ASC Review: Pit of the Red Wyrm

Pit of the Red Wyrm (Jakob McFarland)

S&W for four to six PCs of (average) 5th level

Swords & Wizardry is an OD&D retroclone. I own it; I've read it. I don't play it. It varies a bit from OD&D (which I have played), and I'll try to take those variations into account. But I may not be aware of all the nuances of the system.

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.

Again, this one is a "real" adventure: a three level, 23 encounter location. The system (S&W/OD&D) really allows the space to fit such a scenario into a short (three page) publication, without needing to shrink font or cram the text. 

I don't particularly like this one, but the encounters seem about right for the system/character level. Found no grimlocks, naiads, or vampire moss in my copy of S&W; author should note where to reference these. Shambling mound is under-hit diced. Berserkers are over-hit diced, but assume this is an effect of the "insanity peppers" they consume. 

A lot of this doesn't make much sense to me. Why do the berserkers have the box? If the PCs just saw the dragon flying with it in its claws (the "hook" for the adventure) then when did the berserkers have the chance to kidnap the thief, imprison her, get her to unlock it, etc.  Do grimlocks use ballistae? Do the grimlocks manning the ballistae sit around hiding all day without eating anything? Etc., etc.

Treasure is good: 105K for an adventure that should clock in around 80K; however, several loot items are extremely heavy or hard to retrieve. This is fine. Magic is okay...maybe a little low for OD&D, but sensible and well-themed.

The map is tough to parse, especially Level 1 and how it interacts with the wilderness...however, I think I've got it figured out enough. I like the hot springs: good effects, good interactive hazard. The bank notes are also a nice treasure item (especially as value can be adjusted by DMs for inflation rates or currency valuations, etc.). Not sure why a dragon would want these, though...or be robbing banks.

This one gets the "playable D&D" rating from me...barely. It can use some refinement, but an OD&D crowd should be able to stumble through this without too much Fridge Logic bonking their noggins. I might not like it, but it gets three stars (out of five), with a negative asterisk.

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