Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics give it a powerful effect. He rebuts suggestions that the poem is an epic or exciting narrative, likening it instead to a strong masonry structure built of blocks that fit together. He points out that the poem's theme is a serious one, mortality, and that the poem is in two parts: the first on Beowulf as a young man, defeating Grendel and his mother; the second on Beowulf in old age, going to his death fighting the dragon. The work has been praised by critics including the poet and "Beowulf" translator Seamus Heaney. Michael D. C. Drout called it the
Saga of the Shadow Lord Stephen Bourne with cover art by Keith Parkinson. The module features interior art by Mark Nelson. The scenario was written for the "Expert Rules", for levels 5-9. The module comes as a 64-page booklet wrapped in a three-section wraparound cover. It also includes maps along with monster and NPC statistics on the inside cover. The middle eight pages contain more maps, as well as eight pre-generated player characters. Graeme Davis reviewed "Saga of the Shadow Lord" for "White Dwarf" #89. He stated that the "Elvenstar" adventure was designed in an old-fashioned style, with a series of fixed but random-seeming encounters