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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2008872" data-attributes="member: 9860">Beware! This review contains major spoilers.This is not a playtest review.Price: $19.95Page Count: 84 + CD ROMPrice per page: About 24 cents per page + CD ROMDesigned for Character Level: 3-4Format: Softcover + CD ROMExternal Artwork: Shows an image from the 3D rendition on the CD ROM of the boat The Gray Gull held in the orb that is the centre of the story.Additional Page Use: The back page gives a brief introduction and overview of the contents of the module and the CD ROM. The inside covers are blank though the CD ROM is held in a plastic pocket on the back inside cover. The first two pages hold content, credits and OGC info. The next four pages discuss the use of the contents of the CD ROM. The last three pages hold the OGL and an ad.Internal Artwork: The monotone internal art is good to excellent, with most of it superb. It is representative of the text and the depictions of NPCs are particularly good, if a bit jowly.Maps: The maps are of very good quality, though the indoor maps would have benefited from a 5ft-per-square grid rather than a scale. There are some drawn maps that are particularly good.Page Layout: Margins are small, text density is good and there is little in the way of white space. Different types of information are clearly differentiated.Writing Style: The style is educated and clear, occasionally a little dry. There are a few editing errors but nothing that interferes with reading or usage. Generally good.The Adventure: The adventure begins with 8 pages of background story. As concisely as possible, a powerful demon has been imprisoned in a magical orb on an island by elves who have now left. Some priests who have relatively recently come to the island discover the hidden room where the orb lies and the demon influences some of the islands' inhabitants to begin to destroy the magical prison (they pull out some gems that comprise part of the prison). Attempting to influence the priests further, the demon's mind is repulsed by the destruction of a magical amulet and it sinks into unconsciousness. Meanwhile, the church that the priests belong to, attempts to buy the services of a mage PC to identify some elven artifacts that the priests have previously found on the island. The PCs arrive on the island to find the demon has destroyed most of the priests to fuel its magical powers, and it will soon regain consciousness and attempt the final destruction of its aeons-old prison. There's a lot more to it than that, but thats the essential information required to begin the adventure. The module then takes an event-based focus, covering the voyage from the mainland to the island, an encounter with a Selchie (a woman who can change into a seal using a magical sealskin), the awakening of the demon, a visitation from the spirit of a priestess who was killed in an attack of passion several years ago and seeks to help the PCs against the demon, and an attempt to retrieve part of the magical prison (an emerald cast into the sea by a priest under the demon's influence). Finally, the PCs may be contacted by the spirit of one of the elves who designed the prison, who advises the PCs to enter a portal to another dimension to regain the last part of the prison to reseal the demon within the orb and stop it fully escaping. In the centre of the book are a series of well-presented handouts, some in colour, which include maps of the adventure locations and a game that the sailors on the Gray Gull play, which can be recreated for play within the adventure itself. The next section describes the various locations on the island, allowing the GM to deal with the characters wherever they wish to go on the island, and tying their movements in with the events.The Appendices detail the cast of NPCs and creatures, new magical items, the gods and their domains that influence the adventure (including more detailed information on the religion the priests of the island follow), and some new spells.The CD ROM contains the .pdf version of the adventure, a plain text version of the adventure, a trailer, still computer graphic scenes from the adventure, as well as the highlight - 3D scenes from the adventure with sound effects. One can also change the time of day, the weather, and remove or add certain objects from the view. In addition, one can view the scene from different perspectives.The High Points: This is a well-written adventure, with a focus on investigation, though there are opportunities for combat, roleplaying, puzzle-solving and skill use. The mystery is complex without being obscure. The presentation is superb, and the use of the CD ROM images is original and helpful (though see below). The way the plot is presented allows the players and the GM plenty of flexibility in playing the adventure out, a very good example of an event-based adventure.The Low Points: The background was very lengthy and much of it seems to be foreshadowing the sequel to this adventure. Though well-written, it reduces its ability to be used in other campaign settings, despite its claim to be generic. Like Alan Kohler, I was unable to run the CD ROM 3D images on my laptop, but also faced problems on my PC. The book states an NVidia TNT Graphics Card or equivalent is required. I've got a fairly punchy 3D graphics card in my PC but I found the images froze on me after about a minute or so, such that I had to shut the whole PC down.Conclusion: A good mystery adventure with a fascinating setting, well-depicted NPCs and a strong plotline. There are some minor editing errors, its complex background makes it difficult to transfer to another campaign setting and the requirement for graphics cards seems to be a bit exclusive. However, in and of itself, a fascinating adventure and still not too much more expensive compared to adventures of similar size in terms of price per page (though $20 does seem a lot for an adventure if you can't use the best bit of the CD ROM).</blockquote>

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