trancejeremy
Adventurer
I like adventures. I like adventures a lot. I love to use them and re-use them, borrowing locations and NPCs as well as using the adventure itself. I am honestly not the most creative person in the world and thus am not that great at coming up with adventures. I often use movies or books, but I find sometimes that players will catch on to this. So I tend to use a lot of adventures (since players will rarely buy them themselves).
Unfortunately, the adventure is almost a dying breed these days. Only a handful of companies are still making them for d20. Basically Necromancer and Goodman Games (and technically Hogshead, with their Fright Night line, but those are modern d20).
Being budget minded (aka, usually broke, the consequences of being a ne'er do well) I generally like modules priced around $20 or so. Usually these would be 96-128 page modules and are generally a very good value. But unfortunately, those are even rarer than modules today. . Necromancer has largely moved on to making giant, epic sized adventures, generally way out of my price range ($30+) and most of Goodman's stuff is cheaper but fairly small ($10-12 for 32-48 pages).
So when I heard about this module, Dungeon Crawl Classics 14: Interludes, priced around $19 and at 88 pages, it seemed a throwback of the classic years of d20, if not quite the classic era of gaming.
Adventure Background
This isn't one dungeon crawl or adventure, it's actually 6 connected dungeons/adventures. There's an overall plot, but the 6 adventures are not necessarily meant to be played back to back (though they probably should be played in order). Thus the title - "Interludes" they are meant to be played between other larger adventures (like the other Dungeon Crawl Classics).
Actually, that's only partially true. The last 4 adventures do seem like they would need to be run back to back. Not directly, but it's almost like a CRPG. At the end of one dungeon, you find information which leads you to the next dungeon and so a location pops up on the map.
The level of adventures ranges from 1-3 for the first to 11-13th for the last. The module won't really take a character from 1st to 13th (nor was this the intent), as mentioned, they are meant to be "interludes".
They're fairly short - about 11 pages per adventure, with a dungeon consisting of 8-10 locations. Just a little bit longer than the little tiny adventures FFG and AEG used to put out. Pretty much just a session's worth (if that).
Basically they all are related to the return of this fairly evil wizard, who plots to build an evil telescope and rule the world (or at least the area). What's so evil about the telescope? Well, it's not like the evil telescope that bit off Tycho Brahe's nose*, apparently this one provides bonuses to summon devils and may allow the summoning of an army of devils (though this is really never explained fully in the book, just alluded to).
(This artifact actually is somewhat problematic in my homebrew world, which is sort of a "pocket universe" and doesn't actually have many real stars, only around 20. Most the lights in the sky are actually the homes of the gods. Which means that the sky pretty much looks the same, telescope or not)
The Adventures Themselves
The first adventure is for character levels 1 to 3. There is actually sort of an art to writing first level adventures, because in D&D, they tend to be very fragile. 3.x D&D has helped things a bit, by giving 1st level characters the maximum hit points possible. While it's common for range descriptors to go from 1st to 3rd levels, there's actually a pretty hefty difference between a 1st level character and a 3rd (or even 2nd, for that matter).
This is one of those adventures that is just fine for 3rd (and probably 2nd) level characters, but probably not 1st. Most notably the bad guy at the end is just too tough for 1st level characters. Beyond having damage reduction (which is dealt with as part of the adventure), it's got a fairly high armor class and does a lot of damage per round, which means a dead party of 1st level characters in all likelihood.
Anyway, the adventure involves the PCs coming across a hippie commune (really!) that has been wiped out by rats lead by a wererat in conjunction (or competition, rather) with a group of raiders . For some reason, this is supposed to bother the PCs, and so they go into the nest and wipe them out. And rescue the leader of the commune, who is a living plant. (You get stats for his race in the appendix)
The second adventure (for levels 3rd - 5th) is bit better in terms of starting off, if somewhat cliched. The PCs are passing by a town with the rather Wiccan name of "Blessings Be". It seems a nearby religious shrine/burial crypt (but one that doesn't seem to fit the name of the town) has been taken over by some evil dudes. Presumably the PCs will help.
While the premise might not be that original, this adventure I liked a lot. It was generally well done, and it has the potential to scare the heck out of players thinking they are up against something a lot tougher than actually is.
The third (for levels 5-7) is interesting, but not really usable in my homebrew setting, though largely because I mostly stick to the critters in the 1st edition AD&D Monster Manual (even though I use the 3.x rules). Basically the PCs sort of stumble across the lair of a Xill while chasing a drow that tried to kill them.
Xills are sort of like a cross between Alien and Predator. They implant people with eggs, like Alien and are sorta gross looking, but are hunters like Predator, and can sort of phase in and out (which Predators can't do, but does remind me of their ability to turn semi-invisible. Sort of like David Caruso's career.).
The lair is quite alien. In fact, it would make a pretty decent alien spaceship or base.
It seems rather unlikely to me that the PC would actually be able to kill the Xill in question. Because as mentioned, he can basically plane travel, while characters of 5th to 7th level are unlikely to be able to follow him. The text for him says he fights to the death, but really, that's kind of silly. Also, (mild spoiler) I think the alignment of the Drow Assassin should have been CE, not LE, because of what he does if the PCs rescue him.
The forth adventure (for levels 7-9) gave me horrible flashbacks to the PC game "Dungeon Siege". Basically, it's set in a mine. While the mine isn't as horribly complex as in that game, it has far more platforms and winches than I like. (Just one, actually).
There's really not much to say about it. It's pretty much just a mine filled with mine stuff and evil minions. Some bits are pretty gruesome, though.
The fifth adventure (for levels 9 to 11) involves the PCs travelling to a wizard's tower that happens to be sinking into hot tar. (Which is also why Stone Temple Pilots broke up, I think). It's a relatively standard wizard's tower with some complications (the hot tar, mostly)
The last adventure is the final showdown between the PCs and the evil wizard, Albrecht Skullshank. (Who is tougher than his name or stature would imply, though not all that remarkable for a wizard of his level, 15th.)
This is actually quite inventive (and reminds me a bit of the Temple of Elemental Evil and S4, Lost Caverns of Tsojancth, but much smaller), but has a couple of possible problems. First off, well, the whole premise seems to be that even though the PCs have foiled this guy's plans to build his evil telescope, he still built it just fine. Thus rendering the first 5 adventures basically pointless. That could angry up some players.
Secondly if they live, the PCs presumably end up in possession of said evil telescope. Which doesn't seem to be all that useful for most people, but could be problematic.
Like most showdowns with pure wizards/sorcerers, how easy it will be really depends on how quickly the melee types can close on him. Some steps were taken to prevent this happening too easily, but this can largely be avoided by flying (though he has one nasty surprise in store for one flying PC. Two would cause him trouble).
And like most showdowns, you really will have to tweak it to give your players a challenge. Still, he seems awfully vulnerable to missile weapons - usually wizards should have shield and/or protection from arrows ready to be cast - he doesn't. And I'd think anyone expecting a showdown might have a potion of healing of some sort of two. On the other hand, he also has some Boots of Teleportation, so it seems likely he could simply flee when he starts losing (though it's implied in the text that he doesn't)
On the whole the adventures are pretty well done, if unremarkable for the most part. There's a few puzzles, but not that many. Some of the traps seem a bit too deadly, but I think that's meant to be a trademark of the Dungeon Crawl Classic series...
Art/Layout
I enjoyed the art in this. For one, it has some illustrations by Jim Holloway, one of my favorite artists. But also some of the illustrations are just plain funny. In particular the sort of "mini" illustrations, especially one that features a party of adventurers fleeing from some dinosaurs. There's a lot of artists, 11 by my count, so the difference in styles is noticeable, but most do have sort of a retro look. Beyond Jim Holloway, I really liked the art of Jason Edwards & Brad McDevitt (especially the back cover). And a couple artists I couldn't figure out whose work it was. (Artists should either sign their work clearly or the company should label the illustrations, IMHO)
Also, I don't know if this was deliberate or not, but the villain bears a strong resemblance to Bucky the evil cat from the comic strip, Get Fuzzy. (If he were a gnome, anyway).
Beyond the illustrations in the book itself meant for the DM's enjoyment, there are also about 16 or so player handout illustrations (2 per page) in the back.
The maps are all very short in size, since the adventures are short, but they are very crisp and clear. (And done in the classic "retro" style)
Like in the other Dungeon Crawl Classic I have (and so I assume is pretty much standard for them, and in the Redwood Scar, too, so for Goodman Games in general), there's a table listing each encounter and relevent data - like what location, how tough, etc. And tips on how to scale up or down the adventure for parties of different level/size.
Final Thoughts
It's an okay product. Some things are kind of weird. Like the anachronistic stuff, like the hippie commune and the town named after a real world religion's catch phrase (though better than "Okilydokilyville".). I really don't like anachronisms in products like this, but they're pretty minor compared to some modules from other companies.
And while it's okay for most D&D games, it doesn't mesh with my world enough for me to use all of it. Probably about half. So while it doesn't affect my rating of it here, in that sense, I regret buying it (I wish there was a gaming store closer, so I could look through books...). But that's just my personal bias, and only mention because it may have affected the enthusiasm of my review a bit. Most people will find it pretty good, I think, though not all that memorable one way or the other.
They should consider using a format that TSR used for their super-modules, which generally did have the name of the chapter up on top margin graphic (at least GDQ did). Retro is neat, but when it gets in the way of utility, it's not so neat anymore.
All in all, call it a C+ though.
Unfortunately, the adventure is almost a dying breed these days. Only a handful of companies are still making them for d20. Basically Necromancer and Goodman Games (and technically Hogshead, with their Fright Night line, but those are modern d20).
Being budget minded (aka, usually broke, the consequences of being a ne'er do well) I generally like modules priced around $20 or so. Usually these would be 96-128 page modules and are generally a very good value. But unfortunately, those are even rarer than modules today. . Necromancer has largely moved on to making giant, epic sized adventures, generally way out of my price range ($30+) and most of Goodman's stuff is cheaper but fairly small ($10-12 for 32-48 pages).
So when I heard about this module, Dungeon Crawl Classics 14: Interludes, priced around $19 and at 88 pages, it seemed a throwback of the classic years of d20, if not quite the classic era of gaming.
Adventure Background
This isn't one dungeon crawl or adventure, it's actually 6 connected dungeons/adventures. There's an overall plot, but the 6 adventures are not necessarily meant to be played back to back (though they probably should be played in order). Thus the title - "Interludes" they are meant to be played between other larger adventures (like the other Dungeon Crawl Classics).
Actually, that's only partially true. The last 4 adventures do seem like they would need to be run back to back. Not directly, but it's almost like a CRPG. At the end of one dungeon, you find information which leads you to the next dungeon and so a location pops up on the map.
The level of adventures ranges from 1-3 for the first to 11-13th for the last. The module won't really take a character from 1st to 13th (nor was this the intent), as mentioned, they are meant to be "interludes".
They're fairly short - about 11 pages per adventure, with a dungeon consisting of 8-10 locations. Just a little bit longer than the little tiny adventures FFG and AEG used to put out. Pretty much just a session's worth (if that).
Basically they all are related to the return of this fairly evil wizard, who plots to build an evil telescope and rule the world (or at least the area). What's so evil about the telescope? Well, it's not like the evil telescope that bit off Tycho Brahe's nose*, apparently this one provides bonuses to summon devils and may allow the summoning of an army of devils (though this is really never explained fully in the book, just alluded to).
(This artifact actually is somewhat problematic in my homebrew world, which is sort of a "pocket universe" and doesn't actually have many real stars, only around 20. Most the lights in the sky are actually the homes of the gods. Which means that the sky pretty much looks the same, telescope or not)
The Adventures Themselves
The first adventure is for character levels 1 to 3. There is actually sort of an art to writing first level adventures, because in D&D, they tend to be very fragile. 3.x D&D has helped things a bit, by giving 1st level characters the maximum hit points possible. While it's common for range descriptors to go from 1st to 3rd levels, there's actually a pretty hefty difference between a 1st level character and a 3rd (or even 2nd, for that matter).
This is one of those adventures that is just fine for 3rd (and probably 2nd) level characters, but probably not 1st. Most notably the bad guy at the end is just too tough for 1st level characters. Beyond having damage reduction (which is dealt with as part of the adventure), it's got a fairly high armor class and does a lot of damage per round, which means a dead party of 1st level characters in all likelihood.
Anyway, the adventure involves the PCs coming across a hippie commune (really!) that has been wiped out by rats lead by a wererat in conjunction (or competition, rather) with a group of raiders . For some reason, this is supposed to bother the PCs, and so they go into the nest and wipe them out. And rescue the leader of the commune, who is a living plant. (You get stats for his race in the appendix)
The second adventure (for levels 3rd - 5th) is bit better in terms of starting off, if somewhat cliched. The PCs are passing by a town with the rather Wiccan name of "Blessings Be". It seems a nearby religious shrine/burial crypt (but one that doesn't seem to fit the name of the town) has been taken over by some evil dudes. Presumably the PCs will help.
While the premise might not be that original, this adventure I liked a lot. It was generally well done, and it has the potential to scare the heck out of players thinking they are up against something a lot tougher than actually is.
The third (for levels 5-7) is interesting, but not really usable in my homebrew setting, though largely because I mostly stick to the critters in the 1st edition AD&D Monster Manual (even though I use the 3.x rules). Basically the PCs sort of stumble across the lair of a Xill while chasing a drow that tried to kill them.
Xills are sort of like a cross between Alien and Predator. They implant people with eggs, like Alien and are sorta gross looking, but are hunters like Predator, and can sort of phase in and out (which Predators can't do, but does remind me of their ability to turn semi-invisible. Sort of like David Caruso's career.).
The lair is quite alien. In fact, it would make a pretty decent alien spaceship or base.
It seems rather unlikely to me that the PC would actually be able to kill the Xill in question. Because as mentioned, he can basically plane travel, while characters of 5th to 7th level are unlikely to be able to follow him. The text for him says he fights to the death, but really, that's kind of silly. Also, (mild spoiler) I think the alignment of the Drow Assassin should have been CE, not LE, because of what he does if the PCs rescue him.
The forth adventure (for levels 7-9) gave me horrible flashbacks to the PC game "Dungeon Siege". Basically, it's set in a mine. While the mine isn't as horribly complex as in that game, it has far more platforms and winches than I like. (Just one, actually).
There's really not much to say about it. It's pretty much just a mine filled with mine stuff and evil minions. Some bits are pretty gruesome, though.
The fifth adventure (for levels 9 to 11) involves the PCs travelling to a wizard's tower that happens to be sinking into hot tar. (Which is also why Stone Temple Pilots broke up, I think). It's a relatively standard wizard's tower with some complications (the hot tar, mostly)
The last adventure is the final showdown between the PCs and the evil wizard, Albrecht Skullshank. (Who is tougher than his name or stature would imply, though not all that remarkable for a wizard of his level, 15th.)
This is actually quite inventive (and reminds me a bit of the Temple of Elemental Evil and S4, Lost Caverns of Tsojancth, but much smaller), but has a couple of possible problems. First off, well, the whole premise seems to be that even though the PCs have foiled this guy's plans to build his evil telescope, he still built it just fine. Thus rendering the first 5 adventures basically pointless. That could angry up some players.
Secondly if they live, the PCs presumably end up in possession of said evil telescope. Which doesn't seem to be all that useful for most people, but could be problematic.
Like most showdowns with pure wizards/sorcerers, how easy it will be really depends on how quickly the melee types can close on him. Some steps were taken to prevent this happening too easily, but this can largely be avoided by flying (though he has one nasty surprise in store for one flying PC. Two would cause him trouble).
And like most showdowns, you really will have to tweak it to give your players a challenge. Still, he seems awfully vulnerable to missile weapons - usually wizards should have shield and/or protection from arrows ready to be cast - he doesn't. And I'd think anyone expecting a showdown might have a potion of healing of some sort of two. On the other hand, he also has some Boots of Teleportation, so it seems likely he could simply flee when he starts losing (though it's implied in the text that he doesn't)
On the whole the adventures are pretty well done, if unremarkable for the most part. There's a few puzzles, but not that many. Some of the traps seem a bit too deadly, but I think that's meant to be a trademark of the Dungeon Crawl Classic series...
Art/Layout
I enjoyed the art in this. For one, it has some illustrations by Jim Holloway, one of my favorite artists. But also some of the illustrations are just plain funny. In particular the sort of "mini" illustrations, especially one that features a party of adventurers fleeing from some dinosaurs. There's a lot of artists, 11 by my count, so the difference in styles is noticeable, but most do have sort of a retro look. Beyond Jim Holloway, I really liked the art of Jason Edwards & Brad McDevitt (especially the back cover). And a couple artists I couldn't figure out whose work it was. (Artists should either sign their work clearly or the company should label the illustrations, IMHO)
Also, I don't know if this was deliberate or not, but the villain bears a strong resemblance to Bucky the evil cat from the comic strip, Get Fuzzy. (If he were a gnome, anyway).
Beyond the illustrations in the book itself meant for the DM's enjoyment, there are also about 16 or so player handout illustrations (2 per page) in the back.
The maps are all very short in size, since the adventures are short, but they are very crisp and clear. (And done in the classic "retro" style)
Like in the other Dungeon Crawl Classic I have (and so I assume is pretty much standard for them, and in the Redwood Scar, too, so for Goodman Games in general), there's a table listing each encounter and relevent data - like what location, how tough, etc. And tips on how to scale up or down the adventure for parties of different level/size.
Final Thoughts
It's an okay product. Some things are kind of weird. Like the anachronistic stuff, like the hippie commune and the town named after a real world religion's catch phrase (though better than "Okilydokilyville".). I really don't like anachronisms in products like this, but they're pretty minor compared to some modules from other companies.
And while it's okay for most D&D games, it doesn't mesh with my world enough for me to use all of it. Probably about half. So while it doesn't affect my rating of it here, in that sense, I regret buying it (I wish there was a gaming store closer, so I could look through books...). But that's just my personal bias, and only mention because it may have affected the enthusiasm of my review a bit. Most people will find it pretty good, I think, though not all that memorable one way or the other.
They should consider using a format that TSR used for their super-modules, which generally did have the name of the chapter up on top margin graphic (at least GDQ did). Retro is neat, but when it gets in the way of utility, it's not so neat anymore.
All in all, call it a C+ though.
