Secrets of Sokol Keep
- Thread starter Raddu
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daringdirk1
First Post
2 out of 5 rating for Secrets of Sokol Keep
Not much meat to this one. Not the worst, but far from good. Very little work done in getting players invested in the storyline of the adventure.
Not much meat to this one. Not the worst, but far from good. Very little work done in getting players invested in the storyline of the adventure.
Michael J Tresca
First Post
1 out of 5 rating for Secrets of Sokol Keep
I was the odd man out in this adventuring party, which consisted of a group of five other players who all knew each other. It was a diverse group too -- I played my dwarf Tobias Hyrthstone as the only cleric, but all of the core classes were represented, including fighters, a wizard, a monk, and a halfling rogue. A psychotic halfling rogue. Unfortunately none of that would save us from a TPK.
I was the odd man out in this adventuring party, which consisted of a group of five other players who all knew each other. It was a diverse group too -- I played my dwarf Tobias Hyrthstone as the only cleric, but all of the core classes were represented, including fighters, a wizard, a monk, and a halfling rogue. A psychotic halfling rogue. Unfortunately none of that would save us from a TPK.
Blackwarder
Adventurer
5 out of 5 rating for Secrets of Sokol Keep
I played this adventure during gencon, it was a blast, a nice mix of interaction, exploration, combat and a bit of mystery
I played this adventure during gencon, it was a blast, a nice mix of interaction, exploration, combat and a bit of mystery
Alphastream
Adventurer
4 out of 5 rating for Secrets of Sokol Keep
We had a great time playing this at Gen Con. A common sentiment seems to be that it can be confusing, and in some cases it was, but it was still a lot of fun for us. We liked the different elements brought into the adventure which created a compelling murder mystery / haunted lighthouse / things people should not investigate tone. I think the adventure could have more guidance for DMs and more ways for the DM to signal to players when the PCs are on the right track... and perhaps more clues to find so you get a good sum-up and confirmation at the end of all (or most) that had happened. New players and convention goers really tend to rate things badly when they don't understand what happened.
We had a great time playing this at Gen Con. A common sentiment seems to be that it can be confusing, and in some cases it was, but it was still a lot of fun for us. We liked the different elements brought into the adventure which created a compelling murder mystery / haunted lighthouse / things people should not investigate tone. I think the adventure could have more guidance for DMs and more ways for the DM to signal to players when the PCs are on the right track... and perhaps more clues to find so you get a good sum-up and confirmation at the end of all (or most) that had happened. New players and convention goers really tend to rate things badly when they don't understand what happened.
greekramos
Villager
5 out of 5 rating for Secrets of Sokol Keep
A haunted lighthouse, rumors of cults, strange goings on...I loved the atmosphere of mystery this adventure had. I was particularly thrilled by the "wizard's tower" moment when we figured out....well, suffice to say, this was a fun adventure with a bit of mystery, a bit of horror, some great opportunities for roleplaying, and plenty of desperate action.
A haunted lighthouse, rumors of cults, strange goings on...I loved the atmosphere of mystery this adventure had. I was particularly thrilled by the "wizard's tower" moment when we figured out....well, suffice to say, this was a fun adventure with a bit of mystery, a bit of horror, some great opportunities for roleplaying, and plenty of desperate action.
4 out of 5 rating for Secrets of Sokol Keep
I DM'd this adventure eight separate times at GenCon, and found it to be a pretty tight little adventure. The murder mystery aspect of it isn't that involved (how could it be for a session meant to last 3 1/2 hours?) and by the same token some of "secrets" are things that really would have been discovered long before the PCs ever showed up (because if the players could figure them out in a single session, then NPCs really would have too in the previous several months leading up to the PCs arrival).
So if you're willing to get past that aspect of the adventure (that the secrets and mysteries are not hidden or complex enough to justify all the time leading up to the PCs arrival that they weren't solved by the NPCs first)... the stuff you do get to do is fun. Haunted island, disappeared guards, weird family of NPCs to interact with, hidden locations to find... it has many different RP aspects in one full package.
4/5 stars: if only because we do have to accept that the compressed adventure timeframe means we have several NPCs involved that are rather dense for not figuring things out themselves first. If used and inserted into a longer campaign, the DM might want to make the discoveries require more time and effort just so the players could accept the idea that they would remain unsolved mysteries up until they arrived.
I DM'd this adventure eight separate times at GenCon, and found it to be a pretty tight little adventure. The murder mystery aspect of it isn't that involved (how could it be for a session meant to last 3 1/2 hours?) and by the same token some of "secrets" are things that really would have been discovered long before the PCs ever showed up (because if the players could figure them out in a single session, then NPCs really would have too in the previous several months leading up to the PCs arrival).
So if you're willing to get past that aspect of the adventure (that the secrets and mysteries are not hidden or complex enough to justify all the time leading up to the PCs arrival that they weren't solved by the NPCs first)... the stuff you do get to do is fun. Haunted island, disappeared guards, weird family of NPCs to interact with, hidden locations to find... it has many different RP aspects in one full package.
4/5 stars: if only because we do have to accept that the compressed adventure timeframe means we have several NPCs involved that are rather dense for not figuring things out themselves first. If used and inserted into a longer campaign, the DM might want to make the discoveries require more time and effort just so the players could accept the idea that they would remain unsolved mysteries up until they arrived.
Growing Brains
Explorer
4 out of 5 rating for Secrets of Sokol Keep
We had fun role playing in a dungeon crawl. Nice trick for the writer.
We had fun role playing in a dungeon crawl. Nice trick for the writer.
Voort
Explorer
1 out of 5 rating for Secrets of Sokol Keep
This is a mess. The grammatical errors and overload of unrelated trivia are just the beginning. Large parts of the story just don't make sense, like the fact that no one in town makes any effort to investigate the missing lighthouse guards. The crowning moment of slapdash logic comes when the adventure acts like the port is shut down...without explaining why the ships don't just wait for daylight to navigate.
This is a mess. The grammatical errors and overload of unrelated trivia are just the beginning. Large parts of the story just don't make sense, like the fact that no one in town makes any effort to investigate the missing lighthouse guards. The crowning moment of slapdash logic comes when the adventure acts like the port is shut down...without explaining why the ships don't just wait for daylight to navigate.
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