Crucible of Freya

[Simon Collins]

Beware! This review contains major spoilers.

The Crucible of Freya is a challenging introductory adventure for four to six characters of 1st or 2nd level. It costs $7.99.

Production & Presentation: This is a 48-page module. The front cover has a good quality piece of colour artwork, which stylistically reminds me of some Manga animation. The back cover contains an introduction and overview of the adventure. The first page contains credits, the last two pages OGL bumf and advertising. The text is clear, black on white background. The several pieces of internal black & white artwork definitely reminded me of 1st Edition – poor, in my opinion. The maps in the centre of the module - of the ruined keep, the village of Fairhill, and the surrounding wilderness area - are basic but sufficient. The text takes up about nine-tenths of each page in a familiar two-column layout – the edge of each page is bordered by a strip of grinning skulls.

The Story: The Introduction (2 pages) gives an adventure overview, an adventure background, some information on how to use and modify the module, including how to incorporate it with their free adventure The Wizards Amulet, downloadable from www.necromancergames.com. In essence, a magical item has been stolen by a group of orcs from the temple of love and fertility of Fairhill village. The orcs are in turn working for an evil priest of the demon-lord Orcus. There is a side story regarding a wizard who has sold his soul into undeath to Orcus, who resides beneath the same tower where the priest and his orc minions lair. The next section, Areas Of Adventure (25 pages), details the wilderness area surrounding Fairhill (a map can be downloaded from the website) – this includes ideas for wandering monsters and a number of monster lairs. It then proceeds to describe the village of Fairhill, including rumours, NPCs, and boxed text on Freya, the goddess of love and fertility. The Ruined Keep, which has become the centre of the evil which has come to Fairhill, is then described. The description includes NPC and monster descriptions and statistics, as well as boxed text on Orcus, Demon-Lord of the Undead, and a magical evil candle. The next section, The Crucible of Freya (11 pages), details the adventure itself. This begins with an attack by three orcs, after which the PCs travel on to Fairhill. The Crucible, a magical item used for enhancing harvests, is then stolen from the Temple of Freya by orcs, only days before the harvest ritual. The PCs follow the orcs and may catch the raiding party on the road, recovering the crucible. The PCs are encouraged to assault the ruined keep one way or another. Various advice is given to the DM to handle different contingencies dependent on players’ actions. The final short sections (4 pages) contain seeds for running consequent adventures and an NPC statistics list.

The High Points: Each of the NPCs is given some background information to aid in roleplaying. The NPC Eralion the Shadow-Mage is one of the few somewhat original creatures in the module. The section on the assault on the keep gives the DM information on a number of options that may be taken by the PCs, and the defensive actions that may be taken by the priest and his minions. In fact, the information given on tactics is the strongest point of the module. Some of the optional story ideas at the end provide better ideas on how to run the module than the guidelines of the module itself.

The Low Points: I found this adventure to be bland and uninspiring, the NPCs stereotyped. The PCs are often railroaded into actions (the boxed text to be read to the players was appalling at times in this regard). I found the layout of the sections to be unhelpful, as I kept having to refer back and forward between relevant information held in different sections. The ELs of the main villains, and even some of the minions, are downright deadly for 1st and 2nd Level PCs – if you want to avoid a killing spree on your players’ PCs, run this for 3rd level characters - at the least six 2nd-level PCs. If you’re a PC-killer DM - run it as is, and enjoy.

Conclusion: The solid but unimaginative plot may be fine for first-time players, and the stereotyped NPCs easy to run and relate to, allowing the group to appreciate future adventures that are written with more flare. Despite the useful tactical information, I can’t give this module more than a Poor rating due to its unhelpful organisation/layout, railroading and lack of creativity. In addition, it is far too challenging for inexperienced players running 1st-level PCs – according to the module, this may be by design, but that doesn’t make it OK in my opinion.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

The High Points: Each of the NPCs is given some background information to aid in roleplaying. The NPC Eralion the Shadow-Mage is a original creatures in the module. The section on the assault on the keep gives the DM information on a number of options that may be taken by the PCs, and the defensive actions that may be taken by the priest and his minions. In fact, the information given on tactics is the strongest point of the module. Some of the optional story ideas at the end provide better ideas on how to run the module than the guidelines of the module itself.

The Low Points: I found this adventure to be quite interesting for an beginning group, the NPCs stereotyped allows the new players to introduce in the concept of roleplaying. The PCs are often railroaded into actions in the boxed set, but i tend to regard poorly any Game Masters who reads the boxed text. Too I found the layout of the sections pretty interesting as it forces the Game Master to run around the concepts. Having the locations keeped apart from the action, allows for easy costumization.

Conclusion: A solid adventure, pretty interesting villains who surely will show their face in future suplements. If your players are carefully the combat tide will be turn to their side, if they just bump around then prepare for scratching their characters. All by all, in my opinion one of the best 1 lvl adventures around.... in the 16 years i've been playing around.

 

[Blastin]

Basics: a good module to use for a starting party and as a jump off point for a new 3rd Edition campaign.
I have run my own players through the module and they have enjoyed it greatly. The town and npc's are well done, and although slightly steriotyped, this should actually aid newer dungeon masters. More experienced DMs can easily spice things up a bit.
I agree with a previous reviewer that the encounters are difficult, sometimes VERY difficult for low level parties. I would suggest the characters be 2nd or 3rd level before trying for the main adventure, unless they are very experienced and skilled players.
One thing that no other reviewer has mentioned is the additional info that can be downloaded for the module from the necromancer web site. Several maps, for both players and DM are provided, and the Necromancer folks have promised an additional downloand that will flesh out the area around the module site. All of the bvonus material from the site is free.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

I have read and refereed d20 adventures from WotC, Green Ronin, Necromancer, and Dungeon Magazine, and “The Crucible of Freya” is unquestionably the best of the lot.

“Crucible” is a solid adventure with a satisfying story, rich background, and villains that are both challenging and memorable. It is a VERY tough adventure – a group of low-level PCs will need teamwork, ingenuity, and a bit of good luck to succeed. After “Crucible”, other low-level adventures will seem wimpy [grin].

I ran this scenario as a follow-up to The Wizard’s Amulet with five experienced role-players who were trying third edition rules for the first time. I run a tough game with all combat dice rolled in full view (thus no DM fudging). Over four gruelling sessions, they expended all of their resources and deftly sidestepped several near brushes with death. Fortune or disaster often hinged on the result of a critical dice roll or a split-second decision. In the end, the party recovered the stolen crucible without a single casualty and the players justly felt that they had earned every XP. Suddenly, these veteran gamers who had long ago “moved on” to more sophisticated gaming systems were eager to play D&D again.

The module structure is quite innovative. Part One (~32 pages in length) is a conventional situation-based description of the background, locations, and encounters containing all the content required to run the adventure. This section alone is at least comparable to the best classic low-level first edition adventures such as “The Secret of Bone Hill”. Part Two (~10 pages in length) is an event-based script of one possible story sequence, especially targeted at beginning dungeon masters. It includes ample boxed descriptive text (often with alternate variations) and outlines character options and the likely outcomes of possible decisions.

The reviewers that have been critical of the second section have missed the point. Because the script is “just one of many stories that could be told using the information provided in Part One” (quoted verbatim from page 32), it in no way railroads the adventure. My gaming group departed from the story baseline almost immediately and like a good experienced DM, I improvised using the content from Part One. I rarely read boxed text aloud to my players; however a new dungeon master may find it to be a valuable asset. More experienced DMs should use Part Two as a rough storyboard only. Part One alone (at 32 pages) is equal in size and superior in content to an entire WotC adventure, and bargain priced at $2 less.

Admittedly, the six pieces of pen and ink interior art are universally mediocre, which I found comfortingly reminiscent of my favourite first edition modules. I primarily value story and atmosphere, so this deficiency does not detract from my impressions of this product.

Lastly, Necromancer Games provides superb after-sales support at their website. Using a password supplied with the product, a DM can download players’ maps (with secrets and encounter info deleted), pre-generated characters, and other supplemental background. I especially like the interior and exterior maps of the keep that can be revealed successively as the characters gain more reconnaissance.

Overall, I highly recommend this product as an excellent introduction to 3rd Edition D&D and a great kick-start to a new campaign.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

The Crucible of Freya offers the most "bang for the buck" of any third edition product available. It's already a value-priced beefy adventure on it's own, but the free supplimental downloads from the Necromancer Games website put it over the top. When you include the downloads, the page count swells to almost 80.

There is enough material here that you can keep what you like, strip out what you don't, splash in a bit of your own content, and keep a weekly campaign going for months. It includes a well-developed town with interesting NPCs, an elaborately detailed wilderness (including the free download), the mage's keep (a tactical assault plus a very small dungeon), and many, many story hooks for future adventures. The story and NPC backgrounds are entwined with future Necromancer Games products, which I eagerly anticipate.

This is way better than the Wizards of the Coast stuff.

Keep up the great work!

 

[Kershek]

(spoilers abound)

So far, I have DMed the Crucible of Freya three times and each time was a blast. Out of the three adventuring parties, there was only one death (well, two if you count a Druid's wolf), and it was from a humungous 17 point hit by the ogre. If you are looking for an indication on how this module actually plays, read further and I will give what insight I can.

I would have to say that this adventure is quite difficult and requires careful planning and strategy by the PCs, or else it is very easy to run right into a death trap, depending on how the DM plays it. It's amazing how the three different parties that went through this module made different decisions that totally changed certain aspects of the keep siege, but that's what makes it so fun to DM. I would say that you would be able to run this one at least a couple times and not be bored by it at all; in fact, you'll get better at the character interaction in the town and pull off a more believable storyline by doing it.

I would be very careful sending four 1st level characters into this module without at least taking them through Necromancer Games' free intro adventure called A Wizard's Amulet available on their web site. My first time through was a one-on-one with a 6th level Ranger and NPCs Corian (3rd level) and Loriel (2nd level). That was a little too difficult for them due to ganging up by the orcs and caused NPC Loriel to die (from the Ogre), but the other two squeaked out a victory, barely (but they ended up perishing in the Manticore lair). The battle lasted about 5 hours. They had attacked that night but didn't catch up to the raiding party. They were able to free Eralion's shadow to see his god and didn't kill him.

My second party did the module as five 1st level PCs with 4 NPCs helping (2 guards, Loriel, and Kath). I was much better at the module this time and was able to better plan defenses. Also, since there were so many NPCs I added Vortigern and Talon (who made the encounter *much* more difficult -- beware). The PC Half-Orc Barbarian perished to the Ogre. That fight above ground took about 7 total hours between two sessions and was quite a battle; two others went down without dying and everyone else was pretty much hurt badly. They attacked that night but didn't catch up to the raiding party. After Shandril raised the Half-Orc, They surprisingly made quick work of Eralion's shadow with the Half-Orc's greataxe enchanted with Magic Weapon (took only three hits).

My third party included three 2nd level characters and the Cleric Galdar as an NPC. They first ran through A Wizard's Amulet, then we added a 4th PC before getting to Fairhill, a 2nd level Druid. They added 4 NPCs for the keep mission (Kath, Loriel, and 2 guards). It was again quite tough; Kath (by Tavik) and one of the guards (by Nagrod) died. The battle lasted about 5 hours. The Druid's wolf died in its first conflict against the Orc raiding party by, of all things, a critical hit on an AoO (on its first session and first hit against it - bummer). They attacked the next night when the camp was at full alert (!!) since the raiding party did a number on them. They had trouble with the mage (they were rather new to D&D and rules on shadows) but were able to finish him off.

All in all, it was a very difficult and yet very rewarding module for all involved. They felt they overcame amazing odds (and they did, especially the ones against the full alert). I play my minions tough and smart (where appropriate) and try to keep them alive using tactics as if they were my own PCs. I pulled some cool stunts (the party was quite frustrated by Vortigern's ability to escape them a couple times by using spells) but all in all the good guys won in the end.

It's quite a good module and I recommend it to any DM that doesn't want PCs to have an easy time at victory. There is a lot that can be done with this module, especially the added wilderness adventures and other free downloads available on Necromancer Games' web site. I hope this review was helpful from an actual playing perspective and I'm welcome to any comments or questions you may have.

 

[Tuerny]

Originally appeared on www.Atfantasy.com

The Crucible of Freya, an introductory d20 adventure for level 1 and 2 characters, is the first product of Necromancer Games under the Swords and Sorcery banner. Written by Clark Peterson and Bill Webb, it is made to easily be connected to their free on-line module, the Wizard's Amulet, though its use is not necessary.

Presentation:
The Crucible of Freya is a forty-eight page booklet with a laminated card-stock cover stapled along the spine. The internal layout is composed of two column pages, with narrow margins, and a compact, but readable, font.

The cover artwork is a piece by John Masse. While being not comparable to the likes of Brom or DiTerlizzi, it is still a quality piece of work that fits the module's focus well. The internal artwork is both well placed and appropriate. In many cases this is perfect for holding up to show the players what they see.

The maps, which are placed at the center of the module, are generally informative and well done. The only exception is one problem with the map of the ruined keep, which lacks a measurement grid.

Overview:
The module itself is divided into four parts: Areas of Adventure, the Crucible of Freya, Supplemental Information, and two appendixes.

Areas of Adventure provides the setting for the adventure. The information about Fairhill is extensive enough to use for adventures after the module's completion. It explains the wilderness surrounding Fairhill, with particular detail focused on a series of monster lairs (such as a troll, ettin, owlbear, and a mated pair of manticores), the village itself, and the ruined keep that is called home by Tavik, a half-orcish priest of Orcus. The description of Fairhill contains an overview of how the town, how it operates, and details of NPCs. Adding to the thoroughness of the module, the NPC detals include physical descriptions, workable personality descriptions, and numerous adventure hooks. The Ruined Keep is also outlined in this section, with the standard numbered area-by-area description.

The Crucible of Freya section provides the actual meat of the adventure, providing it's main plotline, which is at its base rather simple. It involves the recovery of the namesake of the adventure, the Crucible of Freya, from orcish raiders under the command of Tavik. It is divided into a prologue, detailing the PC’s arrival in Fairhill and their wanderings around, and four acts. These four acts cover the theft of the Crucible, the pursuit to recover it, the assault on Tavik's ruined keep, and the conclusion. Each of the sections is thorough, explaining what is going on in each of the acts, and covers most of the possible directions that the players may head in.

The Supplemental Information section provides several other possible storylines that can be used within Fairhill, as well as a trio of adventure hooks that can be used to provide further adventures after the end of the Crucible of Freya.

The Appendixes cover monster stats for all of the creatures whose stats were not mentioned in the main text, such as those found in a random encounter. A copy of version 1.0 of the Open Gaming License, including an overview of which content within the Crucible of Freya is considered Open Content is also presented here.

The Good (i.e. what I liked):
Overall, I found the Crucible of Freya to be an excellent, well done adventure. The comprehensiveness of it makes things easier for the GM, something all modules should do. Another appreciated item within the module is that all of the NPCs, even the inconsequential ones, contain personality profiles and physical descriptions, items that are often lacking in modules (even those by WotC.) Fairhill itself is an excellent setting for the beginnings of a campaign, having enough adventure hooks and potential things to do that it can be used even up to fourth or fifth level.

The Bad (i.e. what I disliked):
Even though I thought, overall, that the module was excellent there were a few things that I had issues with. The most jarring of these was the flavor text's frequent declarations of the player's actions and emotions. If I was playing I would protest this severely. I definitely know that my players would not stand for it. Also of concern is the presence of powerful monsters, such as the troll and the owlbear, in the immediate vicinity of the town that can result in the deaths of an adventurous group that decides to wander. A question that also arose was why Eralion, the shadow-Mage, chose to stay in his crypt. Being incorporeal allowed him to wander through the walls if necessary and there is no stated reason for him to want to stay in the crypt. It may be nit-picky but the stats presented in the Appendix were not entirely accurate in some cases. Several of the characters were missing a feat or had incorrect attack bonuses.

Conclusion:
Overall, the Crucible of Freya is an excellent module that I would easily recommend to anyone who was looking for a module for low level characters. It easily ranks among the best introductory d20 and D&D modules of all time and serves as an excellent campaign starter. If this is any indication of what future Necromancer Games products are going to be like, then the line will definitely have my patronage for some time to come.

 

[Cyric]

Mh, much was said about this adventure allready so I make myself short.
For me, it's the worst book I bought for the D20 rules so far (and I also bought the Creature Collection I). It's nice written and edited but the most important part, the adventure itself, is much to linear and therefor extremly predictable and unexciting. It's so much the typical 1rst level adventure, that I run two dozen of them in my game life before. It may be good starting point for beginning DM but for guys and girls with a little experience as head of the gaming table it's not worth the bucks you have to pay for it.
Pick up Dungeon adventure from WotC... you'll find better adventures for the beginning levels in nearly every issue.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

This review contains some minor spoilers..............................................

First let me say that I only review adventures that I have run a group through.
There is a big difference just reading something and reviewing it and actually using
the product in a game session. Having said that "Crucible of Freya" is a hands down "5" I would equate it to "Keep on the Borderlands" or "Village of Hommlet" for its usefulness for low-level characters (I ran those dozens of times back in the early 1980's).

The story revolves around a small town set along a trading route that has a series of problems relating to an abandoned keep in the near wilderness. The characters have been drawn to this area by one of many possibilities. This adventure is intended to be used in conjunction with "The Wizard's Amulet", which is a free PDF downloadable from
Necromancer games. If you use the "Amulet" as a lead in, your PC's motivations are clear and up to three distinct reasons are presented for visiting the abandoned keep.
The village of Fairhill itself is well planned out, interesting and inhabited by colorful NPC's. The surrounding wilderness is detailed into four other major encounters that are unrelated to the main plot, two can be considered 'mini-quests' while the other two are random encounters. All encounters are well detailed and the main encounter has four or five different "approach" scenarios laid out to help run it correctly. The most of amazing thing about this adventure is when you download all the "free" extras (that's right free!) you get access to from The Necromancer Games website "Crucible of Freya" becomes an entire low level campaign capable of easily taking PC's to 3rd or 4th level.
The free download gives you another 10 wilderness encounters, which completely fills out the entire surrounding countryside (a roughly 360 square mile area) and backs up these encounters with full NPC detail, rumors, maps, etc. You also have free access to player handout maps, a challenge rating and experience breakdown. As well as tons of Tips for new 3e DM's that make sure you are running things correctly.
If you go into this fully prepared (with all the extras) this is a non-linear, dynamic setting
with loads of challenges for a low level PC's group. For a creative DM looking for a great starting place to build a large campaign, this is it. There are also rumors and leads that can direct PC's to several other Necromancer Games products "Rappan Athuk", "Tomb of Absythor", and "Bard's Gate". Personally I set this right in the middle of my Greyhawk campaign so I have 10 different directions my PC's can go for future adventures.

Overall this is a fantastic product with all the bells and whistles that make an adventure memorable. You cannot ask for a better value for $8.00 (when you add in all the free online add-ons you get). IF you are going to use "Crucible" as a strictly stand alone product. (No add-ons, or Wizards Amulet) then I would rate it a "4". There is no reason, however as all the extras are FREE. Great job Necromancer games.

 

[JeffB]

As has been stated, CoF is the first module from Necromancer Games whose tag line is "Third Edition Rules. First Edition Feel". Upon finding out about them a year or more ago, I immediately felt drawn to this company. I started playing D&D before the first MM was complete, and quit 5 years before 2E was published. Now after so many years, (And so many dissapointing 2E products I had purchased since I started playing again in 1998) here was a company that I thought would be able to capture the "glory days" Have they suceeded? I'll try not to use much in the way of spoilers and instead concentrate on the "themes" of the adventure/company.

Crucible is a 48 page adventure detailing a small town and it's problems. A religous artifact is stolen from a Temple and the PC's find themselves the main investigators. Fairly basic and some would say cliche stuff.

Reading through CoF for the first time I did get a sense of nostalgia..however I'm not so sure it was 1st edition feel, but perhaps just "old school". It has an inkling of the classics of my day (GDQ, A1-4, C1-2,S & Tseries etc.) , as well as a healthy dose of Basic/Expert D&D. The adventure is written to put the PC"s as the main focus(as should be, but often is not in many settings/adventures) and still having enough encounters ,NPC's and ideas to make the Players realize that though their characters may be the stars for the moment, there is a much larger world out there. That may sound strange to some, but I feel it's a common element of the old school D&D style. Who cannot remember feeling like they were the movers and shakers of the world as they tackled the Caverns of Quasqueton, The Caves of Chaos, The Ruins of the Moathouse, or the Palace of the Silver Princess? This is a quality lacking in most published D&D adventures of recent years. PC's seem very "small", and inconsequential. While that may be the case in a certain milleau, they should not be made to FEEL that way, as some campaigns and adventures do. Crucible suceeds in utilizing this extremely important element in "old school" D&D.

Technically, how does it stand up? It's quite well written I feel, w/ few problems if any in editing and layout. The maps are a bit amatuerish, but at the same time I like the hand-drawn maps..it adds some character to the product. The book has a few "extra" encounter areas, kind of like the Mad Hermits lair and lizard men mounds in B2...very cool, and another "old school" touch. I should point out that this adventure is quite DEADLY. Yet again another trait of "old school". In the 15 years or so that I was out of RPG's there seem to have been some mentality arise that making characters is bad and/or too tough. I've seen so many game-books, adventures, and gaming columns telling DM's to make an adventure challenging, but not too deadly...give the PC"s a break, etc. All I can say is BULLS#$T. Some of the best D&D memories I have are some of the spectacular and gruesome ways that my characters or friends characters bought the farm. We would laugh, and roll up another one, and get back to playing when the DM was able to introduce the new character. I can understand that you don't want to make a totally killer dungeon, and that rolling up a PC takes longer than it used too, but Players seemt to have forgotten how to simply "run away". This "metagame" thinking that there ABSOLUTELY HAS to be a some way to conquer this beast/trap/problem is something that CoF will put a stop too. My players lost 2 characters in the wilderness around Fairhill..needless to say they learned quick.

As a defenite plus, I should also note that owners of Necromancer games products receive a password for the Necro website to download "web enhancements". For Crucible, this includes DM & Player maps, as well as a lengthy supplement on the area surrounding Fairhill. For your money, you are geting quite a bit of gaming material w/ Necromancer products, as there is months of adventuring material available w/ the enhancement.

My only real grip with CoF (and Necromancer Games products in general) is in the "read to player's text". Sometimes the player's text will describe emotions and actions that the PC's feel and/or do. This is the kind of thing that I feel Players should account for on thier own through roleplaying. Thankfully they are easy to work around, and their are not many to have to do so with.

So how does CoF stand as an introductory module for 3E? That deserves two answers. For someone who has been a player or DM of D&D in the past, It serves as an excellent campaign kicker. For a novice DM and/or players, Crucible will be too much to handle.

CoF will likely be a love it or hate it module for most folks. For some it will be a breath of long-needed fresh air, for others it will not have enough logic or consistency and will seem rough and archaic.

I am in the camp of the former group.