The Rod of Seven Parts

by Douglas Niles

From the back cover: The Rod of Seven Parts originated at the dawn of time, the symbolic centerpiece of the conflict between law and chaos. Broken into pieces by powerful magic, scattered across a dangerous landscape, the rod's components draw menacing forces from distant planes - and change, for ever, the life of any unsuspecting mortal who finds himself in possession of even a single segment. From the Wind Dukes, guardians of Law, to the hideous Queen of Chaos herself, heroes and monsters compete to find the pieces of the rod. Violent conflicts surround the bold heroes who strive to protect the artifact, until the companions realize that only by facing ultimate chaos can the forces of evil be vanquished.

Genres: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons, Novels, Forgotten Realms

348 pages, Hardcover

First published February 25, 1996

About the author

Douglas Niles is a fantasy author and game designer. Niles was one of the creators of the Dragonlance world and the author of the first three Forgotten Realms novels, and the Top Secret S/I espionage role-playing game. He currently resides in Delavan, Wisconsin with his wife, Christine, and two Bouviets, Reggie and Stella. He enjoys playing his guitar, cooking, and visiting with family.

Reviews

[Tony Calder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novels based on role-playing games are reasonably big business - there are certainly plenty produced. A pretty low percentage of them are great, and this isn't one of them - but it's certainly not terrible either. The Rod of Seven Parts would be known to most people who played D&D in the 80s or 90s - it's a powerful magic item that had been around since the early days of the game. This novel came out around about the same time that TSR released an adventure of the same name.

Writing a novel based on a role-playing adventure is very different from actually playing that adventure - for a start, authors aren't restrained by the random chance element that is such a feature of most rpgs, if the author needs a character to die for dramatic effect, he doesn't need to worry that his dice won't roll well enough :)

If the reader is looking to this as a novelisation of the adventure, they may well be disappointed. There are some scenes that appear in both, but there are far more that don't. As a fantasy novel in its own right, Niles has done an ok job.

[Derek · Rating 1 out of 5]

As much as I wanted to chase the nostalgia fuel of an evocative and entertaining item from the first edition DMG, I just couldn't do it. It was just too dull.

Were any other novels produced under the "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons TOMES" label, I wonder?

[Doug Kallies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun fantasy. I was a little reticent about a halfling as the main character, but heck, it worked for Tolkien! Actually, this was a companion novel released at the same time as the AD&D adventure module of the same name. I read this in preparation for running the adventure. I have no doubt that it will help with my portrayal of the Spyder-fiends. That said, I enjoyed the book and now like halflings more than I did before.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't quite like this one. The whole Order versus Chaos plot regarding the Rod of Seven Parts is a long-time D&D legend that's pretty good. The story about the artifact and the search for it are ok too. I think my problem with this book is the characters. I just can't relate to them and I didn't like them.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the LARGE number of books in the Forgotten Realms setting created by TSR Games and being continued by Wizards of the Coast.

The premise of this novel is that there is a powerful magic item (the Rod of Seven Parts) that a piece of falls into the hands of the protagonist of the story. The rest of the story is the character slowly learning what it is they have, collecting the rest of the pieces and having a climatic battle against a creature of pure malice and evil at the end.

All in all this is a typical book of its genre (modern pulp Fantasy) with my only complaint being that at the beginning of the book way too many of the introduced characters die, and for no apparent reason (which goes against the typical concept of Fantasy deaths being either a result of deserved justice or in an act of selfless heroism).

I would only suggest this book to be read as a rainy Sunday afternoon diversion. I read it myself as a prelude to a DnD campaign that I will be running that is based on the same premise, and that is probably the only reason I finished it (that I and don't like to leave books unfinished).

[Pieter · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining adventure story which at its core follows most of the D&D tropes although at least when it comes to races, personalities and classes it does try to add a few twists of its own. So not the most original of work, but different enough to remain interesting to read. I probably would have given it four stars were it not for the long descriptions that at times are cringe, repetitive or both.

[Lorewarden]

I enjoyed this standalone novel about a powerful cosmic artifact's discovery threatening all law and order in the universe, with only a group of unlikely heroes standing in the way. One thing the author does really well is make you care about deaths when they happen, even if you just met the characters. You don't get that feeling too often in D&D novels.

[Asaf Cygelberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a nice ending.

However I didn't like the style of the book. Too mythic and grand, with brave hunters and changing and strange vistas.

I would give this book 3.5 stars, instead of 3, had I had the option.

Readable.

[Edward Sias · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good book if you like old school dnd fantasy. Some parts are predictable. It started out fast paced but soon slows down. I literally had to read a page a day it was so boring.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Douglas Niles, The Rod of Seven Parts (TSR, 1996)

Tired of waiting for the next installment of George Martin's Song of Ice and Fire saga? Might as well head back to one of the novels based on the game that revitalized modern fantasy in America. The Rod of Seven Parts is one of the oldest legends in the Dungeons and Dragons world, tracing all the way back to the first published materials (back when it was still called Chainmail). Almost twenty-five years after those first books were published, long-established TSR author Doug Niles goes back and fleshes out a little Rod of Seven Parts lore.

This isn't, and shouldn't be approached as, one of the epic novels that TSR has gotten somewhat famous for. Don't go in expecting the sweeping, world-changing grandiosity of the original Dragonlance saga, or the deep-rootedness of R. A. Salvatore's seemingly endless saga of Drizzt the dark elf (and long may it continue). This is a simple standalone novel about a halfling and his rod. The usual fantasy material is there-- he finds himself on a quest through no fault of his own, gets mixed up in a number of bad situations, finds some companions along the way who
prove their worth any number of times, etc. It's quick, easy, readable, and fun. ** 1/2

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I put this one down for a while because it really failed to grab and hold my attention at first. I like Doug Niles too, so I was surprised by the initial antipathy I felt toward this story. After a break I picked it up again, read another chapter, and almost resigned myself to the fact that I would most likely return it to the library unfinished... but I hate leaving books unfinished, and I reminded myself of this fact. Hence I hunkered down and finished the book.
While parts of the story got better, it still failed to gain the kind of momentum I usually see in high fantasy stories -- particularly those with the Dungeons & Dragons brand on the cover. I'm rereading one of Niles' other D&D novels (Darkwalker on Moonshae) and that one has the kind of pacing and story craft to which I'm accustomed. Sure, I know: this isn't high-falutin' "Great Literature" but I have my expectations (such as they are) and The Rod of Seven Parts just didn't ring them all. Okay enough for one read, but certainly not worth a reread.

[Rodney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a rough read as there is a lot of game material on the Rod of Seven Parts and I have used it as a background thematic item for the Age of Worms Adventure Path (part of the reason I picked up the book in the first place was looking for more 'canon' history), but this novelization of what life could be like with the Rod involved with a group of people was pretty dull and honestly juvenile. There were parts early in the story that were interesting and mysterious but the forced love theme was painful to the point I was annoyed with all the protagonists and was waiting for the TPK. After 3 years of picking it up and putting it down I powered through the last 150 pages in a single sitting to be done with it. Phew. Frankly, those last pages could have been edited to 30 and would have related the story just as well. Wind Dukes of Aaqa, maybe some fan fiction out there will do you better justice.