A Lion in the Ropes (2nd printing)

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“A Lion in the Ropes,” Troll Lord Games first d20 system fantasy adventure module, sold out in one month and garnered enthusiastic reviews! Now it returns to thrill Third Edition players everywhere. A horror stalks the quiet streets of three small villages. It falls upon the players to unravel the mystery of the lion in the ropes. Designed for 4-8 characters of levels 2-4, this well balanced d20 System adventure entails roleplaying, combat, and problem solving. Set in the World of Erde, Troll Lord Games’ official campaign setting.

 

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A Lion in the Ropes
by Stephen Chenault
Published by Troll Lord Games
ISBN: 1931275130
Stapled softcover, 24 pages, 22 pages gaming content
Price: $6.95

'A Lion in the Ropes' is a location-based adventure module for the d20 system for 4-8 characters of levels 2-4. It is set in the world of Erde, but it can easily be adapted to any d20 fantasy campaign setting. It is also well scalable to fit characters of higher levels. Cover and interior art are fine and correspond very well with the very moody descriptions. The maps are clearly readable and error-free, but no great pieces of art.

WARNING: If you plan to play 'A Lion in the Ropes' as a player, don't read on! The following part contains SPOILERS!

The Plot: Old Lord Galveston has a problem. His lands have seen better days, from the five villages that once existed only three are left, and a mysterious series of gruesome murders spreads fear across his land. Being 101 years old, Lord Galveston has become feeble, so all he can do is to hire some mercenaries to take care of this mystery.
As the characters reach the village of Capendu , they are told that a Charon Fiend, a diabolical beast, has been seen around a couple of days ago. Without a trace of a doubt, this fiend must be responsible for the murders which occur about once a week. Most of the missing villagers have vanished without a trace but some victims have been found by the near river, horribly mutilated. The latest victim is Master Adelton, deacon of the local church.
Trying to find the beast, the PCs stumble across numerous plots that seem to be linked to each other, but in fact they are not. The beast that was taken for the Charon Fiend is in fact a tame lion that has escaped from a wandering circus. A group of bandits who attack Lord Galveston's stronghold are only out to collect some quick protection-money from the villages but have nothing to do with the murders.

Confused and somewhat frustrated, the PCs become ear-witnesses of another murder. One of the local temple's novices has been killed and tracks lead to the temple's roof. How can that be? After some investigations, the party may find out that the temple was built upon the foundation of and old castle that once belonged to an infamous and brutal warlord. Examining the cellar they find a chamber that has remained hidden for centuries. Some poor souls have been left to die in this portion of the dungeon when the warlord had to leave his castle in a hurry and fled. Without a proper burial, they turned into undead spirits, able to take possession of objects and animate them. The murders started when the clergy of the temple started to bury their dead next door to the now enraged spirits. Taking control of some gargoyle statues they took revenge. Once properly laid to rest, these souls finally find their peace and the mystery is solved.

This module is very moody and offers a wide variety of role-playing opportunities. The party will have to travel from village to village, solve the murder-mystery by exploring a small dungeon, defend the lord, and catch a lion. I was forced to run the whole adventure in a single session, as my players
insisted on going on and on. It took them almost seven hours of playing time, but everyone was happy with the outcome. There wasn't much money to make, but a grateful Lord, who proclaimed the party his heirs, was a great reward for all players. Much better than a pile of gold pieces!

I really liked running this adventure. It is very well written and almost runs itself. The DM can mostly lean back and enjoy. It is rather short, but taking the price of $ 6.95 in account, it is very well worth its price. I would even go so far as to call this one a true classic. It stresses very much what
role-playing is all about. Very good work, very recommendable.

 

[GSHamster]

The Lion in the Ropes is a fun little adventure for low-level characters. The majority of the adventure is very good, but there were enough errors and (especially) omissions that cause it to lose a star in my eyes.

Pros

- The main plot is fun.
- The adventure is balanced well.
- There's something for pretty much every character class to do, especially rangers.
- The villains are pretty neat (I had a lot of fun running them).

Cons

- Important information is missing. For example, in one room a treasure chest is hidden under a flagstone. There is no Search DC listed. Similarly, one group of monsters has "weapon of choice" listed in their statblock. This is the biggest knock against the adventure. Many times I had to just make up a number because it wasn't there in the adventure.
- It has a *lot* of text that is meant to be read out loud. After a bit, my players started tuning the text out. (Which was unfortunate because there are many clues buried in the text.)
- It's possibly very linear.
- There are several points where the module 'railroads' you. For example, the PCs find some tracks, and after a while are unable to track them. Flat-out unable, no DC given or anything.
- The final battle may be impossible unless you have a cleric. They get around this with a magic spell that I didn't really like (clerical magic that can be cast by wizards).

All in all, my group had a fun time playing through this adventure. The adventure was a bit more work for the DM than I would have ideally liked, and some of the omissions are really glaring.