Path to Villainy
An NPC Kobold's Tale
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Path to Villainy
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Narrated by:
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Alex Knox
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Written by:
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S.L. Rowland
About this listen
Villains aren't born, they're made.
Witt was an ordinary NPC - a non-player character in a video game. As a kobold skald, he sang songs to empower heroes before they entered the local dungeons.
Every day was a fresh start. Every day Witt woke with no memory of his previous encounters with all those so-called heroes. And every day he forgot the countless beatings and deaths he took at the hands of the murder hobos he valiantly buffed.
But when all of those memories suddenly come flooding back, he only wants one thing:
Revenge.
©2020 S.L. Rowland (P)2020 TantorWhat listeners say about Path to Villainy
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2024-04-25
Entertaining
As someone who is new to playing D&D, this book was very enjoyable and gave good insight into the game. As a family, we very much enjoyed this book. I can't wait to hear more.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2024-08-14
Original Concept.. So-So Execution
I guess I'm in the wrong demographic. This S.L. Rowland story is clearly aimed at 13-year-old gamers - capturing the whimsy & fun of Fantasy Gaming.. but very little of the more mature mythos and character exposition that attracts adult GameLit consumers like me. A kobold NPC in a video game ('Witt the Skald') - placed by game designers to routinely give Players a buff before entering a dungeon - becomes sentient (aware that he simply respawns after being used & abused by PCs in the game world). Witt embarks on a mission to become a Boss MOB - rallying his fellow kobolds to rise up and kill the Adventurers that they encounter. When Witt accepts a "Path To Villainy" quest and discovers that he is leveling up and getting bonuses for killing PCs, he becomes a standard LitRPG protagonist - unlocking skills, planning advancement, forming parties, paying attention to metagame announcements, etc. It's a fascinating twist on the genre.
Unfortunately, I found the book disappointingly unsophisticated. I could easily envision Atari chimes playing in the background with 1980s ColecoVision graphics. "Wocka-Wocka-Wocka"
As to presentation: The sound quality provided by Tantor Audio sound engineers is unsurpassed - but the reading performance by Alex Know - while undeniably professional - includes some injudicious deep breaths and a couple of straight-up groanworthy character interpretations. The narration is distinctly "average" overall.
Altogether, 'Path To Villainy: An NPC Kobold's Tale' merits 6.5 stars out of 10. I would likely rate it higher if I were a dorkish kid again.. but I'm not. This display is a little bit too immature for my tastes. If you can get it off of the 'Plus' menu, it's worth a download (particularly if you're listening with imaginative kids. It might capture your imagination) - but don't spend a Credit on it.
[NOTE: Despite the kid-friendly vocabulary and prose, the book is surprisingly dark and violent. It may not be appropriate for pre-teens unless they're cool with a bit of torture & gore]
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