Troll Market (Rob_S)
AD&D "heist" for three to four PCs of 1st-3rd level
This one's cute. Remember how I was saying sometimes an adventure doesn't "feel" right, and you look for ways to tear it down? This one's the opposite.
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.
Anyone here familiar with Guillermo del Toro's animated intellectual property, Troll Hunter? I've watched the entire set of series multiple times over the years thanks to my kids being big fans. "Troll Market" would seem to take at least a minor amount of influence from this show. However, this is better.
This is more of an adventure scenario than an adventure site. A frantic mother made a bad deal with an elf lord who's taken her baby as payment...now she wants the kid back. Said elf lord (of the "don't-screw-around-with-fairy-tale-fey" variety) runs the titular "troll market," an interdimensional pocket lair that acts as a nexus connecting distant points about the world. This latter bit is left unexplored in the scenario, by the way, but it could make a fine jumping off port, considering it's written as a low-level (i.e. introductory) location.
Delightful theming and interplay with NPCs abounds. The market is small and cramped, but packed with well-paced fun. This is really nice. I don't even mind the "magic shop" in the place (run by a mind-flayer who speaks through a mind-controlled dwarf) as the limits set in place are excellent (and whose going to be able to steal from a shopkeeper that keeps his wares off-site and uses probability travel. Plus...mind flayer!).
Standard D&D tropes are subverted and/or ignored in the scenario. The elves in the place are Chaotic Neutral...appropriate for the wild fey vibe...living more-or-less in harmony with a variety of creatures: goblins, talking foxes, halflings, a mind flayer(!). I think there's a typo here as the general description states that there is:
"a hulking troll selling caged beasts..."
But the Zoocopeia is run by a "fast-talking goblin" named Nibbs. Troll salesmen living in peace-and-harmony would be even more off-brand, but would still fit with (somewhat) with the whimsical nature of the place. However, I believe the only troll in Troll Market is supposed to be the giant statue that graces the market, an orbiting moon illuminating the subterranean cavern.
This thing is great from the get-go. The gibbets hanging from the tree that marks the secret entrance; the foreshadowing this gives PCs, the motivations of the various NPCs and how they interact with each other...all of it. This would work just fine in my own campaign (where I don't use alignments) because the NPCs' motivations are sensible and comprehensible: it's a great example of a micro-community.
The manse of Lord Orion is well-described and designed. Plenty of heist-y antics for low-level PCs to get up to. The detailed hourly timetable of the occupants' movements during the day is delightful and exceptionally helpful...other designers would do well to take a gander.
Okay, now the bad: cool as the location is, there's not a lot of opportunity for profit here. Instead there's a lot of places for PCs to SPEND money (for rumors, herbs, caged animals, food/drink, etc.) but no real loot. Even "Poppy," the frantic mother, isn't offering any particular reward for the return of her baby. If the party somehow slays Lord Orion and all his household guardians, they can expect to pick up barely more than 5K in loot (he's a pretty impoverished elf-lord, I guess). For 3-4 PCs averaging 2nd level, I'd be wanting to see 10K in potential treasure. The various spell books that can be picked up are a serious perk if PCs are heavy into MUs and Illusionists (as were, apparently, Rob's playtesters)...but for the fighter types that tend to populate most parties? Mm. I mean, it's great that said-fighter can buy a magical Bohemian earspoon for 150% of the standard cost (4,500 g.p. if +1), but that would take all the loot in Lord Orion's house to cover the bill.
Danger level is mild. PCs that fail seem more like to be captured and either enslaved/bound or left in a gibbet with sign around their necks...food for crows, sure, but anyone might come along and let 'em out (like Poppy, for example). Only players that insist on picking fights with elven guardsmen are likely to get stabbed to death.
It's a good, short introductory for young or novice players. It's a neat set-up for a more whimsical fantasy campaign. Is it solid D&D? Mmm...not in the way I usually use the phrase. But it could be a fun one-off for an evening's entertainment. And if the DM doesn't want to ever use it again, the market can be closed against the player characters after the evening.
I'm going to tighten down on my sentimentality and limit this to three stars (out of five)...with the caveat that it's worth an extra half star for young/new players. But it doesn't get four...you really want to increase the danger level because later adventures probably aren't going to be as forgiving (when your character can be poisoned to death or fall into a bottomless pit or whatever). We want to be wary of subverting tropes too much, because you don't want to run the risk of teaching players the wrong thing.
***+
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