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The Bloody Sands of Sicaris
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<blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2008501" data-attributes="member: 9860"><p>Beware! This review contains major spoilers.</p><p></p><p>The Bloody Sands of Sicaris is an adventure for four to six players Level 6-8, set in Arcanis, the World of Shattered Empires.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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).</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Simon Collins, post: 2008501, member: 9860"] 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. [/QUOTE]
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