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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2008175" data-attributes="member: 18387">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.</blockquote>

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