Cosplay Competition will be held Saturday, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM on the Main Stage in the Portland Ballroom. More info is here
  https://rosecitycomiccon.com/destination-cosplay/
  

• Rose City Jr.: NEW LOCATION! Now located outside the Exhibit Hall in the Oregon Ballroom, Rose City Jr. keeps the energy high with the Movement Zone featuring lightsaber training, princess meet-and-greets, three appearances by PBS star Daniel Tiger on Saturday, and a storytime with Matt Hutchinson, the voice of Tiny Chef on Sunday at 1:30 PM! In addition, there will be Kids Cosplay Parades on both Saturday and Sunday at 12:00 PM. Drawing and creating workshops in the Workshops area include a chance for young artists to design next year's official artwork for the Child badge at the Sasquatch Dave Kid Art Contest with Chris Mariano, which will be held on Saturday at 2:00 PM. And on all three days, there will be Slime Making with the Portland Ghostbusters from 7:00 – 7:45 PM on Friday and from 10:30 - 11:30 AM on Saturday and Sunday. More info is here https://rosecitycomiccon.com/rose-city-jr/ 
  

• Dave’s Hideaway: NEW! Named after Rose City Comic Con’s beloved sasquatch mascot, the all-new Dave’s Hideaway is a (mostly) adult oasis that is equal parts bar, tattoo parlor, performance stage, and wrestling arena. In short, everything you’d expect from a Portland comic convention that refuses to be ordinary. Within Dave’s Hideaway, the Cryptid Cantina, sponsored by Portland’s own Gigantic Brewing and Portland Cider Co., will offer craft beers, cider, and soft drinks in a relaxed lounge setting. Tattoo Trail will bring together eight tattoo studios – Inkheart Tattoo, Medusa Slays, Upper Moon Tattoo, Needle & Magpie Tattoo Studio, Medusa Tattoo, Capriotti Creations Tattoo, Beardedmoney, and Anatomy Tattoo – for live tattooing throughout the weekend. Attendees looking for live entertainment can catch standup comedy, lip sync competitions, puppet shows, angsty game shows, and more on the Keep It Weird Stage, with a Sunday takeover by the Portland Weird Festival delivering what we believe will be “the zaniest performances imaginable to the feeble human mind.” More info is here https://rosecitycomiccon.com/daves-hideaway/
  

• Creator Pro Track & Retailer Day: Rose City is excited to continue to support comics and local comic retailers with the expansion of Retailer Day in partnership with ComicsPRO. Dark Horse Comics will return to Retailer Day with a special keynote address celebrating the publisher’s 40th anniversary. Retailers can sign up here https://rosecitycomiccon.com/retailer-day/. This event will run alongside the already stacked comic programming that Rose City Comic Con offers and the dedicated Creator Pro+ Academy, which is designed to help young aspiring artists break into the business. This year, intimate Masterclasses are available from comic creators and authors like Brian       Michael Bendis, Steve Leiber & Jeff Parker, Richard Case, Patton Oswalt & Jordan Blum, Caitlin Starling, and Chloe Gong. More info is here https://rosecitycomiccon.com/creator-pro/
  

• GeekFest Film Fest at Rose City Comic Con: Celebrating its 13^th anniversary, the short film festival will be happening Saturday, September 12th. It features films across all genres, including action, horror, comedy, drama, sci-fi, and beyond, and fans can vote for their favorites.
  

• Tabletop Gaming: In partnership with GameStorm and presented by Misty Mountain Gaming, fans can explore an expansive tabletop gaming experience featuring a free board game lending library packed with modern favorites, beloved classics, and role-playing games. Attendees can join learn-to-play sessions and live game demos led by experienced volunteers, making it easy for players of all skill levels to discover their next favorite game. Fans can also get creative with a free Miniatures Paint & Take activity. More info is here https://rosecitycomiccon.com/tabletop-gaming/
  

• Video Gaming: Gaming fans, young and old, will be delighted to find a little bit of everything—from Ground Kontrol’s classic arcade cabinets and pinball machines, to a free-play retro console arcade from Portland Retro Gaming Expo, to claw machines by Claw City. More info is here https://rosecitycomiccon.com/video-gaming/
  

• Other show features include Ribbon Rally, Pinpalooza, Anime Yokocho, and the Star Wars Fan Experience from Star Wars Oregon.
  

• After Hours Events: Friday night, the fourth annual Drink & Draw (21+), will take place at Spirit Of ‘77. Comic creators slated to attend as judges include Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, Brian Michael Bendis, Cullen Bunn, and Tom Raney. More info is here https://rosecitycomiccon.com/drink-and-draw/. On Saturday, fans of Magic: The Gathering can attend the official Commander After Party at Guardian Games. Also on Saturday night is the Amberleaf Masquerade Ball, a formal fantasy ball at The Sentinel hotel in downtown Portland in association with Rose City Comic Con’s sister show, Romancing Portland. More info is here https://rosecitycomiccon.com/afterparties/

Rose City Comic Con will be held September 11-13, 2026, at the Oregon Convention Center. Attendee badges may be purchased at rosecitycomiccon.com.

About Rose City Comic Con

Rose City Comic Con is Portland’s largest and most dynamic pop culture convention, uniting over 60,000 passionate fans for an unforgettable weekend celebrating comics, cosplay, anime, gaming, books, celebrities, and all things geek. With a bold spirit as unique as Portland itself, Rose City Comic Con is proudly weird, wildly creative, and fiercely inclusive. Signature experiences include Rose City Jr. for families, the whimsical Book Fair, cosplay haven Destination Cosplay, anime hotspot Anime Yokocho, and Creator Pro for industry pros and aspiring talent alike. Produced by LeftField Media, Rose City Comic Con is where fandoms thrive, friendships form, and creativity takes center stage.

 

About LeftField Media 

LeftField Media, LLC is an events company focused on developing face-to-face events in a range of communities rooted in contemporary culture and shared passion. LeftField was formed in 2014 by Greg Topalian (President, LeftField Media) and is now owned by Topalian and Clarion Events Ltd. With a keen sense of the evolving needs of businesses and their consumers, as well as new opportunities created by change, LeftField takes a clean-slate approach to its work. LeftField’s portfolio includes Awesome Con (awesomecon.com), Washington D.C.’s Comic Con; Rose City Comic Con (rosecitycomiccon.com), in Portland, OR; Anime NYC (animenyc.com), New York City’s Japanese pop culture festival; and Anime Frontier (animefrontier.com) in Dallas-Fort Worth. LeftField Media is headquartered in Shelton, CT (leftfieldmedia.com).

[PRESS RELEASE] ROSE CITY COMIC CON HOSTS 2ND ANNUAL RETAILER DAY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMICSPRO

ROSE CITY COMIC CON HOSTS 2ND ANNUAL RETAILER DAY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMICSPRO

Oni Press with Special 40th Anniversary Keynote Address

PORTLAND -- Rose City Comic Con, in partnership with ComicsPRO, is proud to announce the 2nd annual Retailer Day, an exclusive experience limited to comic retailers that’s designed to connect them with publishers, distributors, and industry leaders. Dark Horse Comics returns to Retailer Day with a special keynote address celebrating the publisher’s 40th anniversary. Expanding from a single day to two, Retailer Day will take place Thursday, September 10, 2026, and Friday, September 11, 2026, and will feature panels, announcements, an exclusive signing, and more.

 

“Last year’s inaugural Retailer Day exceeded every expectation, and the response made the decision an easy one,” commented Lauren Dabb, Event Director of Rose City Comic Con. “We are thrilled to expand this space for retailers for two full days at Rose City Comic Con.”

 

Feedback from the first Retailer Day was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees and publishers calling the event insightful, motivating, and great for quality networking.

 

“We're very excited to be teaming up with Rose City Comic Con for their second annual Retailer Day,” said Shannon Live, Vice President and Director of Education of ComicsPRO. “At ComicsPRO, we are always looking for ways to help retailers connect, learn, and grow together, and Rose City has done a great job building a fun environment where they can do just that. The opportunities they are creating this year continue to elevate the Retailer Day experience." 

 

A favorite perk of last year’s event was the exclusive variant release of Matt Fraction’s Batman #1 with cover art by Liam Sharp. For 2026, the tradition will continue with a Rose City Comic Con variant of Archie #1 from the new series slated to launch later this year from Oni Press. Series writer Ben H. Winters (Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters) and three-time Eisner Award-winning comic illustrator Steve Lieber, who drew the variant cover, will be in attendance to sign highly limited copies.

 

Admission to Retailer Day includes a commemorative collector's badge and is completely free to all verified Comic Retailers. Retailers can apply to attend on the Rose City Retailer Day page.

 

Rose City Comic Con will be held September 11-13, 2026, at the Oregon Convention Center. Attendee badges may be purchased at Rose City Comic Con.

 

About ComicsPRO

ComicsPRO is an international network of comic store owners dedicated to building an industry-forward community of shared knowledge and culture. By bridging our member network and industry partners, we build our social capital, develop solutions-based resolutions, and advocate for change that can ensure a stronger future. For more information about ComicsPRO, please visit www.comicspro.org.

 

About Rose City Comic Con

Rose City Comic Con is Portland’s largest and most dynamic pop culture convention, uniting over 60,000 passionate fans for an unforgettable weekend celebrating comics, cosplay, anime, gaming, books, celebrities, and all things geek. With a bold spirit as unique as Portland itself, Rose City Comic Con is proudly weird, wildly creative, and fiercely inclusive. Signature experiences include Rose City Jr. for families, the whimsical Book Fair, cosplay haven Destination Cosplay, anime hotspot Anime Yokocho, and Creator Pro for industry pros and aspiring talent alike. Produced by LeftField Media, Rose City Comic Con is where fandoms thrive, friendships form, and creativity takes center stage.

 

About LeftField Media 

LeftField Media, LLC is an events company focused on developing face-to-face events in a range of communities rooted in contemporary culture and shared passion. LeftField was formed in 2014 by Greg Topalian (President, LeftField Media) and is now owned by Topalian and Clarion Events Ltd. With a keen sense of the evolving needs of businesses and their consumers, as well as new opportunities created by change, LeftField takes a clean-slate approach to its work. LeftField’s portfolio includes Awesome Con (awesomecon.com), Washington D.C.’s Comic Con; Rose City Comic Con (rosecitycomiccon.com), in Portland, OR; Anime NYC (animenyc.com), New York City’s Japanese pop culture festival; and Anime Frontier (animefrontier.com) in Dallas-Fort Worth. LeftField Media is headquartered in Shelton, CT (leftfieldmedia.com).

Doomsday Clock Part 1

Title: Doomsday Clock Part 1

ISBN: 9781779501202

Price: $24.99

Publisher/Year: DC, 2019

Artist: Gary Frank

Writer: Geoff Johns

Rating: 3/5

While DC have the rights to use the cast of Watchmen, there are ethical reasons why they shouldn’t. That’s a separate discussion, the pros and cons of which are easily located online.

It’s apparent from the start that none of those arguments have any resonance for the creative team of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, who open Doomsday Clock as a sequel to Watchmen, picking up near enough from its memorable final page. It’s not just that the narrative voices and page layouts resemble Watchmen, so does the cover design and the lettering. Watchmen concerned a monstrous plan to save a world on the brink of war that seemingly worked, except a newspaper was sent the truth. The publication has accelerated that war, but wait, Ozymandias has another plan…

“Where are we now?”, asks Rorshach. “On an Earth that appears not entirely unlike ours”, replies Ozymandias, and that’s the gist of Doomsday Clock. In order to save their universe, Dr Manhattan must be traced and he’s relocated to the usual DC universe. As that spins out, there’s barely a superficial tick from Watchmen not imitated. The pirate sequences are replaced by the 1950s televised noir crime show Nathanial Dusk, a 1980s DC comic; there’s a new Rorschach, created through horror like the old; the past connects with the present; Frank uses simple dissociative images and visual segues; political tensions in the DC Universe are escalating the same way as that of the Watchmen cast; and prominent new characters are reworkings of characters from old Charlton comics, just as the Watchmen cast was based on its heroes. It’s intended as clever, but it’s derivative, falling somewhere on the scale of superficial homage to graverobbing.

However, given the promotion and controversy, someone could pick up Doomsday Clock without having read Watchmen, and would miss many of the attempts to be clever and the forced connections would pass them by. In that case Johns and Frank serve up a viable mystery. Their additions are the contrast between Gotham and Metropolis, the dark and the light, and toying with the Watchmen characters around that. The use of long forgotten DC heroes is interesting, and in its own way Frank’s art is every bit as impressive as that of Dave Gibbons. He provides full environments, people with genuine emotions, neat visual touches and considers the design of the entire page, not just individual panels.

The conflicts affecting Doomsday Clock are exemplified by the hot and cold final chapter. The fleshing out of new character Marionette is heartbreaking and strong, indicating a bigger purpose for what’s been a random presence until now. That thread is fused with the weakest material, featuring a really stupid meeting of super villains, and the return to action of another old character fused with an origin story that’s supposed to be tragic, but repeats a trick already used.

The Forge of Fury (3e)

Title: The Forge of Fury

Price: $4.99 (PDF), $9.95 (Softcover)

Publisher/Year: Wizards of the Coast, 2000

ISBN: 0786916443

Author(s): Richard Baker

System: Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition

DriveThruRPG Link

Rating: 4/5

The Forge of Fury is the second of eight stand-alone adventures from Wizards of the Coast and will take a party from 3rd to 5th level. Like The Sunless Citadel that came before it, The Forge of Fury is a dungeon, or rather an exploration of an underground stronghold. It consists of 5 separate levels each with it's own feel and each can be completed in a single session. This gives the players a sense of accomplishment when they need it most, eliminating the fatigue that can set in when exploring more vast underground settings such as those found in The Ruins of Undermountain, The Temple of Elemental Evil, Night Below, etc. This is a good design decision, since even the more enthusiastic spelunkers will begin to long for the surface after about six sessions in the same dungeon.

The first level is "The Mountain Door" and consists of orcs defending the entry level of a dwarven underhold. Our group finished it in about four hours of play and frequently cursed the dwarves for their efficient design. This area feels like it sounds - an underground running battle against organized enemies who have the advantage and know how to use it. My players loved it, even though one of them was killed, and as a DM I had only a few minor complaints. The map scale is 5' per square, which is obvious from a close reading by someone with that very question in mind, but this isn't noted on the maps. The levels connect to each other in various ways and there are uppercase letters to indicate where these connections occur, but again, no explanation is given and the prepared DM is left to figure this out on her own.

The second level is "The Glitterhame" and it's a natural cave complex that the dwarves left as unworked as possible. Occupied by some troglodytes who just want to be left alone, a few natural hazards, and a handful of creatures native to the environment, this level feels very different from the one above. It totals about 12 elements and from here the party can go up to "The Foundry", or down to "The Sinkhole." My party moved through here briskly, not even encountering the main Troglodyte force, so we only spent about three hours of play time here.

The Foundry is where the dwarven presence is felt once again as it's almost all worked stone and was used ages ago as both a foundry and main living area. There are Duergar here who my party found easier to defeat than the orcs in the Mountain Door, a succubus in disguise provides some roleplaying and a warning of what's below in "The Black Lake", and the main dwarven living area is now the resting place of some unquiet spirits and some animated furniture. There are 14 elements here, but one of them (room 44) is repeated no fewer than 10 times! Do yourself a favor and leave 8 of them out, your players won't miss them. Our party spent four hours of play time here and had a good time of it, though it just wasn't as compelling as The Mountain Door or The Glitterhame. From here the party can go down to "The Black Lake."

The Sinkhole was skipped entirely by our group, but there's not much here. Apparently used as a storage area by the dwarves it's a mix of natural caves and worked stone. A portion of it is flooded and it has only 6 elements, so most groups won't be here long - at least not while they're alive. There are only two creatures down here, but one of them is so nasty it could easily kill the entire party. The text even suggests not including it if the party is one that's not likely to retreat from a fight, but a Roper is one CR10 monster that a 4th level party is unlikely to get a chance to run away from. These are just impressions though, as mentioned earlier, our party didn't even go down here.

The Black Lake is the climax of the whole adventure and it feels like it. A long descent to an underground lake, tracks left behind by a good sized reptilian creature, the strange pitting on the stone bridge, and being told that a dragon lives down here - all contribute to the players absolute certainty that the entire party is about to die screaming. My players absolutely loved it. I loved running it, but I did have one complaint: the Encounter Level given (EL4) is wrong. This encounter will tax a 5th level party to the limit, so EL7 is more like it.

The bottom line: if you're looking for a character driven story-arc, look somewhere else. This is a treasure hunt, and a memorable one at that.

Heart of Nightfang Spire

Title: Heart of Nightfang Spire

Price: $4.99 (PDF), $9.95 (Softcover)

Publisher/Year: Wizards of the Coast, 2001

ISBN: 0786918470

Author(s): Bruce R. Cordell 

System: Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition

DriveThruRPG Link

Rating: 3/5

Heart of Nightfang Spire is the fifth of the Adventure Path modules, designed for four 10th-level characters. Completion of the module should yield enough experience for them to reach 12th or 13th level.

The author is Bruce R. Cordell, who wrote the original module (The Sunless Citadel) which was generally well-received. That module was a dungeon crawl with diverse elements and a slam bang fight at the end. Nightfang Spire shares many elements of the Sunless Citadel, perhaps too many.

Let's begin with the design and artwork. This module features the by now standard setup of the Adventure Path modules. The inside covers feature well-designed, textured maps by Todd Gamble. They are a pleasure to use and refer to, and I believe are superior to other d20 publishers' efforts. The interior layout makes use of small text: thankfully, Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) has returned to the smaller fonts of the first three modules after the larger ones of the Standing Stone, giving us more content in the same 32 pages. There is also very little white space, and the margins are not large. The boxed text is easy to distinguish while still being easy to read, lacking any of the distracting backgrounds favored by companies like Atlas Games. Important information is contained in sidebars set off from the text. This is frequently useful, as I have found myself flipping back to sidebars to reread them as I read through the module. This design is clean and functional, and it works well. It deserves high marks.

The artwork, unfortunately, isn't as good. The cover picture by Jeff Easley shows three adventurers hovering (by various means) over a tower while being attacked by a scrubbing bubble with two long tentacles and bat wings. (The module notes inside that the creature is the horrific mooncalf, an otherworldly monster from the far side of the moon.) I'll grant that it looks like a very angry scrubbing bubble, but it still didn't remotely strike fear into my heart. It's also unfortunate that the adventuring party has traded in the reliable Krusk and replaced him with Quasimodo, although the scrubbing bubble is putting him out of his misery. All of this action takes place miles above the earth, which is only faintly seen below the massive paralyzed worm that sticks bolt upright from the bottom of the painting. Oh, by the way, the sky is filled with strange swirling colors that don't seem to make a lot of sense. Click here to see the cover. (If anyone has a larger image of the cover, I'd appreciate it if they would mention it in the forums. This small one really doesn't do the cover justice.)

Aside from aesthetic issues, this cover also has a major problem. In the module, the mooncalf lies in wait just inside of the tower to spring an ambush on the players. Any player who sees the cover is going to expect an attack from a scrubbing bubble at the top of the tower. It pretty much ruins the surprise value of the monster, which is intended to be a very shocking initial encounter for the players. I think this kind of cover shouldn't be used in the gaming industry precisely for this reason. Willie Walsh wrote in about the cover on Dungeon #12 on this very issue many years ago, and Dungeon doesn't have blatant covers like this anymore. I wish the module design team of WOTC would follow suit.

The interior art is by Dennis Cramer. I usually like his artwork and this module is no exception. The vignettes and character drawings are evocative and very useful to show to players. I particularly like the picture of Redbone. The poison dripping off her claws is a great detail to show the players and should raise everyone's blood pressure. Another nice detail is the diagram showing how the parts of the dragon key fit together. The big exception is the full page of artwork on page 26 showing the center of the Spire. The big heart is well done, but I'm not sure what the tentacle shaped thing is, though I surmise it is supposed to be a catwalk. The bigger problem is that Gulthias, the master insane vampire, has entered this module after a stay in a glam rock band from the 80's. It's jarring for an insane, power-mad vampire who likes to brood with only a large organ for company for weeks and weeks on end. I don't think this picture sets the right tone at all. This is by far the biggest scene in the module and shows the climax, so it weighs badly on the art as a whole. Overall, the art in the module doesn't aid the roleplaying experience or the feel of the adventure as much as it should have.

Many of those who read the Sunless Citadel wondered about the origin of the Gulthias tree. The questions are answered nicely in this adventure, where the vampire Gulthias has escaped his staking and returned to torment the world. He has returned to prepare his undead cultists to expand the power and reach of the worship of Ashardalon, the great red dragon. Characters must penetrate Nightfang Spire and destroy Gulthias and the nightmarish heart of the dragon Ashardalon or Gulthias and his undead cohorts will grow more and more powerful.

The module is divided into essentially three parts. The first part consists of the approach and the physical spire itself. A variety of lesser undead and remnants of the cult populate these levels, along with an imaginative gibbering mouther and an unlikely demon "ally". The second part of the module covers the catacombs beneath, where characters battle more powerful undead and girallon servitors to assemble the four parts of the dragon key. The PCs then use the key to enter the Core and battle Gulthias and destroy the heart.

First of all, the character hooks to begin the adventure are weak. The characters are essentially expected to just enter the dim defile for some reason and stick around to explore the tower. There isn't really any specific reason for the PCs to explore the tower besides curiosity. Once they get to the tower, it is completely self-contained - essentially the perfect dungeon. Almost all of the action happens inside the spire, with a very few exceptions, which I will discuss below.

As the characters progress through the tower, there also isn't much reason for them to keep going besides Gulthias' attacks. This doesn't really contribute to the dramatic tension. In addition, the characters don't really have any clue about what is going on in the tower. The only way they find out things is by having the denizens tell them things in a fairly transparent manner. For example, the mooncalf will mention Gulthias before dying, just so that the characters know that someone named Gulthias is behind the whole thing. In the spire proper, there is a caged demon who will spill the beans if freed. Instead of the characters learning what is going on through their own experiences, they just get told everything in the first third of the adventure. If the characters bypass this demon or don't listen to him, they'll never really know what is going on. I think a definite way to improve this module would be to foreshadow the events much more clearly. One could have reports reach the players that the Sunken Citadel has been disturbed and an empty coffin found where the Gulthias tree once stood. Maybe rumors of Gulthias returning could crop up in the adventure ahead of time. In addition, since the night hags forage for food, the characters might encounter one of them going about its grisly business. As it is, the module seems a little too mysterious, and the attempts to circumvent this a little too blatant.

Finally, at the end of the adventure, there isn't really a clear next step. Other modules in the series have had fairly obvious jumping-off points, even if they weren't always the best. Looking for Ashardalon or other members of his cult seems like an obvious next step, but the sidebar on this and the cover of a later module in the series make it clear that the players won't fight him until the eighth module when they are something like 18th level. The spire is almost completely self-contained and doesn't have many references to new locations or opponents. Since the next module is based in the Underdark, I presume the PCs are supposed to use the rebellious girallons' food and escape passage to enter the Underdark, but there is no clear reason to go down there presented in the module. The module lacks motivation at both ends, really.

Bruce Cordell makes excellent use of the flexibility of third edition (3e) in designing the possible opponents of the PCs. The PCs' assailants are in general imaginative and sometimes very clever. Every major villain has an interesting twist to them that shows the care and thought that went into this module. Examples range from a gibbering mouth vampire with a unique backstory to an assassin wight who coats her wasted hands with poison. Every important monster encountered in the adventure has some interesting twist that should surprise the PCs. All the monsters act intelligently in combat and when dealing with the players.

The mooncalf is the new monster in this adventure. While the monster itself is reasonably interesting, very little background on its motivations or goals is given, neither in the general description nor pertaining to the specific individual in this module. I can't really figure out what it is doing here besides being new and cool. Perhaps it is designed to tie in to the insane sorcerers of the Speaker in Dreams, but this is just supposition. A little more background or motivation would have made this encounter more interesting to run, with the monster taunting the characters telepathically while it fights.

It's also refreshing to see a possible ally for the PCs in the form of the rebellious girallons. This introduction of Diplomacy and role-playing is always welcome in any adventure, especially when it can be adequately justified, as it is here.

Gulthias is a vampire wizards who seeks to revitalize his cult through the addition of undead cultists. He believes that if his cult grows large enough, Ashardalon will return. Through his connection to the heart, he has unparalleled undead abilities and can grant minor powers to his minions. He also can view 10 different sites in the spire and catacombs. His tactics are presented as him shadowing the PCs and directing his troops to attack the PCs at the most inopportune moments. I think this approach works well, and shows very good design. I like the idea of the reclusive head monster who strikes from the shadows and feel it works well here.

Essentially, Gulthias is a religious fanatic, willing to do whatever it takes to bring Ashardalon back. His primary method is through growth of the cult. For me, this doesn't make him a very interesting head villain.

One minor point that I appreciated seeing in this module was the attempt to more realistically module life in the dungeon. The rebel girallons have access to a passage to the Underdark where they can obtain food and water. In addition, specific mention is made of two night hags who provide the servitor girallons with sustenance. While I think this is still a little impractical, it does represent a big improvement from the Sunless Citadel, and I'm glad that the author took the time and effort to put these little details in. They make the module stronger and create additional options for playing the adventure.

This module is a dungeon crawl in the traditional mode. The players enter a mad wizard's tower and must battle his minions, assemble a plot device (dragon key), and then use the key to enter the villain's lair and defeat him. I have to admit I groaned when I came to the dragon's key. Why in the world would a wizard make it possible for people to enter his inner sanctum? Since he can assume gaseous form or travel through the gazeway, why doesn't he just keep the key in the core? There is some mention that the key is used to sanctify various regions of the catacombs, but this makes no sense to me. (Of course, it doesn't have to make sense, because Gulthias is mad, see?) It seems to be there purely as a plot device for characters to get into the core, and as such suffers from the flaws of all such plot devices.

As another traditional element of the dungeon crawl, there are many traps littering the area. Of special note are the traps that trigger when characters attempt to take the parts of the dragon key. Three of the four keys are trapped in one way or another, so the resident rogue in the party must defuse the trap before the characters can proceed. It's all very predictable and in keeping with a very traditional dungeon crawl.

Another thing about this adventure is that it is in some ways very simple. The characters just have to kill everything in the dungeon besides the girallons (and even they can be killed without real consequence) and gather the keys, finally killing Gulthias. It's pretty much unrelenting slaughter all the way through, because the monsters are all undead and can't be reasoned with. To top it all off, the head monster is insane, and no provision is made for playing him in any way except seeking the total extermination of the players.

The other traditional element of this adventure is the final climactic battle with the boss monster at the end. The characters must fight Gulthias, who takes full advantage of his various abilities. And the heart just sits there. I believe the qualities of the heart are underutilized in the climax of this adventure. Using it as Gulthias's coffin is somewhat imaginative, but all it does in the battle is hover there, and after Gulthias is dispatched, it falls and hits the ground with a splutch. And that's it. No climactic explosions, no holy light from on high, nothing. Just a lot of mummified tissue on the ground.

Like the previous modules, this adventure utilizes the 3e mechanics well. I noticed no clear errors in the rules, and care was taken to anticipate the spells that players might utilize to overcome various obstacles. Also, this module contains a fair amount of treasure, much more so than was available in previous modules. Without a lot of calculation, it seems roughly commensurate with the amount expected for a treasure of this level. There are several powerful armor and weapons (of 2 and 3) and several miscellaneous magic items as well. Of course, this assumes the characters do the standard dungeon crawl thing and sift through the trash and ground of every room they come across. In addition, at several points in the module it tells the DM to roll for magic items on a specific DMG table. I really don't like this advice much - I mean, what am I paying for this module for if it just tells me to roll for items in the DMG?

Also, this module is hard. If your 10th level characters do not have a good grasp of tactical combat and do not work as a well-oiled machine, they are going to get slaughtered. There are just too many combatants with too many special attacks. Also, the hit and run tactics of Gulthias will wear the players down. This module is probably more appropriate for 11th or even 12th level characters.

This module continues the arc of the previous modules, relating directly to events in the Sunless Citadel. Its relation to the Forge of Fury is weak, and the only relation to the Speaker in Dreams is a possible link through the mooncalf. The relation to the Standing Stone is clear, since it was the druids who eventually drove off the dragon Ashardalon.

One problem I have with the module is that it seems too similar to the Sunless Citadel. Both modules involve old fortresses sunk into defiles. They both have a small group the players can befriend fighting a larger group allied with the head bad guy. They both have this insane head monster directing things from a place of power allied with an artifact associated with the natural world. The insane head monster wants to rule the world, but he spends all his time hiding away. They also both end with a climactic battle with the head monster. In some ways, the Sunless Citadel comes off better. There is much more motivation to explore the Sunless Citadel, and these motivations are addressed throughout the module. There are also more power factions there (rats, kobolds, goblins, Belak and his minions) than there are in the Heart of Nightfang Spire. I also believe the final battle with Belak and the servants of the tree is more interesting and varied than the final battle with Gulthias.

This is in some ways a real problem, because you would expect that as the characters go up in level and power that the combats would get more exciting and varied, but it doesn't happen in this case for the final battle.

In addition, the modules themselves don't seem to be getting more complicated. Of course, the modules are limited to 32 pages, so they can't create detail without limit, but perhaps the design constraints are just too stringent on this project. This is the third dungeon crawl we've had out of five modules, and the Speaker in Dreams might as well have been a dungeon crawl for all the control players had over events. I would like to see more variety in the design and goals of these modules.

This is a very competently done dungeon crawl. It has interesting elements and good use of the new flexibility of the d20 rules, but motivation is lacking and it has some of the traditional flaws of the dungeon crawl as well. There doesn't seem to be any real effort to break away from the mold of the traditional dungeon crawl, and that worries me, because the characters for this module should have a variety of skills and approaches. It would be nice for the core modules to cater to as many of these skills and approaches as possible.

If you want a good dungeon crawl for this level, then by all means pick this up. If you don't want a dungeon crawl, I would avoid this. There aren't enough elements that can be cribbed to make the purchase of this module worthwhile if you aren't going to use the Spire itself.