Adventure Site Contest: Review #8 The Glen of Shrikes

The Glen of Shrikes

By: GiantGoose

Ruleset: Unspecified, but looks like OD&D/AD&D mash up (?)

Recommended Levels: Unspecified, but I'd guess early mid-levels (4-6) if the party has six or more characters (including henches) and the DM wants some parity for the harder locations.  

The Gist: It looks like a forest hex set in the Wilderlands, with several bite-sized locations detailed having light connections; each stands alone and yet can build into at least some of the others.  GiantGoose also seems determined to use the psionic rules, as that rare power is heavily featured in this 6-mile hex, including at least one way for the players to become endowed! 

It starts off with the the general status around the hex so the DM has an overall picture, proceeds to a nicely put-together random encounter table that includes a few little dynamic details, and since it's fey of course one entry is a satyr-elf conference on inter-fey relations.  It then goes to give some motivations or desires for five of the persons or groups likely met, giving the DM a quick-hit on how to portray them if encountered.  This is all good stuff.

As this is wilderness exploration, you also get some info about what people can (or can't) see while they're traveling around.  Nice touch.

As for the specific hex encounters, you get:

• a tree with a murderous bird that has some nice treasure bits on its prior victims

• a bandit outpost that's willing to be bought off - an under-utilized encounter resolution today as compared to the early days (read the adventuring section of the PHB where players are told to always consider if it's better just to pay a toll than fight and burn resources)

• a touch of weird, with a druid sage living in a tree with mental intelligent pears

• the magic shop no party member will expect (technically not a "shop" but can trade)

• guarded evil elven psi-mages floating in deep meditation, one-half of a group that corrupted long ago

• a fountain with a twist - it's OD&D/Wilderlands...gotta have a fountain somewhere that functions like a chance card in monopoly.  The area inhabitants synergize nicely with it.

• an obelisk giving hints and danger about secrets and conflicts mostly forgotten - the writing in here is really, really nice with each room/area having a distinct threatening feeling yet never swerving into D&D cliches

The writing here is just really good.  Descriptions paint a picture but stop just short of telling you what you feel about it.  When what you just read makes three or four different yet cool scenarios for what that will mean, or what will happen next, pop into your head that's the holy grail.  "Evocative" is now cliche and too often results in "overwrought".  Goose isn't trying to be evocative, he's deftly provocative; this is a higher form of D&D writing as it will:

• help the DM run something they weren't thinking of before reading the product

• less likely to be a mirror presentation of another DM's sessions running the same product

I use both styles; evocative has its times and places. There are encounters and locations where I am trying to convey a very specific mental image I'm seeing as I write it, evocatively.  This works better in dungeons, IMO, where connectivity is closer/denser and the reader seeing an author's mind's eye speeds up understanding how this piece affects other groups or areas when reading them in turn.  But instead of the dungeon apartments found underground, hexes have big beautiful yards separating neighbors and benefit more consistently from several possibilities and little mysteries. 

And for the love of a d20, will someone please play in a psionics campaign ran by this man?  He's jonesing for it.

Monster Roster:  It's varied and well put-together; monsters chosen are up and down the power range and fit into the terrain.  Some lesser-known or -used types were selected from supplementary or 3rd party sources and they fit will as deployed.

Treasure: Many of the encounters could produce magical treasures of low to medium power, and a few choice bits supporting future adventures (looking at you, tuning fork set to Limbo) are possible.  It's doubtful a party will gain all of them unless they're depopulating the hex down to bedrock, but you don't necessarily have to kill the current owner to benefit from an item.  Cash will look a little light in comparison to some other entries, but I think it's reasonable for exploration of a 6-mile hex.

Do I think this will work: Yes

Do I like it: Yes, I think these entries compare favorably with stuff like NOD.  

Nitpicks: Only a couple

• the maps are essentially the opposite of loopty-doopty, but the locations are so simple it's a minor sin.  But if putting out more hexes, try to work in a location or three where the (non-hex) maps aren't quite that simple.  If you're not limited to 2 pages that's a great way to spend the extra space.
• While it can be difficult to peg a wilderness hex for "levels", the rule system used should always be given.  If it is a mashup, that's fine to say also.

Adventure Site Contest: Review #7 Frostfire's Durance Vile

Frostfire's Durance Vile

By: Richard Sharpe (https://bloodortreasure.blogspot.com/ and https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/18526/Town--Down-Games)

Ruleset: B/X

Recommended Levels: for level 4-5 characters 

The Gist: The short and sweet intro says it all - a princess needs rescue, and a dragon stands in the way.  

I should make clear at the onset: I think this is a good bit of adventure.  A lot of the review is critical, but to take away that this is a bad offering would be incorrect. I think many players will enjoy it.  I really like the unique monster (the hellwing) that has a psionic attack.  All the details feel fantastical.  You get golems and fire ray-shooting gems, and dragons and a huge pile of treasure.  You've got all the environments - cave, water, verticality, ice, a manned fort, and secret passages.  It's got a lot going on. Stripe went all out on the art, this is clearly a labor of love. No one will be bored playing this adventure, provided the DM can understand the instructions.  

But I had a hard time with that; it might be the way I think doesn't sync up well with the way the author describes game info and others will have an easier time.

This location is intended for either one shots or campaign play, but I think it is inherently better for one shots without extensive reworking.  But I think similarly to the Fountain of Bec, it is a 10-page idea stuffed into a 2-page format.  Additionally, while the hook is very imaginative and flavorful - and will, I'm sure, be liked as a hook by many people who often or for a very long time, reviewed adventures - the hook also serves as an illustration why hooks are simply a bad concept which unfortunately became somehow a tradition in the wider hobby.  I'll discuss this a bit, although these shouldn't be held against the author as this adventure is far downstream from my holding these opinions.

First let's talk about how to match format to concept.  You want your writing to introduce yourself to the reader; you want the reader to gain value from having utilized your writing.  So it needs to make a good impression and follow through on promise.  The former gets the reader to the end, the latter makes them look up other stuff you've written.  

Consider your idea/concept a physical body; consider the format a set of clothing it will wear.  If you have a very big idea, presenting it in clothing several sizes too small makes both the idea and the format look something close to ridiculous.  Likewise, draping an outfit several sizes too large over a modest physique impresses no one.  Your readers will need both big and small pieces of content - and so, presumably, will you if you're running a campaign.  But if you tag your adventures as small when they're not, or vice-versa, the three-step process of read, use, and return for more likely does not happen.  Even if the ill-fitting idea is a good one. So it is important to develop talent in both sizes, rather than always trying to fit whatever idea you have at this moment into the situation at hand - whether for a contest, submission to spec, or for your own players.  

Being a good DM is to create in a manner recognizably from you and yet always, after Campaign Day 1, in a sense submitting to circumstances outside of your total control.  Where this dynamic is undeveloped, many tensions result between the game's premise (player agency) and an untamed muse.  The horse must be broken in order to serve. 

This is a pompous and longwinded way to say: when preparing a short, long-form ideas will come.  As soon as this is recognized write down enough to re-spark the process at a later time and try again if the first idea can't be pared down.

Now a word or twenty about hooks.  We've established I hate them, and that is because the very nature of a hook presumes a campaign does not exist.  For a hook to be able to slot in several campaigns at any moment, they must be so banal that they need not be repeated, or exist outside of perhaps a single book of hooks referenced by everyone.  "Suggested hooks would be #4, #12, and #21 from the Universal Book of Hooks."  People will waste a quarter- or half-column in a two page dungeon on shit that boil down to fifty ways to say "someone you've never met needs your help - if you want to play, say yes".  This is one-shot driven in a hobby engulfed in one-shot-itis.  

Or, we get very specific hooks which verge on preposterous when considered for use in a campaign.

The latter is what the issue is with the very flavorful, imaginative, and good hook given here.  It takes up most of page 1 - leaving no space for detailing the three other mapped approach locations (of which no more than two will be used, and possibly none).  It also requires the following to either be already true, or suddenly inserted, into an organic ongoing campaign:

• An ongoing war

• a journey which can be diverted without repercussion to whatever was the proximate cause to travel

• the serendipitous choice to indulge at a whorehouse while on the way

• recruiters who can draft involuntarily (because of the war) being in the whorehouse on the way

• the recruiters being there because they hope to find someone who can rescue a princess everyone thinks is dead

• They hope to do this in a whorehouse because they have no proof of a plot they've discovered in an undetailed way (the players won't ask how they learned this), and there's no time to get word to a king who won't believe them, so sitting in a roadside whorehouse looking for strangers is their sliver of hope

• If you succeed, the reward of not being involuntarily drafted into the army will make you grateful to receive a fraction of the loot you'd gain undergoing a similar trial in any normal campaign circumstance

It makes for entertaining reading, and read-only consumers likely will applaud.  I wouldn't use this in a campaign in a million years.  I'm not going to insert that much chaos into my campaign to make a 2-page location fit, and so the 2-page location will sit unused until it fits by chance. Or it will be stripped for parts. But when running a one-shot, this works.  The players don't care - they're not going to use these characters again and never used them before. The war, and probably the "campaign world" itself, doesn't actually exist. The hook is instead a fake because - so the more colorful the better.

But I will hand it to the author...it's one hell of a fake because.  It will serve its purpose in spades, in one-shot OSR games.  

Now for the meat of the scenario proper.

The two recruiters offer up three possible means to access the cavern of the dragon below.  Unkeyed maps are provided for two of these: 

1. the courtyard with one entrance (a well)
2. the main keep interior which is just an intermediary path to the lower-level jail under the keep where an elevator is located
3. the third entrance to the caverns isn't mapped so will need to be done either by theater of the mind or any outdoor map easily pulled off the internets showing a stream coming out of a low cave - for example, if you have the module Hyqueous Vaults, its outdoor map could easily be cropped and recycled for this purpose.

Once the activity moves into the lower caverns proper, there's stuff going on in almost every area.  Some sharp fights, dungeon tricks, environmental hazards - the players need to be on their toes.

You get 3 (or maybe 4) fights, and each are tough.  No pushover combats here.  All the language is written in high evocatarian, so the non-combat set pieces such as the orbs will firmly anchor in the imagination of the players when described.

But many of these areas have unclear text requiring puzzling out author intent.  

Interestingly, not all the entrances are equally favorable to the players.  If they follow the suggestion of looking for the orbs, taking either of the entrances beginning inside the keep likely means they'll need to face the golems twice unless they want to do some swimming and cliff-scaling (which they may prefer, if they've met them once already).  

And then, of course, at the end, you rescue the princess if you can beat the dragon and she knows all about the evil plans to do her in (presumably because the traitorous castellan just had to tell her all about it), so she'll make sure your party's actions here are properly understood as the heroism it is.  

Monster Roster: there's three monsters - the dragon, the new hellwings, and a couple of 16 HD rock golems that the party has to immediately run from at the suggested levels, if they want to be in fighting shape for the dragon.  

If the author has space to give the hellwing a bigger write up somewhere, I think that would be cool.  You get the info you need to run it, but knowing a bit more about it would make it easier to use outside of the adventure in other stuff.

Treasure: Presume the adventurers succeed - a frost brand sword and 50K in gold/gems would be a nice haul - depending upon what the "share" they get is.  If they can somehow manage to pull off getting the fire ray gems from the golems, that's a very nice couple of attacks they can use at range once per day, each.

Do I think this will work: Man this is kind of tough.  Some DMs will love this, others will be very frustrated by it.  The playtest, for instance, reportedly went really well.  I would categorize it like this:

There are two continuums I'm thinking of here. CAG-OSR is one continuum, and the Gygaxian Naturalism of G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief vs the funhouse dungeon of S2 White Plume Mountain is the other.  

• If you love the sit-down-and-roll playstyle of the OSR (even if you want to import some CAG stuff into it) you will be more pleased with this adventure location as written

• If you love the funhouse dungeon content of White Plume Mountain a little (or a lot) more than the Gygaxian naturalism of G1, you will be more pleased by this adventure location as written

Do I like it: I love the ideas and a lot of the areas as individual vignettes, but I don't like it as presented, in this two-page format. I suspect I would like it very much if it had room to breathe, the connective tissue didn't feel as if it were mostly cut for space, and it had a severe editing pass. Considered as a whole, the whole is less than the sum of its individual parts.

Nitpicks: 

• Suggest listing where each entry method outputs into the cavern where the three options are listed under "The Plan".  E.g., add "see area 9" to the elevator bullet, etc

• The map locations of the two suggested orbs are areas 2 and 6; the earlier prompt for the DM to have the recruiters suggest finding these before confronting the dragon says they're in areas 2 and 5.

• I'm not at all clear if the description for area 1 means that the stream shown as flowing there curves north off-map (underground)?  Such that you could follow it to area 7 and bypass areas 2, 3, and 5?  

• I don't understand how the water connects from area 7 to area 1, because I presume the water is flowing from area 12-ish to area 7...and then pools there.

• Area 2 shows as +50 ft; area 4, beyond a 50 ft ledge also shows as +50 ft; there's nothing in area 3 connecting them to indicate a loss of elevation.  Is these altitudes absolute or relative to each other?  I.e., is area 4 another 50 feet higher than area 2 (+100 ft) or was there a big slope down in area 3?  I'm used to "+50" meaning absolute elevation similar to contour lines.  Not clear how they're used here.

• Area 4 - Can any character of any STR open the 30 ft tall wooden door?  I presume yes, given no thresholds provided.  But since not opening them quickly is death by golem, if very strong or multiple PCs are required to push them open this would be good to note here.

• Area 6 - if the PCs go to area 5 first and kill 4 hellwings there coming from area 6, does that mean the listed 4 hellwings are gone if this is explored after?  Or are there 4 more here?  I.e., some DMs will end up running 8 hellwings if both places are explored.

• area 8 - I'm confused by what's going on here...is the incredible alpine mountain landscape described, something engraved on the doors?  or is the area beyond the doors just an alpine mountain landscape illusion hiding the mentioned sheer ledge (no fall distance given, btw, unless Area 10 is supposed to be "+0 ft" elevation), and opening/closing the doors dispels this illusion to show the normal cavern area that is actually in area 10?  What confuses me is the secret path from area 7 to area 10...which never interact with these doors, so what does taking that path produce?  An alpine mountain landscape that's actually someplace far away (or an illusion), or the described cavern in the area 10 text?

• The doors seem to lead to something that either doesn't exist or is a portal to someplace far away.  There's just a lot going on here, and I'm not certain exactly which option is going on with the magic of the doors.

• text for areas 10-12 are out of order and/or misnumbered.

• No stats are given for the dragon!  Or the massive gem in its chest!  Players are going to key on that gem my man, and no DM wants to go looking up dragon age/HD by reverse-engineering it's length :)

Adventure Site Contest: Review #6 The Fountain of Bec

By: Stooshie & Stramash

Ruleset: Lab Lord (Advanced or Basic Versions)

Recommended Levels: Party of 3-5 of levels 4-7  LMAO

The Gist: You had some monastic nuns who were trad wives of their god, until the entire area was wrecked by raiders.  After several decades, the area has been lightly resettled but ominous trouble seems to be coming from the ruined monastery.  Clearly a job for our PCs!

So this is one of those pieces where the strength and weaknesses are uneven.  There's a lot of potential here - the strengths are very good, and the weaknesses are the type more experience and craft will shore up.

The ideas are very strong and flavorful.  If you can come up with great ideas, its easy to write stuff people want to run.  But the execution of these ideas is off.  They don't "fit"; they're too large for the piece and the maps chosen don't work with them very well (primarily the above-ground map).  A ruined monastic nunnery to adventure in leveraging a sacred theme and a neat minor relic to boot is a great location idea.  This is some great meat for a party with a paladin character, or even just the party cleric getting thrown a thematic bone.  I like this very much! 

I also like fitting in Fiend Folio monsters, I do love me some FF.

Pairing that with a simple square ruined fort map with two towers and an open courtyard is poor execution.  There's not a group of women in history, married to their lord or otherwise, that is going to set up shop in this location.  I feel like this pair of authors would be well served with one of them (or both) developing rudimentary mapping skills so that their great ideas aren't detracted by the map.  (Also, sisters of education, community health, and farming aren't likely to set up shop in the mountains, but I digress.)  It always hurts to see what could be a great adventure shoehorned into ill-fitting free/generator maps.

It also feels like the authors aren't intimately familiar with what the monsters chosen will do, on average, in a combat situation.  Especially when placed in environments that pose their own penalties on PCs (such as fighting in water).

But these are all things that come with experience.  And you only get experience by using over-ambitious ideas and seeing what happens.  

Ask my long-ago former players.  

Actually, take my word on it.  I think some of them might still be a little salty.

But man, like I said, the ideas and flavor are here in spades for a 2-page adventure location.  The main foes, the trolls, have a plan for conflict and aren't just "there".  The random room locations are nicely thought out so that the DM has something to work with if PCs leave and come back without having to think very hard about it.  (FYI - the two towers are structured to set up a killing field in front of the fort entrance...it feels like if this site were intended for a bit higher level PCs this could be utilized if the trolls put up log barricades and waited until the PCs were trying to negotiate that).  

You've got some verticality with the towers that both the trolls and the players can play with - at least the west tower - granting the trolls have the advantage there.

Once you get into the basement, the layout and details of the trolls fit well and will play well (although there are some non-troll nitpicks for the basement, below).

And putting a minor relic in brings a nearly abandoned aspect back into campaigns and worldbuilding.  Everyone remembers artifacts, but relics are where its at.  Artifacts are apocalypse fuel, relics are social fabric builders.  You don't have to have a 97th level cleric everywhere, you just need someone properly anointed pastoring a location blessed with a relic. MORE RELICS.

Overall, great job even if an uneven one.  Keep putting stuff out guys.  Play a lot.  We need more of this stuff, just match up the scope of the idea with the physical space!

Monster Roster: Trolls, a 10 HD giant 2-headed troll, death dogs, an invisible stalker, and some fucked up cthulian octopus with shadow powers (?).  I don't have LL so don't know the details on that one, but holy hell.

Treasure: There's some nice jewelry pieces so the party can grab around 10K in gold value...and did I mention the RELIC?  I can't remember if I mentioned the RELIC.

Do I think this will work: If you go into this adventure with five level 4 characters you're getting wrecked, even if you have some lower level henchman.  Two headed trolls, regular trolls, death dogs, and an extra-planar octopus aren't going to fall to your level 2 spells and fighters able to hit AC 0 on a 17 before you fall to them.

It definitely can work, but the DM needs to ignore the authors and peg it at a minimum of 40ish character levels, including at least two 6th level characters and ideally a level 7 spellcaster, primarily to handle the octopus and resolve the death dogs before those glass cannons do much damage and Pfizer half the party. Damage is going to occur here.  Healing will need to be more than a handful of CLW spells and maybe a potion or two.

Do I like it: Yes, it's broken as fuck but I like it.  I can fix her.

Nitpicks:  

1) I don't know if XP was downshifted for LL, but the death dog XP is light.

2) It feels like some early changes were missed in editing - after rolling to see exactly where the trolls are, we're then told later that there's a 1:6 and 2:6 chance of trolls in the round/west towers.  But I already know exactly where the trolls are...and the chances of trolls in those towers is much higher.

3) Pop the maps open in MS paint and put a compass rose on them. Rotating to match would be preferable, but that might require some photoshop chops.  At least a rose would allow orienting to it on the basement levels without having to mentally realign the two maps together based on the stairs when reading rooms with directional info.

4) If Remove Curse is required, that should be the minimum level for that ruleset (5th level in AD&D, not sure about LL) - or have one of the scrolls in area 9 contain a remove curse spell

5) Speaking of area 9, the general rule about water and absorbent treasure applies - if the scrolls are useable, all the rest of the documents in the room probably shouldn't be "sodden".

6) this might be a difference in LL, but in AD&D invisible stalkers are limited time servants to MUs (aerial servants are the clerical version, also "limited time, specific use" monsters)  - there are a bunch of "indefinite time" guardian monsters, however, so if running with AD&D I'd recommend switching one in for the invisible stalker. Also whether aerial servant or invisible stalker, both are air elementals so it's questionable if gas would hurt them (even though gas isn't strictly listed as an immunity - their being "snatch and grab" monsters instead of location monsters likely means interaction with gas wasn't considered much at the time). 

Adventure Site Contest: Review #5 What Happened to Brother Eustice?

By: Vance Atkins of https://leicestersramble.blogspot.com/

Ruleset: ??

Recommended Levels: "low levels" - given the strength of the main monster, I'd say 3rd level is about right if the party is small.  Lower level adventurers in bigger parties will be able to take out the final boss(es) also, but they pack enough of a punch some fatalities would be likely.  Rolling a second one would increase the likelihood of fatalities by quite a bit.

The Gist: Straightforward rescue prompt that will result in the party exploring a small abandoned shrine/lair nearby having 9 rooms.  It's simple, it's got the little descriptive details that help a DM set the scene at the table, and it's doing a good job of hitting all the bases.

You've got an abandoned shrine.  It's got a trap, it's got appropriate dungeon dressing, it's got an environmental monster right off the bat to get some combat going early, and then the main monster at the end.  Oh, and you rescue the priest in the middle.  But otherwise there's not much going on in between the first and last rooms.

It won't disappoint anyone, and no one will remember it either.  I'd be happy to pull this out and run it for a lair.  I don't think I'd bother with using the hook.  The hook is fine in and of itself, this just doesn't feel like it needs one.  I think it works better if it's stumbled upon instead of being a party's intended destination.  

Monster Roster:  You get one random encounter on the way there with vanilla monsters, and then two other monsters in the lair: "crab spider" (undescribed) and a couple of chitin drakes.  I'm not familiar with either of these, but the chitin drake is sourced in the text and the monster entry is given.  I like the monster, it's a good selection.  

Treasure: Treasure is pretty light compared to entries we've seen so far (a few hundred gp worth of silver and gems/art, a potion of healing) but it's nine rooms a party will breeze through.  Putting one nifty minor magic item relating to trade (like an everfull purse) and another potion or two is warranted though. 

Do I think this will work: Yes

Do I like it: I'm OK with it.  It wouldn't take much to give it some pop.  It's Applebees D&D.

Nitpicks: 

1) pick/name a ruleset and a level range - this sort of ambiguity serves no purpose.  I'm guessing this is for OSE but I don't have a copy of OSE and didn't know where to look for "crab spiders" (I did a google search for the name paired with retroclone names but was still flooded with non-RPG search results of various spiders).

2) we don't need to know that snakes are slithering or skeletons are haunting on the RE table.  The OSR principle of "tell us what they're doing" on random encounter tables should either be carried to a useful conclusion or not begun.

3) in room 4, is one of the statues the goddess?  There are 2 statues, but then this extra goddess bit of detail. In  the text, the jackal statue is described in-between the mentions of the southern statue (naked lady) and the detail of the goddess, so it's not entirely clear the southern naked lady statue is a representation of this goddess - or whether the detail should be in the next room where the altars are.  Presume naked lady statue is of the goddess, although it wouldn't be typical for a deity statue to be located thus in an entryway niche, but if so - connect the two pieces of info together.

4) always, always say the scale of the map.  I'm guessing this is 5 ft per square but I don't know for sure.

Adventure Site Contest: Review #4 Etta Capp’s Cottage

By: Scott Marcley of thegloomyforest.blogspot.com

Ruleset: AD&D/OSRIC

Recommended Levels: 3-5 characters of 3rd to 5th level

The Gist: Crazy lady of the forest lives in spiderweb house that seems to have a pretty dark secret the author leaves entirely up to the DM's imagination.

This is a really tight lair that I'll plop down in a fey woods hexcrawl faster than Ye Olde Jeff writes adventures.  All the little details are great, work together, and will intrigue players as they go through it.  Poison is still a bitch at these levels, so tension will be high.  Some examples of what makes this next-level:

• the spider web-cloth material itself can form a unique treasure of sorts for players who want to run with that detail, if they realize it

• the location allows players a great deal of leeway in how they approach it - if they're willing to risk getting a bite they can make their own doors that last for a short time, but if they try to stand off and shoot their way through at reduced risk they're not going to get anywhere (and probably get buried in random encounters).  Just a neat balance/tactical choice.

• The flavor details are creepy because they're seemingly mutually exclusive, yet internally coherent in isolation.  All the options to bridge the two sets of details together are really, really dark and yet something you'd totally think a hag would do, even if you don't know exactly how it happened.

• The grand showdown is set up to be a heck of a fight for the party, given the difficulty they have with closing the distance.  And yet, if a party already has something like a potion of flying from previous adventures (and uses it here) it will feel like that usage tipped the scales in their favor - which is what magic items are supposed to feel like when used.  The use of verticality is nicely done.

Monster Roster: Spiders and ettercaps, but it all makes sense here and reinforces the theme.

Treasure: If players find everything, around 12,000 gp and a small number of magic items that are well-chosen for both the location and party levels.

Do I think this will work: Yes, this will work tremendously.

Do I like it: I love it

Nitpicks:  Very small nitpicks, and the total details involved would fill out more than two pages, but some light touches that could present interesting situations are:

1) An extra sentence giving how long spider silk armor/garments last, and what damages them, would be cool.  How much cloth to make them?  Also what characters might know it was usable this way (druid?), as I think the odds of players making the connection will be low.

2) In the cellar, show the tunnel walls (I presume the "tunnel" is interior and not exterior) and have the multitude of small spiders start sealing it off some number of rounds after the players go inside.

 3) Having one empty chair/setting in the dining room. What would they have to say if spoken with?  (I'm wondering - the author shouldn't feel obligated to define this last bit.  Nice touch with the family!)

4) Add "and assorted beasts" in Area E to prompt the DM with an answer if the players search the other 12 cocoons.

Adventure Site Contest: Review #3 Death Talon Lair

By: John Nash

Ruleset: B/X compatible

Recommended Levels: Level 3

The Gist: The reader isn't given a context for the location.  The title provides it is a lair, for "Death Talon", but until you get to the end of the piece you don't find out who or what Death Talon is.  

This piece highlights what I would consider the drawback of what has become known as the OSE style.  The DM is given staccato bursts of detail and no harmony between or connecting them.  DMs who never run anything close to what is written might not mind this; DMs interested in using 3PP material in order to import "not me" into their game worlds will need to infuse themselves back into the material in order to make it work.  If your players seize upon any of this detail, there's no 2nd layer for them to discover how or why unless you've provided it.  As written, it would essentially punish them for thinking it might matter because it's just wasting their time.

Spoiler - Death Talon is a young black dragon.  Almost certainly this lair wasn't constructed by the dragon, but taken over by it.  So what was it before he took it over?  There's undead, and coffins, and so was it some sort of tomb?  Perhaps.  OK, so if it was a tomb, why does half of it seem to portray a ruined trading outpost?  Good question.  Are the gnolls hanging out in one area lackeys of the dragon or are they just big balls gnolls who like to hang out near dragons they don't serve?  Insert GIF of "IDK kid" here.

Why do the undead vignettes seem to tie often into performative arts themes?  If they're protecting a former shrine to something named "Lumbricus - He who crawls beneath" those details aren't simply undefined, they're discordant.  

I would say that many of these individual pieces show something interesting, as individual pieces.  But I can't tell if that comes from the author, or some tables having a wide variety of possibilities.

Lastly, while we do enjoy dragon lairs and I commend the author for making one, a 5 HD dragon against a party of level 3 characters is a tough sell.  Unless the party can manage to do significant damage to it, its breath weapon should take out most of a 3rd level party in the first round - that's if they manage to avoid being level drained on the way there.

Monster Roster: The monster roster will present a variety of challenges - you have skeletons, zombies, wights, giant crabs, gnolls, a grey ooze, and green slime.  The roster itself is a good collection.

Treasure: 12,000 gp in monetary value, give or take, plus a couple of cursed magic items.  The gold is good but with the high level of challenge here for level 3 characters I'd recommend putting some magic in they can use to their benefit right away, as opposed to items that reduce their effectiveness.

Do I think this will work: Not really.  This is like pulling "BCFHUUV" from the bag in a game of scrabble.

Do I like it: Not as written.  I think any of the three or four themes present in this location could have been made into interesting coherent adventure sites if one had been chosen, though.

The map is also good. I'd likely use it differently, but as a widget necessary to adventuring, it is a good map.

Nitpicks:  Not enough here to nitpick really.  I would instead close with a thought exercise for the reader: surpluses of entirely incoherent detail given to another is worse than two or three details that play together; the latter helps another more, presents them with less overall work to finalize it, and is more likely to have them come back again if they need another piece of content.

But I would like to see something else from the author that feels like it is a fully realized expression of something Mr. Nash thinks is cool.

Adventure Site Contest: Review #2 The Tomb of Rassanotep

By: Jeff Simpson of Buddyscott Entertainment Group (Canada)

Ruleset: Seven Voyages of Zylarthen

Recommended Levels: for character levels 2-3

The Gist: Jeff gives us a quick hook/intro that presumes the party camps at a particular oasis in the desert - which, all things considered, is very likely to occur in desert exploration so a smorgasbord of hooks isn't really necessary.  Of course someone waking up in the morning to their partially sand-buried host's skeleton pointing in a particular direction is going to check it out.  This is a product for adventurers, not weenies.  The entire tomb shouldn't take more than an hour of play (if that) however.

Exploring in the pointed direction eventually leads to a cliff face with a tomb.  This area is the equivalent of a batting cage pitch straight up the middle that's intended to make it easy for a party to get solid contact.  While we all enjoy the novel and the innovative, the dirty secret of long-playing D&D campaigns is a lot of the weekly content looks just like this.  DM burnout happens when everything needs to be a "whoa" session, and player flaking comes from people unable to enjoy simple locations like these where there's a sense of satisfaction from finding something like this non-descript tomb, checking it out, pocketing some loot, and checking the next hex.  Marriage is not like a rom-com; campaigns aren't going to be an endless succession of G3s.  They're held together by people who enjoy gathering together, and there's going to be nights where this straightforward location is all most of the group can handle because everyone is tired, but no one wants to break the rhythm of meeting, bullshitting, having a beer, and playing some D&D.   

So as to area specifics, we have ten rooms that hit all the standard desert tomb tropes.  You have:

• the secret-in-hieroglyphics that must be sussed to open the real entrance to the tomb
• a simple hallway trap  
• the long-dead skeleton (inanimate) with a document having basic location info
• one dangerous automaton
• a throne that's unwise to sit upon
• the gratuitous flooded chamber containing the lootable corpse of some Satipo stand-in (probably)
• The room with long-dead skeletons (animate) standing guard and ready to attack
• fake treasure room serving as a decoy to the real treasure room
• The tomb of the titular character, who will rise from the grave if its rest is disturbed.

You might pish-posh or be non-plussed.  I would ask you: how many times have you been to Waffle House and how long do you think it will be until you go there again?

There's a few imaginative flourishes - the inanimate skeleton homes several normal poisonous spiders that the DM can describe as spilling out of its cranial orifices and the hieroglyphic messages likely invite speculation. 

Monster Roster: The monsters are all mentioned above, there's nothing new or novel - well except perhaps the level-draining leeches?  7VoZ apparently doesn't mess around with its leeches.  I don't have a copy of the monster roster to check and see if that's vanilla or an upgrade.

Treasure: 7VoZ is on a silver standard, so for that system 7,100 sp in sellable treasure and a +1 sword (with other powers if the GM wishes to detail same) is very acceptable for a 10-room romp.  There's also a "bejewelled scepter and crook" with the body of Rassanotep, without any values listed.  So if a DM wants to up the reward ante those two pieces can be given any value felt appropriate.

Do I think this will work:  Yes, there's nothing complicated in here to fail.  But if you're looking for "whoa"-level creativity this won't scratch your itch.  It's designed to give people a reason to sit down and JUST PLAY, nothing more or less.  For contest purposes I would say this is less on the inspirational side and more on the grounding side for DMs still getting their feet behind the screen.

Do I like it: Yes, but I'm also confident that I can amplify the very simple play loop here during a session with my own DMing pizazz.  This site isn't going to make a DM more than they are without it, it would be the other way around.

Nitpicks:

1) Room 4 describes the cat-statue guardian as falsely-gilded so as to present as valuable, but since no one here (presumably) is a descendent of the tomb occupant it also will attack as soon as its location is entered.  A delayed attack when they leave the room (possibly after being put inside a sack or pack carried by a character) would allow all the detail to work together

2) Secret doors in rooms 3 and a secret corridor in between rooms 6 and 7 aren't mentioned in the description.  This might be because of space or perhaps they were missed in quickly putting together an entry.  But these would have been areas where more tropes could be detailed that would give the location an even stronger flavor.

3) There's no random encounters in the tomb - and its small enough this probably isn't needed - but the skeletons in area 7 could stand doubling in number with some activation written in that would send half of them on patrol, so that there's at least a minor element of passive danger

4) One trap is said to slice off a finger if it is triggered, reducing a character to the lesser of 15% of their hp or 5 hp total - whichever is less. 15% seems harsh for losing a finger, although perhaps this is some form of Canadian inside joke; I've still not watched Strange Brew so anything is possible.  But I'd probably change this to whichever is more, instead.

5) Since this is carried by being entirely straightforward and faithful to the tropes, putting the main tomb/sarcophagus so close to the entrance where it's likely to be found almost immediately deflates the rest of the content.  Lean into the tropes, make it only accessible by some winding secret hallway that begins somewhere far from the entrance.

Adventure Site Contest: Review #1 Olglias’s Folley

 Why does one keep an old blog around?  Because it might be needed someday.

Today is such a day.  Ben Gibson of Coldlight Press, author of the esteemed NAP module "Tower of the Time Master" has emceed an adventure site contest with a very respectable 18 entries, which I'm reviewing to provide feedback and highlight content fitting with the classic adventure gaming style of play.

The rules of the contest were two pages of space for writing the adventure site proper, the goal was to provide a location suitable for putting into a hex map for players to encounter and explore, taking up to perhaps a full session of game time but not much more than that (and possibly less).  

I'm pretty lax on process so my review order is alphabetical by file name as submitted, which may differ from the name of the entry proper - easier to keep track of progress down the folder.  

For review criteria, my main two are very simply: 1) do I think this will work in play as written or with very minimal customization, and 2) Do I like it?  #1 is much more important than #2, as there are many things that work quite well for other people but I wouldn't run myself because it zigs where I zag, and that's no penalty.  But it's also impossible to avoid whether you personally like something or not when reviewing it.  So if you've submitted something that I think will work at the table but that isn't quite my bag - that's nothing to be worried about at all.  If you like it and would run it, that's what matters, and also why I didn't come up with any bullet points of criteria to try and influence how people converse with their own muses.

And with those explanations out of the way, on to review #1 "Olglias’s Folley" 

By: Kevin Conyers of Flooded Realms Adventure Press

Ruleset: Old School Essentials Advanced

Recommended Levels: 7-9

The Gist: an odd couple consisting of a cloud giant and his human MU buddy set up a lair of sorts around a ravine-pond fed from magically translocated "water" - mostly normal-ish H2O of the variety Bobby Boucher could appreciate, but with some extra-planar sources possible as well.  What lives in the pond depends upon the liquid du jour, and so offers some encounter variety to go along with the fixed locations in the small lair map.

Both of the fishing buddies are no longer around to maintain their elaborate fishing hole; its decaying status quo can be explored (and looted) although in their absence some other dangers have moved in.  While its possible (unlikely, but possible) for the party to come to understand what became of the giant, the fate of the MU is incredibly unlikely to become known.  For most parties, both members of the odd couple will be hidden depth that never gets explained - which is fine, good even, for minor spots such as these.  We get along just fine in the world without ever knowing the "why" of circumstances around us, and our speculations are sometimes more entertaining than the truth.  If you desire players to understand a location's backstory however, you'll need to come up with something having more visible threads to pull on than the site text itself provides.

Monster Roster: a good mix is provided by the author of treasure, some vanilla monsters, and some specials.  If the players can rotate the pond water and want to go fishing for an extended period of time, they could hook some memorable fish stories of their own.  I suspect this part will also remain hidden depth, however, unless random rolls provide something that hooks the players into wanting to burn more time here.

Treasure: for the land portion, which is much more likely to be interacted with, there's some likely-to-be-found art objects and jewelry that most players, even at these levels, will consider worthwhile for what amounts to a quick exploration of a few rooms.  If they manage to unlock the hidden depth, better treasure awaits them including an insane "fishing pole" destined to become a cleric or druid's favorite weapon.  For the time investment, treasure is good.

Do I think this will work: a qualified yes.  It has a high floor - I don't think this will fail for any DM.  But the best parts of the module are a bit too clever in that the author puts a barrier between each instance of what unlocks the best parts of the module and players either obtaining the clue at all, or understanding those most likely to come into their hands. Something as simple as not having the human MU write his diary in "phonetic giant" could make the difference. I could see players saying "we'll put this in our backpack and get it translated later."  Once they do that, will they want to come all the way back here on the info its given them?  Maybe.  But maybe they'll have new fish to fry by then and it will go into the "if we're back that way again someday" pile.

Players simply don't have a great batting average at making non-intuitive connections in real time, if they don't know what they don't know.  A DM has to be a bit obvious with at least one instance where the players can understand this place is different than all the other more mundane hex locations even if they don't know why, yet.  Otherwise I think its quite likely a party trapes through this as another decaying hex-ruin with one obvious lair monster and associated treasure, quickly moving on oblivious to all of the gems the author's put in.  Is that a fail?  No, not by any means.  Most lairs are just like that.  But is it what the author and any DM excited by the contents is hoping for out of it?  Also likely no.

Do I like it: Yes, I think the imagination here is great and it's the sort of change-up pitch campaigns need periodically where everyone can just have some fun and some whimsy.  There's potential for player memories and stories here, especially players who enjoy fishing IRL.  It does a great job of being memorable without overstaying its welcome or trying to be more than it is.  A lot of DMs don't know when to stop writing, and Kevin puts the pen down at just the right moment.

Nitpicks: 

1) Underwater treasure hoards using the book rules (at least in AD&D) generally don't include scrolls, and this one has two.  Sure, you can handwaive in "water proof tubes" (not mentioned here specifically) but I think it's best to allow environment to dictate treasure types.

2) The crumbling bridge seems a tad arbitrary in how its set up and executed.  Something necessary in cause-and-effect - even if just something that makes sense in hindsight - is missing.

3) It's only the type of water that changes out magically (?) so I'm not sure why pond-floor monster hoards would switch in and out as the monster roster does.  This seems like a hole in the design (or perhaps just the text) that doesn't do anything good but has the potential to take players down theoretical rabbit holes for no payoff.

4) This isn't to Kevin per se as I'm picking at a bog standard gamer culture convention, but can we please retire the "surprisingly lifelike" description of petrified creatures?  If we want players to understand they're seeing some formerly live creature whose been petrified, then just decide that stone to flesh produces obviously not-statue statues and put that right into the description given to players - "the stone form of someone who's clearly been petrified by magic is 20 ft to your north".  Because "Gee that statue is surprisingly lifelike" and the ensuing entirely pointless verbal dance (that burns time for no useful reason) that occurs between player and DM is so, so tired.  This fools no one and serves zero purpose.

FWIW, IMC magical petrification produces a "statue" that looks entirely similar to normal statues and not distinctive in any way.  It's not amazingly lifelike, it's in whatever style of sculpture would be baseline common/normal in the culture and time of the person being petrified - whatever stylistic flourishes those may be, lifelike or very un-lifelike.  

Review - The Palace of Unquiet Repose by Merciless Merchants

 Start with the Conclusion: 

The Palace of Unquiet Repose (POUR) is a top-tier adventure, meeting or exceeding all the promises made on its kickstarter - including projected schedule, something that separates those who can from those who wish.  I'm not sure what the retail price is giong to be, as of this writing the module isn't for sale on DTRPG.  I've paid $20+ for modules that I feel have less value than this module - I plan on shamelessly stealing some aspects of its presentation/formatting that work in ways I've struggled with too much/too little.  If you like intriguing NPCs, well-thought encounters, cool magic, monsters that will leave an impression, and ambitious scope - this module is for you.  If your players can handle danger, risk, and likely some loss, there is a play experience here I'm confident they will remember long after the last session wraps.

There are some hiccups.  To be fair to Merciless Merchants, on their kickstarter update this was acknowledged and patrons were encouraged to submit suggestions for final tweaks until Jan 10.  I treat my email like a red-headed step child, and my funded kickstarters with even a magnitude less investment of time and attention, so I did not see this until after the date had past.  So any or all of the small issues I note could already be corrected.  I'm glad they published rather than endlessly polishing in any case.  And to be clear, none of these hiccups sufficiently detract to ding the adventure even a half-star (if I gave star ratings).  Everything I don't mention specifically is well-done indeed, and as long as the review is, I don't dive into the specifics of most of the content.

A brief analogy before I get into the meat of the review.  As I was reading through the module, the mental comparison popping up over and over was POUR to D&D adventures what Mercyful Fate is to rock music.  You, as the DM running a module someone else wrote, are something like a karaoke singer.  As you belt out "Living on a Prayer" after two stiff long island iced teas, the point of the evening is to be together making merry; in your exhibition the group is for you, not against you, cheering your effort and contribution to the evening.  Very few people, however, ask the DJ to pop on Mercyful Fate before taking the stage -  even if a fan of the band few could hit the notes.  And those who could nail the performance might still have a stunned audience when the music stopped.  

This adventure is loud, fast, intense, unforgiving, and full-flavored; treading the boundary of whether your elfs-and-orcs D&D player might feel exhausted of that flavor by the time they manage to escape and take their leave.  It is not languid.  It has a singular vision.  It is *tight*.  It demands the DM has chops, while still doing more than its share of the heavy lifting in bringing about the play experience the author aims to deliver.  If you normally call up "Old Time Rock n' Roll" by Bob Seger when its your turn at the mic, you might need to detune this module into your range before session 1.  That's neither a slight on the module nor any DM choosing to do so.

On with the review (Warning, numerous minor spoilers ahead)

SETUP

The first thing a DM should consider is whether they have a city prepared/available similar to Iotha; a vaguely Moroccan-flavored desert trading city, and the module's jumping-off point.  While a DM could paper over the getting going without any real depth, it would miss a chance to ease into the tone when POUR gets rolling.  Good stand-ins candidates for walking-around detail, if a DMs needs quick and ready-made, are Xambaala from AS&SH, or The City of Vultures from Melan's Echoes From Formalhaut #6. (Until, I suspect, Iotha is detailed in a later accessory from Merciless Merchants.) 

SECTION I

Multiple entry hooks each look fun to arrange in play; most of the best set-ups feels like it should be a session in its own right (DM effort required).  The rumors will perk interest, and the roster of hireable NPCs give DMs easy platforms for memorable roleplay, many of whom offer concrete advantages to players making the effort to keep them alive in what is to befall them.  The standard journey-to-the-adventure-location immediately challenges the PCs with one of the new monster types, requiring them to think beyond "I attack" for success.  

SECTION II

Arriving at "X marks the spot", two different means of ingress to the main complex exist.  Each path has some of the few areas of the module that didn't seem to quite stick the landing.  One path - a secret shaft hidden in a sphinx* recently uncovered from the sands - is deadlier, but also more informative and rewarding.  I like how the setup rewards the use of common divination many players neglect.  Note to DMs - make sure you use the text description here instead of relying on the map, as this is one area where the mapping symbols available for use didn't exactly match the descriptions.  The area is protected by trope-appropriate cave-in, burial, and gas traps, and it rewards with hints and some treasures useful for NPCs or further information gathering. The gas trap is another area where the DM needs to chose between the text and the map - although either choice will work, but the situation shown on the map is deadlier than the situation in the text.

The second path forward is a fissure opened up by earthquake leading to a natural cavern which opens out into the next area.  The cavern is a simple lair for a local beast and offers less risk and reward as compared to the other path - but it is easier to find.   As a DM I always appreciate not having to blatantly manufacture PC success in finding a way through a single knothole.

Review suggestions for Section II:

I understand working with a limited symbol selection in making the map - it's always a hassle.  The risk is a fully-loaded DM misdescribing the scene, requiring verbal backtracking.  This might be a case where the fee for a custom symbol is a worthwhile investment, or even a crude amateur sketch (overhead view) ported into the CC3+ mapping style using the menu commands.  There are a few other visually misleading map symbols used later in the adventure which this suggestion could also apply to.

The sand trap takes 20 minutes to fill and I'm not clear as to why the players can't just climb the filling sand up to the top?  There doesn't seem anything in the room keeping them "on the floor" as the sand creeps up around them.  Unless a turn in LL is not 10 minutes?  I'm not super-familiar with LL or B/X, or if there are any differences between an turn and an AD&D turn - presume they're the same, because if a turn is a minute than a trapped PC would only have to hold their breath for a minute to survive.  My provisional "fix" is adding spigots flooding ichor from the tree in the vitrified garden on to the floor before the sand hits; roll surprise or save (will ponder the preferred math) to notice/avoid.

For the fissure entrance, would suggest an X instead of a black shape NW of area 1.  In other maps the black solid is standard for a rock column; it took me a second to realize the NW alcove was the intended entrance point

The statues/doors leading out of the fissure entrance seem off with the rest of the area. Unlike the sphinx area I have no idea why they invested that ritual effort in this otherwise empty natural cave that only opens to the outside world due to natural disaster.  As a player I'd waste time searching for unseen context that isn't there to find.  I will probably fill this area with the traces of an old supply depot, or something.  Or perhaps make the exit to the lake a natural fissure also.

SECTION III

The players exit out into a challenging environment compounded by the first hint of faction play, as the players consider how to cross a toxic lake.  A DM can play up the low visibility environment, switching to describing sounds as the players enter the fog (presuming they don't split the party to leave some outside the fog, who'd then risk being picked off by temptation!).  Thoughtful players can learn more information here, if inclined to divinations, that my produce light bulb moments later on.   

The potential fight or parley with the Sial-Atun is nicely arranged, with sensible tactical advice if players itch for a fight.  Note that as written, the hindrance of the fog is not applied to their view-radius since the text describes spotting PCs examining the barge.  This feels like an oversight; the DM should move the barge or just simply ignore the risk of discovery there (the players almost certainly will explore their way into view anyway).  

SECTION IV

"Rising from the lake like some pelagic horror, the necropolis is a replica of Uyu-Yadmogh’s city in life, recast in terracotta and basalt. Doorways are skewed, angles are jagged and rooftops and towers are slanted. Every inch of the city is covered in hieroglyphics and sculpture, layer upon layer upon layer. There is a psychotic beauty to the place, a reflection of the madness of its inhabitants."

This section has a lot of moving parts.  3 different factions run around this area, along with multiple (nasty) guardian monsters; many of whom track and ambush.  A DM will want to avoid "ruined urban area" pitfalls here - primarily overwhelmed players blankly stating they start exploring the nearest (empty) house.  The setup helps the DM in two ways, here: 

1) in two of the three entry points (gates) the first couple of layers of houses are smaller than normal size and it doesn't really make any sense to struggle with them.  It's a batshit crazy detail that makes no sense, but works.  You as DM will want to steer players from wrestling with this as a Meaningful Detail or mystery to solve, however, because it isn't.

2)  Three areas are visible from anywhere - the tower, place, and amphitheater.  Use your narration to emphasize these if players don't the hint.  I'd probably make the tree and statue visible very quickly if players are anywhere near their vicinity.  That leaves one faction's hideout in the ruins, and the otherwise unremarkable building with the secret passage.  The latter really depends on how the players handle the tree, so needs no telegraphing; the former may be more of an issue if the players have (otherwise smartly) eschewed exploring generic areas in detail.  Just be aware you should breadcrumb trail a way over to the faction hideout; the easiest intel drop comes as an outcome of going to the amphitheater.

One area to highlight for tweaks is the tree.  On the chance the players are exploring it as opposed to being led there, the DM will need something resembling the gardens of Versailles. The map is more abstract, and if taken literally shows something akin to the parting of the red sea with a clear path to the tree.  So grab a photo of some aristocratic topiary and make a mini-map prior to use.  Another area I'd consider before play is how to handle the paranoia of the locals juxtaposed with the peace-enforcing atmosphere of the tree.  This is one area where all the details seem to work against each other instead of with.  To make all the narrative parts true, I may substitute the insta-calm of the tree with a thematic save vs maze spell for anyone holding hostility in their black hearts. 

A last topic for the DM to consider a touch of further investment is in the Nine.  You're given more than enough to play them as opponents, but a bit of thought towards the details of why they're teamed up, why the various individuals want the goal sought, and the fracture lines of a likely inevitable infighting, will make the roleplay with this faction smooth.  As an example, one of the Nine is a possible hook/recruiter of the PCs back in Iotha.  If the DM used that, some prep in how to play out a reunion the players wouldn't expect, is effort well-spent.  My initial thought is a different illusionary appearance for her in Iotha, but her distinctive verbal tic a clue the players might use to connect the two after meeting her true self in this damned necropolis.  Pair that with some weakness/phobia revealed in Iotha as part of playing out the hook, which the PCs can remember to use against her here, and the seeds of legitimate player pride in good play are laid.

SECTION V

This is the castle proper, and the meat of the adventure.  It is an exceptionally well-envisioned pit of rebellious depravity.  Your players will have to think.  Pigs are well-fed but hogs are slaughtered. Some highlights and points to be aware of:

The artwork for the main entrance is superb.  Show that to the players and the tension for how this section plays out will, I expect, be palpable.

In area 9, a bit of map tweaking should be considered so that the # of alcoves match the # coming out of them, since the monsters are described as 1 per alcove.  Or just tweak the description to multiple per alcove.  This is in no way a big deal, but as DM you might as well avoid the "wait a minute" conversation with the mapper.  

Just north of the throne room there's a large circular room showing as filled with debris on the map, that isn't otherwise described in the text (that I noticed).  Decide ahead of time if this is impassable or merely a terrain hazard.  Your decision will affect what are the best ambush points and escape routes - monsters in the dungeon are either patient or inexorable, and you need to be prepared to play both situations well.  Examples of good ambush sites are outside the areas of 6-7, 10, 15-17, 18-19, and perhaps 23.

Bonus points for the sentence clause "...,triple that to an anthropophage or affluent ghoul."

The master of ceremonies is a great encounter; in fact, I'd tweak his communication to telepathic/instinctive, so as to avoid the possibility PCs can't understand him.  A memorable combat could erupt here if some patient guardians used this moment for ambush!

The treasure room is everything greedy players hope for, and more.  Follow-up adventure seeds abound, and could springboard your campaign for many sessions to come.  One item mentioned is a map, and DMs should have a map prepared to hand out (could be as simple as grabbing an interesting map from anywhere online before play, if a DM doesn't dig making treasure maps).  

A likely interaction is in #23, with a death mask.  The text seems inconclusive as to whether its a single death mask with 3 sides, or 3 separate death masks.  Either works, but the DM should pick one to use in narration.

Again, prior to making my main constructive criticism it should be emphasized how well this, the cornerstone area of the adventure *works*.  It is a triumph of evocative, sensical, memorable design.  PC exploits here will be discussed over leftover pizza for so long as your group endures.  So it may seem odd that I would suggest to DMs running it to tone the narration down in some instances.  Everything is "vast", "alien", "incomprehensible", "every square inch", etc.   The same adjectives going up to "11" are repeatedly used in the module, and 8 times out of 10, that language is absolutely valid.  But it does run past the line of mental fatigue in places.  If a monstrous statue is vast, and a bed is vast, and a 30'x30' room is also vast...the statue looses some oomph.  The art is fantastic, capturing the applicable scenes in ways beyond my expectations - but even the artists declined to truly grasp the secondary detail in the narrations of most of the scenes presented.  If the narration often outkicks the artist coverage, it will almost certainly outkick the mental imagery spun up by the players in the heat of the moment while they are dividing their capacity between that and how to deal in real time with the complex, well-conceived environment, and become so much water running off a saturated sponge.  The higher you take the players, and the more often, the more necessary it becomes to intersperse some mental parsley so their palette is ready for the next mindfuck.

SECTION VI

The piece de la resistance; the big bad; what has defied heaven and hell to its own regrets.  The artist outdid themselves and every DM should absolutely print out this piece to pass around the table.  The combat (if taken) will be a satisfying conclusion.  The repercussions could linger forever.  Well done.

FINAL RATING

 

VTT maps for the Lizard Man Lair in Saving Throw — a fundraiser fanzine to help James D. Kramer

Late last night we got word that the fundraiser 'zine Saving Throw had gone live on DTRPG.  It's goal is supporting Jim Kramer and his family in their fight against brain cancer while acknowledging in some small way all of the support he gave the OSR when it was a much tighter circle of content creators.  Everything that sparks into a sustained fire needs a generous helping of "right place/people at the right time", and OSRIC and Knockspell hugely benefited from a pro knowing digital publishing and cheerfully offering his layout services (among other talents) to bring old school gaming back to a wide audience.

The cadre of contributors who answered the call are exceptionally talented, and I'm honored that my homages to Jim were included.  For those of you who haven't had the chance to check out the contents yet - I feel it is no puffery to state this much quality playing content is well-worth $13.  Everyone wanted those supporting the fundraiser to get several nights of great gaming out of the mix, and that bar was, in my opinion, surpassed.

One of my contributions is a "super-lair" of sorts; a tribe of lizard men transforming from tribal primitives to a more advanced society under the shepherding of dark powers.  While it's placed on one portion of a treasure map also included in the 'zine, it serves just as well in any swampy marsh on a DM's world if party choices lead towards encountering a large group of the beasties.  Both DM and player maps are included, but the player maps still contain compass directions and a map title.

As more groups adopt VTTs for their weekly play, I'm providing a no-frills version, and a 10' hex version,  of the player map here with all text and symbols cropped out to ease throwing the lair up on your VTT of choice (and also to more easily reorient the whole towards other cardinal directions if desired).  The lizard men have lured many previous (and overconfident) intruders deep into their village only to grind them up against their makeshift stockade - will your players recognize the envelopment and defeat it?  Or will they become the latest batch of slaves worked until they drop into the meat cauldrons of their own accord?

Happy gaming!

New rules for clerical strongholds

I've been making notes for a few years on a monotheistic campaign world I'm building in my copious (ha!) spare time.  These are some ways I'm expanding the clerical stronghold rules:


When a cleric reaches 8th level, the place of worship described must be built within the civilized realms of <the main continent> at a location consented upon by the church. This may be an area of expanding population, the re-establishment of a church previously abandoned or ruined, or other reason as defined by the DM.  Success in this endeavor gains the character the ecclesiastical title of Bishop.

If the character previously developed a patronage relationship with a noble of the appointed realm, the place of worship must be at minimum 2.5X as large (5000 SF Main Floor) and is expected to be of a greater magnificence as well; ideally, a structure of cultural significance similar to many of the great medieval churches. The patron defrays between 51%-60% of the total cost of the building (overall maximum patron contribution subject to DM discretion). 

A place of worship deemed culturally significant by the DM raises the minimum hit points of those worshipers to a floor of 2 hit points, after having dwelt within its diocese for an uninterrupted period of at least 3 years (if they leave they must start the 3 years anew). Any worshiper attending the location a minimum of once a month for an uninterrupted period of months gains a 2% cumulative "miracle" bonus to their chance per month of a cure of any existing chronic diseases and/or parasitic infestation. A culturally significant church will triple the number of pilgrimages made to the location.

Culturally significant buildings also attract 50% more followers to the cleric than otherwise normal; all followers arriving over a period of 12 months. Should a cleric call for a Holy War (see below) as the prelude to building a religious stronghold at 9th level then 2-8 first level paladins - younger sons of lesser nobility or other worthies as determined by the DM - will join to help lead the forces to Holy War on the presumption of forming the core of the new Archbishop's court. (Note: a cleric may call for Holy War regardless of the type of place of worship built at 8th level, but paladins only assemble if it is culturally significant.) 

A religious stronghold built at 9th level must be in a location not currently under the titular power of another if the cleric wishes the recognized rights of a Sovereign Archbishop. Unlike the place of worship at 8th level, a location of a religious stronghold is chosen solely by a cleric, although if sovereignty isn't desired the stronghold may be built in another noble's realm as per a place of worship, above, but this does require consent (which is usually welcomed). Religious strongholds built in either the Near or Far Wilderness grant the cleric the right to call for Holy War. This involves expending between 500 - 1,000 gp per month (1d6+4) for a year on messengers, advertising, travel assistance, and other costs as determined by the DM. 

Holy War results in the accumulation of the following groups at the previously-built place of worship, or alternate designation advertised by the cleric during the proclamation period: between 100-600 families of farmers and other trades useful in virgin settlements (each family having between 1-6 people); 100-400 untrained men recently gaining their majority; and 100-600 experienced mercenaries seeking long term employment (which do expect pay if retained). Lastly, calling a Holy War means certain availability of at least one prospect (and possibly several) of any specialist hireling type of the cleric's choice that they wish to retain, so long as that type is at least occasionally available generally.  In all cases, those assembling expect the cleric can provide for their needs during the journey and afterwards for one year or until the first harvest comes in, whichever occurs first.

While military failure in a Holy War isn't necessarily disgraceful, an inability to provide for prospective settlers during this initial year is.  Such prospective archbishops may lose all ecclesiastical titles and suffer permanent reaction penalties that double with the lower classes.  If the failure is especially great or neglectful, personal atonement may be required from above. 

While a cleric isn't absolutely required to relinquish their bishop title to the previous place of worship if becoming sovereign elsewhere, most appoint a functional under-bishop and retain the title only ceremonially - perhaps a small stipend taken from the church's revenues.  The consenting noble may insist upon nominating a replacement to this first title otherwise, unless relations remain friendly or the noble is under church censure.  However it is not unknown for such revocations to spur a conflict which can end in a noble's loss of title and rights to the cleric instead; but given the great disparity in resources between the two, and the church's natural desire to intervene in such cases, this outcome is rare. 

The farther away an intended new realm is from the civilized lands, the greater the cleric's likelihood of beatification after death (assuming the stronghold was successfully established, in most cases).