Since I wrote about the free adventure that was in issue 4 of
Dragon+, it's probably a good time for me to talk about the free
adventure in issue 3 (yes, there was a free adventure there) called
Harried in Hillsfar.
As usually, I'll go over the general structure, problems and what can
be scavenged.
Overall Structure
This adventure is really 5 separate adventures that can be used
independently or combined together. Each one is shorter than the
adventure in issue 4, but they can be combined to create a bigger
adventure (be careful of order since 2 in particular work better when
done in the right order). When done so, they are not as closely
connected as you might like but at the same time it works to showcase
a wide scope of things (I think it could work quite nicely as a lead
into Rage of Demons). Naturally there's quite a bit of combat
but there is also a lot of room for role-playing (a good portion of
which will need to be thought up by the Dungeon Master or
improvised).
Problems
This adventure has a few problems with it though none are that major.
- There are two handouts listed but only one provided (you'll need to rewrite the coloured text yourself or white out the black text)
- Though information is provided to tie the adventures together on the handout, the role-play alternative is barely touched on and will take some time for the DM to develop
- Some strange typos will force you to reread parts of the adventures (nothing too weird but it is quite distracting)
What Can Be Scavenged
The adventures are demon themed to fit as an introduction to the Rage
of Demons story line. However, undead and demons being a common
enemy in D&D, it makes it fairly easy to recycle if running that
kind of campaign. Some of the adventures even come with puzzles or
riddles that add to the general aesthetic and can be ran as is
without heavy modification (adventures 4 and 5 are the best example
of this) since they are more tied to demons than they are a specific
feature of the adventure. The riddle rooms can be lifted exactly and
thrown into other adventures quite easily. You could probably combine
adventure 4 and 5 into one bigger adventure quite successfully as
well (trap door in the church).
Overall Opinion
I found these adventures a lot more enjoyable than Shackles of
Blood. It's partially due to the riddles (which aren't too hard
and all have a less desirable alternative if necessary) and to the
overall atmosphere, but I found them to be quite enjoyable. Some
parts, especially where role-play is concerned, will need a bit of
polish but I don't think that is too much of a big deal (it's hard to
provide a good balance for role-playing sections since most times
players will go in a different direction than the adventure provides,
even if only slightly). It also seems quite to expand and work into
other adventures. Have fun and give it a shot. You can't go wrong
with free.
2016/10/09: Fixed issue as pointed out by comment. I had coloured and black text reversed in the problem section.
2016/10/09: Fixed issue as pointed out by comment. I had coloured and black text reversed in the problem section.
I know this is old, but I have to make one correction. The "Prophecy" is the colored text (ie "The first is at...", "The second runs...", etc). The notes are the black stylized text ("New Master?", "Beets? Goodroot, perhaps?", etc). So, if you want handout 2, you have edit out the black script... not the colored text.
ReplyDeleteAhh, good catch. I must have mixed up the order when I wrote that. Fixed it and added a note. Thanks. Congratulations on being my first comment as well.
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