Simon Collins
Explorer
Beware! This review contains major spoilers.
This is the sixteenth booster adventure by AEG. It is designed for three to five characters of level 2-4. It costs $2.49.
Production and Presentation: This module is 16 pages but each page is only ½ the width of an A4 page. The front (soft)cover features poor colour artwork, the back cover features an introduction for the players to the adventure. There is one mediocre internal piece of black & white artwork and the central pages contain a basic un-scaled map of the caves. The final page and the inside back cover contains OGL bumpf. The inside front cover contains advertising.
The Story: The kingdom of Azinth has suffered a five-year winter cutting off trade routes through the mountains to the north, war with a neighbour requires them to open up the route and the PCs are sent to investigate. It turns out a magical duel between two wizards created a magical backlash that has created the unnatural winter and transformed some of the local creatures. The duel killed one wizard, the other is encased in a frozen water elemental. The PCs must release this wizard from the elemental to release Azinth from the endless winter. The wizard’s flesh golem servant has finally found its mistress’ location and has arranged to meet the PCs in the foothills – it leads them to the ice caves of the title. The PCs must battle through various cold-orientated monsters (including a new monster, Hounds of Winter – transformed Hell Hounds, and an annoying ice mephit – a transformed water mephit who wants the PCs to transform it back) to the central chamber where they release the wizard from her strange prison, using a magical orb given to them by the flesh golem. Unfortunately, they also set free a very annoyed water elemental.
The High Points: Travelling to the caves is a challenge in itself, the adventure providing rules for surviving the harsh conditions up in the frozen mountains. The monsters are mainly appropriate to the adventure. The setting is unusual, there is some roleplaying opportunity with the ice mephit, and the hounds of winter are interesting.
The Low Points: The bugbears were an unnecessary addition to what still remains essentially a dungeon crawl. The plot is linear and there is little depth to any of the NPCs.
Conclusion: I am giving this an Average rating since the adventure as a whole didn’t quite make the grade to Good, though there were interesting ideas to be taken from it and the premise was creative.
This is the sixteenth booster adventure by AEG. It is designed for three to five characters of level 2-4. It costs $2.49.
Production and Presentation: This module is 16 pages but each page is only ½ the width of an A4 page. The front (soft)cover features poor colour artwork, the back cover features an introduction for the players to the adventure. There is one mediocre internal piece of black & white artwork and the central pages contain a basic un-scaled map of the caves. The final page and the inside back cover contains OGL bumpf. The inside front cover contains advertising.
The Story: The kingdom of Azinth has suffered a five-year winter cutting off trade routes through the mountains to the north, war with a neighbour requires them to open up the route and the PCs are sent to investigate. It turns out a magical duel between two wizards created a magical backlash that has created the unnatural winter and transformed some of the local creatures. The duel killed one wizard, the other is encased in a frozen water elemental. The PCs must release this wizard from the elemental to release Azinth from the endless winter. The wizard’s flesh golem servant has finally found its mistress’ location and has arranged to meet the PCs in the foothills – it leads them to the ice caves of the title. The PCs must battle through various cold-orientated monsters (including a new monster, Hounds of Winter – transformed Hell Hounds, and an annoying ice mephit – a transformed water mephit who wants the PCs to transform it back) to the central chamber where they release the wizard from her strange prison, using a magical orb given to them by the flesh golem. Unfortunately, they also set free a very annoyed water elemental.
The High Points: Travelling to the caves is a challenge in itself, the adventure providing rules for surviving the harsh conditions up in the frozen mountains. The monsters are mainly appropriate to the adventure. The setting is unusual, there is some roleplaying opportunity with the ice mephit, and the hounds of winter are interesting.
The Low Points: The bugbears were an unnecessary addition to what still remains essentially a dungeon crawl. The plot is linear and there is little depth to any of the NPCs.
Conclusion: I am giving this an Average rating since the adventure as a whole didn’t quite make the grade to Good, though there were interesting ideas to be taken from it and the premise was creative.
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