#3 "Van Steen's Company, The Cunning Men of the Fern Court, The Bridge"

Mercenaries and forest men, neither what they appear to be, both examined in their own way and at length, sprawled at their leisure across the lion's share of the issue. More than just transferable actors, they are part of the worlds from which they come and can bring it with them if you allow it. Each being so situated that admitting to their existence is tantamount to accepting the place that spawned them; the civil disorder and portentous forest suggest themselves through these ambassadors, and this is a good thing. Let them into your campaigns untouched and then rejoice as you create beautiful rationales for their existence.

Accompanying and complimenting this are the capable word crafting's of Alex Clements who kindly plays us out. Prick up your ears to hear his tinkle of Pratchett and let the bass undertones of The Wizard Knight wash over your sweaty eyeballs as you read his welcomed return to The Undercroft.

You will see that nothing sits comfortably into genre this edition, all elbows and knees. These are the kind of things one looks for when running a campaign. People and places and things and ideas that don't mesh, that demand your attention and force you to find room for them at the table. But when they sit there beside old uncle Drunkendwarf and aunt Lawfulcleric explaining why it is so important that they mix seminal fluid with the gravy lest the stars find them, then you will understand.