HalWhitewyrm
First Post
Beware! This review contains major spoilers.
Note: The Ruins Of Rackfall is due to be released by Monkey God Enterprises in December.
Price: $9.95
Page Count: 36
Price per page: About 28 cents per page
Designed for Character Level: 7th
Cover: Soft.
External Artwork: The front cover shows three characters (a wizard, warrior and archer) attempting to cross a chasm using the trunk of a fallen tree as a bridge. On the other side, though, goblin warriors attempt to stop them crossing. The figures are slightly stylistic, but the environment is very well done and there is subtle use of colour and shade.
Additional Page Use: The back page gives an introduction to the adventure and features an effective sketch of a wererat. Both inside covers have maps. The first page contains credits and contents, the last has the OGL.
Internal Artwork: The black and white sketches range from poor to good, most tending towards average or poor.
Maps: The exterior maps are keyed and scaled, and use a nice range of visual textures to give a better appreciation of the environment being represented. Some of the attempts to give a 3D feel left me a bit confused and the use of an unusual grid system for the interior maps also gave me pause for thought. The interior maps are also keyed.
Text Density: The density itself is average and there is not an unusual amount of white space. There is a bland graphics margin at the side and top of each page that reduces the size of the page to an extent, though some sidebars overlay these margins on a few pages.
Text Style: The writing style is mature and concise, with few editorial mistakes.
The Adventure: An elf is accused of murdering his human wife, when she goes missing. The local townspeople owe the elf money and are in no hurry for him to be found innocent. The elf attempts to employ the PCs to discover what happened to his wife. The wife has been kidnapped by a band of goblins led by a barghest. In a bizarre twist, the wife (disenchanted with her husband) is seduced by the barghest and together they plan to seek a ransom from the husband, kill the elf, and use the proceeds to live happily ever after.
The PCs get hooked in to the plot as they witness a group of cutpurses drop some of their booty at the foot of a teenage boy as they attempt to escape from the city watch. The boy picks up the bag just as the watch arrive and he is arrested - the PCs have the chance to speak up for the boy and find he is the servant of the elf - a clever foreshadowing of the actual plot and a good way to hook in the PCs.
The PCs can garner a number of clues from the local area, presuming the elf convinces them to work on his behalf to free him before he is executed. These clues lead the PCs on an expedition up the Rackfall River, in search of the kidnappers. On the way they are attacked by dwarven skeletons who emerge from beneath their boat and attempt to drag them out of their boat to drown them. They must also try to negotiate a series of traps laid by a dwarven trapper, attempting to catch the goblins that are plaguing the area. When met, the dwarf will lend the PCs a (well-detailed) magical sword if they tell him they are attempting to seek out the goblins as possible kidnappers, as they invaded his home (an old dwarven keep) some years ago, and are using it as their lair. Before reaching the keep, the PCs must cross the fallen tree (as per the front cover) though the module gives options for what attacks the PCs as they cross - assassin vines, goblins, both the former, or a possible collapse into the raging river below.
The dwarfs home, Lathwark Keep, is now the lair of a large infestation of goblins (the PCs could face up to 180 of them if they attempt to hack, rather than sneak, their way into the keep). The gates are guarded by four stupid ogres, whilst inside the PCs may face a hungry ettin, a squawling goblin baby (who threatens to wake the sleeping goblin horde), a new monster - a Smolderguard (a fire elemental spirit bound into an intelligent dwarven sword, which can be rescued from the keep on behalf of the keep's owners), wererats, and dire rats.
The PCs may finally reach the love nest of the elf's wife (Alistene) and her exotic lover, where they may hear him reading her love poems. The barghest has a number of tactics up his sleeve - from convincing the PCs that Alistene has chosen to run away with him then killing the PCs as they leave, to magic summoning the ettin and the goblins, to direct combat in his wolf form.
The remaining sections deal with the consequences of the PCs attempting to escape the keep, either before or after the 'final' encounter - they face goblins on worgs tracking them down, and a nasty Goblin adept who uses a clever series of low-level spells to confound the PCs' escape. If they manage to negotiate rapids and a waterfall on their way back down the river, they arrive just in time to stop the elf's execution - but only if they bring back Alistene; without her, the guards are told to remove the PCs from the town square and the elf is executed.
The Apendices hold stats for the creatures, thoroughly detailed NPC descriptions including description, background, motivation, and role-playing tips, and details of the new creature introduced in the module - the Smolderguard.
The Good: The adventure has a good balance of investigation, combat, traps, sneaking, and roleplaying. The plot has a twist in it that should be used to encourage the roleplaying aspects of the adventure. To support this strength, the NPCs have a wealth of information in the appendix that enhance each encounter. The quality of the writing is excellent and descriptions of the setting are particularly evocative. The new monster could be used outside of the adventure, and provides an interesting idea (of binding spirits into weapons) which sparked off some further creative ideas of my own.
The Bad: Despite the nice twist to the plot, the actual adventure itself is fairly straightforward - this is not an adventure of complex politics, but essentially an assault on a goblin-ridden keep. I would have liked to see the sections on scaling and adapting the adventure extended slightly. The EL of the encounter with the barghest was 6, whilst some of the other encounters were more challenging - I would have liked to see the Barghest encounter be climactic, whereas the entrance and escape from the keep seemed to be harder. I would also have liked to see an EL summary.
Conclusion: Good, without being spectacular. Well-detailed NPCs, a balanced series of encounters, easily adaptable, some creative magic items and an interesting new monster.
Note: The Ruins Of Rackfall is due to be released by Monkey God Enterprises in December.
Price: $9.95
Page Count: 36
Price per page: About 28 cents per page
Designed for Character Level: 7th
Cover: Soft.
External Artwork: The front cover shows three characters (a wizard, warrior and archer) attempting to cross a chasm using the trunk of a fallen tree as a bridge. On the other side, though, goblin warriors attempt to stop them crossing. The figures are slightly stylistic, but the environment is very well done and there is subtle use of colour and shade.
Additional Page Use: The back page gives an introduction to the adventure and features an effective sketch of a wererat. Both inside covers have maps. The first page contains credits and contents, the last has the OGL.
Internal Artwork: The black and white sketches range from poor to good, most tending towards average or poor.
Maps: The exterior maps are keyed and scaled, and use a nice range of visual textures to give a better appreciation of the environment being represented. Some of the attempts to give a 3D feel left me a bit confused and the use of an unusual grid system for the interior maps also gave me pause for thought. The interior maps are also keyed.
Text Density: The density itself is average and there is not an unusual amount of white space. There is a bland graphics margin at the side and top of each page that reduces the size of the page to an extent, though some sidebars overlay these margins on a few pages.
Text Style: The writing style is mature and concise, with few editorial mistakes.
The Adventure: An elf is accused of murdering his human wife, when she goes missing. The local townspeople owe the elf money and are in no hurry for him to be found innocent. The elf attempts to employ the PCs to discover what happened to his wife. The wife has been kidnapped by a band of goblins led by a barghest. In a bizarre twist, the wife (disenchanted with her husband) is seduced by the barghest and together they plan to seek a ransom from the husband, kill the elf, and use the proceeds to live happily ever after.
The PCs get hooked in to the plot as they witness a group of cutpurses drop some of their booty at the foot of a teenage boy as they attempt to escape from the city watch. The boy picks up the bag just as the watch arrive and he is arrested - the PCs have the chance to speak up for the boy and find he is the servant of the elf - a clever foreshadowing of the actual plot and a good way to hook in the PCs.
The PCs can garner a number of clues from the local area, presuming the elf convinces them to work on his behalf to free him before he is executed. These clues lead the PCs on an expedition up the Rackfall River, in search of the kidnappers. On the way they are attacked by dwarven skeletons who emerge from beneath their boat and attempt to drag them out of their boat to drown them. They must also try to negotiate a series of traps laid by a dwarven trapper, attempting to catch the goblins that are plaguing the area. When met, the dwarf will lend the PCs a (well-detailed) magical sword if they tell him they are attempting to seek out the goblins as possible kidnappers, as they invaded his home (an old dwarven keep) some years ago, and are using it as their lair. Before reaching the keep, the PCs must cross the fallen tree (as per the front cover) though the module gives options for what attacks the PCs as they cross - assassin vines, goblins, both the former, or a possible collapse into the raging river below.
The dwarfs home, Lathwark Keep, is now the lair of a large infestation of goblins (the PCs could face up to 180 of them if they attempt to hack, rather than sneak, their way into the keep). The gates are guarded by four stupid ogres, whilst inside the PCs may face a hungry ettin, a squawling goblin baby (who threatens to wake the sleeping goblin horde), a new monster - a Smolderguard (a fire elemental spirit bound into an intelligent dwarven sword, which can be rescued from the keep on behalf of the keep's owners), wererats, and dire rats.
The PCs may finally reach the love nest of the elf's wife (Alistene) and her exotic lover, where they may hear him reading her love poems. The barghest has a number of tactics up his sleeve - from convincing the PCs that Alistene has chosen to run away with him then killing the PCs as they leave, to magic summoning the ettin and the goblins, to direct combat in his wolf form.
The remaining sections deal with the consequences of the PCs attempting to escape the keep, either before or after the 'final' encounter - they face goblins on worgs tracking them down, and a nasty Goblin adept who uses a clever series of low-level spells to confound the PCs' escape. If they manage to negotiate rapids and a waterfall on their way back down the river, they arrive just in time to stop the elf's execution - but only if they bring back Alistene; without her, the guards are told to remove the PCs from the town square and the elf is executed.
The Apendices hold stats for the creatures, thoroughly detailed NPC descriptions including description, background, motivation, and role-playing tips, and details of the new creature introduced in the module - the Smolderguard.
The Good: The adventure has a good balance of investigation, combat, traps, sneaking, and roleplaying. The plot has a twist in it that should be used to encourage the roleplaying aspects of the adventure. To support this strength, the NPCs have a wealth of information in the appendix that enhance each encounter. The quality of the writing is excellent and descriptions of the setting are particularly evocative. The new monster could be used outside of the adventure, and provides an interesting idea (of binding spirits into weapons) which sparked off some further creative ideas of my own.
The Bad: Despite the nice twist to the plot, the actual adventure itself is fairly straightforward - this is not an adventure of complex politics, but essentially an assault on a goblin-ridden keep. I would have liked to see the sections on scaling and adapting the adventure extended slightly. The EL of the encounter with the barghest was 6, whilst some of the other encounters were more challenging - I would have liked to see the Barghest encounter be climactic, whereas the entrance and escape from the keep seemed to be harder. I would also have liked to see an EL summary.
Conclusion: Good, without being spectacular. Well-detailed NPCs, a balanced series of encounters, easily adaptable, some creative magic items and an interesting new monster.
