PRODUCT REVIEW:
Operation Dead Drop
Otherworld Creations, Inc.
Dave Webb & R. Hyrum Savage
Reviewers Bias: I am not employed by the publisher of the reviewed product, nor do I have any financial affiliation with any game publishing company. This is a review of an adventure module. Since I have not played this module yet, this review does not evaluate actual use of the module in play.
HOW I REVIEW: My reviews are very simple. I evaluate a product against a list of criteria and award up to 2 points based on how the product fits the criteria. I evaluate on things that are important to ME. My reviews will not contain a complete synopsis of the book, because quite frankly, I'm sure someone else has gotten to it already. The intended audience of this review is the potential shopper that wants to see what others thought of a product before buying, but doesn't have hours to comb through many long reviews. There are many good reviewers out there already writing very exhaustive articles about products, I don't need to be one of them.
WOW FACTOR: On a scale of 0-2, if after reading the product I say WOW, I give it 2 points. If I wished I hadn't spent my money on it, I give it 0 points. Everything else gets one point. This is purely opinion.
BINDING: Glue binding=0. Sewn binding=1. Comb binding or stapled module=2. Hardback=+1. Why? I hate glued binding, game books should be made to last. I like my books to lie flat, comb binding and stapled modules do this easily. Hardback books tend to last better for me, so I give them a bonus point. Maximum award here is still 2 points.
EDITING/FLAWS: This is an evaluation of editing. If the product is filled with mistakes that should have been caught by an editor, then it rates a 0. None, or only one or two rate a two. Everything else gets a 1. Note that this is subjective, because if I didn't notice it, then I can't evaluate it.
ORIGINALITY/INNOVATION: If the product has a new, innovative mechanic I'll give it a 1. If it has more than one, then it gets a two. I also give a 1 for originality. If it’s original and innovative, that's worth a two. If a product can be used easily with other games, then I give a one also, since I like to be able to use my stuff as much as possible, no matter what game I’m playing. If it has none of these features, I give it a 0. This does not mean it’s a bad product; I just like to think I'm getting something new for my dollar. This category is based very much on my opinion and over 25 years of playing (and buying) RPG and other gaming products. As with everything else in this review, the rating here is the opinion of the author and your mileage may vary.
EVALUATION: In this section I list my likes and dislikes. The score will be based on the ratio of like to dislikes. More likes gets a 1, more dislikes gets a 0. To get a 2, the likes need to far outweigh the dislikes.
RATING: This is the score out of ten. Remember, this score is nothing more than my opinion of the book's value when compared to a set of criteria. I've tried to outline my criteria so that you can determine if you agree with the evaluation and better judge the validity of the score based on your needs, tastes, and experience.
THE REVIEW:
WOW FACTOR(2): This module gets the players right into the action, and is built to keep them moving. The authors clearly wanted the players to have that out-of-breath by-the-seat-of-your-pants experience only possible as members of Delta Force rescuing hostages. In achieving this goal, the authors kept the mechanics intrusions to a minimum but spelled out clearly the rolls needed by the GM so he could keep things going.
BINDING(2): The module is assembled using the fairly standard practice of stapling in the middle.
EDITING/FLAWS(1): I did not find many errors, though I feel there is some room for improvement in the editing department with regards to how some sections were broken out. I found myself having to hunt for text or reread some items to get what was going on. In all of those cases, changing the layout to offset some of the items would have fixed the problem. The best example, in the shaded text that is read to the players, there are occasions when only certain text is to be read. The instructions were left in the shaded area, making them harder to spot. Having the instructions on what to read outside of the shaded area would make it a lot easier to pick out.
ORIGINALITY(2): This module utilizes something called Real Time Events. While timing an action and having other events occur is not new, they way the authors called this out and use it to pace the adventure is handy. This module earns another point for being very easily usable with Spycraft as well as D20 Modern, for which it was intended. In fact, I believe a GM could drop this module into almost any modern era game system with little work. All equipment is fairly common and should be listed in most Modern game systems. There are very few detailed NPC’s, and I would be surprised to find any modern game system concerning special ops to not already have ready stats for the minions found in this adventure.
EVALUATION(1):
LIKES
--Extensive background material
--Clean text, easy to read.
--All DC’s clearly spelled out for the GM
--Military Intelligence Style Photographic Maps
--Encounters/Action Sites kept simple to focus on action.
--Not all encounters are combat encounters, and some provision is made for “intervention” type encounters where the PC’s have to decide to give themselves away to protect someone from a violent crime, etc. This is nice in a module clearly meant to be “combat action” from start to finish.
--Complete PC’s are provided that are game ready. I especially like how each PC was illustrated.
DISLIKES
--There was a distinctive absence of an adventure summary. The adventure is pretty simple, but still, I like to see one, just to help me get the pulse of the module before I dive into the detailed reading, and to quickly check where I am while running it.
--There were no clear guidelines on what was a good party balance for the adventure. The game says it’s for 4-6 characters of 1-7 level. That’s a big range. The adventure provides for a weak party by having the Delta Force team accompany them, but gives no advice on when this should be.
--For teams accompanied by the Delta Force Team as NPC’s, the narrative text pretty much broke out when they DF team would and would not act. However, there were a few places in the module where the authors apparently forgot the team might be accompanied.
--I generally don’t like if an adventure has to have an NPC team available to bail out the characters. This is purely a function of GM choice of course, but unless the GM rebalances the module, it is a necessity for a weak party that still fits in the guidelines.
--The satellite photo of the hostage compound, while an excellent inclusion, is too small and some of the details are hard to see.
--The front and back inner covers are unused. It would have been great to see material intended for the players eyes put here so it could be easily photocopied as handouts. As it is, maps and intelligence photos that would make great handouts are scattered throughout the module, and will require some assembling by a GM in order to serve as handouts.
TOTAL RATING: I give this module an 8 out of 10. I can’t wait to run it, and will try and get back to post further comments once I do.
