In the fantasy world of Aching God, a mysterious plague has emerged at the headquarters of the Syraeic League, an adventuring guild that explores the ruins of an ancient civilization. Their century-old quest is to retrieve relics from the ruins and to discover more information about its culture and gods.
Auric Manteo used to go on these quests for the League until a disastrous final foray led to an abrupt retirement and years of nightmares. But things have been looking up for the aging adventurer, until he receives a letter from the League requesting his help in banishing the plague.
“Three years of untroubled sleep, disturbed by this nightmare the very morning a summons to Boudun and the Citadel arrived? Was it a hateful premonition?” pg 28, ebook
Can Auric face the demons from his past in order to save the afflicted from the ravages of the Aching God?
“His mind flashed to images from his tenacious nightmare: the corpses, the pit, Lenda’s raggedly severed head gaping at him in accusation. He rested a shaking hand on the pommel of his sword to steady it.” pg 73, ebook
Despite its promise, I think Aching God would be a better dungeon module than it is a story. Mike Shel begins to flesh out his characters, but they never get far beyond the basics of birthplace and motivation. I didn’t feel drawn to any of the characters because of this superficial depiction.
His magic system with its secretive sorcerers who embed gems in their foreheads in order to bind themselves to their magical powers and comrades was also interesting. But, again, Shel leaves a majority of the storytelling to the reader’s imagination rather than actually writing it.
The adventure itself is linear with few unexpected twists and turns. Even the reveal of the great mystery of the Aching God leaves something to be desired.
Only recommended for readers who adore the fantasy adventure genre. Otherwise I would give this a pass.
Thanks for reading!
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