Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics of the hero by accepting Grendel and the dragon." In Tolkien's view, the poem is essentially about a "man at war with the hostile world, and his inevitable overthrow in Time". The underlying tragedy is man's brief mortal life. Grendel and the dragon are identified as enemies of a Christian God, unlike the monsters encountered by Odysseus on his travels. What had happened is that Northern courage, exultant, defiant in the face of inevitable defeat by "Chaos and Unreason" (Tolkien cites Ker's words), fuses with a Christian faith and outlook. The "Beowulf" poet uses both what he knew to be
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