Crothian
First Post
Wolfgang Baur has had this Open Design of his going for a year or so now. I am not all that familiar with how it works or really what all has gone into it. But I will say the result has been pretty impressive. The module that he and the people who support ed it came up is filled with interesting ideas and a rich history. It is one of the most creative modules I have ever read. I have no run the module and I am not sure if I will ever get the chance. But I have thought of ways to use the main adventure concept in two campaigns and only one of them is actually D&D.
Castle Shadowcrag is a PDF written by Wolfgang Baur with the help of many people. The PDF is very nicely book marked and is ninety five pages long. The art and maps are well done and the complicated story is very well organized. However, due to the way the book was designed I am not sure if it is even available. So, this might be a bad timed review in light of that.
The adventure is for characters of about tenth level. There is a wide range of encounters and mystery for the players to ferret out here. It could be a great role playing adventure or one filled with combat depending on how the players approach it all. The module does a very nice job of adapting itself to a few different play styles.
The adventure starts off with the players coming to an old and not well used castle. There is a very elaborate back story that sets up this gothic tale. Unlike most modules though this one has a great way of making the back story very relevant to the adventure. The players actually get to participate in many of the past events. The time travel is simple and well handled. The events are well constructed and it shows precisely what happens if the party succeeds or fails with the events. And depending on how well they do determines how the final encounter and climax of the module goes off.
The main plot is very fey oriented. And unlike the fey of the monster manuals these guys are really true to the folk lore. I am a fan of seeing a better use of fey and the Seelie and Unseelie courts so that makes me enjoy the module. But I know there are people that have no interest in them so they would want to stay clear of this adventure. The players have a chance to fully lift a curse or they can actually plummet this castle straight into evil depending on how well they do. This module makes no assumptions on the player’s ability to succeed.
The module has a new class in it and some new spells that go along with its shadow theme. Over all it a good mix of creativity and themes that are very new and not over used. It has a good deal of exploration but rarely feels like a true dungeon crawl. Wolfgang Baur really shows that he can write a very good module.
Castle Shadowcrag is a PDF written by Wolfgang Baur with the help of many people. The PDF is very nicely book marked and is ninety five pages long. The art and maps are well done and the complicated story is very well organized. However, due to the way the book was designed I am not sure if it is even available. So, this might be a bad timed review in light of that.
The adventure is for characters of about tenth level. There is a wide range of encounters and mystery for the players to ferret out here. It could be a great role playing adventure or one filled with combat depending on how the players approach it all. The module does a very nice job of adapting itself to a few different play styles.
The adventure starts off with the players coming to an old and not well used castle. There is a very elaborate back story that sets up this gothic tale. Unlike most modules though this one has a great way of making the back story very relevant to the adventure. The players actually get to participate in many of the past events. The time travel is simple and well handled. The events are well constructed and it shows precisely what happens if the party succeeds or fails with the events. And depending on how well they do determines how the final encounter and climax of the module goes off.
The main plot is very fey oriented. And unlike the fey of the monster manuals these guys are really true to the folk lore. I am a fan of seeing a better use of fey and the Seelie and Unseelie courts so that makes me enjoy the module. But I know there are people that have no interest in them so they would want to stay clear of this adventure. The players have a chance to fully lift a curse or they can actually plummet this castle straight into evil depending on how well they do. This module makes no assumptions on the player’s ability to succeed.
The module has a new class in it and some new spells that go along with its shadow theme. Over all it a good mix of creativity and themes that are very new and not over used. It has a good deal of exploration but rarely feels like a true dungeon crawl. Wolfgang Baur really shows that he can write a very good module.
