Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
I recently picked up WotC's newest adventure release. I hope this sets a trend ... I think it's the best adventure they've released since Red Hand of Doom (equal to Slaughtergarde, probably better due to better production values). Overall, I rate it a B+.
Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave by Richard Baker, Bruce Cordell, David Noonan, Matthew Sernett, and James Wyatt
*** WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***
Overview:
The adventure is a 160-page, full cover hardcover, designed for four characters starting at level 4 and advancing to level 7 or 8 by the end. of the 160 pages:
- 2 are title/credits
- 1 is advertising
- 4 are player handouts
- 9 are an appendix with background info and new monsters and magic
- 86 are the now-standard two-page expanded encounter formats (43 encounters)
- 58 are the adventure areas, descrptions, background, and maps
The product shows the high production values of the rest of the Forgotten Realms line, and is lavishly illustrated. All of the maps are full color. Paper quality and binding are quite good, especially compared to other recent WotC adventure releases.
The adventure is set in the town of Wheloon in Cormyr in the Forgotten Realms, with continuing adventures to several sites in a swamp, and then to another plane. The adventure could be adapted to another campaign setting with some work (see Cons, below). The adventure is planned for use as a trilogy with three following adventures (though it clearly stands alone on its own ... I'm not even certain what the link to th enext adventure will be).
The basic plot outline has the party investigate strange events at a new temple in town, which then has them pursue cultists and intermediaries until they learn the real power behind a plot which threatens much of Cormyr.
Pros:
- Good variation in adventure sites and encounter locales. There are a number of evocative and interesting locations.
- Though primarily site-based, the individual sites are spread out to allow the party to pace their approach, as well as use different approaches. Frontal attacks, stealth, trickery, and diplomacy all work as means to attack different challenges in the adventure.
- Good variety in NPCs encountered. There are a healthy number of encounters that are clearly not intended solely as combat encounters, which allow the party to gain information and allies along the way. While this could be approached as a hack-and-slay adventure, it clearly isn't intended that way and will reward players who like variety in encounters.
- There are opportunities for characters of all classes to shine.
- Good organization. Though I'm personally a little frustrated by the encounter format, as it puts information about a given location in two spots, the encounter sections follow each major adventure segment (instead of being grouped at the end, or in another book), and a page reference is given for each encounter making cross-referencing easy. If WOTC retains the encounter format -- and despite my personal misgivings they should, as it is quite usable -- this is the way to organize it.
- Complete stat blocks included for all creatures. Note: I did not check stat blocks for mechanical consistency or proofreading errors.
- The adventure has deep plot that should keep players intrigued. It even contains some novel options - -for example, the players can be captured for a significant part of the adventure, but the adventure plans for and even makes that a way for the players to get even more out of their time. Getting captured doesn't mean the game is over.
- Though the major adventure sites are accessed in a sequential fashion, there is some non-linearity within the individual sites and some of the minor sites. The players aren't predestined to hit each encounter in a strictly predictable sequence.
- Different player approaches are considered, and pointers and tactics given to the DM to handle them -- whether players decide to negotiate or attack.
- A moderately detailed town is included, for interludes, restocking, and potentially added city-based adventures.
Cons:
- Despite using lots of new monsters, there's still no reference to the monster sources. What book are shadar-kai from, for example? I want to see a picture without having to cross-reference online.
- The basic plot is still a fairly common one, with almost too many twists for its own good. The bad guys are the ... wait, they're working for ... who is working for .... One fewer front organization would have been OK.
- Because one of the organizations *
*, and the related planar adventure which accounts for 2/5 of the module, is tied to a Forgotten Realms-unique deity/power group/magic mechanic, it is a little more difficult to port out of the FR campaign setting. It takes a bit more thought than just filing off the names and sticking your own campaign setting's on. If you hand-wave away the magic mechanic -- easy to do -- you still have to have an organization with the right motivation to pull off the link to the planar adventure. No problem for an experienced DM, but perhaps a bit of a challenge for a newer DM to pull off with consistency.
- The adventure hooks presented are a bit weak for an adventure of this magnitude ... but that's also an easy fix for an experienced DM. The city setting detailed in the appendix provides lots of fodder for plot hooks.
- There could be a little more non-linearity in the plot, just to allow for a few more options (though really, this is a minor gripe).
- A table of contents would be nice -- there isn't one.
About all that separates this from an A grade in my opinion is making the adventure slightly more portable with just a tad less hackneyed plot.
After the last couple of WotC adventures which were mediocre at best, its good to see them return to form. This is a solid adventure that I'd be happy to run and I think it would provide tremendous fun to all involved for some time.
Here's to hoping the sequels live up to it!
Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave by Richard Baker, Bruce Cordell, David Noonan, Matthew Sernett, and James Wyatt
*** WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***
Overview:
The adventure is a 160-page, full cover hardcover, designed for four characters starting at level 4 and advancing to level 7 or 8 by the end. of the 160 pages:
- 2 are title/credits
- 1 is advertising
- 4 are player handouts
- 9 are an appendix with background info and new monsters and magic
- 86 are the now-standard two-page expanded encounter formats (43 encounters)
- 58 are the adventure areas, descrptions, background, and maps
The product shows the high production values of the rest of the Forgotten Realms line, and is lavishly illustrated. All of the maps are full color. Paper quality and binding are quite good, especially compared to other recent WotC adventure releases.
The adventure is set in the town of Wheloon in Cormyr in the Forgotten Realms, with continuing adventures to several sites in a swamp, and then to another plane. The adventure could be adapted to another campaign setting with some work (see Cons, below). The adventure is planned for use as a trilogy with three following adventures (though it clearly stands alone on its own ... I'm not even certain what the link to th enext adventure will be).
The basic plot outline has the party investigate strange events at a new temple in town, which then has them pursue cultists and intermediaries until they learn the real power behind a plot which threatens much of Cormyr.
Pros:
- Good variation in adventure sites and encounter locales. There are a number of evocative and interesting locations.
- Though primarily site-based, the individual sites are spread out to allow the party to pace their approach, as well as use different approaches. Frontal attacks, stealth, trickery, and diplomacy all work as means to attack different challenges in the adventure.
- Good variety in NPCs encountered. There are a healthy number of encounters that are clearly not intended solely as combat encounters, which allow the party to gain information and allies along the way. While this could be approached as a hack-and-slay adventure, it clearly isn't intended that way and will reward players who like variety in encounters.
- There are opportunities for characters of all classes to shine.
- Good organization. Though I'm personally a little frustrated by the encounter format, as it puts information about a given location in two spots, the encounter sections follow each major adventure segment (instead of being grouped at the end, or in another book), and a page reference is given for each encounter making cross-referencing easy. If WOTC retains the encounter format -- and despite my personal misgivings they should, as it is quite usable -- this is the way to organize it.
- Complete stat blocks included for all creatures. Note: I did not check stat blocks for mechanical consistency or proofreading errors.
- The adventure has deep plot that should keep players intrigued. It even contains some novel options - -for example, the players can be captured for a significant part of the adventure, but the adventure plans for and even makes that a way for the players to get even more out of their time. Getting captured doesn't mean the game is over.
- Though the major adventure sites are accessed in a sequential fashion, there is some non-linearity within the individual sites and some of the minor sites. The players aren't predestined to hit each encounter in a strictly predictable sequence.
- Different player approaches are considered, and pointers and tactics given to the DM to handle them -- whether players decide to negotiate or attack.
- A moderately detailed town is included, for interludes, restocking, and potentially added city-based adventures.
Cons:
- Despite using lots of new monsters, there's still no reference to the monster sources. What book are shadar-kai from, for example? I want to see a picture without having to cross-reference online.
- The basic plot is still a fairly common one, with almost too many twists for its own good. The bad guys are the ... wait, they're working for ... who is working for .... One fewer front organization would have been OK.
- Because one of the organizations *
the Church of Shar, with its Shadow Weave, and the Plane of Shadow
- The adventure hooks presented are a bit weak for an adventure of this magnitude ... but that's also an easy fix for an experienced DM. The city setting detailed in the appendix provides lots of fodder for plot hooks.
- There could be a little more non-linearity in the plot, just to allow for a few more options (though really, this is a minor gripe).
- A table of contents would be nice -- there isn't one.
About all that separates this from an A grade in my opinion is making the adventure slightly more portable with just a tad less hackneyed plot.
After the last couple of WotC adventures which were mediocre at best, its good to see them return to form. This is a solid adventure that I'd be happy to run and I think it would provide tremendous fun to all involved for some time.
Here's to hoping the sequels live up to it!
