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Dungeons & Dragons Iconic Series #1
The Savage Caves
The first book in a series featuring characters from the D&D core rules. Featuring the iconic characters that appeared throughout the latest edition of the D&D game, this new series will attract new players and readers to the various worlds featured in the Wizards of the Coast book publishing line. The already familiar characters and D&D-related content will also make this series very approachable to current players.
Between the mountains of the Merciless Range and the tall boughs of the Hellwood lurks a foul presence. Those who approach it, perish. Those who flee it are slain. These are dark times for the citizens of Fairbye, but there is still hope. Four heroes rise to the challenge, determined to save the small hamlet from the clutches of evil. But will the heroes survive the depths of the savage caves?
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2002
13 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
T.H. Lain
14 books10 followersT.H. Lain was a collective pseudonym used by nine separate authors writing under Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons & Dragons novels imprint.
According to Peter Archer, WotC's Director of Publishing, the decision to credit the Dungeons & Dragons novels to just one author was made to ensure they would be shelved together, as well as to spark a certain measure of curiosity and speculation as to T.H. Lain's identity. However, it was already obvious to many from the stylistic differences between volumes that Lain's output was the work of many authors rather than one.
In December 2003, WotC formally announced the nine authors whose work was published under the T.H. Lain name.
According to Peter Archer, WotC's Director of Publishing, the decision to credit the Dungeons & Dragons novels to just one author was made to ensure they would be shelved together, as well as to spark a certain measure of curiosity and speculation as to T.H. Lain's identity. However, it was already obvious to many from the stylistic differences between volumes that Lain's output was the work of many authors rather than one.
In December 2003, WotC formally announced the nine authors whose work was published under the T.H. Lain name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 7, 2013
This was a surprisingly good book for what it was. I didn't expect much going into a 190-ish page novel written when D&D's 3rd edition came out (or was it 3.5? I don't remember now), but it turned out to be a pretty entertaining little novel. There was decent character development, and a compelling enough story to get me interested enough to finish it. It certainly isn't a deep novel, by any means, but a good, quick little D&D campaign/story to keep you amused for a day.
July 14, 2015
The Dungeons & Dragons novels by T.H. Lain were released about the time Wotc released Dungeons and Dragons 3E. It was supposed to give the reader a feel of what to expect the new version of Dungeons & Dragons, and it does. The stories are decent, the main characters are the Icons from the main rule book. They are not very long couple hundred pages or so, but worth reading.
August 9, 2017
For what it is - a short, neat story of a party of relatively generic heroes making their way through a dungeon in order to save a beleaguered township from giant spiders and goblins - The Savage Caves was a lot of fun. It pretends at nothing grand and as a result was a perfectly enjoyable, light taste of classic Dungeons & Dragons to fill a few hours.
March 1, 2013
A decent account of a role-playing session, with a wide variety of character motivations represented. It's nice to read one of these that is a stand-alone novel, rather than the start of a much longer series. One book is the right length for this sort of thing.
October 1, 2023
Based on the main characters from the D&D Third Edition Handbook, this book features the human fighter Regdar, human cleric Jozan, and halfling thief Lydda, amongst other characters. The entire book is basically a single adventure to some local caves, Keep on the Borderlands style. A fun read.
November 8, 2008
The savage caves was yet again a great and short read by th lain. The settings and description along with the action made a for a really fun read!
February 9, 2011
GREAT DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS STORY.
February 16, 2021
This is a good fantasy story with interesting characters. If you want a quick enjoyable fantasy read, this is highly recommended.
April 8, 2015
A decent D&D book. Not high literature, not a masterpiece, but if you like role play games, D&D, you will get a good afternoon entertainment out of it.
The story is a 3rd to 5th level adventure with a small twist on goblins.
The story is a 3rd to 5th level adventure with a small twist on goblins.
June 17, 2016
Just a funny and brief excursion in the fantasy world of dungeons & dragons,with the classical characters and their firsts adventures.....
Nothing particularly bad or original, I'd say a 2,5/3, especially written for d&d lovers...but it has still its appeal...send us more goblins!! ;)
Nothing particularly bad or original, I'd say a 2,5/3, especially written for d&d lovers...but it has still its appeal...send us more goblins!! ;)
May 12, 2013
good read, and fun to watch the stock NPCs from 4th ed. AD&D in action.
April 4, 2019
Enjoyable quick read, story is decently paced and the characters - while lacking depths, back story and a few other components are still pretty likeable.
May 6, 2018
An enjoyable read for fans of D&D, that describes me, so I liked it. I hope the rest of the series will be as good or better. Regdar, Lidda and Jozan were already known to me as iconic characters from third edition D&D. The description of Naull tugged at my memory of an illustration I recalled from somewhere, but in addition to not knowing how to pronounce her name, I was unfamiliar with her as one of the iconic characters. The goblins were fun, I enjoyed the distinction between the inner voice of Tzrg as he relates the tale of events happening among the goblins, and his admiration for Glnk, the only brave goblin I have ever encountered in D&D. Spoiler alert...Two things bothered me about the story. First, Regdar uses a greatsword one handed with a shield in his off-hand. In game terms this should have been a bastard sword. I know that is not an issue for some readers, but as a lifelong player and Dungeon Master, I was really annoyed each time it came up in combat.
The second thing that bothered me was the final battle against the boss monster. I really felt that the Cleric Jozan should have been given more page time. As I read through the encounter from Regdar;s point of view I kept wanting to know what the Cleric was doing, where was he? He casts one spell at the start of battle and one more at a crucial moment, then heals up the characters in the end. Sounds like typical Cleric action at the game table. But that is my point, if the author had given him better actions at the climax of the story, it would inspire players to do more with their clerics. Also, he is given the enemies magic weapon at the end of the story, when it can be argued that Regdar was the one who was the true hero of the tale.
I could find not reason to accept that Glnk would choose to reward Jozan when it was Regdar who saved him from death by Krnshar.
It seemed like Jozan starts off as the main protagonist, pushing the narrative forward and tying the adventurers together, but by the end of the story he is the least developed character of all. I hope he is further developed in later volumes of this series.
The second thing that bothered me was the final battle against the boss monster. I really felt that the Cleric Jozan should have been given more page time. As I read through the encounter from Regdar;s point of view I kept wanting to know what the Cleric was doing, where was he? He casts one spell at the start of battle and one more at a crucial moment, then heals up the characters in the end. Sounds like typical Cleric action at the game table. But that is my point, if the author had given him better actions at the climax of the story, it would inspire players to do more with their clerics. Also, he is given the enemies magic weapon at the end of the story, when it can be argued that Regdar was the one who was the true hero of the tale.
I could find not reason to accept that Glnk would choose to reward Jozan when it was Regdar who saved him from death by Krnshar.
It seemed like Jozan starts off as the main protagonist, pushing the narrative forward and tying the adventurers together, but by the end of the story he is the least developed character of all. I hope he is further developed in later volumes of this series.
September 14, 2020
I picked this book up expecting some lighthearted and fun D&D adventures, and that was exactly what I got.
There's nothing to deep here; some adventurers go on a quest to find the culprits behind the disappearance of a hamlet's flocks of sheep and meet up with some nasty spiders and hobgoblins.
The Savage Caves does have some deep flaws. The plot felt muddled at points, the characters are flat, and some of the writing is absolutely hilarious (this comment should be "obvious" to those who are read this - LOL!!). However, on the plus side, this is a short book, the ideas are kind of fun, and everything moves along at a good clip, making for an enjoyable, B-movie style read for those who are into D&D. I don't think The Savage Caves would be of interest to many others though.
I was on the fence about whether to give this a two or three star rating, but I found it an enjoyable enough way to spend a couple of hours, so:
3/5 Stars
There's nothing to deep here; some adventurers go on a quest to find the culprits behind the disappearance of a hamlet's flocks of sheep and meet up with some nasty spiders and hobgoblins.
The Savage Caves does have some deep flaws. The plot felt muddled at points, the characters are flat, and some of the writing is absolutely hilarious (this comment should be "obvious" to those who are read this - LOL!!). However, on the plus side, this is a short book, the ideas are kind of fun, and everything moves along at a good clip, making for an enjoyable, B-movie style read for those who are into D&D. I don't think The Savage Caves would be of interest to many others though.
I was on the fence about whether to give this a two or three star rating, but I found it an enjoyable enough way to spend a couple of hours, so:
3/5 Stars
June 19, 2019
High art and fine literature? I'm afraid not. But a fun, nostalgic reminder of the tone of most modern D&D games, minus the tongue-in-cheek metafictional winking so common in D&D podcasts? Yes.
Ghostwriter T. H. Lain does a pretty good job maintaining a tone reminiscent of modern fantasy literature while remaining recognizable twenty-first-century British-American; the characters sound less like wannabe Tolkiens than like relatively sincere players inhabiting their characters with the vocabularies they would naturally have. Like I said, this isn't Proust, but if you're reading a D&D novel, this is better than what you'd expect... although the absurdity of a book-length quest about GOBLINS does raise some eyebrows. I suppose it's the first in a series and can only get bigger and better from here...
Ghostwriter T. H. Lain does a pretty good job maintaining a tone reminiscent of modern fantasy literature while remaining recognizable twenty-first-century British-American; the characters sound less like wannabe Tolkiens than like relatively sincere players inhabiting their characters with the vocabularies they would naturally have. Like I said, this isn't Proust, but if you're reading a D&D novel, this is better than what you'd expect... although the absurdity of a book-length quest about GOBLINS does raise some eyebrows. I suppose it's the first in a series and can only get bigger and better from here...
Read
March 12, 2026This was a short and fun read. It's a small book, the first in a series of similarly sized novels. I guess the point is to introduce some heroes, put them on a quest, and tie it up relatively quickly. This first novel does just that, with most of the story taking place in a small cave system outside of a village, over the course of a very short time. It would be wrong to really call this an adventuring party, though, as they get split up almost immediately and seem to spend most of the book that way.
May 25, 2023
Worth reading
If you"re a d&d fan I think you"all enjoy this tale. The length isn't long, but a lot happens. It hits a lot of the ttrpg"s tropes such as failing your stealth checks and not preparing the proper spells and equipment for your journey. Great characters and a fun story.
If you"re a d&d fan I think you"all enjoy this tale. The length isn't long, but a lot happens. It hits a lot of the ttrpg"s tropes such as failing your stealth checks and not preparing the proper spells and equipment for your journey. Great characters and a fun story.
January 8, 2019
Simple, funny, short, and full of character. What's not to love?
November 10, 2019
This book was almost literally like reading someone's imaginary story of what happened in a d and d session. So pretty much exactly what I expected, and what I was in the mood for.
December 11, 2019
A noob D&D adventure tale. Not too bad. =)
Read
December 15, 2022Lain writes a fine story involving, characters from the original D&D manuels, they carry you into adventure and again not a large novel. recommend this one too.
September 1, 2025
Not too complex but not bad. Single threaded but action packed.
September 21, 2025
This book was absolutely amazing. The cast of adventures are great. The story is so good. Highly recommend to any fan of adventure and fantasy. Absolute five out of five.
October 21, 2025
Cheese-us, this book is terrible.
October 30, 2025
pretty good book
April 20, 2026
Lidda is a fantastic character.
January 1, 2024
I didn’t expect much from this book, but I thought it would be a fun, short ride with interesting characters. I understand that this isn’t meant to be a high-quality novel, but even still… it wasn’t good.
The writing is simple and easy to follow, and the style isn’t bad. It’s about what I expected, and it was funny at some points. It’s a step below typical Forgotten Realms novels, but not in an overly egregious way. There were a few things that annoyed me, like how the writer always tip-toed around cursing, but it wasn’t too distracting. When it comes to writing action scenes, though, the author does not excel. I don’t like action scenes in books anyway, so that’s part of it, but I’ve seen them done well enough. But with this book, I was so bored with the action, and it was like a third of the plot.
There were also so many missed opportunities in this novel. One of our main characters is a cleric of Pelor and another is a fighter who worships Pelor, but we get no information about the god, literally none at all. The only creatures were goblins, hobgoblins, spiders, and krenshars, none of which are particularly deep or interesting. Seeing the goblin society was fun, but it wasn’t enough to keep my interest. There are so many low-level monsters the author could have introduced, but instead we got spiders… With just a few tweaks to the creatures this story could have been much more interesting. What if they were kobolds instead of goblins, lizardfolk instead of hobgoblins, and imps instead of spiders?
And on top of all of that, it’s pretty sexist, too. Not overtly or even consciously, but it’s there nonetheless. The use of the word “females” instead of women, the fact both of the women protagonists are bound and at a man’s bidding at some point, the use of the phrase “nicely-rounded behind”, one of the men immediately thinking the 18-year-old girl is pretty upon their first meeting, etc. all give away the subtle sexism that often pervades through fantasy written by men. Not great.
Lidda carried this book. I want a whole book with Lidda and Naull. Don’t read this book, it’s bland and boring. If you’re looking for a low-stakes, short fantasy novel read The Druid’s Call.
The writing is simple and easy to follow, and the style isn’t bad. It’s about what I expected, and it was funny at some points. It’s a step below typical Forgotten Realms novels, but not in an overly egregious way. There were a few things that annoyed me, like how the writer always tip-toed around cursing, but it wasn’t too distracting. When it comes to writing action scenes, though, the author does not excel. I don’t like action scenes in books anyway, so that’s part of it, but I’ve seen them done well enough. But with this book, I was so bored with the action, and it was like a third of the plot.
There were also so many missed opportunities in this novel. One of our main characters is a cleric of Pelor and another is a fighter who worships Pelor, but we get no information about the god, literally none at all. The only creatures were goblins, hobgoblins, spiders, and krenshars, none of which are particularly deep or interesting. Seeing the goblin society was fun, but it wasn’t enough to keep my interest. There are so many low-level monsters the author could have introduced, but instead we got spiders… With just a few tweaks to the creatures this story could have been much more interesting. What if they were kobolds instead of goblins, lizardfolk instead of hobgoblins, and imps instead of spiders?
And on top of all of that, it’s pretty sexist, too. Not overtly or even consciously, but it’s there nonetheless. The use of the word “females” instead of women, the fact both of the women protagonists are bound and at a man’s bidding at some point, the use of the phrase “nicely-rounded behind”, one of the men immediately thinking the 18-year-old girl is pretty upon their first meeting, etc. all give away the subtle sexism that often pervades through fantasy written by men. Not great.
Lidda carried this book. I want a whole book with Lidda and Naull. Don’t read this book, it’s bland and boring. If you’re looking for a low-stakes, short fantasy novel read The Druid’s Call.
September 8, 2016
This book is pretty bad. The action is tedious and confusing, and the prose style is utterly bland. Combine that with lackluster, archetypal characters, and you're in for a pretty short ride through a totally bland landscape.
To be fair, this novel is meant to be read like one might play a short D&D module. Still, most of the action is so banal, so tedious, that it causes the book to slog along, even more so than the fruitless descriptions of goblin cave society. Character actions often come to nothing, and I have yet to figure out where the actual climax of the book is located (the action quickly dissolves in the last couple of pages into an epilogue even less satisfying than the confused action sequences).
The book was, however, mercifully short, and I cannot say that it's the worst book I've ever read. Still, I wouldn't recommend this book for even a lazy weekend. If you're looking for a fun romp through a Dungeons & Dragons setting, look somewhere else.
To be fair, this novel is meant to be read like one might play a short D&D module. Still, most of the action is so banal, so tedious, that it causes the book to slog along, even more so than the fruitless descriptions of goblin cave society. Character actions often come to nothing, and I have yet to figure out where the actual climax of the book is located (the action quickly dissolves in the last couple of pages into an epilogue even less satisfying than the confused action sequences).
The book was, however, mercifully short, and I cannot say that it's the worst book I've ever read. Still, I wouldn't recommend this book for even a lazy weekend. If you're looking for a fun romp through a Dungeons & Dragons setting, look somewhere else.
November 16, 2015
Right from the start, I liked this book. The characters were easy to like and the story moved along at a good pace. Once the party enters the goblin caves, the action is non-stop. T.H. Lain spins a wonderfully-quick fantasy tale of heroes that don't always do thing the right way, but get the job done.
I especially enjoyed the halfling thief character and her quick tongue, never calling Regdar by his real name. This is a fairly short book, but definitely one to read. As a fun, action-packed fantasy tale of swords and sorcery, this book hits the mark.
If you love D&D, you will highly enjoy The Savage Caves. I tried to image when I was reading that I rolled the dice badly and then something terrible happened to the characters. There is no dice rolling involved in the reading, but it was fun to think about when I was reading.
I rated this book an 8 out of 10.
I especially enjoyed the halfling thief character and her quick tongue, never calling Regdar by his real name. This is a fairly short book, but definitely one to read. As a fun, action-packed fantasy tale of swords and sorcery, this book hits the mark.
If you love D&D, you will highly enjoy The Savage Caves. I tried to image when I was reading that I rolled the dice badly and then something terrible happened to the characters. There is no dice rolling involved in the reading, but it was fun to think about when I was reading.
I rated this book an 8 out of 10.
November 22, 2014
I make good reading decisions.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews