Simon Collins
Explorer
Beware! This review contains major spoilers.
A Race For Retribution Part 2 is comprised of two downloadable .pdf files - an adventure for 2nd-level characters (2.68 MB), and Tile Sheets for the adventure map (951 KB). The files cost $5 to download from www.bardsproductions.com
Presentation: A Race For Retribution Part 2 comprises two Adobe Acrobat files, the 31-page adventure and 7 pages of tile sheets (fragmented adventure maps which can be printed out and stuck to cardboard for semi-permanent dungeon floor tiles). The first page of the adventure offers a piece of average black and white artwork - though the artwork is innovative, it still looks a bit squashed as though a bit of shrink-to-fit has been going on. The second page is credits and contents. The final two pages are open game info. There are four pages of computer-generated angular maps (the two colour maps of the Ruins of the Orcish Hall and the Orcish Hall (Lower Levels) are repeated in black and white for cheap printing) which in the file are rather pixel-ly (they may look better printed out, but my printers broken at the moment). The text density is good, but as with Part 1 there is loads of white space and a top and bottom margin on most pages. The two pieces of internal black and white artwork are poor.
The Adventure: The Adventure Background is provided in a piece of flavour text, reported by the spirit a dwarven adventurer who was killed in an attack on an orc base in the area some years before. He tells the same story as the adventure background in Part 1 (see review) but from his own perspective - the most important aspect related to this part of the adventure is that a lot of orcs were killed in the original attack on the orcish halls, and they have now become undead. There follows a adventure summary for the remaining three parts of the adventure and a section of advice on running the adventure - how to space the series out (it is not designed to run continuously), how to use the innovative linked rumour tables (which provide time-dependent rumours for future parts of the adventure), and how to balance the challenges provided in the adventure. It also deals with running the adventure standalone and has a section on scaling the adventure for PCs of different levels. Four adventure hooks follow (though the hooks do not give the PCs knowledge that they are presumed to have later on - this knowledge must be gleaned from the rumours the PCs hear or information from Part 1). A DM Notes section repeats advice on the moral ambiguity of the adventure from Part 1. Once into the adventure proper, the module gives some useful tips on creating nervous tension in the players when entering the haunted halls. Due to the undead, it is highly recommended a cleric is in the party, and an NPC is provided for those parties who are clericless. General information on the Orcish Hall is then given, including the effects of a magic item on any half-orcs in the party. The surface above the old halls is described with the orc guards, left by the PCs nemesis-to-be, Degarn the half-orc cleric of destruction. Degarn himself is down below, trying to find the magic item that lies lost in the halls. The PCs enter the old halls, facing lots of undead and a couple of traps, until they reach the shrine which holds the magic item, the Heart of Grakis. Once there, they discover that Degarn and his minions are there too, and the area is being protected by the dwarven ghost who introduced the adventure background at the beginning. The ghost is being attacked by Degarn just as the PCs enter. Degarn then seeks to grab the Heart of Grakis, and escape, leaving his minions to fight the PCs. Potential battle tactics for all combatants are outlined, including some zombies that the dwarven cleric ghost has controlled. A Wandering Monsters section follows this climactic three-way battle. The adventure finishes with a Concluding The Adventure section including PC rewards. The module concludes with two pages of linked rumour tables with an example of how to use them.
The Good: In much the same way as Part 1, there is a lot in this adventure that makes it easy, logical, and interesting to run. The value added extras (such as the tile sheets), and the innovative linked rumour tables, add to this experience. There is plenty of detail on running the adventure and it is very flexible, in terms of both PC level and ease of integration into your standard fantasy campaign. The climax of the adventure itself, with a three-way fight is a challenging unusual idea.
The Bad: Unfortunately, also in much the same way as Part 1, the production values are poor and the majority of the adventure in Part 2 (which involves killing lots of undead) has been done before, and better. The three-way fight at the end is not enough to turn it round from blandness. It's not enough to dress an adventure up with all the frills, the adventure itself has to live up to the quality that can be seen in the attention to detail and the value-added extras. The artwork has to reflect this quality as well, and A Race For Retribution Part 2 has neither the quality of adventure or artwork to match some of its other attributes. Fleshing out the page count with large amounts of white space does not increase the customers perception of value-for-money. When a module is free, its not the end of the world, but when you have to pay (even $5), it's not on.
Conclusion: Where I can forgive some of the negative aspects of a free module (Part 1), payment changes the perspective somewhat. Most of the neat ideas in this module can be picked up for free in Part 1, and the meat of the product and the presentation isn't value for money. It still has some redeeming features in terms of its flexibility and would be a worthwhile purchase for a beginning DM or one who likes dungeon crawls with undead and orcs, and wants some more of the same. For me, it was poor, and no more.
A Race For Retribution Part 2 is comprised of two downloadable .pdf files - an adventure for 2nd-level characters (2.68 MB), and Tile Sheets for the adventure map (951 KB). The files cost $5 to download from www.bardsproductions.com
Presentation: A Race For Retribution Part 2 comprises two Adobe Acrobat files, the 31-page adventure and 7 pages of tile sheets (fragmented adventure maps which can be printed out and stuck to cardboard for semi-permanent dungeon floor tiles). The first page of the adventure offers a piece of average black and white artwork - though the artwork is innovative, it still looks a bit squashed as though a bit of shrink-to-fit has been going on. The second page is credits and contents. The final two pages are open game info. There are four pages of computer-generated angular maps (the two colour maps of the Ruins of the Orcish Hall and the Orcish Hall (Lower Levels) are repeated in black and white for cheap printing) which in the file are rather pixel-ly (they may look better printed out, but my printers broken at the moment). The text density is good, but as with Part 1 there is loads of white space and a top and bottom margin on most pages. The two pieces of internal black and white artwork are poor.
The Adventure: The Adventure Background is provided in a piece of flavour text, reported by the spirit a dwarven adventurer who was killed in an attack on an orc base in the area some years before. He tells the same story as the adventure background in Part 1 (see review) but from his own perspective - the most important aspect related to this part of the adventure is that a lot of orcs were killed in the original attack on the orcish halls, and they have now become undead. There follows a adventure summary for the remaining three parts of the adventure and a section of advice on running the adventure - how to space the series out (it is not designed to run continuously), how to use the innovative linked rumour tables (which provide time-dependent rumours for future parts of the adventure), and how to balance the challenges provided in the adventure. It also deals with running the adventure standalone and has a section on scaling the adventure for PCs of different levels. Four adventure hooks follow (though the hooks do not give the PCs knowledge that they are presumed to have later on - this knowledge must be gleaned from the rumours the PCs hear or information from Part 1). A DM Notes section repeats advice on the moral ambiguity of the adventure from Part 1. Once into the adventure proper, the module gives some useful tips on creating nervous tension in the players when entering the haunted halls. Due to the undead, it is highly recommended a cleric is in the party, and an NPC is provided for those parties who are clericless. General information on the Orcish Hall is then given, including the effects of a magic item on any half-orcs in the party. The surface above the old halls is described with the orc guards, left by the PCs nemesis-to-be, Degarn the half-orc cleric of destruction. Degarn himself is down below, trying to find the magic item that lies lost in the halls. The PCs enter the old halls, facing lots of undead and a couple of traps, until they reach the shrine which holds the magic item, the Heart of Grakis. Once there, they discover that Degarn and his minions are there too, and the area is being protected by the dwarven ghost who introduced the adventure background at the beginning. The ghost is being attacked by Degarn just as the PCs enter. Degarn then seeks to grab the Heart of Grakis, and escape, leaving his minions to fight the PCs. Potential battle tactics for all combatants are outlined, including some zombies that the dwarven cleric ghost has controlled. A Wandering Monsters section follows this climactic three-way battle. The adventure finishes with a Concluding The Adventure section including PC rewards. The module concludes with two pages of linked rumour tables with an example of how to use them.
The Good: In much the same way as Part 1, there is a lot in this adventure that makes it easy, logical, and interesting to run. The value added extras (such as the tile sheets), and the innovative linked rumour tables, add to this experience. There is plenty of detail on running the adventure and it is very flexible, in terms of both PC level and ease of integration into your standard fantasy campaign. The climax of the adventure itself, with a three-way fight is a challenging unusual idea.
The Bad: Unfortunately, also in much the same way as Part 1, the production values are poor and the majority of the adventure in Part 2 (which involves killing lots of undead) has been done before, and better. The three-way fight at the end is not enough to turn it round from blandness. It's not enough to dress an adventure up with all the frills, the adventure itself has to live up to the quality that can be seen in the attention to detail and the value-added extras. The artwork has to reflect this quality as well, and A Race For Retribution Part 2 has neither the quality of adventure or artwork to match some of its other attributes. Fleshing out the page count with large amounts of white space does not increase the customers perception of value-for-money. When a module is free, its not the end of the world, but when you have to pay (even $5), it's not on.
Conclusion: Where I can forgive some of the negative aspects of a free module (Part 1), payment changes the perspective somewhat. Most of the neat ideas in this module can be picked up for free in Part 1, and the meat of the product and the presentation isn't value for money. It still has some redeeming features in terms of its flexibility and would be a worthwhile purchase for a beginning DM or one who likes dungeon crawls with undead and orcs, and wants some more of the same. For me, it was poor, and no more.
