Dungeons & Dragons Classics Volume 4

The series closed on a high note, relatively-speaking, and only just slightly. The stories in this volume go from okay to ridiculous and back to okay again, but each still having the typical eye-rolling moments I've come to expect.

The first in the volume is a 4-issue story focused on Kyriani (and her promiscuity). As usual with stories where Kyriani is involved, Khelben is also somehow involved - and supposedly helping, but not really helping. It's meant to have an investigative or mystery theme, but it falls short of it as the plot jumps from location to location and partner to partner and ends up being unnecessarily dragged out.

The second 2-issue story turns up the dial on the dwarves-as-comic-relief theme, as they somehow managed to come up with a plot that involves Onyx's family members. The characterisation here makes no sense at all, with almost-full party deaths, family betrayals, a monster and a god appearing out of nowhere, getting completely ignored or just glossed over. Easily the 2nd-worst story of the series (the lawyer story in an earlier volume takes the cake).

The third story (single-issue) is actually not too bad... except it's built on an eye-rolling premise (an arm-wrestling competition at the wrong time opened up a rift to an dimensional prison...). Onyx and Kyriani gets most of action, and Khelben again makes an appearance of helping, but not really helping.

And the final 3-issue story puts a closure on things, with our cast of characters going their separate ways, on very sudden and very flimsy excuses (but, it's the last issue, doesn't really matter anymore). This story is somewhat decent, and a bit above the rest (and thus somewhat enjoyable), and it starts off with a usual con request from Conner (and I'm really glad how he ended up). On another note... using Vajra (a feared gladiator, who has prominent muscles and scars) as bride bait in a skimpy outfit is... a pretty stupid idea. Silliest moment in this story: I never knew that the spell Ice Storm was meant to shoot snowballs.

Anyway, I'm done with this series. There are a few moments of fun to be had reading them, but they're spread out thinly. Maybe the series just didn't age well, or maybe I'm just not the type to enjoy the gags.