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Sunday, October 9, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Reviews: Samore’s Daughter, North Battlement Sector, The Disappearance of Harold the Hedge Mage, The Warlock’s Digest of Dungeon Dwelling Denizens
Zac pointed out that there are a lot of free adventures out there, but very few reviews of them. He asked us all to help address that by giving a short review of one of the many free adventures available. As I am a firm believer in helping out, here are 4 reviews.
Samore’s Daughter
by N. M. Wright of Lawful Indifferent
Samore’s Daughter is a classic DnD location based adventure that takes place in a generic fantasy setting. The basic premise is that a Baron/Duke’s trusted adviser's illegitimate daughter has been kidnapped and he hires the adventurers to get her back. There is a city mentioned, a village given a brief sketch, and a cave in the woods. There is also a little local unrest due to a few poor harvests.
The adventure clocks in at 4 pages, including the cover. It fits easily on a single sheet of paper if printed in booklet format. There is no artwork, and the 2 column formatting is easy to read. The layout is such that it could probably be reduced to 2 pages without much difficulty.
The political/economic background, though sparse, hints at a rich possibilities. If you enjoy intrigue in your roleplaying games Samore’s Daughter does offer a lot of room to further develop in that direction.
Overall this adventure doesn’t really offer anything new. On the other hand it is just the sort of back pocket idea that a DM can use for a pickup game if caught completely unprepared. I do think that it should either be tightened up a little bit, or expanded so that it fills 3 pages. Also, is the guy a baron or a duke?
North Battlement Sector (for Terminal Space)
by Chris Robert
North Battlement Sector is more of a mini campaign setting with numerous plot hooks than a proper adventure. Of the 100 hexes in the sector only 6 contain planetary systems, while 20+ are covered by a massive dust cloud. One of the systems is unreachable due to a local phenomena that prevents FTL travel, while another is an imperial garden world that really doesn’t welcome visitors, and another is a demon infested treasure trove, further limiting the number of places actually available for adventure.
The setting clocks in at 6 pages, plus a paragraph pushing it to 7 pages, plus a map. There is no artwork (except for the map on the last page), and the 2 column formatting is workable and easy to read.
The overall vibe of the setting is a fairly desolate and lawless. Of the 6 systems, only 3 are really usable, and the dust cloud only offers a 5% chance of an interesting encounter every day. The interesting things that are going on in the sector are definitely worth plundering, but I wouldn’t use this sector without fleshing it out considerably more.
The Disappearance of Harold the Hedge Mage
by Todd Hughes
This is a low level location based adventure for ADnD set in a rural village, the nearby forest, and an abandoned mine. The adventure is 17 pages long, including the cover and 4 pages of maps. Two of the maps detail the mine, while the other two are the local area around the village, and a cottage floorplan. None of the maps have a scale or key, and the dungeon maps have a significant excess of black, which makes me cringe at the printing this out full sized. I added a blank page after the cover to facilitate booklet printing. The cover has the modules only piece of artwork, a passably done scene from the dungeon.
The adventure itself involves the investigation of the disappearance of the local hedge mage, first by getting clues around the village, then moving on to the mages cottage, and then to the mines. The vibe is typical fantasy, with nothing in particular to distinguish it, or help it stand out. The twist at the end was unexpected, but if I was a player, I’d hate it.
I had real issues with the way the adventure is written. It’s very linear, and the spots that seem like they might give you a chance to make a significant choice all bring you to exactly the same spot. I also disliked that the description of each location is written like boxed text.
The Warlock’s Digest of Dungeon Dwelling Denizens
by bliss_infinte of The Warlocks Home Brew
As described in his blog post this is “a no frills old school monster statistical reference in digest format. It lists the stats only for all the monsters published in the Swords & Wizardry Core rules with a couple others monsters that I've used in my campaign thrown in. It sports ascending and descending armor class so it should be helpful in most old school style games.”
That description sums it up pretty well. In going through it the only thing I noticed was that some of the headings seemed unnecessary. For instance, under F there are only giant frogs. There are 4 different giant frogs, and giving it a specific heading seems redundant.
Also the Ballroch Demon is repeated.
Aside from that, it’s a really nice quick reference. I especially appreciate that it is formatted specifically to be digest sized.
Samore’s Daughter
by N. M. Wright of Lawful Indifferent
Samore’s Daughter is a classic DnD location based adventure that takes place in a generic fantasy setting. The basic premise is that a Baron/Duke’s trusted adviser's illegitimate daughter has been kidnapped and he hires the adventurers to get her back. There is a city mentioned, a village given a brief sketch, and a cave in the woods. There is also a little local unrest due to a few poor harvests.
The adventure clocks in at 4 pages, including the cover. It fits easily on a single sheet of paper if printed in booklet format. There is no artwork, and the 2 column formatting is easy to read. The layout is such that it could probably be reduced to 2 pages without much difficulty.
The political/economic background, though sparse, hints at a rich possibilities. If you enjoy intrigue in your roleplaying games Samore’s Daughter does offer a lot of room to further develop in that direction.
Overall this adventure doesn’t really offer anything new. On the other hand it is just the sort of back pocket idea that a DM can use for a pickup game if caught completely unprepared. I do think that it should either be tightened up a little bit, or expanded so that it fills 3 pages. Also, is the guy a baron or a duke?
North Battlement Sector (for Terminal Space)
by Chris Robert
North Battlement Sector is more of a mini campaign setting with numerous plot hooks than a proper adventure. Of the 100 hexes in the sector only 6 contain planetary systems, while 20+ are covered by a massive dust cloud. One of the systems is unreachable due to a local phenomena that prevents FTL travel, while another is an imperial garden world that really doesn’t welcome visitors, and another is a demon infested treasure trove, further limiting the number of places actually available for adventure.
The setting clocks in at 6 pages, plus a paragraph pushing it to 7 pages, plus a map. There is no artwork (except for the map on the last page), and the 2 column formatting is workable and easy to read.
The overall vibe of the setting is a fairly desolate and lawless. Of the 6 systems, only 3 are really usable, and the dust cloud only offers a 5% chance of an interesting encounter every day. The interesting things that are going on in the sector are definitely worth plundering, but I wouldn’t use this sector without fleshing it out considerably more.
The Disappearance of Harold the Hedge Mage
by Todd Hughes
This is a low level location based adventure for ADnD set in a rural village, the nearby forest, and an abandoned mine. The adventure is 17 pages long, including the cover and 4 pages of maps. Two of the maps detail the mine, while the other two are the local area around the village, and a cottage floorplan. None of the maps have a scale or key, and the dungeon maps have a significant excess of black, which makes me cringe at the printing this out full sized. I added a blank page after the cover to facilitate booklet printing. The cover has the modules only piece of artwork, a passably done scene from the dungeon.
The adventure itself involves the investigation of the disappearance of the local hedge mage, first by getting clues around the village, then moving on to the mages cottage, and then to the mines. The vibe is typical fantasy, with nothing in particular to distinguish it, or help it stand out. The twist at the end was unexpected, but if I was a player, I’d hate it.
I had real issues with the way the adventure is written. It’s very linear, and the spots that seem like they might give you a chance to make a significant choice all bring you to exactly the same spot. I also disliked that the description of each location is written like boxed text.
The Warlock’s Digest of Dungeon Dwelling Denizens
by bliss_infinte of The Warlocks Home Brew
As described in his blog post this is “a no frills old school monster statistical reference in digest format. It lists the stats only for all the monsters published in the Swords & Wizardry Core rules with a couple others monsters that I've used in my campaign thrown in. It sports ascending and descending armor class so it should be helpful in most old school style games.”
That description sums it up pretty well. In going through it the only thing I noticed was that some of the headings seemed unnecessary. For instance, under F there are only giant frogs. There are 4 different giant frogs, and giving it a specific heading seems redundant.
Also the Ballroch Demon is repeated.
Aside from that, it’s a really nice quick reference. I especially appreciate that it is formatted specifically to be digest sized.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Star Frigate 'Tower of the Archmage'
I can't even come close to justifying $30 for a miniature of this, but it's still cool.
You can make your own design by clicking on this link: http://ship.shapewright.com/?name=Tower+of+the+Archmage and entering whatever name you want!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Skeletal Sisters
The nights had grown long, and the wind cold when Rathgar and Feris entered the walled town. With sword and wand at the ready they passed through the open and unguarded gates, and down the stone road toward the main square. Houses were dark, and shuttered tight. No smoke spiraled up from the chimneys, and the only sound was the dry leaves fallen from the trees rustling in the gutters.
“Where is everyone?” Rathgar asked. “They were all here yesterday, and tonight...”
“Let’s just find Allianora and Nimble. Come on, the inn’s just up ah-” Feris froze. “Do you hear that?”
A soft shuffling sound was coming from up ahead, and the soft glow of candle light began to brighten an alley.
Rathgar looked around. The large stone buildings loomed on either side of the street, their ornate facades offering deep nooks and deeper shadows.“Hide!” Rathgar hissed, pushing Feris toward the side of one of the ornate staircases.
Crouching down, they peaked over the railing and saw a troop of candle holding robed priestesses making their way around the corner. It took a moment before Rathgar and Feris realized that they were all skeletons dressed in the robes of the sisters.
The skeletons’ slipper clad feet gently shuffled past. Feris and Rathgar waited for the candle light to fade before they crept out of their hiding place. Looking down the road in the direction the Skeletal Sisters they saw the candle light disappearing around a corner. With a deep sigh of relief the pair turned to continue toward the inn.
A single Skeletal Sister stood in the road, the candle light from its slim taper flickered across the smooth surface of her skull.
“Gods!” Feris gasped.
The hollow sockets of her eyes stared at them, and a cold chill seemed to grab their spines before the blackness of her eyes swallowed them.
Rathgar opened his eyes, feeling stiff and cold. The noonday sun filled the room with warming light, but he still shivered. Allianora leaned over him. “Don’t try to move. It’s going to be a bit before we can make you better.”
Skeletal Sisters
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 7*
Move: 120’ (40’)
Attacks: Special
Damage: Special
No. Appearing: 3d12 (3d6)
Save As: C8
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Nil
Intelligence: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 850
Skeletal Priestesses are a special type of undead that haunt locations that are for whatever reason chosen of one of the various moon goddesses. These are always urban locations, and on the night of the first new moon of the autumnal season the sisters walk the streets. Anyone encountering the sisters must make a saving throw vs paralysis at a -4 or fall unconscious until the sun reaches its zenith. In addition the character will suffer a -2 penalty to all rolls until the moon is full. If female characters fail their first save, they must also make a saving throw vs Death Ray or become a Skeletal Sister.
Skeletal Sisters are turned as Phantoms.
“Where is everyone?” Rathgar asked. “They were all here yesterday, and tonight...”
“Let’s just find Allianora and Nimble. Come on, the inn’s just up ah-” Feris froze. “Do you hear that?”
A soft shuffling sound was coming from up ahead, and the soft glow of candle light began to brighten an alley.
Rathgar looked around. The large stone buildings loomed on either side of the street, their ornate facades offering deep nooks and deeper shadows.“Hide!” Rathgar hissed, pushing Feris toward the side of one of the ornate staircases.
Crouching down, they peaked over the railing and saw a troop of candle holding robed priestesses making their way around the corner. It took a moment before Rathgar and Feris realized that they were all skeletons dressed in the robes of the sisters.
The skeletons’ slipper clad feet gently shuffled past. Feris and Rathgar waited for the candle light to fade before they crept out of their hiding place. Looking down the road in the direction the Skeletal Sisters they saw the candle light disappearing around a corner. With a deep sigh of relief the pair turned to continue toward the inn.
A single Skeletal Sister stood in the road, the candle light from its slim taper flickered across the smooth surface of her skull.
“Gods!” Feris gasped.
The hollow sockets of her eyes stared at them, and a cold chill seemed to grab their spines before the blackness of her eyes swallowed them.
Rathgar opened his eyes, feeling stiff and cold. The noonday sun filled the room with warming light, but he still shivered. Allianora leaned over him. “Don’t try to move. It’s going to be a bit before we can make you better.”
Skeletal Sisters
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 7*
Move: 120’ (40’)
Attacks: Special
Damage: Special
No. Appearing: 3d12 (3d6)
Save As: C8
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Nil
Intelligence: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 850
Skeletal Priestesses are a special type of undead that haunt locations that are for whatever reason chosen of one of the various moon goddesses. These are always urban locations, and on the night of the first new moon of the autumnal season the sisters walk the streets. Anyone encountering the sisters must make a saving throw vs paralysis at a -4 or fall unconscious until the sun reaches its zenith. In addition the character will suffer a -2 penalty to all rolls until the moon is full. If female characters fail their first save, they must also make a saving throw vs Death Ray or become a Skeletal Sister.
Skeletal Sisters are turned as Phantoms.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Short Adventure Wrap Up
When I first read about /Matt’s OSR Challenge - A September of Short Adventures back in July, I thought it was a neat idea, and I’m pretty sure I marked it to think about and come back to. I think that had /Matt not continued to post, remind, poke, bother, and generally cut through the noise and clutter of my blog roll, I would have missed it. As it was, through most of August my thoughts were not on the challenge, and I hadn’t signed up. In fact, I think I only signed up a couple of days before the challenge began, and the reason is that I had an idea. For some reason I was thinking about Lassie, and how Timmy always ended up in precarious situations, and then I thought of an adventure title: All’s well that ends well. Of course I had this idea while getting ready for bed. Ignoring that, I grabbed my notebook, and flipped to a blank page.
I started writing down titles and ideas. Short ones, only a line or so each, flowing from a village to a town to a city, then on to the wilderness, and then to the realms of the immortals. Threads, in the form of the Dawnstone and Twilight Stone wove through the adventures.
I was purposely pushing myself with the adventures after the first dozen or so to tackle high level play. It’s never been my strong suit, and I wanted to see how I could handle it in this format. As you can see, the end result didn’t turn out exactly as planned, though I did manage to keep the basic ideas of most of the adventures.
The first adventures were written very quickly, and it gave me a bit of a buffer at the start, but after the first dozen things started getting a little more complex and I had to work harder at it. Many of the later adventures were written the night before they went live, and even still I wasn’t able to get adventure 25 posted before the official end of the challenge.
Actually, that isn’t true. Technically I could have posted it on the night of 9/30, but I really do try to keep to one post a day that goes live around 6am. I find that it’s good to have a schedule, and to try to keep to it.
All in all I have to say that like the Sample Dungeon project, the A to Z Challenge, and the various RPG Blog Carnivals that I’ve involved myself in, the September of Short Adventures has been an interesting exercise and I’m glad I participated. Like those previous projects there is a strong temptation to go back and tweak it based not only on what I wrote later in the challenge (I’d have made both the Dawnstone and Twilight Stone threads stronger) but also a bit on what others in the challenge did.
I started writing down titles and ideas. Short ones, only a line or so each, flowing from a village to a town to a city, then on to the wilderness, and then to the realms of the immortals. Threads, in the form of the Dawnstone and Twilight Stone wove through the adventures.
 |
| Original Notes Page 1 |
I was purposely pushing myself with the adventures after the first dozen or so to tackle high level play. It’s never been my strong suit, and I wanted to see how I could handle it in this format. As you can see, the end result didn’t turn out exactly as planned, though I did manage to keep the basic ideas of most of the adventures.
The first adventures were written very quickly, and it gave me a bit of a buffer at the start, but after the first dozen things started getting a little more complex and I had to work harder at it. Many of the later adventures were written the night before they went live, and even still I wasn’t able to get adventure 25 posted before the official end of the challenge.
 |
| Original Notes Page 2 |
Actually, that isn’t true. Technically I could have posted it on the night of 9/30, but I really do try to keep to one post a day that goes live around 6am. I find that it’s good to have a schedule, and to try to keep to it.
All in all I have to say that like the Sample Dungeon project, the A to Z Challenge, and the various RPG Blog Carnivals that I’ve involved myself in, the September of Short Adventures has been an interesting exercise and I’m glad I participated. Like those previous projects there is a strong temptation to go back and tweak it based not only on what I wrote later in the challenge (I’d have made both the Dawnstone and Twilight Stone threads stronger) but also a bit on what others in the challenge did.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Beginning's End
This is the final adventure of 25 that is roughly designed to take characters from level 1 to 25 that I have shared over the month of September. These posts have been a part of Asshat Paladin's OSR Short Adventure Challenge, and utilize his Get Ready, Get Set, Go! format.
I hope you've enjoyed the series, and have checked out the other blogs participating in the challenge. There's a lot of really inventive, innovative, and imaginative stuff that's come out of this challenge, and it's worth your time to read through it.
I'll be publishing a PDF of my posts, cleaned up and tweaked shortly. I will also be sharing my original notes, and comparing them to the finished product. It's interesting (to me at least) how things developed from those first 2 pages. And I'm going to do a review of all the participants sometime this month.
Finally, a big Thank You to the /Matt, the Asshat Paladin himself for organizing the challenge. It's been a lot of fun!
The Beginning's End
A Get Ready, Get Set, Go! Classic D+D adventure set in The Big Generic City
Get Ready:
With magic restored one of the New Lords of Hell, an Unseelie Fairy Lord decides to take advantage of the chaos in the mortal realm. With the Immortals still missing, who will stop him?
Get Set:
The barriers between the worlds are back to normal, and magic is flowing back into the mortal realm. However with the renewed magics come renewed threats. Shortly after returning to The City a Gate opens in the Main Square, and out steps Madoc Morfryn, King of the Unseelie Court, Lord of Hell, wearing red gothic plate armor with a black bat winged cloak, and bearing a thin long sword. Madoc promptly claims The City as part of his expanding empire, and the current seat of the Wild Hunt.
Various creatures, including a green dragon will come to the city to serve, and the city will be slowly transformed by the fay and demons of the Wild Hunt into a twisted version of the Fay realm.
Go!:
Madoc is not concerned about open conflict, as his Wild Hunt is vast and powerful. He isn’t interested in destroying The City or its inhabitants either. He will treat the PCs as worthy nobles, and invite them to his court.
While the demons don’t really care about working with the fay, the fay hate working with the demons, and only do so at Madoc’s bidding. Specifically the Wild Huntsman is barely kept in check about the situation, and if given the opportunity will lead the Wild Hunt against the demons.
The Seelie Court dislikes the situation as well, but due to Madoc’s demons they’re unwilling to get involved. The Caretaker currently has his hands full with demons.
Defeating Madoc will cause the Twilight Stone to glow brighter and brighter. The Caretaker will appear to welcome the PCs back into the Heavens as the first of the New Immortals!
Important NPCs:
Madoc Morfryn, King of the Unseelie Court, Lord of Hell (AC -5, HD 20, HP 160, Attacks: 2 Sword (2d8+8) or Wizard Spell (5, 5, 4, 3, 1) or Force Blast (2d6+6+push+trip), Morale 12, Causes Fear/Awe, Immune to +2 weapons (except cold iron)
Wild Huntsman (AC -2, HD 17, Attacks: 1 Spear (2d4+9+stun) or Bow (4d4+5) or Druid Spells (4, 3, 3, 2, 1), Morale 12, Causes Fear, Immune to +1 weapons (except cold iron)
Green Dragon, Huge
Fay of the Wild Hunt (varies)
Demons (varies)
Citizens of The City (mostly normal humans)
I hope you've enjoyed the series, and have checked out the other blogs participating in the challenge. There's a lot of really inventive, innovative, and imaginative stuff that's come out of this challenge, and it's worth your time to read through it.
I'll be publishing a PDF of my posts, cleaned up and tweaked shortly. I will also be sharing my original notes, and comparing them to the finished product. It's interesting (to me at least) how things developed from those first 2 pages. And I'm going to do a review of all the participants sometime this month.
Finally, a big Thank You to the /Matt, the Asshat Paladin himself for organizing the challenge. It's been a lot of fun!
The Beginning's End
A Get Ready, Get Set, Go! Classic D+D adventure set in The Big Generic City
Get Ready:
With magic restored one of the New Lords of Hell, an Unseelie Fairy Lord decides to take advantage of the chaos in the mortal realm. With the Immortals still missing, who will stop him?
Get Set:
The barriers between the worlds are back to normal, and magic is flowing back into the mortal realm. However with the renewed magics come renewed threats. Shortly after returning to The City a Gate opens in the Main Square, and out steps Madoc Morfryn, King of the Unseelie Court, Lord of Hell, wearing red gothic plate armor with a black bat winged cloak, and bearing a thin long sword. Madoc promptly claims The City as part of his expanding empire, and the current seat of the Wild Hunt.
Various creatures, including a green dragon will come to the city to serve, and the city will be slowly transformed by the fay and demons of the Wild Hunt into a twisted version of the Fay realm.
Go!:
Madoc is not concerned about open conflict, as his Wild Hunt is vast and powerful. He isn’t interested in destroying The City or its inhabitants either. He will treat the PCs as worthy nobles, and invite them to his court.
While the demons don’t really care about working with the fay, the fay hate working with the demons, and only do so at Madoc’s bidding. Specifically the Wild Huntsman is barely kept in check about the situation, and if given the opportunity will lead the Wild Hunt against the demons.
The Seelie Court dislikes the situation as well, but due to Madoc’s demons they’re unwilling to get involved. The Caretaker currently has his hands full with demons.
Defeating Madoc will cause the Twilight Stone to glow brighter and brighter. The Caretaker will appear to welcome the PCs back into the Heavens as the first of the New Immortals!
Important NPCs:
Madoc Morfryn, King of the Unseelie Court, Lord of Hell (AC -5, HD 20, HP 160, Attacks: 2 Sword (2d8+8) or Wizard Spell (5, 5, 4, 3, 1) or Force Blast (2d6+6+push+trip), Morale 12, Causes Fear/Awe, Immune to +2 weapons (except cold iron)
Wild Huntsman (AC -2, HD 17, Attacks: 1 Spear (2d4+9+stun) or Bow (4d4+5) or Druid Spells (4, 3, 3, 2, 1), Morale 12, Causes Fear, Immune to +1 weapons (except cold iron)
Green Dragon, Huge
Fay of the Wild Hunt (varies)
Demons (varies)
Citizens of The City (mostly normal humans)
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