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In a deliberate - and charming - attempt to recreate an early 'dungeon delve' style of adventure, this opens with a neat background for how the dungeon came to be, followed by several 'hooks' from which you can select the one most likely to entice the characters to go visit.
Now, I am not a great fan of the 'puzzle/trap' dungeon, but this one at least has an excellent reason for being there and the various traps within have been carefully thought through both in terms of challenge and as being plausible given the fantasy technology and magic available to the builders. It provides a good work-out for skills, wits and the sword-arm and - provided your players enjoy this style of dungeon - should prove for an entertaining evening or two around your game table. Most of the challenges are deadly: make sure you have healing magic a-plenty, and perhaps some characters in reserve. Likewise characters capable of discerning and disabling traps are essential.
Everything is well laid out, with all the information that you need to hand in each room's description. Both Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder RPG stats are provided, with the 'monster' information hyperlinked in an appendix (better if you are running using a laptop than if you have printed the adventure out...). The descriptions themselves are excellent - indeed, this is a dungeon you could pretty much pick up and run even though, like any game, it would benefit if you at least have time to read through it before play.
The attempt to recreate the classic crawl of old has resulted in the creation of a modern classic of this style of dungeon. Enjoy...
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An Endzeitgeist.com review
The second part of AaW's unconventional take on the Snow-White myth is a whopping 123 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 119 pages of content, so let's take a look, shall we?
This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS, not only for this module, but also for part I - potential players should jump to the conclusion.
Still here? All right - the teleport has gone wrong as far as the PCs are concerned - and according to plan as far as the mastermind of Lumi's kidnapping thinks - the PCs unceremoniously are dumped by the magic in the forest. One very, very cold forest that comes with a whole page summing up environmental dangers before we get into a truly awesome first chapter - an alchemist's notebook, containing notes on 12 pieces of unique flora and fauna that potentially can be found in the haunted forest. Featuring not only interesting descriptions and usages, these pieces are AWESOME and will be added to the ecology of my gaming world - with harvesting DCs, interesting mechanics and even a nodding towards module A5: Winterflower and stats for this, the world's supposedly rarest plan, the chapter kicks off the module with one of the best pieces of supplemental material I've seen in a book for quite some time!
Now I've mentioned that the Haunted Forest is where the PCs are stranded -and hence we also get a rather extensive array of random encounters - which come with their own encounter index, btw., and feature several uncommon creatures seldom seen in modules alongside the more common animals. The exploration of the haunted forest is a welcome change of pace from Part I and manages to evoke a classic feeling of dread regarding the weird forest, making it possible to e.g. insert this module into Midgard's Margreve by maintaining a similar (yet more fairy-taleish) sense of unfamiliarity.
So what can the PCs find inside this haunted forest? Well, let's for example take a sentient, mobile bottomless pit that not only makes for a deadly adversary, but which should require some grey matter on the side of the PCs to best. In a feyglade, the PCs can play a new mini-game, fully detailed, called Kasta, with some fey and find a fey (not Lumi!) in a glass casket. The fey has played a trick on a young girl and his grief over the trick going too far prompted him to eat a fruit that sent him into an eternal coma.
In order to awake said fey and find out about the girl, the PCs will have to brave the maze that the girl's last remaining family has erected to protect her - for her last remaining family is Malthazar, an adopted minotaur pledged to guarding her eternal slumber, awaking her from aforementioned fruit's slumber also awakens the fey and points the PCs towards her former cabin - whether the minotaur still lives or not depending solely on the bloodthirst of your PCs - non-violence might be the more prudent option.
Whether by a secret entry-way hidden near haunted falls and caves, by accident or via the girl, the PCs will sooner or later find a cabin - a cabin which has been studded via creative traps, for the 7 dwarves in this module would make Andrzej Sapkowski's terrorist/guerrilla-fighters proud: Belonging to a cadre of humanoids set against human supremacist attitudes/taxation/colonial claims. Oh, and the 7 dwarves actually include halflings and gnomes here and come with full stats - have I mentioned that they have secured Lumi - who has become sympathetic to their plight- whether in truth or by Stockholm syndrome is up for the DM to decide, while player actions will determine whether a party or combat will ensue. In any way, the attendant queen makes her move with the iconic assault, translated properly into PFRPG-mechanics - using e.g. hallucinatory terrain and similar means to make her quick assault easy to be pulled off - though not foolproof.
And it may very well be one of the PCs that wakes up Lumi - from here on, it's time to decide with which side to ally and how to return to Morsain - there a total of 8 (!!!) varying conclusions depending on the actions of the PCs are possible - though all presume a unpleasant end for Lumi or a heart-broken PC, since potentially getting on the bad side of a prince of Klavek might have massive repercussions, it would be easy for the DM to develop more massive repercussions and thus get a PC into nobility. The queen, meanwhile, may have managed to maintain her charade - and even if she doesn't, she'll still have an excellent array of plan B/escape possibilities - we may have not seen the last of the fully statted witch queen.
The pdf also features a new level 9 spell that allows for cryostasis via Winterflower-components, an appendix that describes the short folk resistance and among the stats, we can also find the full stats of the witch's intelligent dagger.
The final 4 pages of the pdf are devoted to a translation (and a relatively faithful one at that, comparing it with my versions) of the fairy-tale as well as further research links and by now, player-friendly versions of the maps have also been included.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are very good, though not perfect - I noticed a couple of very minor glitches here and there, though none that impeded my ability to understand the content. Layout adheres to AaW's 2-column standard with a printer-friendly background and color-coded boxes for the crunch-components. The pdf is fully bookmarked and comes with links to the respective statblocks. Artwork is mostly thematically fitting stock art and, as almost always, the cartography ranks among the most beautiful you'll find in any given module - this time done by Jonathan Nelson instead of map-guru Todd Gamble, though it's surprisingly up to the insane standard master Gamble has set.
Part I was unconventional and Part II is also an adventure unlike any you've probably run before, featuring a vast array of intriguing locales, things to do, choices to make - and then some, for its modularity and sandboxy freeform-style means that even if taken "only" as a sandbox to scavenge encounters from, this module delivers in spades - each and every encounter has at least one fun, uncommon thing going for it - there is no boring encounter to be found herein. The adversaries act smart, the fluff is stellar and the supplemental material provided is simply the cool icing on the awesome-cake. Yes, I'm going to hit myself for this pun - later. This module is not particularly cheap, but its quality and the sheer guts to do something rather different should imho be rewarded - quality trumps quantity and this module is nothing, if not quality.
For this module, more so than even its direct predecessor, is uncommon - it endeavors to deviate from both what one would expect from the source-material, but also from conventional adventure writing, making this work not only as a module, but also alternatively as a superb sandbox to scavenge fey-style/dark forest weirdness from by the encounter. If you're looking for a wilderness sandbox in a fey forest, then this is an absolute must-have - an actually GOOD wilderness module brimming with ideas, Snow White Part 2 even beats its rather excellent predecessor and hence my final verdict will clock in at easily given 5 stars + seal of approval - Adventureaweek.com's author-team has delivered a thoroughly compelling two-parter and one I wouldn't mind seeing sequels to - "Little Red-Riding Hood, Werewolf Hunter", perhaps?
Endzeitgeist out.
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This adventure follows on directly from Snow White Part 1, and realistically could not be run in any other way. I suppose you could say that the characters have been called in as trouble-shooters owing to the adventurers previously hired as security having made such a mess of things, but it seems a little forced. In any case, if you like this reskinning of a classic fairy tale concept, you really, really want to run Part 1, so go do that then come back!
It opens with a lot of detail on the Haunted Forest, into which the characters must venture. This is quite sandboxy, they can roam quite freely and there are several 'encounter locations' that they will come across. It's a chilly place, and there is some good advice about using the weather as an adversary, as well as some fine 'Achemist's Journal' notes about the flora and fauna of the place - unfortunately the wizard/alchemist who wrote them was assiduous about keeping the forest and its resources a secret so even if you do have naturalist characters they are unlikely to have read the journal. There are some fascinating plants there: for example the pomum which looks just like an apple to all but the most knowledgeable eye but causes a deep sleep in any mammal that consumes one! There are comprehensive 'wandering monster' tables as well, so you can present a mix of new encounters along with more typical ones.
Each of the locations is a delight too, with a whimsical air and plenty for the characters to do in each one. Often, the most successful outcomes do not involve fighting, but there's ample opportunities for anyone looking for a good brawl to find one. Eventually, the characters ought to discover the location of the missing princess (who is, of course, asleep) but in some ways the fun has only just begun, as they now have to return her safely to Castle Morsain and sort everything out there!
Quite a lot of effort has gone into ensuring that you have resources to deal with whatever approach the characters come up with for dealing with irate royalty and scheming nobles, giving ample opportunity for combat and particularly intrigue as they attempt to set things to rights. There is also the delightfully embarassing possibility of the princess having fallen madly in love with one of the characters along the way...
Overall, the Snow White adventure is a true joy and delight and well worth a look if you like to mix a little whimsey and a touch of classic fairy stories into standard fantasy adventuring. Beautifully presented and well resourced with hyperlinked stat blocks, maps and more, the two parts of this adventure are worthy of consideration.
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This adventure presents some interesting quirks, and is best run for a group of characters who have already become well-known in the area through particpation on earlier adventures.
It begins with some unseasonal bad weather, storms so severe that waterborne traffic has ceased. Although it doesn't suggest this, if you are running this as part of a campaign set in and around Rybalka, you might want to have the bad weather start during the previous adventure rather than suddenly announce that it's stormy. When an experienced sea captain shows up dead, his battered corpse tied to a shipping crate and floating into the harbour, the characters are asked to investigate...
The adventure starts rather slowly although there is an interesting scene involving a potentially-hostile mob - and which occasions the presentation of ways in which you can handle a mob scene. One suggestion is to handle them as a swarm, dispersing when they reach a notional 'zero hit points' (although no damage is actually taken, unless someone starts a brawl).
Eventually, things get moving and the characters are in for some rough times at sea... and it is not plain sailing once they reach their destination, either. There are a few dangers and opportunities to gain information and items that may help along the way, and characters need to be wary: attacking first and asking questions later may leave them in the dark about what is going on.
Once they reach the end of their quest, the characters are faced with a number of potentially deadly traps and encounters. Finding their way to their ultimate goal will not be easy... but there are some delights along the way. The outcome is not clear, although there are quite a few suggestions about what could follow.
Presentation on the whole is at adventureaweek.com's usual high standard, although (particularly in the latter stages) there are long blocks of text with the crucial mechanical bits not very well highlighted; GMs will find that prior study is necessary tp run this adventure effectively. A comprehensive Encounter Index is provided, hyperlinked from the main adventure text and providing stats for both Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder rulesets.
Overall, this is a curious adventure. It has the potential to establish the characters as potent adventurers, advancing their reputation and renown far beyond what earlier adventures in this series might have gained them, yet it feels a bit nebulous and less satisfying and does not reach quite the heights of most of adventureaweek.com's work: guess I've been spoiled by their excellence in other works. The underlying concept is good, it falls down somewhat in the execution. Still, it could prove an interesting and quite different mission for an adaptable party - provided that they don't get too seasick in all the storms!
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An Endzeitgeist.com review
This module is 58 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, ½ a page ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving us with a total of 54 ½ pages o content, so let’s take a look!
First of all: If you run this module DON’T SHOW YOUR PLAYERS THE COVER. The crew of adventureaweek.com has done quite some research and taken a jumble of different obscure versions of the traditional fairy-tale and blended them together – that being said, they will not necessarily realize they’re playing “Snow-White” – unless you tell them, which I discourage.
This being an adventure-review, the following contains massive SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion.
All right, still here? Morsain is a nice little town in the Klavek Kingdom and as such had to pay quite its share of massive taxes – but the town’s fortunes might change soon, as Prince Ruhtin, 4th son of the king, plans on marrying the drop-dead gorgeous daughter of Morsain’s leader, one beauty called Lumi Valka Valtatytar. The wedding between the two is to happen soon and via one of the various hooks, the PCs find themselves employed as additional security for the festivities and the module hence kicks off with a security sweep of the gorgeously mapped castle’s 3 levels. Weirdly, the PCs also find traps – a gazillion of them, progressively harder to disable. By now, they should have the sneaking suspicion that someone is gaging their abilities and plans something – but what?
During the lavishly-detailed festivities, Lumi is promptly poisoned and the PCs may try to determine how the poor girl suffered from the strange catatonic fit by researching the intricately complex multi-component poison she inadvertently ingested – a master-poisoner is obviously at work here. Thus, the PCs, after some questioning, will be on guard duty – only to have swarms of bats and larger dire variants attack and try to make off with the unconscious Lumi. There’s a potential for a neat chase here and it is developed – as is the chance that the PCs manage to stop the bats.
If they do, she’ll recover and be kidnapped right from under the prince’s nose – in the guise of a PC. One man named Wilhelm Jacob as the perpetrator will be found by the PCs – and perish – poisoning himself – unfortunately, he has handed her over to a rider already – using a magic item as well as a clever plan, it is highly doubtful he will be caught by even clever PCs – and I love it if characters actually act smart. The woodland chase for the rider, beyond his misleading horses and falls trails, should be nailbiting – not only due to a rather complex table of obstacles and encounters.
Worse, the huntsman, beset by dwarves, escapes the woods – sans Lumi, her trail going cold for now. Suffice to say, the prince is not particularly pleased. Finding the true identity of the huntsman, the PCs have to capture and surprise the man in his fully mapped cabin. And then, suddenly, albino centipedes pop up, summoned by some eldritch force, to kill the servant now turned liability. Mysteriously, the huntsman seems to have some ties with the castle, notably its catacombs. Upon solving a puzzle-lock, the PCs may encounter more of the weird centipedes in the again, fully mapped catacombs of the castle. Upon thwarting an assassination attempt on them, the PCS will have to prove at least partially their diplomatic mettle and convince the prince they are not responsible for all the misfortunes – thankfully, the Attendant Queen seems to have located Lumi via a scrying device and offers to teleport the PCS to the location: An offer they should be glad to take, since the atmosphere at the castle has turned quite frosty towards them…
Of course, the spell doesn’t send them to Lumi – but to some other place the PCs will not particularly appreciate – and thus, this module ends with a cliffhanger to be continued in part 2.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting re top-notch, I didn’t notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres to a printer-friendly 2-column standard with color-coded boxes for skill/combat/etc.-boxes and white background, rendering the module rather printer-friendly. The artworks range from nice b/w-pencil-drawings of the characters to fitting stock art and the cartography, as always with AaW, is formidable. The module comes with player-friendly high-res versions of all the maps. The pdf comes fully bookmarked and extensively uses nested bookmarks for maximum convenience – Two thumbs up!
When I first heard about this module, I face-palmed – with fairy-tales being as popular as they are for adaptations right now, everyone and his aunt seem to have a new, grim, dark take on the tropes, often failing miserably. *cough* movie *cough* I grew up with the original, rather bloody version of the story and honestly, never could stand most adaptations out there. And then, there is the fact that fairy-tales often make for bad, railroad adventures with clichéd plotlines and cardboard cut-out characters.
Snow-White is none of these things. Even without the mythological yarn that suffuses this adventure’s theme, we get a rather interesting module that breaks multiple conventions of how modules usually play out – from the opening to finish, we get intrigue, uncommon encounters, smart adversaries that actually act as befitting of their Int-score and most of all: A plot that is many things, but neither predictable, nor linear. The chase, the research – all ties in together nicely and makes the PCs actually work for their progress, while still having the chance of not leaving a stupefied group behind.
Yes, Snow-White is an expensive module when looking at the page-count – but authors Stephen Yeardley, Jonathan Nelson and Will Myers have created a yarn that dares to be different, offers something for all kinds of players and is refreshing, innovative and exciting to boot, resulting in one of the finest modules AaW have so far produced and in me being on the edge of my seat, looking forward to seeing whether they can maintain this level of quality in part 2. An exciting, unconventional module that works best when used by a DM with a bit of experience, Snow White Part I deserves a final verdict of 5 stars + seal of approval.
Endzeitgeist out.
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Designed as an introduction to the whole Adventureaweek campaign world, the putative setting of all their adventures (although most can be readily translocated into a suitable part of the campaign world of your choice) this short adventure is also intended to serve as a lead-in to A1: Crypt of the Sun Lord, if you're intending to use that.
The basic concept is simple, and yet an elegant way to get around the constant problem of your character knowing the world he lives in far better than you, his player, does by saying that the characters come from a nearby kingdom which is actively encouraging adventurers to move to an outlying fishing village called Rybalka. It's a wild and dangerous place, so much so that ordinary citizens are reluctant to move there even if offered payment. Clearly some braver souls, some adventurers, are needed!
The way to get there goes across the massive ice-cold Serpent Lake, pretty much an inland sea, and passes a ill-omened island, Crow's Rest Island. Sailors are full of tales about people who have been shipwrecked there, tales of horror and haunting far worse than merely being shipwrecked and having to survive.
There's a comprehensive backstory to inform you about what's really going on, and then we get into the adventure proper which starts with the characters aboard ship... and there's a storm blowing up! The ship is swiftly covered in snow to the extent that the captain decides that it is less risky to stop at Crow's Rest Island than it is to continue the voyage. And so it begins...
Although quite simple, the adventure is atmospheric and there's plenty of material to aid you in setting the scene, snow-covered and brooding with a mysterious crow that somehow only the party can see. Beautiful illustrations and lush maps provide visual cues to supplement the descriptions. There's plenty to do, with negotiations with spirits as well as a couple of brawls... and the adventurers should emerge back on shore as the storm dies down and their ship is ready to resume its voyage. But, boy, they will have some tales to tell of their exploits!
If looking to start a campaign with a bang, this ought to fit the bill, excitement a-plenty yet all perfectly do-able by first level characters.
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Fancy providing security at a royal wedding?
That's the crux of the task that faces your characters in this adventure, but it is so well done that it's a real treat. The whole thing is full of neat suggestions from the outset - like not telling your players the name of the adventure so that they don't figure out that it's based on fairytales and folk legend until it's far too late... not to mention a series of traps so well described and presented that it takes dealing with them to a whole new level: a real part of the game, not just something to be dealt with so you can go do whatever it was you were here for in the first place. It's all too easy for traps to be viewed as a nuisance for the party rogue to go do his thing, couple of die rolls and move on (healing the rogue if necessary): here they are an integral part of the adventure.
There are also numerous hints and suggestions to enable you to enjoy watching the party cope with high society. Consider that they are an ordinary bunch of adventurers, and are now being thrust headlong into a full-blown royal court with all the attitudes and customs and ceremonial that that entails. Will they conduct themselves in a fitting manner, or make fools of themselves?
There is, as you'd expect, quite a lot of interaction and scope for role-play here. But never fear, there are plenty opportunities for more robust activity, a good chase or two as well as several combats. It's challenging, but never boring... and certainly no easy duty.
Events pile up quick and fast, but you are provided with resources to cope with whatever the characters choose to do about them, the notes are full of options 'If the party chooses to...' which will help you present it seamlessly giving a real feeling of freedom of action. As ever, full game mechanical details for both Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 and the Pathfinder RPG are provided, clearly differentiated so that you can pick out the ones you need.
I'm already looking forwards to Part 2. In the meantime, where are some players....?
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Originally posted at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2013/04/08/tabletop-review-rise-of
-the-drow-trilogy-bundle-pathfinderdd-3-5
One of the big complaints I get from players and GMs is that Drow aren’t scary anymore. I beg to differ. Drow can be pretty scary and one helluva threat to the party, and civilization as a whole, if you handle it right. On the one hand, we’ve got Drizzt and Company showing us there can be good Drow, but in those same books you’ve got this whole underground civilization that would kill you and sacrifice you and not think twice about it, because you’re just a surface dweller and of no consequence to the grand scheme of things. Paizo decided to try and make Drow scary again with their Second Darkness Adventure Path, and largely succeeded, although like many of their early adventure paths, it can be rather rail-roady for the players and doesn’t give much wiggle room for the GM either. Rise of the Drow Trilogy takes some cues from Second Darkness as far as making Drow scary and a credible threat, but also goes the route of giving your players options like you’d find in a BioWare RPG, where you have different paths you can take, and each one has certain consequences tied to them all, the while providing a great way to kill a few weekends and weeknights around the tabletop.
05The Trilogy itself is comprised of the Adventure a Week modules Descent into the Underworld, Scourge of Embla, and Usurper of Souls. Yes, you can buy all three separate, but it will cost you $10 more. You also get a few bonus goodies in the zip file I’ll detail in a minute. This set of adventures starts for characters level 6 and ends with them around level 15. I actually recommend starting at level 8 if you’re only running with 4 people and definitely using the fast experience progression with Pathfinder, as that’s closest to Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 character progression. While this isn’t as fleshed out as Second Darkness was, it’s a pretty decent romp into Drow territory that gives your players more options to do it their way without leaving the GM scrambling.
Descent into the Underworld finds your players in a small town being confronted by a dwarf with a problem… a Drow problem. He tries to convince them to come with him into the ground, below decks, so to speak, to help rid his city of the problem. The Drow have been taking people and territory and have been putting the pinch on the Dwarven city he’s from. They’re panicking, as well they should be, and need outside help. They’re traders and craftsman for the most part, not warriors. From there, it’s into a dungeon crawl that can be pretty much as long or short as the players want to make it. The entrance into the Underworld, or Underdark if you’re dropping this in the Forgotten Realms, is in a ruined tower that has some history. A dark history. A history involving a mage, slaves, a dragon and now, lots of very upset undead. After the undead is a brief stint that leads you into the Dwarven city in the next module.
03Scourge of Embla details the Dwarven city for when your players arrive, as well as events there that really help mold what your players’ options are and what they might end up doing. The Drow are starting to make their move on the city, but is a full retaliation what’s needed, or a more subtle back way in? A lot more of the background information can be gleaned here for your players, and it definitely gets them more invested, being more than just a dungeon crawl like in the first module.
Usurper of Souls takes into account what the players may or may not have done to get into the city, and gives them options when they get there on how to deal with the Drow, with other events going on that might spur them into action in different ways. There are some definite roleplay opportunities that can really sink or save your players here if they choose to take them. The leader of the Drow city has been leading this expansion for a reason, and not all of the Drow living there agree with what she’s been doing. Drow politics at its finest here. This adventure can lead to a lot of fame for them afterwards, or not much at all except the simple satisfaction of a job well done and a full coin purse. Most of what’s presented here can be handled by a good, and even fairly inexperienced, group of players. There are some things that they won’t be able to deal with right away if they head certain ways, like, say, an adult dragon in the first module when they’re way under-level if they go off the beaten path. That might be too rough a fight, but it is also something they might stumble across as opposed to jumping into it as part of getting through the area, and they’ll have plenty of opportunities to not get involved until they’re stronger.
04On top of a great story, some well done play options, and fantastic artwork, the layout is really decent as well. The initial focus is on the story and getting your players through the adventure. The stat blocks are at the back of the module, but at each instance where you’d need them in the PDF is a link to the monster that your players are facing and you can choose which flavor, Pathfinder or 3.5, that you need there, and it goes right to it. If you’re running off the PDF instead of printed, this is a nice time saver. There’s a full bookmarked index to take you back to where you were as well, since Adobe doesn’t make PDFs work like web browsers. The artwork, for the most part, is fantastic. There were a few odd choices, but the maps looks great and the artwork for enemies and NPCs is consistently good.
The maps that are included are fantastically done and fit very well with the material. They’ll be easy to translate over to a battle map if you have one, or you can always print out the player versions of the map to give them, and the same goes for the over-arching world maps. Speaking of printing, if you have the inclination, there are ‘printer-friendly’ versions of each module included that wipe out a lot of the color on each page but leave it in the artwork and maps, so you don’t go through a color cartridge if you print it. If you do it on a single color printer it’ll still look decent. While the page count is a bit daunting, a good chunk of that is stat blocks which, if you’re running just one game, you can cut in half by only printing the game format you need. In fact, I’d go so far as to say almost half of the material you’re getting is stat blocks for either of the two games and NPCs. That’s a lot of stats.
I mentioned extras earlier. Outside the PDFs, they include separate image files for each of the maps, image files of major NPCs that you can print out, the print-friendly versions of the PDFs of both the main trilogy plus the Mushroom mini-game, and a dungeon randomizer in Excel format built to help you run an Underdark or Underworld adventure with random encounters. If you’re not keen on giving players maps with numbers on them, you can print those out too and keep them guessing. It’s really good stuff.
Even if you have no intention of running this, taking parts of it and using those in other campaigns would be an option. A mapped Drow and Dwarven city are nice to have, along with personalities and NPCs to populate them. Don’t forget the crumbled undead infested tower in the first module, a fully fleshed out settlement above ground and the Drow Spider temple in the third as well. The included Giant Mushroom harvesting mini-game is kind of interesting, and is also in the set as a separate printable piece. Also, what would a module be without a few new monsters and a bonus for interested players and willing GMs as well? All in all, it’s a great package, and if you’re so inclined, there’s a print package that had a whopping Kickstarter that will be available outside of the PDF medium. I’ll stick with the PDF, but for those that like hardcover and bound, that option is sure to please. While I don’t think this is the be all and end all of Drow modules, it is a decent one that not only gives your players some real options built in, but also can be quite a bit of fun and is designed with ease of use in mind.
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The third installment of Michael McCarthy's Saatman's Empire adventure-arc is 66 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages ToC, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 60 pages of content - the longest module of the arc so far, so let's take a look!
This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players may wish to jump to the conclusion.
All right, still here? So far, the PCs have foiled two of the incursions of dragons into the territory of the Klavek Empire - first by ending Midwinter's cold snap in A16, then by vanquishing titanic Storm and thus ending the sabotage of naval trade. By now, the PCs will probably have realized that there's something brewing, that some force engineers the draconic problems. Said force is the self-proclaimed heir to Saatman's Empire and the goal is nothing but the utter destruction of the Klavek kingdom to recreate the draconic empire of old. One of the most central figures in this plot would be Incandium.
Incandium is essentially one of the key-players in Saatman's gambit and when a dragon challenges the PCs in public to meet with Incandium and the Half-dragon (with membraneless wings of fire) offers them the choice to surrender or die. Not sure whether I like the angle where he comes personally, though: I'll probably just send an illusion or something to ensure he doesn't get killed off. Going alone off to kill the PCs when he has a neat array of allies/servants and a great fortress seems like a stupid move to me.
Now, Incandium's base is no push-over: A volcano studded with tunnels at different heights: And the adversaries found will show that Incandium knows no mercy, not even for his brothers and sisters: The former now guard low levels of the tunnels and as minor dragons, still are challenging, though twisted by his experimentation. The latter await, at his command, other dragons to breed with - such is Incandium's decree. But in order to even access this part of the volcano, the PCs will have to defeat a sliding block-puzzle - or bypass the puzzle via being nimble enough. Nice to see a puzzle! Another set of caverns contains a clan of harpies as well as the bones of Incandium's mother, whom he slew due to his less than nice childhood.
The third set of caverns hosts Incandium's kobolds and features an interesting feature: Traps. Too many of them - so many in fact, that they partially cannot be disarmed anymore and require those foolhardy or brave enough to walk them to weather the storm of assaults. Also, Incandium's elite kobolds are nothing if not deadly, even without the extreme heat of the volcano. At the lip of the volcano, elemental guardians await and in the depths of the caves, hidden in the maze of tunnels and chapters, two suites of chambers might make for good locales to have Incandium make his final stand (for the module prescribes no location and assumes he perishes in the first encounter) - his set of private chambers (which includes the draconic father of fire, an elemental prince) and his lab includes more pieces of information to unearth his weird experimentations - and we get an extremely cool puzzle that has the players assemble a pyramid-shaped key that comes as a player's handout with graphical representation. Damn cool!
Finally, by piecing together clues, groveling before the elemental lord or sheer chance, the PCs may find the true secret of the volcano: A temporal anomaly, currently in the process of being studied by no other than the blue dragon Saatman himself! After some bartering, he sends his elite mages of the Serpent Sanguis-cult at them and teleports away - his plans for harnessing the temporal anomaly to hasten the aging of dragons and create an army of old wyrms to squash the Klavekian Empire being sabotaged - but Saatman is far from finished!
The module also includes a write-up for a new spell, redirect teleport, a new magical item, 3 alchemical items, a write-up of a new deity, of the elemental lord (and gaining his favor or curse) as well as a short write-up (fluff-only, no organization stats/PrCs) of the Serpent Sanguis-cult.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch - I didn't notice any glitches this time around. Layout adheres to AaW's 2-column standard and the respective rules for skill-checks, puzzles etc. are now set before scrolls - nice to look at. In contrast to A18, no semi-transparent dragon in the background of the pages this time around. Personally, I prefer the scrolls to A18's layout. The cartography (including hand-outs for the 2 puzzles) thankfully once again comes with player-friendly versions of the maps - especially the puzzles getting two thumbs up from me! The pdf is fully bookmarked with extensive nested bookmarks. Proof that AaW listens to their customers -the combat-index is no separated by system, meaning that you have all 3.5 and all PFRPG-stats conveniently in one place.
Incandium's Eruption is longer than its predecessors and it shows: Where A16 and A18 suffered from what feels like cut-downs and a lack of space to develop their awesome locations, this one does the job - from intense heat, to caves laden with opium-fumes, there are quite a lot of hazards, environmental issues to complicate things and iconic locales. The breaking of formulaic structures where the boss is not waiting at the end is also an interesting decision. Add to that the neat puzzles and cool background story as well as inner-dungeon dynamics and we have by far the best installment of the campaign arc. In fact,with the combat index fixed in this revised edition, the new A19 is a simply stellar, offering with cool puzzles, challenging encounters and all the rest you want to see. Author Michael McCarthy can do it, after all and I'm looking forward to reading the finale, hopefully full of neat environmental hazards and iconic locales as well! My final verdict for this revised edition will thus be 5 stars + seal of approval.
Endzeitgeist out.
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The finest inn in Rybalka burned down a year ago and has now been rebuilt, despite various strange incidents plaguing the construction. These events have delayed the re-opening of the inn, although with the arrival of a Prince, no less, in town it has been decided that the doors of Rybalka Lodge must open once more...
... and that's where the characters come in, the Mayor would like them to get to the bottom of all these mysterious lights and smashed dishes and compelling images of the place on fire that mysteriously leave no trace when anyone arrives with a fire bucket. So, folks, it's time for some ghost-hunting if not ghost-busting.
The characters will have to use investigative skills as well as combat to solve the mystery. There is plenty for them to do and see during the course of this investigation, and everything is clearly presented so that pertinent details are at the GM's fingertips as the adventure proceeds. NPCs/monsters are dual-statted for both D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder RPG, with opportunities for skill use signposted well with results for differing levels of success laid out well.
It will be worth spending the time to prepare to run this adventure. The various encounters and opportunities to gain information that will help unravel the mystery are presented in a rather linear manner - first you meet X and then there's a chance to question Y and next you can go poke about in location Z - so if the characters decide to do things in a different order it helps to know where all the clues are!
It's a cracking haunted house mystery and when all is revealed a surprise is in store! The whole adventure is very atmospheric and ought to conjure up some real terror as the characters explore the Lodge (especially if they go round at night...). I want to rush off and run this at once, even before I've finished writing this review....
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This module is 40 pages long, 1 page front cover, 4 blank pages, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, leaving us with 32 pages of content, so let's take a look!
This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players may wish to jump to the conclusion.
All right, still here? House Rodow, a mercantile noble house has seen better days - bad investments had the family fortunes bleed out and the situation escalated - to the point where the family decided to once again summon the demon that made it possible for them to gain their prominence. The problem is, though, that a competing noble family got wind of this and sent off an agent to deal with the summoning, interrupt it and gather evidence. Unfortunately, said agent failed to specify the details of what was to happen to the Rodows.
Thus, the PCs, as soon as they arrive at Rostow Manor, they'll see that a raging fire has recently burned the manor - exploring the house, which is in danger of collapsing, should yield some interesting hints - a lot of sample DCs make investigating what went down feasible. After the Pcs have eliminated 4 wild dogs in the manor gardens, one Pinion Merino with his security, arrives in his carriage and hires the PCs to bring justice to the unknown perpetrators. Tracking the perpetrators into the wood, the PCs will have to deal with orcs before arriving at the home of the culprits - caves of a tribe of mites - where the PCs may also find out that the mites were coerced into the attack on the Rodows. The Mites are not stupid (though not particularly competent) and have among other things, a ballista ready to fire at the PCs...
Now if the PCs manage to defeat the mites, there will be an interesting map with a red x - the x denoting the secret location of the Rodow family's crypt - which Pinion concedes and tells them about the trouble of the Rodow family. Exploring the tomb turns out to be rather tricky - the door is animated and quite some traps litter the locale. Sealed in the tomb, the players find 4 bandits, ready to thank the PCs for their release with death as well as the devil the Rodows dealt with. It turns out that the competing merchant family's agent was behind the downfall of House Rodow - and the PCs have a choice to make: Support the slaughter of a house of devil-worshipping nobles or bringing justice to a not particularly bright agent of a corrupt house of merchants. However they decide, the PCs will have to bring one culprit to justice - or, well, just walk away.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are good, though not perfect - I noticed some minor glitches and the 4 blank pages are slightly annoying when printing out the module. Layout adheres to AaW's 2-column, parchment background-style and the pdf has no bookmarks, which is a mayor downside. The stock art is thematically fitting and the cartography of the two locations (but not the manor) is as awesome as I've come to expect from AaW.
Author Haakon Sullivan's module is an interesting short 1st level module with some challenging encounters, interesting DCs and choices to make - while not reinventing the wheel or blowing me out of the water, it features a permeating sense of decadence and corruption, which is nice to see. That being said, I couldn't help myself feeling like the minor formal issues combined with the lack of a truly inventive idea make this not reach the echelons of excellence. While solid, the story has been done before and honestly, I would have loved to see a haunt here, or at least a slightly more terrain-invested showdown. In the end, I thus feel justified in rating this 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 due to, among aforementioned minor gripes, the glitches and the lack of a printer-friendly version.
Endzeitgeist out.
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A3 Champion's Rest is the third adventure in the A-series of adventures from Adventureaweek.com. This adventure follows on from A1 Crypt of the Sun Lord and A2 Devil of Dark Wood, although it can easily be played as a standalone adventure. The adventure forms part of Adventureaweek.com's campaign setting, but again the locations are easily transferable to other settings. Champion's Rest is a Pathfinder RPG adventure for characters of levels 2 to 3.
Champion's Rest takes place on the Rybalkan Peninsula, an outcropping of land in the vast Serpent Lake. In the adventure, Crypt of the Sun Lord, the adventurers are sent towards the frontier peninsula, an area once occupied by the barbarian hordes of the Vikmordere. On arrival they become entangled in the affairs of several goblins occupying a nearby crypt. In Devil of the Dark Wood, the adventurers finally reach the village of Rybalka, a frontier village, only to find that there is talk of beasts in the air. The characters must uncover the mystery that stalks the village, and so destroy an evil that has been plaguing the dark wood and surroundings.
In this adventure, more trouble is afoot in the village of Rybalka, as the Vikmordere have been spotted in the area near an ancient burial ground, and the soldiers sent to confront them have disappeared. The adventure takes place en-route towards and in the ancient Vikmordere burial ground where the soldiers were last headed. The characters are hired to find out what happened to the missing soldiers, but more is afoot than meets the eye. The characters investigate the ancient burial chambers in an effort to solve the mystery, but of course the Vikmordere quickly get involved and tensions escalate. All in all this makes for an enjoyable adventure.
The adventure has a good mix of tension, combat and mystery, although contrary to the adventure blurb which mentions engaging with the Vikmordere in some form of alliance, there's not a lot of opportunity for roleplaying with the Vikmordere in this adventure. I found that a little disappointing, as I was expecting the adventure to cater for this, but sadly it didn't. Nevertheless. the burial ground as a location-based scenario is fairy good, with traps, challenges and mysteries to be solved. The characters will be tested to their limits in some of the combat encounters, and at least the journey to the burial ground through the dangerous Dark Wood allows for some good roleplaying opportunity.
I think this adventure is strong in its challenges and in getting the characters to be creative in facing threats and solving puzzles, but perhaps a bit lacking in roleplaying, where I though the characters would get an opportunity to engage first-hand with the Vikmordere and get to know this people a little bit more. Still, one should find this enjoyable, with some detailed locations and good encounter design and presentation. The adventure was surprisingly low on the treasure front, particularly in the reward areas for completing the adventure. My hope, though, is that once one learns more about the Vikmordere people this adventure can be modified to be a bit more engaging on that front. Good adventure.
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This module is 49 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, leaving us with 44 pages of content, so let's take a look!
This being a review of an adventure, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion.
Still here? All right!
Nine Generations ago, Vykter West founded a place called Weston - right in the middle of nowhere, a desolate land. Nine Generations ago, the progenitor of the West family entered a deal with the lower planes and lo! and behold, the rich river Meere changed its course and Weston prospered - all for a ridiculous price. Viktor would only need to put a tiny white worm into his field? Where's the harm in that? What goes around, comes around, though - it was the worm that changed the river's course, grown to monstrous proportions and ever since, worm-slayer upon worm-slayer, adventuring group upon adventuring group, has fed the ravenous appetite of the worm, which return to consume the West family. Unaware of the curse their ancestor wrought, the family has lived under the shadow of the titanic beasts eventual awakening from its hibernation. Fast forward to the recent heir of the West name, one Errod West, forced to watch the worm devour his parents at a young age and subsequently driven by an obsession of slaying the beast, finally unearthed hints of Weston's dark past. The PCs are contacted by distant relatives via a letter and made aware of the sizable bounty - 50K in gold are nothing to scoff at - a fortune even! When a man dies on the road to Weston, trying to warn them away, it will become clear that the PCs have not a mean feat ahead of them...
Weston itself, as a town, is firmly in the grip of fear and panic at the worm's proximity and first rumors of the cursed West family surface. After visiting the mayor to confirm the bounty, the PCs may have a talk with the only known survivor among the wannabe worm-hunters - a dwarf named Hamlin Hammerhalder currently resting at the Happy Fool tavern and while he is a tough nut to crack, capable PCs may get him to talk about the dread combat that led to the death of his companions. Tracking the vast traces of the worm's wake, the Pcs get a chance to save a dwarven couple from a bulette and rescue an adventuring group from an unpleasant fate by falling into the churning waters of the river Meere and the waiting jaws of the local crocodile and ankheg population. In far over their heads, these adventurers proceed to leave the hunt of the worm to PCs, though they may help later in the module. The Worm is CR 21, has regeneration 30, DR 15/-, SR 45 and Immunity to spells and energy types. This is a fight the PCs cannot win. If your players are stubborn and refuse to retreat, though, then you'll still have a good recourse - as a Deus Ex Machina to prevent TPK, as a means of escape or to acknowledge that they did the impossible and damaged the beast, Errod shows up and leads them to his mansion.
There, Errod offers to resurrect the fallen via his scroll(s) of true resurrection and proceeds to prepare a meal - the PCs in the meanwhile have ample leisure time to sniff around the house and stumble over the variety of clues and from Errod's reaction, make deductions about his conflicted personality and gathering clues that he is not telling them everything. It is notable that clue-wise and regarding descriptions, the mansion is VERY well-detailed and offers a great change of pace that can, thanks to taxidermy-trophies, be easily played up to 11 on the tension-scale if you so chose. Together, they may piece together the clues from Errod's documents and notes, but in the night, their endeavors are put to a hard test - a hit-squad of 8 babau demons infiltrates the house and starts a fire - the PCs, rousing from their sleep, will have to contend with the deadly demons and try to save the journal from the library while the house burns down around them -heat dangers, smoke inhalation, catching fire - all covered in a delightfully suspenseful action that consumes the house in only 20 rounds - a battle against the clock and the relentless assault of the flames.
Supernatural forces are moving in and the players may wish to recover Vyktor's journal from his body - only the crypt is also well-guarded by forces infernal -a vrock and even a glabrezu (who offers a wish if spared - but is it worth it?). Vanquishing these foes with Errod's help, the PCs can unearth the journal, where a riddle (that should stump no one) conceals the name of the demon with whom Vyktor made the pact that resulted in the White Worm's rampages. Armed with this name, the PCs may summon the demon, who has an offer for the worm's end, but one that would cost the lives of Errod and all of Weston. A more likely outcome is that the PCs vanquish the demon, temporarily making the worm vulnerable - if they can manage to perform three rituals of atonement, each of which, while not cancelling, weakens the superb defenses of the worm. The rituals are no mean feat either - someone who has lost all will to fight must give away all earthly possessions until they are naked while holding a piece of the creature they seek to destroy. Hopefully the PCs managed to save that scale of the worm from the burning Weston manor... For teh second ritual, one must consume a draught of pure elven blood, essence of a fire creature and one's own blood at the witching hour and bear the pain. The final ritual requires the tears of the cursed to be used to polish a diamond of 5K GP value or more with a brush made from halfling's foot-hair, transforming the gem into a lump of coal. If the PCs saved the adventurers, they may now have at least a couple of the more esoteric ingredients ready.
The rituals completed, the final hunt is on - with its demonic master gone, the worm retreats to its primal shrine, leaving a wake of destruction in its wake, while fleeing from encounters that damage it too much. Catching the worm and finishing the beast, even with the help of the level 15 ranger Errod West, will require guile, luck and preparation. Thankfully, a timeline features the epic wake of the worm as well as weather etc. and should make for an interesting hunt of a prey most dangerous.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch this time around - I noticed no editing glitches. Layout adheres to the status of AaW's 2-column full-color layout of A16, i.e. we get nice boxes, separated statblock sections for 3.5 and PFRPG-stats and I have nothing to complain - tidy, functional, nice. The pdf also comes with extensive bookmarks, beautiful cartography (though only of the manor, but that in both a DM- and Player's map version) and a gorgeous letter-hand-out.
Drawing inspiration from literature, obviously Moby Dick and folklore (The legend of the Lambton Worm), this module has an ancient, gothic sense of foreboding only scarcely seen when handling unsubtle brutes like the titular force of nature of a monster. While personally, I would have preferred the extraplanar influence to be cut/not explained and instead making the events in the mansion/crypt and origin of the worm ambiguous, that's a personal preference and will not impede my verdict of this pdf - if you do, though, you'll have a closer analogue to Moby Dick's fundamental question of whether revenge against an animal is possible at all as well as a great conduct to develop Errod's growing obsession. I maintain that the module would have been better off that way and even more unique, but that may be me. That being said, this still is nagging at an extremely high level: Author Lance Kepner has created an awesome module with a unique atmosphere, an epic objective and details that is not only smart, but also fun to read. I also urge any DMs who run this to at least read the respective synopsizes of the inspirations it is base on - they are awesome pieces of fiction and will definitely enrich your experience and that of your group while running this module.
This, if my praise was not ample clue, is one of the best modules that came out of Adventureaweek.com's B-series so far, on par with B3 and B6 and perhaps even transcending them. A great module full of style, fluff and unique ideas, dripping a sense of wonder and occultism, this is well worth 5 stars plus seal of approval - congratulations to everyone involved.
Endzeitgeist out.
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This module is 44 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 blank page, 2 pages advertisement, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 38 pages of content, so let’s take a look!
This being an adventure-review, the following text contains SPOILERS. Potential players may wish to jump to the conclusion.
All right, still here? This is the second part of the Saatman’s Empire-adventure arc after A16, Midwinter’s Chill, in which a white dragon cast a frosty swath of destruction into the Klavek Empire. While not required to run this module, the metaplot also ties in with A16 and thus, groups playing multiple modules of the arc may start to see a pattern: The once glorious empire of Saatman seems to have an heir apparent and said dragon is gathering his kin to systematically dismantle the empire. The second part of the puzzle being the eponymous dragon Storm. Contend for as long as people remember to only pick of those ships that straggled in her territory, she has gone on to destroying a trade-route. When the PCs arrive at Cherr’s Landing (complete with settlement statistics), the once thriving coastal port is in a desolate, half-empty state.
In order to end the incursions, the PCs will have to charter a boat towards the island’s around the notorious Devil’s Point, where “there be dragons”. Instead of the culprit, abandoned warrens and a crippled, small dragon, actually Storm’s grandmother awaits. Once she has been dealt with (or bypassed) the trail will lead the PCs sooner or later to Shipwreck Cove, an island littered with shipwrecks picked up by Storm and smashed on the rocks. Now inhabited by Cecalia, slaves to her mate, the island is anything but empty and, among other things, also contains two kobold-heralds of Saatman’s heir, who are anything but push-overs with 12 levels.
Also nice: The Cacelia use the armament of the ships to their advantage: PCs may actually get shot by ballista-bolts! Also, a new being called a titanic globster (including the template) is part of the challenges here. In the end, the Pcs will have to attack Storm’s nest, where her mate, the brine dragon waits. Now his tactics are actually smart for once, keeping his distance and blasting PCs and, more importantly, fighting in the open sky, not some cramped cavern. Having an island full of minions also helps. Once he has been vanquished, the hoards stolen and the eggs of the pair either smashed or stolen, the PCs will probably be on their way home and think the module is completed.
They’re wrong. Storm, a titanic black dragon, will be VERY angry and her tactic to destroy the ship with the PCs on it is simple and brilliant: Take it, lift it into the air (about 200 ft.) and let it crash down for a nice TPK. PCs will have to be smart thinkers, fast in dealing damage and armed with hopefully enough utility magic. And hopefully, they’ve rested and deduced that the brine dragon was not big enough to wreck this destruction.
The module also features a new deity-write-up as well as two new magical items.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn’t notice any glitches. Layout has been further streamlined, with the excellent cover (also featured as a gorgeous full-color 1-page-illustration in the pdf) being a shaded background on the pages – unobtrusive and nice, yet printer-friendly. I’m also a fan of the less stark boxes used for read-aloud text-boxes, skill-boxes etc. Where the layout FAILS in my opinion is with a particular decision: Usually, we had separate appendices for the combat stats of the respective characters and monsters featured in a given module – one for 3.5, one for Pathfinder. You just had to print out the stats you need. Instead of this separation by system, we now get the creatures in alphabetical order, with both stats. This means I have to waste toner/ink to print out stats for a system I don’t use when running the module, which SUCKS and is not particularly useful. I hope AaW will change back from this decision. Another thing I missed from this book was the player-friendly maps. All other AaW-modules usually feature player-friendly, key-less maps to print out for convenience – this one doesn’t which, again, is a bad decision I hope will not be continued. If that’s the price for the new layout, I’d rather have the old one back and I sincerely wish for the system-division statblocks and player maps to return/be added.
If all my reviews of modules by author Michael McCarthy have taught me one thing, then that he knows how to write locales dripping with iconic flavor. Unfortunately, also one of his weaknesses is present in “Storm’s Wake”, albeit not in as jarring a way as in “Midwinter’s Chill”. What good is a great, iconic backdrop when it doesn’t influence combat/skills etc.? It’s just that, a backdrop, when it could easily be used to make combat so much more exciting and unfortunately, that’s also true for this module: Yes, here and there are minor specialties like aforementioned ballista, but what about climbing in riggings of smashed ships? Sniping from crow’s nests? More complex tactics for the BbeGs and other creatures, terrain that actually influences combat in some meaningful way – if these two had been added, we’d have a legend of a module on our hands. Without them, the iconic locales lose some part of their magic and thus fascination. The lack of consequences of terrain/unique areas make the module more sterile than its 5-star-ideas would make you believe.
In fact, it feels like 10 to 20 pages have simply been cut from the module: The search for the culprit of the trade collapsing and location of the culprit is sketchy at best and feels like it could use an overview map of the islands/coast to help the DM portray the whole search. What is left of this section, especially the battle with the first “boss”, feel sketchy and cut down to a minimum and evoked the distinct feeling of SOMETHING being missing. I maintain that, with about 10 pages of additional content to properly flesh out, this module could rank among the finest – Some for the beginning, some for the main locale, some for the tactics of the antagonists, some for the BbeG’s tactics and there we go – one legend of a module. As written, as much as I hate to say it, “Storm’s Wake” falls short of what it could easily have been. Combined with the lack of printer-friendly maps its predecessor still had as well as with the user-unfriendly statblock-presentation with mixed systems, I arrive at a score that hurts me more than lower ones I’ve given: Due to the ideas and potential, I’ll settle for 3 stars, but only if you’re willing to develop the module further. If you want a go-play module, then this one is not what you’re looking for. For now, I’ll sink back and hope for a revision and the ability to rate this as high as its concept deserves.
Endzeitgeist out.
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This module is 44 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, leaving us with 39 pages of content, so let's check this out!
This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion.
All right, still here? A swathe of supernatural cold is cutting through the regions of the Klavek Kingdom, courtesy of a mysterious force and the PCs are on route towards Whitespire Abbey. The isolated place has been all but been wiped out and is now home to cultists and other cold-related beings - a few pages missing from one tome as well as one portal to a demiplane are all the PCs will find clue-wise apart from a surprisingly eclectic array of cold-themed adversaries.
Taking the step through the portal, the PCs go on to explore the Roots of Winter, floating frigid isles connected via fragile bridges, where a Marid, cold elementals, cold based undead spirits and finally, Ofas, the arctic minotaur druid and henchman to the true mastermind of the sudden cold snap, who guards a teleportation spire that leads to the disturbing fortress depicted on the cover.
The beautiful full-color artwork is evocative and sets the mood, for it turns out that in the arctic fortress, beyond her minions and reanimated undead father, Midwinter waits - a very old white dragon! Upon her defeat, the adventure is over - for now, for Midwinter was just the first in a series of draconic incursions masterminded by one seeking to resurrect the empire of Saatman.
The pdf also has one new massive teleportation spell, a write-up for a new god/religion, 3 magical items and a short 2-page appendix with information on hatching/training dragons.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are very good, I didn't notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres to a 2-column-standard and the respective headers have a nice frost-covered tinge. The cover artwork is glorious and the pdf comes with full bookmarks. As per the writing of this review, Hero Lab-files are not yet part of the deal, but from whaqt I can glean, are planned. With teh layout revision, no more printer-friendly version is included, but honestly, it's not absolutely required with a relatively printer-friendly layout.
Midwinter's Chill is an interesting adventure in that it offers us extremely iconic, glorious locations - perhaps the biggest strength of author Michael McCarthy's writing in any of his modules and the locations are provided with the gorgeous cartography we've come to expect from Todd Gamble. That out of the way, not all is well with Midwinter's Chill: The locales are superbly cool backdrops that remain just that: Backdrops.I can't, for the life of me, not fathom why aqrctic dangers, slippery bridges biting winds, blizzards that grant concealment and the like are not part of the module: At the very latest in the demiplane included, hostile environment used to the advantage by the inhabitants should not be considered optional, but compulsory. What use are rope-bridges suspended over an endless chasm of white cold when the PCs can't fall down/ be pummeled down? Where are the sheets of ice? The same holds true for the iconic, cool final fortress:
With such a look, why can't the BbeG of the module e.g. partially animate the fortress to attack PCs? Why is the fortress so short/relatively ill-defended? The latter could be explained by the PCs bypassing much of the defenses via their means of egress to the area, but still: While not as bad as in Icecrag Monastery, the module still feels like its BbeG spinning the wheels. A section on tactics and some nasty surprises would have gone a long way to make the BbeG feel more menacing. But in contrast to the lack of environmental peculiarities, this is in the case of this module, a minor weakness that can be neglected.
All in all, the module feels like its content has been trimmed down to the point where a couple of additional pages to provide a crunchy foundation to the awesome fluff would easily have been in the realm of possibility. The finale feels a bit abrupt as well and could use a slightly more expanded build-up, e.g. via braving multiple ice elementals in a blizzard, trekking through deadly frozen wastes, etc. to drive home the epic, iconic location in the end. In spite of the stellar locations, I thus can't rate this module higher than 3 stars.
Endzeitgeist out.
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