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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2008930" data-attributes="member: 18387">Bastion of Broken Souls: A ReviewNote: This is not a playtest review. There will be spoilers ahead.Bastion of Broken Souls (BBS) is the last in the Dungeons and Dragons story path series, and the third written by Bruce Cordell. It is designed for 18th level characters, and should bring them to level 20 or higher. Format: The module is 48 pages, up from the 32 page count of previous modules in the series, and happily the price is the same. As usual, the inside covers hold the maps. There is a title page, a page with four 18th level pregnerated characters who are be familiar to you all, and 14(!) pages of monster stats and listings of new monsters, spells, and magic items (including four major artifacts). The rest of the module covers the adventure itself. Margins, font size, titles, etc. are exactly as they appear in previous titles in the series. The interior art by David Roach ranges from decent to excellent; I particularly liked the picture of the Cathezar.Warning: Spoilers ahead!The story: BBS takes up the Ashardalon plot thread that ran through Bruce Cordell's previous two modules in the series (Sunless Citadel and Heart of Nightfang Spire). The PCs find that children are being born soulless, and must track the problem to it's source, which is in another plane. Meanwhile, a pair of feuding demon lords seek one of the PCs to be used to help defeat Ashardalon, the evil behind the soul-stealing, for their own purposes.The adventure structure is different than the previous two Cordell titles. There is no real dungeon complex in this tale. Instead, the adventure is broken up into two parts:Part 1: PCs are attacked by agents of one of the demon lords, find out about the soulless child births, and start to investigate. The trail leads them to a number of encounter areas; which areas they go to depend somewhat on what the PCs turn up in their inquiries. This section of the adventure is broken into five encounter areas (called "scenes"), with an additional scene devoted to what happens when the characters use high-level divination and commune type spells. The placement of the locations in part 1 is largely irrelevant, as it is assumed that PCs will easily be able to transport from one location to the next via high-level magic. Thus, we have a series of loosely connected encounter areas, most of which require battling a guardian before information leading to another area or areas is revealed. Overall, the areas are all interesting, and a couple, the Guild of Sleep and the Church of the Elements, can be inserted in a campaign well before this adventure begins to add depth. The only one of these encounter areas I was disappointed with was the Church of the Elements, which felt like filler material, since there is no opposition to obtaining the information they need there. For all the other areas, they will need to work for their clues. Some of these encounters are quite imaginative, such as the one where the PCs may end up having to fight a solar to progress (quite the moral dilemma for paladins and other good-aligned PCs!). Part 2: The Bastion of Unborn Souls: Eventually, their enquiries allow them to acquire the knowledge and means to access the Bastion of Unborn Souls, where the second part of the adventure takes place. This is a high level series of interconnected chambers located in the positive energy plane, where they will have to battle minions of the demon lords, Ashardalon's offspring, and creatures native to the Bastion. Further, the area is designed so that PCs will have to travel through all the outlying areas before they can penetrate the central area and take on Ashardalon himself-a CR27 beast!Taking on all these adversaries will require the players and DM to be on their toes and familiar with the abilities of those they control. It is particularly important in this adventure because much of the adventure is probably going to be spent in high level combat situations. Fortunately for the DM, the monsters are well-presented, with well-thought-out tactics given and "Power-Up Suites" listing spells and items they use before battle, if they have the opportunity (and they almost always do). The Power-Up Suites also give the modified stats for the convenience of the DM.Summary: This adventure is not a heavily plot-driven specimen, nor is it a dungeon crawl or exploration type adventure-but it does incorporate elements of each, and should delight combat maestros as well as roleplayers, as there are many opportunities to cut deals and talk one's way out of combat. There are two ways the adventure can be played: deep into a long campaign, or as a one-shot. Mr. Cordell has thoughtfully provided for both styles: several of the locations in the first part can be introduced into a campaign well before the actual adventure begins (and even the plot hooks need not occur simultaneously), and the module can also be tied with the Ashardalon plot from his previous adventures. On the other hand, for those without the time for an extended campaign, pregenerated characters have been provided to get the game going right away. Overall, I would have to say that no matter which school of gaming you adhere to, roleplaying/plot driven adventures or open-ended exploration, this adventure should appeal to you. I would recommend it particularly for experienced players and DMs, since you should be familiar with the vast array of possible spells, magic items, and monster abilities that can be brought to bear going into this adventure.</blockquote>

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