ASC Review: Tower of the Necromancer

Tower of the Necromancer (Riley)

S&W (OD&D) for three to four PCs of 1st-2nd level

Coming to the end of this review series; this Swords & Wizardry adventure was actually the 11th one submitted, but it was pulled back to have some bits cleaned up. The polish shows.

For my review criteria, you may check out this post. All reviews will (probably) contain *SPOILERS*; you have been warned! Because these are short (three page) adventures, it is my intention to keep the reviews short.

Let's talk about the "rope-a-dope:" you show your opponent (in this case the players) one thing, but then you hit them with another. Here we have a nearby tower of a known figure (Santha the Conjurer) that seems to have been taken over by some necromantic forces: reports of undead sightings and the sounds of ghostly moaning leads the villagers to speculate some sort of Evil Force has taken over the place.

Now, if I'm the player of a 1st or 2nd level character, a "necromancer" (10th level magic-user, capable of casting 5th level spells like animate dead) sounds like bad news...like, really bad news. I've written necromancy-heavy adventures before that I had players walk away from...despite the promise of good spoils...simply because they decided "we don't have enough clerical power to handle this." Fear (of death) is a Real Thing in a properly run D&D campaign, and prudent players aren't ones to simply throw their characters into the fire because an adventure site is "there."

However, as suggested, it's all rope-a-dope: there is no necromancer. Santha the 4th level conjurer has been conducting some magical experiments using captured blink dogs; the result: potions of invisible flesh that makes Santha's hired mercenaries appear as skeletons. The moaning is just the howl of captive blink dogs howling in the caves beneath the hillside tower. It's still a low-level adventure site, perfectly suitable for the PCs...assuming they're bold enough to check it out.

Riley's system mastery of S&W is evident in his execution: The adventure is easily run using the S&W book and while I have some quibbles (how does Santha have a charmed ogre? Did he use a scroll of charm monster? Okay, what about the glyph that guards his chamber?) they are minor. Even the fact that a 4th level magic-user is "conducting magical experiments" is OK...S&W doesn't place any stipulation/minimum level on MUs pursuing this kind of activity. All good.

Danger level is fairly high for a party of only three to four PCs: parties could easily blunder into (up to) eight mercenaries in the tower (supported by a decent magic-user: love to see a low-level antagonist packing a sleep spell!), while the lower level features lairs with up to six giant ('smaller') spiders, all packing deadly (if weak) poison. And the humorously named quantum ogre (he blinks!) is a pretty rough fight for a group of only four PCs. But for seven or eight? I'm okay with that.

Treasure is low, even for low level PCs: I would like to see a bit more than 5,000 g.p. worth, and this one comes in at less than half (2,514). However, there are a handful of VERY nice magic items, not to mention blink dog puppies that can be rescued. ALSO: x.p. for monsters is fairly good at low levels (assuming the party can survive and defeat them...see the note about danger!). I think that, in this case, the trade-off is fine. Probably wouldn't use this as a first adventure for low-level characters, but it's a great second excursion...the kind of thing that could get the PCs that level up they're looking for (after already banking some experience). ALSO, it would be easy to throw in an extra 2K in treasure: a couple gems, a gold choker on the ogre, and a box of silver for the mercs can close the gap. It's not like trying to make up 10s (or 100s) of thousands of treasure discrepancy.

This is solid D&D, easily four stars (out of five). Taking it to the next level would be fine-tuning the encounters/treasure, and including some ideas for the long-term repercussions of PCs not interfering. But great job.

****

ASC Review: The Warm Caves of the Ts'Ai Dragons

The Warm Caves of the Ts'Ai Dragons (Sneedler Chuckworth)

"OD&D" for PCs of 5th-7th level

*facepalm*

For my review criteria, you may check out this post. All reviews will (probably) contain *SPOILERS*; you have been warned! Because these are short (three page) adventures, it is my intention to keep the reviews short.

We now reach the part of our program where adventures came in after the deadline for submission. This isn't going to have an impact on how I rate these adventures...if they're on the list, they're on the list and Mr. Gibson ("the Big Boss") has deemed them O.K. However, when it comes to tie-breakers and such in my final count, I'm going to give more weight to the adventures received earlier. Just a 'heads up.'

On to the show!

The author, one Sneedler Chuckworth, states this adventure is for OD&D. Except that every monster in it is from AD&D. Magic items list their x.p. and g.p. value as if they were from AD&D. Book magic items are taken from AD&D books like the UA. Spells are referenced that don't appear in any OD&D book...but do appear in AD&D.

This is not an OD&D adventure. Unless Chuckworth has no idea what the hell is in OD&D.

I am sorry to continue harping on this, but dammit, I'm going to continue harping on this: every edition of D&D is different. Yes, they have similarities. But they are different: they play different, they have different expectations of design, they have different levels of depth and complexity and different ramifications of long-term play. They are even designed with different objectives (comparing introductory Basic games with the more robust Advanced game, for instance). 

"Oh, it's all the same! It's all just D&D!"  No, it's not. 5E is different from 4E is different from 3E is different from 2E is different from 1E. Sure, 1E is more compatible with 2E than it is with 3rd or 4th or 5th...but it ain't the same. If you give a group a 2E PHB, DMG, and MM and then ask them to run something like A3: Aerie of the Slave Lords without any 1E books, they are going to haver a damn hard time. If my group plays OD&D and I buy an adventure that says "For OD&D" and then the monsters include quillans, sheet phantoms, fire toads, caryatid columns, earth dragons, and flail snails, then NO, I AM NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO PLAY THIS ADVENTURE.

"Just buy a Fiend Folio! You know those monsters are in the Fiend Folio!" Yes, I do. Because I am an old geezer who's been playing D&D for more than 40 years and who has played nearly every edition of D&D. But you know what? Writing this for ME is a stupid, stupid idea, because I play AD&D and if I see an adventure that's "written for OD&D" I'm going to ignore it...even though it's filled with AD&Disms. Because I Don't Play OD&D.

You want to write for AD&D? Write for AD&D. You want to include an AD&D monster in your OD&D game? Then fill out a stat block for it in the style of OD&D. Other designers have done that for this contest (see the Banshee entry for ShockTohp's ACKS adventure)...that's the RIGHT way to incorporate stuff from other editions. OR you could just write for the appropriate system, i.e the system from which you take the BULK of your material.

I feel for this author. When I used to run OD&D, I liked to use the Fiend Folio on occasion myself. But I was doing that for my home game, NOT for publication. Not for other people. 

Treasure for this adventure should be around 112K. Total treasure count is just under 154K, and that's ignoring the magical items x.p. amounts (because OD&D doesn't award x.p. for magic items...duh). Still, too much...and if it was an AD&D adventure it would be WAY too much.  But, in the end, I don't really care; I'm just annoyed. This should have been a pretty good adventure. Instead it shows me the designer doesn't know what they're doing.

One star (out of five). Do better. Show that you understand there's a difference between one type of D&D and another.

*

ASC Review: Galactic Funtime

Galactic Funtime (Shawn Metcalf)

SWN for four to six players of 3rd-5th level

Ugh...I haven't been looking forward to this one. Stars Without Number isn't my cup-o-tea and it's been a loooong time since I even looked at the rules. My apologies to the author in advance.

For my review criteria, you may check out this post. All reviews will (probably) contain *SPOILERS*; you have been warned! Because these are short (three page) adventures, it is my intention to keep the reviews short.

My knowledge of SWN is pretty limited. I read it a while back, and thought it might make a good system for modeling the WH40K universe with a B/X chassis. But that ain't what this adventure is.

THIS adventure is Aliens (giant mutant spiders, actually) take over the local Chuck-E-Cheese. Players land their spaceship in the parking lot, decide to investigate, and hilarity ensues.

Um...

We have a map of the Galactic Funtime complex. Three types of spiders: "typical," "large," and the unique "Soapy the Spider," a huge, intelligent version...these are the only encounters you'll have. They're not poisonous or anything; they just do damage, sometimes attacking in swarms. 

Players that survive can carry off video game cabinets and sell them to collectors off-world for 1d4x1000 credits each. I have no idea if this is a lot of loot...my recollection of SWN was that x.p. was not awarded for loot, but rather for accomplishing "missions." So...what's the mission here? Getting loot? Killing spiders? No mission x.p. award is given in the adventure so, um...yeah.

I don't know why Gibson wanted SciFi submissions; they don't really grade out along the same scale as the D&D stuff. This thing seems...fine. But I don't know. It's outside of my wheelhouse and probably won't crack the top eight on my list.

Three stars (out of five) with a "-" because, while playable, it's boring, and I don't find myself as amused by the subject matter as some folks might be. 

***-

ASC Review: Wailing Tower

Wailing Tower (ShockTohp)

ACKS for PCs of 4th-6th level

Okay...an Adventurer Conqueror King System scenario. ACKS is, from what I can tell, mostly a spiffed up version of BECMI. It has its devotees. For an adventure of this level range, it's mostly in the "A" part of ACKS, and can be judged much the same as a B/X (or, rather, BE) adventure.

For my review criteria, you may check out this post. All reviews will (probably) contain *SPOILERS*; you have been warned! Because these are short (three page) adventures, it is my intention to keep the reviews short.

This one is almost good (I don't write that to be facetious). I'm not a fan of ACKS, but this one nearly hooked me. Great premise/concept: an aging and mostly abandoned monument (museum/tomb) on the edge of town is inviting someone to steal the goods on display. The kicker is that the "goods" are guarded by a piece of fantastical dwarven engineering: a crystal observation dome surrounded by a reservoir of water in creaky "clocktower" that sports spouting fountains and is driven by an ancient water wheel. 

Time pressures abound: another group (a thief NPC and his bandits) have a plan go dig into the chamber not knowing this will activate the 30 odd living statues that guard the exterior. A rust monster is nibbling at the main gear wheel's spindle, and will destroy it if not stopped. Also, there are some giant hawks nesting in the tower that will return shortly and provide additional complication.

Getting through the crystal dome without accidentally flooding the tomb and destroying most of the treasure is the main "puzzle" of the adventure, with the author providing several possible solutions. There is also a banshee haunting the place (new monster for the system, full stats provided in text, slightly different from the 1E version, but not bad) who is a puzzle herself...although violence works as a method of "resolving" her.

This is a GREAT "adventure site:" it is small (only a dozen or so encounter areas) but complex enough to engage and occupy the players...the perfect kind of opportunity a bunch of rapscallion treasure seekers might stumble onto. THIS is a great example of what I believe the ASC is all about.

Now for the execution: it is, unfortunately, a little weak in the nuts-n-bolts. The puzzle for opening the crystal dome is pretty complex...the kind of thing one might have to figure out in a video game after wandering around for a loooong time, trying various combinations. Not very fun D&D, IMO. And I find it unlikely a group of 4th-6th level PCs would be hoarding a scroll with the 6th level spell lower water (one of the alternative solution presented by the author); two scrolls with dimension door is only slightly more probable. Depending on the group, this could be a decidedly frustrating endeavor, likely to end in a flooded loot vault.

And let's talk about that loot. ACKS, much like the Basic systems on which it's built, is a system that awards x.p. for gold. For a party of 5th level characters (say five PCs), I'd be expecting a treasure take of around 30,000. The wailing tower offers only 8,400 total, and that's IF the party can manage the treasure without flooding the compartment. Break the crystal dome, and that amount is dropping to a maximum of 5,700, with 3,300 of that only be recoverable finding some way to drain the water. Harsh! And fixing the banshee issue (a second "puzzle") offers no tangible reward, either.

The monsters, other than the banshee, are all pretty light-weight...unless (I suppose) the PCs are caught outside when the living statues get activated. My estimation of a SMALL adventuring party (five PCs) is based on the fact that the encounters here are so small in number: ONE rust monster, TWO giant hawks, ONE banshee, SIX bandits (and their T6 leader). This is pretty small fry. The main challenge of the adventure is the puzzle vault.

This one's getting three stars (out of five). It's creative, it's engaging, and it's tightly themed. But the overall danger level is low, the treasure count is abysmal, and the puzzle thing can be frustrating for some (many?) groups, given the format (a tabletop RPG). It's not quite "solid" D&D, but it's a pretty good effort.

***

ASC Review: The Grand Retreat of the Great Sage Tellah

The Grand Retreat of the Great Sage Tellah (thanateros777)

"B/X, etc." for PCs of "mid-level"

Man, people reading these are just going to think I'm a jerk, huh?

For my review criteria, you may check out this post. All reviews will (probably) contain *SPOILERS*; you have been warned! Because these are short (three page) adventures, it is my intention to keep the reviews short.

A "mid-level drop-in funhouse adventure for B/X, etc." That's what it says on the box. Well, now. I know B/X like the back of my hand, and "mid-level" for B/X is 7th level. So that's how I'm going to treat this one. ALSO: please note that I do enjoy the (occasional) "funhouse" adventure...see my numerous blog posts on White Plume Mountain over the years.

How much should I drag this out?

It's not good. We'll start with the basics: for a B/X adventure of this size (20 encounters...a tad big but within contest parameters) a "mid-level" party could expect to find somewhere in the neighborhood of 261K, all monetary (because B/X doesn't give x.p. for magic items). If the PCs were able to pull out every last scrap of loot, they get a grand total of 21,100 g.p. value. Pitiful.

Then there are the encounters: illusionists (no such thing in B/X). A necrophidius (not in B/X). "Clockroaches," "assassin vine," "mycelian," and "shocker lizards" (I've never even heard of these things). Water weirds (not in B/X). Guardian familiar (not in B/X). That's a helluva' lot of "etc." No stat blocks are provided for any of the monsters.

Usability is an issue. Decent map, nice and clear. But the three pages of text are not only crammed together, but using a font that makes reading this a thing of torture...it is the proverbial "wall of text" which makes table use a nightmare, even on maximum magnification. At least the monsters are highlighted.

Yes, it's another negative review. And I'm sure many readers assume/believe that I take great glee in being negative, of being critical, of looking for every possible flaw. And probably I do...to some degree. 

But part of why I'm doing this is in aid of helping folks. Not just the author, but other people who might want to write/design adventures. Because writing an adventure for publication...something to be read and used by other people...requires a different standard from what DMs do when jotting down notes for their home game. It requires a different degree of care and attention. Because other DMs aren't you, Mr./Ms. Author...and they can't read your mind.

Let's elevate our design chops. Yeah, we're all amateurs (for the most part). If you're writing/designing for WotC you're probably not reading this blog; you're probably not entering contests like these. If you're a professional adventure writer, this info ain't for you. But if you, like me, are just an amateur or (glory be!) a semi-pro, please take this advice to heart:

Choose one system. Learn that system. Design/write for that system. 

System matters. This adventure gets one star (out of five) because the author decided that system doesn't...and it thus fails to work as a functional module for anyone looking for a "B/X, etc." adventure.

*

ASC Review: Arena AEmilia

Arena AEmilia (Zed)

B/X for PCs of 4th-6th level

Mm. I was wondering if I'd see one of these.

For my review criteria, you may check out this post. All reviews will (probably) contain *SPOILERS*; you have been warned! Because these are short (three page) adventures, it is my intention to keep the reviews short.

Well, now. It seems I must explain what an "adventure" is. 

Strictly speaking, adventuring is the activity that players engage in when they play D&D; Moldvay's (B/X) glossary defines an adventure as "any session where a DM and players meet to play a D&D game." However, the textual description is a bit more specific:

Each game session is called an adventure. An adventure lasts for as long as the players and the DM agree to play. An adventure begins when the party enters a dungeon, and ends when the party has left the dungeon and divided up treasure. An adventure may run for only an hour, or it might fill an entire weekend! The amount of playing time depends on the desires of the players and the DM. Several related adventures (one adventure leading to another, often with the same player characters) is called a campaign.

In the (later) Expert set, the scope of where an adventure takes place is broadened to include the wilderness, defined as all the area outside of the dungeon. And yet, the dungeon is ever the focus of the Dungeons & Dragons game.

A "dungeon" is defined by Moldvay as "a place, underground and often among ruins, where characters adventure." Again the textual description is more broad than that:

It is the DM's job to prepare the setting for each adventure before the game begins. This setting is called a dungeon since most adventures take place in underground caverns or stone rooms beneath old ruins or castles.

Note that Moldvay states MOST adventures take place underground...not all. In the Dungeon Master Information section of the Basic D&D rules, Moldvay provides a "step-by-step guide to creating a dungeon." The second step, DECIDE ON A SETTING, makes clear that not all settings need be underground, as his list of "common settings" include castles, towers, ancient temples, strongholds, and towns. Not every "dungeon" need be a ruin, cavern, or tomb.

However, the setting (where the adventure takes place) is, as stated, the second ("B.") step of creating a dungeon, i.e. creating the place where adventuring will take place during the game. The FIRST ("A.") step is the choosing of a scenario:

A. CHOOSE A SCENARIO

A scenario is a background theme or idea which ties the dungeon together. A scenario will help keep a dungeon from becoming a boring repetition of "open the door, kill the monster, take the treasure." A good scenario always gives the players a reason for adventuring. The DM should also design a dungeon for the levels of characters who will be playing in it. A good scenario will also give the DM a reason for choosing specific monsters and treasures to put in the dungeon.

This, I would argue, is the HEART of adventure design. Without a scenario, there is little reason to adventure...D&D simply becomes a game of rolling dice until resources are expended or boredom overtakes us. The scenario provides context for adventuring; it helps focus the players and promotes active engagement with the setting (i.e. "the dungeon") where the adventuring is taking place. Readers might note that this paragraph on scenario choice provides at least part (if not most) of my judging criteria. 

SO...let's look at this Arena AEmilia. It provides a setting...a place. The place is stocked mostly with NPC characters, though there are a few beasties in animal pens. The NPCs are given some personality notes. The setting has a map. There is treasure listed...in exceptionally poor amounts for adventurers of levels 4th-6th.

But there is no scenario presented. 

There is no reason for PCs to go here. There is no adventure. There is an arena. There are people. There are shiny silver coins in their purses. I suppose you can kick open doors and stab people for their purses of silver coins, but I'd like to think we've long since evolved past that type of play. This is D&D, not Greg Costikyan's Violence RPG.

This is not an adventure. It receives the coveted zero stars (out of five) award.

ASC Review: The Bridge of Ptelemegesser

The Bridge of Ptelemegesser (Peter McDevitt)

B/X or OSE (B/X) for...huh? (no level range listed)

Well, at least it's short. 

For my review criteria, you may check out this post. All reviews will (probably) contain *SPOILERS*; you have been warned! Because these are short (three page) adventures, it is my intention to keep the reviews short.

One page plus a map. Seven numbered encounters. Even though it calls itself an "adventure site" (and to be fair, Gibson suggests an encounter range of "5 to 25"), this is too short, too devoid of adventure to really be an "adventure site." It's more of a single encounter scenario...at best I might classify it as a "lair."

Site is written to be dropped into a mountainous area when PCs are "hexcrawling." This suggests a group of 4th/5th ("Expert") level characters. Group finds a long, stone bridge spanning a gorge with a drop of some 140' into a  narrow lake. But there's a giant rhagodessa hanging on the bottom of the bridge, waiting to ambush the last crossing party member (or the "lone scout") and drag them back to its lair: a cave some 50' below the bridge in the cave wall.

As a single encounter of a larger adventure this is pretty good...though bridge encounters are the kind of thing you can only ever do once, or they get old (see the pterodactyls of X1 or the Tasloi throwing boulders in I1 for other examples). This one is creative and probably won't elicit too many boos-hisses when you spring it on the players (they were looking for pterodactyls...how were they supposed to know the threat would come from underneath!). I like it, and could see myself dropping it somewhere.

But it's not going to provide "an evening's entertainment." Even if the PCs decide to explore the other two (connected) caves, there's just not much here to occupy their attention.  Treasure is weak...maybe a couple thousand? Not much for a party of 4th-5th level characters (which, again, seems about right for this encounter). 

This one should probably get ZERO stars out of five, because it's incomplete (in my opinion). However, it's within the guidelines set by Ben, and it's a fine little encounter. I'll give it two stars (out of five) because it's a creative bridge encounter, with the caveat that the "work" needed to make it a playable adventure site is "filling out more adventure site."

However, it also gets a "-" ding because the stat block is wrong for the giant catfish. See page X31 for corrections.

**-