The Bloody Sands of Sicaris

[Morrus]

The Bloody Sands of Sicaris is the latest offering from Paradigm Concepts, producers of the Spear of the Loghin and The Blood Reign of Nishanpur. Unlike the Spear of the Loghin and The Blood Reign of Nishanpur, The Bloody Sands of Sicaris is a stand-alone module. The entire book is thirty-two pages long. Twenty-five pages of adventure, five pages of NPCs, and two pages of new items.

The inside covers are covered with detailed maps relevant to the adventure. The front cover has a map of Sicaris, and the rear cover has maps of the gladiatorial matches the PCs take part in. The NPC statistics are restricted to the NPC section, where each named and type of NPC is given a full treatment as well as a personality description, where appropriate. The interior art is black and white and well rendered. The new items are a mixture of new magic items and some exotic gladiatorial weapons and armor.

Sicarus itself come across as a slice right out of the Roman Empire. Gladiators, senators, the whole lot. If you liked Gladiator then this adventure is certainly something that you should look into.

The plot of the module is rather complex, rife with politics, betrayal, hatred, and murder. The core plotline of the module centers around two missions. The first is to bring back Hemmenia, the missing daughter of the Imperial family val'Assante, the other is to dupe the local Commander Magistrate, who is betraying the Empire to the Cancerians, into believing that he is being promoted to governor, to lure him back to the Empire where he can be properly punished. In this role the PCs are to accompany the Legate Exter disguised as bodyguards, and are charged with making sure that nothing outside of the scope of the Legate's influences happen to foil the mission. Things get complicated rather quickly from there, as the PCs are drawn into a complex web of deceit and murder that results in the PCs having to fight it out in the arena in order to clear the name of the Hemmenia and prevent a potential rebellion in Sicaris.

Overall, this adventure seems to be mainly designed to appeal to those who like complex, highly plot-driven adventures. Its Romanesque feel is a significant departure from that which is standard in most Dungeons and Dragons settings, and it serves to highlight the Arcanis setting well.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

Hey our first Sicaris review and it's a good'un!

Thanks for the kind words.

Eric Wiener
www.paradigmconcepts.com

 

[Simon Collins]

Beware! This review contains major spoilers.

The Bloody Sands of Sicaris is an adventure for four to six players Level 6-8, set in Arcanis, the World of Shattered Empires.

Presentation: This adventure is softback and has a page count of 32. The front cover is an average piece of colour artwork focusing on two gladiators fighting in an arena with a mage flying high in the air above the arena. The back contains an introduction and feature list for the adventure. The inside covers contain scaled maps that are a bit small scale for my liking, though they are reproduced on the Paradigm Concepts' web page www.paradigmconcepts.com . The interior black and white art ranges from mediocre to good. The first page is credits and 1/2 the last page shows the OGL in small print.

The Story: This adventure, like others by Paradigm Concepts, uses the Hard Point-Soft Point feature that allows the DM to incorporate a selection of scenarios that enhance, or take a sidestep from (soft points), the main plot scenarios (hard points). The adventure has a very Romanesque feel to it, taking place on the outskirts of the Coryani Empire. The PCs are thrown into a twisted plotline featuring assassination, political plotting and gladiatorial combat. The hook is that the Commander Magistrate of Sicaris is betraying the Coryani to the evil Canceri - war with Canceri is on the cards. The daughter of a powerful Coryani senator is in Sicaris, and the senator fears for her life should war start. The senator arranges for the PCs to be bodyguards to a special envoy (his daughter's fiancee-to-be) which then travels to Sicaris in an attempt to neutralise the traitorous Commander and rescue the senator's daughter. Unfortunately, the fiancee-envoy is assassinated when they reach Sicaris, leaving the PCs to fight a gladiatorial battle in a trial-by-combat as the senator's daughter has becom the chief suspect. The PCs must also discover who the real assassin is from the clues available as they ready themselves for the fight. The module also includes a history of Sicaris (with stats for the town), 5 pages of NPCs (with stats, description and their links into/knowledge of the plot) including the PCs gladiatorial opponents (such as an ambitious Gnoll barbarian and a rebellious Tiger Master). Finally there are a couple of pages describing the new items introduced in the module (including a damaged wand of magic missiles and a disc crossbow).

The Good: As usual, the adventure is an intricately woven plot with plenty of opportunity to follow offshoots of the main thread whilst still giving the DM a structure to work with. The NPCs are well-rounded and the detail of the setiing exquisite. Though the plot is intricate, it is not as complex as the previous two modules from Paradigm Concepts, and I feel would be easier to run. The setting itself should fit into most standard fantasy campaigns and the module can be used without direct reference to Arcanis with only a few minor naming amendments.

The Bad: Despite the Hard Point-Soft Point structure, the Hard Points of the plot are still fairly set in stone. It would be hard to go off the track completely, and the text (particularly the boxed text) still reads a bit like a novel. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of 'If the PCs do this...then these are the things the DM can do to deal with it.' But this is a minor quibble with Paradigm Concepts' general style rather than the adventure itself.

Conclusion: Another great adventure in the mold of The Spear of the Lohgin and The Blood Reign of Nishanpur, though this is a standalone adventure. The boxed text is improved without losing the depth of character and detail which are hallmarks of their previous releases. More generic and adaptable than previous releases despite its specific setting (as long as you have gladiatorial arenas in your campaign) and more DM-friendly (from the point of view of setup and plot complexity). If you haven't already checked out Paradigm Concepts' products, this is a good place to start.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

This 32 page adventure gives about the best bang for the buck you can expect. Thrilling combat, deep intrigue and a reusable city environment are provided, making this simple $10 purchase into months of fun.

The Good: The text density is amazing. The font is about as small as is practical and the margins are very small as well. The book coulf have been 48 pages without padding. Every place is detailed in great length and the characters all have motivations that extend beyond the adventure itself. Each character is an adventure seed or 2 in and of themselves. The adventure can also be dropped about anywhere there is a frontier and a large nation. The art is at least average, and in some cases is outstanding, such as the Cave Gate. Very little to complain about at all.

The Bad: The maps are too small. Though they can be downloaded at the paradigm website, it is still a drawback, as some people have trouble doing anything with a PC.


If you are looking for an exciting adventure and a campaign city at a good price, this book is for you. If your adventuring group prefers to kick in the door and kill everything in sight, you may want to look elsewhere.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

Nominated for 2 ENnies!

The petty and traitorous schemes of a distant Hinterland commander strike at the very heart of the Coryani Empire. Rumors of collaboration with the dismal, gloomy powers of Canceri sends the Imperial Council into a panic and once again the spectre of war looms over an uncertain future.