The Maze of Zayene 2: Dimensions of Flight

[Messageboard Golem]

Part 2 of the Maze of Zayene Series by Rob Kuntz! The characters have escaped the maze only to find themselves in strange dimensions of fire, stone and ice, and a strange idyllic hunting ground where all is not as it appears. Can the characters find the keys to their survival? A classic adventure for 4 to 6 characters level 9 to 12. Contains even more new monsters and magic items from the creative mind of Rob Kuntz!

 

[Psion]

Dimensions of Flight

Dimensions of Flight is the second in the Maze of Zayene series of adventures by veteran D&D author Robert J. Kuntz, the sequel to Prisoners of the Maze. The adventures were originally printed as unofficial adventures for the AD&D game before the adventure of the OGL and d20 System and Trademark Licenses, but are being reprinted for the d20 system by Necromancer Games.

Dimensions of Flight is designed for 4 to 6 characters of 9th to 12th level.

A First Look

Dimensions of Flight is a 48-page adventure priced at $11.95. The interior has a very good text density, using a compact font and single spaced paragraphs.

The cover art is by John Masse and depicts a party of adventurers confronting some white-furred hounds.

The interior is black-and-white. Interior art is by Brian Leblanc, who has a dark style with judicious shading.

The maps for the adventure are by Necromancer Games' chief cartographer, Christopher Boll. The maps are clean and readable, and have a clear key. There are two types of map, interior maps with square grids and exterior maps with a perspective hex grid. There is a scale for the interior maps but not for the exterior maps.

A Deeper Look
Warning: This section contains spoilers to secrets in the adventure

As mentioned, Dimensions of Flight is a sequel to Prisoners of the Maze. The adventure describes 4 different dimensional realms that are reached via rooms in the Maze of Zayene. The realms have no egresses in and of themselves, but each contains one of four "keys" that the characters can find that will lead them back to the Maze; these same keys will allow the characters to escape the maze and/or confront the mad king Ovar.

Each of the four realms has a different theme or feel. Each also appears to be an outdoor area, but is actually finite in size and surrounded in a hazy force feild. Three of the four realms are fairly linear in nature; to earn their escape, the characters must cross the realm where they arrive at the abode of the realm's master and find the key that will return them to the maze. The masters of the realms are all beholden to the mad mage Zayene, who is responsible for the character's incarceration in the maze.

The four realms, and their themes and challenges are:

Enot's Realm - This realm is a mountainous realm, rule by Enots, the Lord of Stone. The characters must cross the mountains and face a few giants, humanoids, and flying beasts, as well as the peril of falling. The falling rules are handled in a rather cut and dry manner that does not take into account character skills; if the characters do not take precautions and/or have available magic to save them, there is a flat percentage chance that a character plummets to their death.

After traversing the mountains, the PCs arrive at a fortress carved into a mountain. By entering through. Inside, after some exploration of some statuary and facing a sorceress who commands a minor artifact called the cauldron of serpents and some other hazards, the players may find the first key.

There is an access to Enot's fortress, but it is not detailed here. The text promises that the fortress will be detailed in an future product, but as Rob Kuntz has ended his arrangement with Necromancer games prematurely, we are unlikely to ever see this.

Baal's Realm - The second realm is beholden to a sorcerer named Baal. The realm appears to be a scorched desert. In crossing it, the players may face (or preferably, sneak past) a tribe of aggressive nomads and take shelter in a temple when they are assailed by a supernatural sandstorm.

The players eventually arrive at a abode carved out of a huge slab of rock. Within, the PCs must face Baal and his otherworldly minions. Baal's library and laboratory are described in lavish detail.

Poharn's Realm - The third realm is that of Poharn, a powerful elemental lord of ice. In crossing the realm, the players must face some ice-themed creatures, including two new creature types detailed in the book: igresh (or "ice ogres") and the ustass (an icy dragon-like beast.)

Poharn's realm is brief and straightforward. If they arrive before his throne, Poharn will grant PCs boons they wish for (hopefully they will ask for the keystone that they came for.) If the party elects to fight Poharn, they will lose. Poharn is unstatted and invincible, and can kill the PCs with impunity.

The Happy Hunting Grounds - The last and most interesting realm is a forest covered realm teeming with life. The players may be surprised to find that the arrive near a small village with a comfortable inn.

Should the party stay at the inn, a bard will warn them during the night that they are to be the object of a hunt the next day, and that they should flee. Their hunters are stiff competition with some interesting and powerful magic items.

Eventually, amidst the forest, the party should be able to find a demonic fox in the woods that has the key they will have to bargain for. The price could be an item or person that was in the previous adventure. Or the fox could exact a terrible price (e.g., limbs) from party members in exchange for the keystone.


In addition to the four realms, there are appendices describing new magic items and monsters introduced in the adventure.

Conclusion

I liked Dimensions of Flight a bit better than the first adventure in the series. The best parts of Dimensions of Flight are perhaps the Happy Hunting Grounds scenario and some of the new items and creatures. Unfortunately, I did feel the first three realms were very redundant.

Dimensions of Flight is a very old-school module and assumes the rogue-less party introduced in the first module. Many of the challenges eschew use of the skill system and rely on player decisions or flat rolls. This could make the module difficult to adapt to a different situation, as if you use the module as written, rogue characters would feel like a fifth wheel.

Another thing that I find to be too old school for my taste is that many of the challenges presented are of the "save or die" variety.

Overall, I would really only recommend the module if you are interested in collecting and playing the series in the style it was intended, which is to say a very gamist old-school style with a tolerance for a high body count and a heavy reliance on shrewd player decision making.

-Alan D. Kohler

 

[MerricB]

Dimensions of Flight is the second part of the Maze of Zayene series, an adventure written primarily for four pre-generated characters of levels 10 or 11. It consists of four demi-planes, from each of which the characters must retrieve a specific item.

Of the first three modules of this series, I like this one the most. It is attractively presented, with boxed text to read to the players for most encounter areas, good artwork, and mostly nice fonts. Apart from the actual adventure, there are also ten new magical items, and five new monsters, most of which are inventive and effective.

The actual demi-planes - Enots' Realm, Baal's Realm, Poharn's Realm and the Happy Hunting Ground - are each handled in distinct fashion, although there are some common elements between them. Mainly that they are each a challenging adventure for the players to overcome. In truth, you can view this module as being four separate adventures in the one package. If you are not running the entire Maze of Zayene series, it should not be difficult to integrate the realms as special quest areas for your players.

One thing that I must stress about this module is that it is extremely challenging for the players, and quite deadly. Inexperienced players will probably find it too hard without some modification or aid from the referee. This is not so much a flaw as a feature - a good referee will know his or her players well enough to adapt the material to their capabilities, but I think that this is one of the more challenging adventures available.

Looking at each realm individually, the first - Enots' Realm - is a relatively linear trek through some mountains before reaching a cave complex from which the PCs must retrieve an item. The encounters have the general theme of "stone", and include ambushes, normal melee combat, and several tricks and traps where the party will have to think hard about their actions.

The second - Baal's Realm - is again a relatively linear trek through a desert before reaching a cave complex from which the PCs must retrieve an item. Despite how that sounds, the encounters are actually quite distinct from those of Enots' Realm. There are more opportunities for role-playing with the inhabitants of this realm, and the challenges are of a different nature.

The third - Poharn's Realm - is a relatively linear trek across snow and ice fields before reaching the lord of this realm - Poharn. This is actually the shortest of the mini-adventures, with only four or five encounter areas, mostly consisting of combat against some weird creature or another. The ultimate encounter - that with Poharn - is surprisingly not a combat, but instead a test of the party's integrity. I have the most problems with this section of the module, because if the party is unsure of why they are in the realm, they are very likely to fail here and be destroyed - there are no second chances.

The fourth - the Happy Hunting Grounds - consists of an adventure in an Inn and the surrounding forest. Of the four mini-adventures, I found this the most enjoyable to read, and am looking forward to taking my players through it in the future. Combat, role-playing and fast thinking take the fore in this final mini-adventure.

What is good about the module? Well, I find many of the encounters to be inventive, thought provoking, and challenging. With respect to how it fits into the greater sense of the series, the linearity of the various realms is actually a good point, as both the first and third modules are very non-linear in their approach. The fact that it should be easy to remove one of these mini-adventures and use it as a special area in another game also appeals to me. I felt whilst I was reading these areas that this is how the Nodes of Elemental Evil (from the classic module, the Temple of Elemental Evil) should have been handled. Each possesses character and interest for both referee and players.

As to the bad points, the d20 system rules are - as in the first module - not always correctly applied. This didn't bother me so much as before, as the flaws are less easy to spot - although there are a couple of oddities with the monsters. The sheer deadliness of some of the areas is also not that appealing - often, instead of trying to challenge the players, the module seems trying to kill them outright.

Another problem with the module is its assumption that the characters and motivations used will be of the pre-generated party presented in Prisoners of the Maze, the first module of the series. The pre-generated characters do not include a rogue, so there aren't that many areas in which a rogue's special skills will be needed. (I'll just emphasise that no pre-generated characters are presented in this module - either you will use those from part 1, or you will have to create your own).

The final problem is that there are very few notes given in the way of helping someone who has not purchased Maze 1 in using this module. It would have been nice if slightly more space had been given to such an eventuality.

Although an experienced referee should easily counteract these problems, they are worth mentioning.

In conclusion, this module should provide a good challenge for a group of experienced players. Even if the actual module isn't used in full, certain encounters from it should give good material for individual campaigns.

This review was originally published on rpg.net

 

[Messageboard Golem]

MAZE OF ZAYENE 2
Dimensions of Flight

CAVEATS
This is not a playtest review. There are moderate spoilers.

OVERVIEW
This is a 48-page volume, the second of four (or five, depending on rumor) volumes in this series. The first and third have also been published by Necromancer Games, while the fourth is being released by the author's own company, Pied Piper. Maze of Zayene features maps by Chris Boll, and art by Brian LeBlanc. Layout and font follow the standard for Necromancer Games-excellent overall.

The Maze of Zayene series was originally a series of tournament modules written by Robert Kuntz for AD&D (first edition), as was seen in Maze of Zayene 1 (see my review of that product for further details on this). Maze 2 covers the four "dimensions of flight", or demiplanes that the characters must venture through to recover four gems that will allow them to leave the Maze of Zayene. A brief, confusing overview of Maze 1 is provided at the beginning of this book, and it is otherwise devoted to describing each of the four areas. These include the icy realm of Poharn, the mountainous crags where Enots dwells, the desert landscape where the PCs must take on a sorcerer named Baal, and a sojourn in the Happy Hunting Grounds, where the party takes part in a Hunt. In the appendix are stats for new items and creatures found throughout the adventure.

POSITIVES
1. As with Maze 1, many of the areas described herein show great inventiveness. My favorite area was probably the desert dimension, where PCs must sneak by or confront a desert nomad encampment, and the mini-dungeon complex where Baal lives has an interesting layout. And many of the items and creatures to be found herein are worth borrowing.

2. If the DM owns Chaos Rising (another Necromancer Games product), and does not have or does not wish to run Maze of Zayene 1, the four areas in this module could be used to replace four areas late in CR that are briefly described but not detailed.

NEGATIVES
1. The principal, striking problem with this book is that it is nigh unplayable on its own. You could connect the four areas, I suppose, but since they have no uniting theme of their own, this is not a standalone product. It works only as what it is-a series of side quests to gather four objects. Unless you have need for such, you will find this book of little use except as a place to steal monsters or items from (and those, while sometimes interesting, are not enough to justify the cost of the supplement).

2. Another major problem I had, and one which overshadowed the fact that it does not stand on its own, is the forced linearity of each of the quests. In three of the areas, PCs appear at one end of the map, must travel along a set path to the other end, confront the ruler of the miniature plane, win free with the gem-key, and return to their starting point to escape. After reading through these three areas, I was looking forward to the Happy Hunting Grounds, where there is no set route. Imagine my disappointment, then, when I found that the adventure nevertheless shoehorns the characters along the mini-plot.

Here is an example of what I mean by this. When the characters arrive at the Happy Hunting Grounds, they soon come to an inn, and when they enter it is described as follows: "As you step inside, you note that the commons is packed with men and an occasional bar wench, all delighting in an after-dinner mug of their favorite brew….At the bar is a large, stocky, red-cheeked man who is wiping a mug on his apron. You know right away that this is Happy Hunt the innkeeper." The PCs may then talk to Hunt (and "possibly other patrons") about the hunt, and are invited to sign up for the hunt on the morrow. But then "Happy Hunt and his two sons are too involved to answer other questions. If the PCs look for other people in the commons, tell them that there are four huntsmen in a nearby corner; otherwise the commons is at this time starting to empty, and even the accordion player has disappeared." A magic disappearing act designed to keep players ignorant of the upcoming festivities, and force them into the narrow confines of the plot. This is, in my opinion, plot-based adventure design at its worst. As a player I would be damned upset if I couldn't talk with anyone else, and DMs running players who like to split up may have a hard time keeping the players in the dark without annoying them or rousing suspicion with the evanescent bar patrons.

RECOMMENDATIONS
This book does have some interesting bits here and there, and it is a requirement if you plan on running Maze of Zayene 1 as-is. You could also modify this slightly and run it with Chaos Rising, which is one of this book's few saving graces. However, I felt that each of the four dimensions was not terribly interesting and too linear for my tastes.

 

[Melan]

Maze of Zayene 2: Dimensions of Flight

WARNING! SPOILERS!

The second module in the M series, Dimesions of Flight contains four small, self contained demiplanes. In Prisoners of the Maze, the party was transported into an underground deathtrap by King Ovar's mad archmage, the insidious Zayene. At the end of the first adventure, they reached the four gates leading into these mini-dimensions - each the resting place of a magical key, which will finally unlock an impenetrable door standing in our heroes way.

Dimensions of Flight is a marked improvement over the first adventure, and it is a lot less insanely organized than thre third. First of all, the maps are actually usable and look nice, the presentation is more professional, there are fewer rule-related errors, and, last but not least, the four demiplanes are a lot of fun.

Again, Mr. Kuntz is one of those game designers who can think outside the box - while staying within the framework of the game, he can think up challenging and imaginative encounters all the while avoiding all those tired clichés which are so often found even in the most professional publications. And again, this also means the four planes are pretty outlandish and weird - but, since they are extraplanar locations, this is actually a welcome change. Part of the challenges (as in Prisoners) is the way the module forces PCs to think outside the box - they are without traditional adventuring supplies - no ropes, no torches, unless they got it from someone in the adventure. This encourages exploring new tactics and new solutions to old problems, emphasizing player thought versus character abilities. There is a fair collection of new magic items, all of which are new and fresh ideas.

My only gripe is the linearity of the quests - all four are "get in, follow path, get key from <blank> and return from where you came". On the other hand, the quests are still fun. They are as follows:

Enot's Realm: this dimension is a mountainous realm of stone. The path the party must follow (literally!) is a dangerous mountain road - unfortunately, Rob merely gave a flat chance of falling... A Balance check or something would have been more sensible but this is easily rectified. There is a confrontation with giants and then a foray into a small dungeon, where a Sorceress guards the first key. There is even an access to Enot's castle, but this part of the module is left undeveloped. I recommend skipping it alltogether.

Baal's Realm is a desert, where the party encounters (or avoids) a small tribe of pretty agressive nomads (killing them would be ridiculously easy for a party of the suggested level - if they are well rested, of course), may explore a small, abandoned temple and finally proceed to Baal's Pinnacle. The dungeon is a wizard's laboratory/sleeping quarters, and it is packed with interesting items and whatnot. For some reason, this dimension really captivated me - from the nomads to the devilish magic items, it just seemed to work seamlessly.

Poharn's Realm is the third of the four, an icy mountain ruled by the aforementioned Poharn, an elemental lord of considerable power. Unfortunately, this is also the least developed setting - just a trek to the key and back. Poharn must be negotiated with for the key - and if the party doesn't play well or attacks, it is Game Over time - literally. Overall, I was let down by this part.

The last dimension is The Happy Hunting Grounds. In it, the party finds an idyllic forest and a small vilage with an inn, where they first encounter the Hunters, who will then hunt them the next day. The hunting party is unusually powerful and possesses several magic items. To escape, a demonic fox must be bargained with - he will ask for items recovered in the first part of the module, the sacrifice of some NPC or player limbs.

There is also an appendix full of detailed new magic items (each of them unique and new) and new monsters (these are mostly variants on older standbys).

Who would find this adventure useful? Those who want to play the Maze of Zayene series, definitely - but that's not all. It would be ridiculously easy to break the module into its four parts and use them separately - perhaps as quests for lower level parties, something adventurers may find a gate to in a deep dungeon or somesuch. In many ways, I feel Dimensions of Flight is the strongest part of the series, and I definitely recommend it to other DMs.

Score: 5/5