Albarino's Icy Cellar (Zoranu)
AD&D adventure for five to eight PCs of levels 6th-8th
I am reviewing these in the order they were submitted. For my review criteria, please check out this post. All reviews will (probably) contain *SPOILERS*; you have been warned! Because these are short (two page) adventures, it is my intention to keep the reviews brief.
All right! More AD&D!
Mm.
Mmm.
*sigh*
Okay, this is another REALLY BIG "adventure site." It's pretty much a full-blown adventure. 30 encounter areas over two levels. Let me check...ah, yes, the contest rules state:
"8-24 keyed locations"
So...disqualified, I guess.
This one is...okay. Theming is okay, if weird. A white dragon moves into a dwarf stronghold; only a group of derro (not really dwarves) remain. Even though the dragon has stolen all their treasure, too?
Except that they have access to treasure far in excess of the dragon's hoard.
I'll give a brief rundown, despite the DQ. Nerfed derro for no-good reason: "Derro MR and Spells adjusted downward from S4 baseline." [also from MM2 baseline] Why, exactly? Gygax's rules not good enough for you? If you deem them too tough for the adventure, then why are you putting them in the adventure?
Threat level is a little cheap for a party of 7th levels PCs. Oh, the dragon is okay, but there's a lot of empty on the map.
And the TREASURE...hoo-boy! Expected yield should be in the 350K range...instead we get something approaching 615K or more (it is my personal belief that the x.p./g.p. value of girdles of giant strength are off by a factor of 10 due to a typo in the DMG). Zoranu lists the "subdued dragon sell price" as 2.5 million gold pieces. No...please check the MM (p.30) in which it lists the price as 100-800 g.p. per hit point of the dragon. While the MM is explicit that "this price is subject to adjustment by the referee" clearly raising the normal maximum of 44,800 to 2,500,000 is a bridge too far...especially given the already outrageous haul of treasure in this adventure.
Some other nitpicks are here (what exactly does a "dwarf/human hybrid" look like? A derro? Then why not say "derro"...) but the main issues are as listed: too easy, too many "gimmes," too much treasure, too many encounters, not enough traps/hazards (and multiple cursed scrolls don't count in my book)...
I DID like the shadow demon embedded in the normal shadows to make them all but un-turnable (a 7th level cleric only turns a shadow demon on a 20)...very nasty, but the treasure is worth it. I'm okay with the paean. On the other hand, there is no such thing as a "major STR check" in AD&D...and this is noted twice. What the hell are you talking about? Sounds like some 5E b.s. to me.
I'd knock a whole star off this (down to **) because there seems to be some "learning" that needs to be done by the author; trust the game to do its job...there are better ways to design then simply ignoring the existing rules. Not that it matters, since this is too big for an "adventure site."
JB, if I used strictly by the book Derro how many would need to be here to be suitable challenging for a level 7 party?
ReplyDeleteThat's tough to say. As a CONCEPT ("derro lair") I think they're a fine challenge for mid-level (6th-8th) adventurers. They first appear in module S4...an adventure written for that level range...and for me, that's a clue. They are not a species that earns levels (like Drow or Duergar or Svirfneblin)...they are truly a "monster" race with advanced hit dice based on numbers.
DeleteSo, take them as they are: a Derro lair has 30+3d4 members, plus associated leader-types, savants, etc. The population of the lair can be split up over sever encounter areas (as you have done here) in order for their to be verisimilitude (it's not just a cluster in a chamber waiting to be fireballed). That's good stuff.
Where this adventure falls down, however, is that THESE Derro are devoid of any of the leader-types. You have 32 standard Derro...that would normally include 10 4HD, 5 5HD, a 7HD leader and a 6HD lieutenant, plus two additional "student" savants. That's just the basic makeup of a Derro group...and I think that's a great force for 7th level adventurers. Yeah, the 30% MR is tough for this level, but it mainly forces players to FIGHT the creatures instead of just blasting them with magic. And that allows you to bring out all those tricksy weapons the Derro are known for (with the savants providing magic support)...but broken up into separate encounters (as you have done) allows the party to succeed in a dungeon-crawling scenario, in a way they (probably) would NOT on an open field of battle.
Major/Minor Strength check is a term in OSRIC though, I user it in my submission too. Major is bend bars, minor is open doors.
DeleteThat makes sense. However, it should then be noted as an OSRIC thing. For all their similarities, AD&D and OSRIC are NOT the same. If I write an adventure with psionic opponents and say it's "for OSRIC," people are going to have a hard time using the adventure...they are not interchangeable systems.
DeleteTrue.
Deletecopy ill up the numbers and revert the MR to BTB
ReplyDeletenote: there is a Derro Savant with a wand and a spells in the group. not just all standard derro
I understand they're not all "standard" Derro...there's no such thing as a 6HD "bodyguard," for example. But the suggested numbers of leader-types are a good baseline to start from. You don't want PCs to be able to 'sleep bomb' groups of 3HD opponents with impunity and cakewalk their way through the adventure (yeah, there's MR...that's still a 50% chance of taking out a whole group. And a 7th level MU could have multiple sleep spells).
Delete