Hell in Freeport

[Simon Collins]

Beware! This review contains major spoilers.
This is not a playtest review.

Price: $18.95
Pages: 88
Price per page: About 21 cents per page
Designed for characters of level: 10-12

Format: Softcover

External Artwork: A nice Brom colour piece of the main diabolic villain of the adventure, Jalie Squarefoot (as featured in Green Ronin's Legions Of Hell sourcebook).

Additional Page Use: The back page gives an introduction and overview of the module. Both inside covers are blank. The first page is credits and contents, the last two pages are adverts and the OGL.

Internal Artwork: The internal black and white artwork is generally poor, with some average pieces and one or two good ones. Nothing spectacular.

Maps: There is an 8-page central section that has good-quality colour maps; the detail on some of them is superb.

Text Density: The text density is good, well laid out, with very little white space. The margins are minimal. The use of shaded sidebars is very effective for separating different types of information.

Text style: The style is concise and relevant, and is often tactically-orientated. There are few typos.

The Adventure: The module begins by selling the flexibility of the setting and adventure, including some general advice on adapting it for different party levels. The introduction concludes with a brief history of Freeport and an adventure synopsis.

Centuries ago, Jalie Squarefoot, an infernal lich, made a diabolic contract with the mayor of Freetown (Freeport's mirror image in the 3rd circle of Hell). The mayor sacrificed his wife and children to bargain that until the clock of the city of Tyre (on the eighth circle of Hell) struck midnight in ten years time, Jalie would stop his devil legions from destroying Freetown and magically maintain Freeport's existence. As the day grew nearer, the mayor sent a brave band of Freetown's best to cast a spell that would stop the clock of Tyre before it reached midnight. All who were sent gave their lives in a great spell that stopped the clock. Jalie has ben planning ever since to find a way to start the clock again so he can feed on the souls of Freetown. Now he has that plan.

To set the plan going, Jalie sets a geas on a cornugon devil to kill someone in Freeport every night. Jalie's aim is to find a group of enterprising characters (enter the PCs) to play his cats-paw to start the clock. When the PCs eventually defeat the cornugon, the PCs are summoned to the home of an old cleric who has more news of the diabolic plans to open a gate to Hell on an island near Freeport called Devil's Cry. The catch is the old cleric is actually Jalie Squarefoot, and when the PCs go to Devil's Cry (aboard a rakshasa's pirate vessel), they are transported to the 3rd Circle of Hell after traversing a cave littered with undead from the ancient battle between Freetown's forces and Hell's minions. They find themselves in a subtly different duplicate setting from the one they left - the PCs may not realise where they are until they emerge back out of the cave, and there is no way back the way they came. The setting and rules for travel in Hell are detailed in sidebars.

The PCs learn that Freetown is a centre for those aligned against Hell. When the PCs arrive, they are contacted by the mayor of Freetown (actually a minion of Jalie Squarefoot), who convinces the PCs to make a journey to the city of Tyre on the Eighth Circle of Hell to restart the clock (both because Tyre is supposedly the only known exit from Hell, and also because there is a prophecy that implicates the PCs will save Freetown from Hell by starting the clock which will in turn move Freetown back to the Prime - a lie of course). The PCs find Freetown to be a dark, distorted double of Freeport and they can interact with vaguely familiar NPCs who they have previously met in Freeport. The PCs must battle their way to the city of Tyre along the River Styx. Tyre is buried under ice on the freezing 8th Circle of Hell. They must enter the clocktower and start the clock, battling against the guards and wards set by the Freetowners to defend against the clock being restarted, which precludes evil outsiders from even entering. They should quickly discover that there is no way out of Hell from Tyre and that starting the clock has some fairly disastrous effects.

On their way out of Tyre, they are attacked an beaten unconscious by a group of tough devils and their minions. They are taken to a Hellish prison called The Forge where they can learn that Jalie Squarefoot has been manipulating them. They must escape or win their freedom in the gladiator pits in order to save Freetown from the clock they restarted and which has now animated. The PCs must help the rebels they meet in The Forge to take back Freetown from the corrupt mayor, enter the animated clocktower and once again stop the clock before Freeport is dragged into Hell and Freetown moves to the Prime. If they succeed, they may find a scroll which will take them back to the Prime though adventure ideas are given if the PCs decide to remain in Freetown.

The Appendix gives stats for new and modified monsters and other NPCs. There are full details on two new monsters - Automaton and Pit-Brier.

The High Points: This is a well-written, exciting adventure which showcases some of the highlights of D&D Hell. There is a good balance of combat, roleplaying and investigation. There is good advice all the way through the module on how to run complex parts of the adventure, in terms of both rules and roleplaying, enhanced by sidebars alerting the GM to 'The Real Story' behind the plot. There are some excellent plot twists that should really leave the players and their PCs gaping, and the NPCs are detailed enough in the text to run interactions effectively.

The Low Points: If the players have run through any of Green Ronin's previous adventures, the two essential plot elements where they are convinced by first Jalie Squarefoot and then by Freetown's mayor to pursue the starting of the clock, may be dificult to run - by now, the players will be aware that nobody is necessarily who they say they are or appear to be. The GM will have to be on top of his game and think out these interactions before playing them, or the whole adventure could be ruined. NPC information, plot elements and advice aids the GM in this task but it is still the crux of making the adventure work. The ELs, particularly in the escape from The Forge via the gladiator arena, seem rather high for the proposed character level of this adventure. Most ELs in the first half of the book are above 10 and most of the encounters in the last half of the book tend to be well above 12 - I suspect that some (if not all) PCs of levels 10-12 will not survive these regular supra-level encounters and they may need power modifications. There is only general advice at the beginning to adapt the adventure for groups of different levels or numbers. It remains to be seen whether this, or a more detailed scene-orientated approach will become the norm.

Conclusion: Green Ronin have provided another excellent adventure, this time on an even more epic scale than the first series. Use with the Legions of Hell sourcebook is recommended but not essential. Any who have run Freeport adventures previously, or who like the idea of a Hell-based adventure is in for a treat. Nevertheless, this could be modified to be run in a variety of fantasy campaigns with some work (presuming your view of Hell is the same one as standard D&D), and has a wealth of ideas which could be used outside the adventure itself. Just be aware that there may be a bit of work to do modifying encounters and thinking through NPC/GM answers to difficult PC/player questions before sessions to really make sure the adventure works well.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

Freeport has never been in more danger! Infernal forces lurk in every alley and inn. Inquisitors and prophets of doom comb the streets, for the stench of evil hangs in the air. A city that is no stranger to dirty dealings and bloody paybacks is about to get a lesson in debauchery from the pros-the minions of Hell. It's a race against time as the heroes, or perhaps villains, of Freeport work to save themselves from the wrath of an ancient prophecy and from the hands of an infernal lich lord.

Hell in Freeport is a stand-alone, 88-page adventure that provides the perfect compliment to Legions of Hell. Only high level heroes need apply for this hazardous duty. Recommended for characters level 8-11.

 

[trancejeremy]

My local gaming store didn't have the new Dragonstar book (curses!), so I ended up buying this. I had wanted it for a while, being a fan of the other Freeport modules, but the high price tag discouraged me. While it's almost 90 pages, $20 is kind of pricey for it. Especially when you have various 64 page modules for $12-13. (Yes, it has some maps in color, but they aren't worth it. Plus, it makes it almost impossible to photocopy nicely.)

Anyway, besides the price, I have mixed feelings on the product. On the one hand, it's a very nice adventure. On the downside, the adventure features many of the things I hate in adventures. Primarily, it railroads the players. A lot.

Getting into specifics (spoiler warning!). The players have no choice but to start the adventure. If the PCs don't take the job, the main bad guy will sneak up on them invisible, and cast geas on them. (Geas is a pet peeve of mine - it's way, way too powerful for a 6th level spell. So I hate the use of it, much less the abuse of it).

Despite the name of the module, the first part (only a page or two) is the only part of the book actually set in Freeport. The rest is set in Hell, save for a tiny part of a ruined temple on an island not too far from Freeport. So the title is a bit misleading, at least the Freeport part. Hell is certainly accurate.

Once in Hell, the players make their way to a city like Freeport, only in Hell. It's called Freetown, originally enough. Not surprisingly, it's an evil city, but there is very very little detail given - just a few locations, 2 of which are mutually exclusive (the party is offered two different places to stay for the night).

They're not there, long, the PCs are shuffled off to another city in Hell. This one a ruined one, in another circle. They are there to start up a clock tower. The trip to this place is pretty much eventless. As is the ruined city, except at the end, there is the somewhat cliched encounter with the good guys, and the PCs then discover they have been duped by the main villain. Then comes another one of my most hated things in adventures - a fight the players cannot win, and in fact, must lose in order for the rest of the module to make sense.

Anyway, they lose the battle (they lose because the module tells you they do). And in the best James Bond villain tradition, rather than being killed, they are merely imprisoned. That's another thing I hate - prison themed things - be it movies, adventures, or books.

Here is where the party seemingly has some freedom - there are basically 3 things that can happen to them in prison - they can become part of the work crew, they can go into the prison proper, or they can become gladiators. But in practice, it doesn't really matter, they'll almost certainly end up gladiators. And once they are gladiators, they have the chance to fight for their freedom.

Of course they do, and so they become free, and thus can show up at the big showdown with the main villain. Hopefully your PCs will be up to level 15 or so by then, because the main villain has a CR of 18 (that's by himself). Though he will flee if he is reduced to half his hit points.

Anyway, while it might not be obvious in my review, the adventure is actually quite well done. The people in it are fairly interesting. But like I said, I have lots of problems with it.


Railroading (very little freedom, plot requires the PCs forced into certain situations)

Too many assumptions (that the PCs can't transport out of Hell, that the main bad guy is incredibly stupid (indeed, that all people in this adventure are incredibly dumb or trusting, that the PCs are relatively good)

Too compressed (Many of the NPCs at the end have special prestige classes. However, these prestige classes are not described in the book - you have to download them, and then print them out. And because they used black background for the tables in them, it sucks up quite a bit of ink to print out.)

Too sketchy (Freetown is a great concept, I think. But so little space is devoted to it, it's hard to use properly. The same can be said for the city at the end. Similarly, the motivations of the main bad guy is extremely vague, other than he's evil).

Too cute. (The iconic characters make an appearance in a the prison in Hell. Also, some other characters there are named after characters in the Shadowrun universe.)

Too implausible. (Essentially, if the characters are unsuccessful, there will be a plague of devils let loose on the world. But c'mon, surely the gods of the world would be upset by that, as would celestials. It's commonly understood that both Celestials and Fiends only meddle in worlds - if one lets loose armies, so does the other.)

So, to sum up, it could have been a really great adventure. It can be a great adventure, if the DM is prepared to flesh out the locations, come up with plausible alternatives to the railroading, and corrects the stupidity of the characters in it (as well as the many implausible things). Part of the trouble is the book just isn't long enough - it is crammed with text, but it really needed at least another 20-30 pages to be fleshed out properly. It should have at least been 96, especially given the high price. On the other hand, the layout of the book is very well done, as is the use of the d20 system.

One last thing - I also really think they need to give this cover artist a rest - he might be famous, but can't just about anyone with a smidgin of talent, draw a horse skeleton in a robe? HR Giger, he's not. Perhaps rather than spending a large amount of money getting a fairly well known artist, they should have spent it on more pages...

 

[Felon]

I've had the dubious pleasure of playing through this module, and I hate to say it, but once again--just as with the Witchfire trilogy and What Evil Lurks--EN reviewers have awarded the highest marks to an adventure that railroads the PC's along from one encounter to the next, and pays little or no heed to game mechanics while doing so, for seemingly no other reason than they like the module's dark mood and evil atmosphere.

Folks, I'm the first to admit that there's more to a role-playing game than mindless hack n'slash, but with all due respect to Mark Reinheigen, that doesn't mean that 5 stars should be handed-out to every adventure that has a creepy ambience.

My party knew we were being used as pawns from the very beginning, but were basically forced to trod along the path laid out for us because, well, we're the good guys and that's what good guys are required to do if they want to stay good.

Looking back at Simon's review, here's the part of HiP that I really loathed:

"On their way out of Tyre, they are attacked an beaten unconscious by a group of tough devils and their minions."

My stalwart companions were beating the living hell out of these demons (literally). It was mainly due to an unusual abundance of critical hits, but nonetheless, shouldn't we have been given a chance to win? Instead, one moment we're on top of the situation, the next the DM simply announces that we're summarily beaten. Utter ballocks.

If this is typical of the Freeport series, I'll be sure to steer a wide berth of Green Ronin products in the future.

 

[Felon]

Having had the dubious distinction of playing through this module a couple of months ago, allow me to share a player's perspective.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Do you like railroad games? No, I don't mean like Avalon Hill's 1830 Railroads and Robber Barons; I'm referring to modules that firmly place the PC's on a set of tracks from which there can be no deviation. It doesn't matter whether you're a rabid hack n'slasher, or an uncannily resourceful master strategist. It doesn't matter how many characters there are in the party, or what the party's composition is like. It doesn't matter if you make some unbelievably lucky and well-timed Spot, Sense Motive, or Knowledge skill rolls. It doesn't even matter if you figure out where this big clunky apparatus is heading. Ultimately, you and your friends will all be arriving at the same stops along the way and the same final destination. Now you know what I'm talking about, right? In the tradition of Privateer Press's Witchfire trilogy, What Evil Lurks, and....well, heck, just about anything put out by White Wolf, we bring you another by-the-numbers production that's heavy on such lofty left-brained concepts as mood and atmosphere, and looks down its nose at such trivial, right-brained banalities as tactical combat and solid game mechanics.

In other words, the DM is not so much running a game as he is telling a story. Now, you may be saying. "That's not fair. All modules are basically just telling a story. What do you want, a hundred different alternate endings covering every possible path the players may take?" No, I realize that just about any adventure is, to a large extent, scripted. However, PC's do need to feel they have a sense of control and empowerment--after all, role-playing is a form of escapism--and for that reason there are certain plot devices that may be tried-and-true in the realm of popular fiction, but work poorly in terms of gaming. For instance:

Entire adventures built around making fools out of the heroes--There are a couple of good reasons why protagonists-as-pawns is a poor impetus for skullduggery. First off, after being jerked around for an evening, the players wind up feeling like the entire gaming session has been a waste of their time, depriving them of any sense of accomplishment. Secondly, and more importantly, it is unwise to hinge the entire plot upon the players blithely accepting the role of pawn with blissful, doe-eyed ignorance; they've probably watched all the same movies and read the same novels that the module's authors have.

Thus the first big problem with Hell in Freeport is that there simply is no adventure if characters don't swallow the bait, hook, line, sinker, and half the fishing rod too. The scam here is perpetrated by a lich, in the guise of a venerable cleric, manipulating a group of dumb ol' PC's into doing his dirty work for him. The heroes aren't needed for their ability, mind you; this adventure is for characters levels 8-11, and the villain of this piece could wipe them all out without breaking a sweat off of his bony forehead (another element this module shares in common with Witchfire and What Evil Lurks). Rather, it's one of those deals where he needs something from someplace that only good guys can go. His brilliant plan to get the players involved is to send his demons out to commit murders until a band of do-gooders accomodate him by stumbling arse-backwards into this little mystery (I wonder if he was expecting a talking great dane and four meddling kids?). Then in his cleric guise, he sends the guileless heroes running off to hell to accomplish the mission he supplies. Certainly my group of jaded players didn't buy this old geezer's story at face value. After all, there's never any reason to accept any NPC at face value, especially when they want something from you, and the lich's resistance to Sense Motive and various detection spells didn't do much to lend this phony preacher any credibility. However, if Hell in Freeport contains any built-in methods for allaying player suspicions, they weren't evidenced.

After making schmucks out of themselves by doing the lich's dirty work for him, players reach the apex of all the exasperation that HiP has to offer: they are attacked by demons, and summarily beaten down, with absolutely no chance of winning this battle. If the players are still conscious after 5 rounds or so, the DM simply declares that they are overwhelmed and starts reading boxed text about the last thing the players see before they slip into unconsciousness (this was particularly frustrating for my group, who had just scored a number of critical hits that resulted in our attackers' numbers being reduced to less than half. And to compound their frustration, the players are treated to yet another classic good-for-fiction-poor-for-gaming plot device:

Have the players captured, and don't give them any chance for escape until you're good and ready to let them go--Lord knows, any experienced gamer has started at least one adventure with his character stripped of all weapons, armor, and equipment, chained-up in a dank prison cell or the rat-infested hold of a ship. If handled properly, this can be challenging and enjoyable. The DM must be willing to permit the player to win their freedom on their own terms, and possibly even turn the tables on their captors. It may take some time, but there's nothing more rewarding than giving a former tormentor their come-uppance. On the other hand, if players are expected to accept the role of prisoner in a patient, docile, and obedient manner until a deus-ex-machina opportunity presents itself, this is a fine example of shoddy game design and rather weak DM'ing skills. Here's what happens in HiP: players try to escape or revolt, the attempt is quashed, and they're thrown into a gladiatorial arena to fight their way out--not to the consternation of their captors, but for their entertainment.

Are there any highlights to this adventure at all? Well, the arena battles did present a decent variety of opponents--giants, slaads, dwarven warbands, paladins even. We had fun with that. The heat of battle provided the party with its only respite from the otherwise non-stop aggrivation of HiP.

 

[Rockrattled]

I agree that this module is not the best one Green Ronin's published, but compared to the Freeport Series, most modules dim. I even agree on the score you gave it. This one relies too much on combat and too little on investigation and problem solving. Too little chance to role play. That's what I was hoping for.

However my comment is I disagree that a scripted module is a poor module. You throw Witchfire around like its shoddy work, and you're wrong. They are scripted and tell a story that the characters get to participate in. Hell In Freeport couldn't carry Witch Fire's athletic supporter, but not because its scripted. Its not as good a story.

I appreciate the attempt to have the characters participate in something extrodinary intstead of just letting it happen. We've all played games where there's no drama, and no dilema, just one combat after another, or one interaction after another. They're boring. Scripted modules try to create that. Admittedly some do it better than others.

I agree in the case of the main antogonist lying to the party and the writer of the module saying something like..."If you're a good DM you'll find a way to get your characters to believe or at least go along." Also in the battle they are supposed to lose, again they say something like, "If you're a good DM you'll find a way to do it." I didn't think that was necessary, but it sounded like a response to a complaint heard far too often...

Player- "That's railroading man!"

DM- "And if you were a good player you'd find a way to deal with it"

I fudge all the time! This one just fudges against the players to keep them in line with the story.

I had to chose whether to play this module with a group on line, or to keep looking. I kept looking.

 

[trancejeremy]

Well, I have to agree with the original reviewer. I hate scripted/railroading modules. Witchfire trilogy also did this, but I would agree that it did a much better job of handling it than this one.

 

[Felon]

Rockrattled, Trancejeremy, thanks for your comments! Nothing worse than writing a review that doesn't cause anyone to react.

Rock, I'd like to respond to some statements you made:

"I disagree that a scripted module is a poor module. You throw Witchfire around like its shoddy work, and you're wrong. They are scripted and tell a story that the characters get to participate in...I appreciate the attempt to have the characters participate in something extrodinary intstead of just letting it happen."

Let me point out that I didn't say that a scripted module is inherently a poor module. Rather, I acknowledged that virtually all modules are scripted to some extent. However, note your repeated use of the word "participate". That's the problem I have with both Hell in Freeport and Witchfire; players are not truly allowed to participate, but rather are given the mere illusion of participation (the effectiveness of that illusion is determined by the skill of the DM and the experience level of the players). Things do "just happen", and both HiP and Witchfire treat player innovation as tatamount to sabotage, expressly stating that when players try to steer the story off of its path, it is the mark of a "good" DM to openly encourage their resourcefulness while subtly thwarting their attempts at improvisation. I think that approach makes for a shoddy module.

You also remark:

"We've all played games where there's no drama, and no dilema, just one combat after another, or one interaction after another. They're boring. Scripted modules try to create that"
No, I have to strongly disagree here. Scripted modules don't create true drama or present genuine dilemnas. Take the first module of the Witchfire trilogy, The Longest Night for instance. The big finale has the characters sitting on the sidelines watching two major baddies duke it out. There is no participation from the players here; the module even goes as far as to come right out and state that the players are relegated to the role of spectators (due to the fact that the bad guys are vastly more powerful than the PC's). At the climax of that battle, players are suddenly forced to make a very important decision, choosing one villain over the other. Of course, that grave "dilemna" is actually a sham, because regardless of the choice they make, the end result is exactly the same. Now, think about this for a second: do you think that a group of players will really feel that adventure was worth their time if the had known going in that it will end the same way for them as it did for a thousand other parties before them?
You want drama? You want dilemnas? That comes from unscripted spontaneity. You know what the true mark of a good DM is? It's welcoming the unexpected, rather than regarding it as a threat to be neutralized. When I DM, I don't show up with the intention of enthralling my players with a fanciful tale; I show up hoping that we'll all be enthralled as we create one right there and then. It's a round-robin story, not a monologue. If a module can't grasp that concept, then it doesn't deserve my time, my money, or my praise (we're looking at 3 stars tops).

 

[gfunk]

Felon,

First off, thanks for writing this review. As a DM who is eager to please my players, it was very interesting and informative to get the perspective of a player.

A couple of comments/questions for you:

1) I read this module long before I plan on sending the PCs through it. I have made the NPC Cleric and integral part of the campaign -- he is a well-trusted advisor to the PCs and also provides them with powerful healing magic (i.e. Resurrection and the like). One of my PCs is a cleric in this church as well. This "lich" has been a island of stability in a campaign full of deceit and duplicity. I hope that I have provided a good foundation to let players swallow the plot. Do you think this developed background will compensate for the distrust that your party felt?

2) I read and re-read the encounter with the Gelugon enforcers who smack down the PCs and drag them off to the Forge. Though I am a competent DM, I will have a hard-time taking out my PCs (who delight in min-maxing) when they have three NPC allies to boot. I was thinking, perhaps of non-lethal methods of capture such as using a fiendish Beholder's anti-magic ray supplemented with several toughs (half-fiend giants or the like). What do you think?

3) The prison doesn't seem to me to be as scripted as you imply. Although the gladitorial arena is certainly one way out, enterprising PCs can escape or tear through the facility recover their gear and leave. Did your DM make you feel that the combat pit was your only option?

4) I really like this module and I hope that I have made enough modifications to make my players enjoy it. Any additional comments from you in this regard would be appreicated.

 

[Felon]

Gfunk, to address your comments:

1) Sounds like you did a perfect job of setting up events to fall into place. Instead of relying on the NPC being immune to the PC's methods of scrutinizing him, you instead allayed their suspicions so that they won't bother to scrutinize him. Wait until the players do a bit of whining about needing someone to cast resurrection or some other spell that's out of their reach. When this cleric shows up, they'll think you're caving in, and once he tries to step back out of the picture, they won't want him to go. The PC's may simply make the same assumption that the jedis made about Senator Palpatine; that such an evil individual could never hide in the hallowed halls of the forces of good. Even jaded players allow themselves to be lulled into believing that high-level spells simply can't be worked around (although the lich would have to be wary of some priest casting True Seeing in his presence).

2) If you really want to beat up PC's, then forget the "demonic dog-pile" approach that HiP takes; players are prepared for that. Rather, take the kid gloves off and play to their weaknesses. As the DM, you probably have an idea of what your party's specific weaknesses are, but as a general rule, concentrate on taking out the warriors and the firepower-oriented spellcasters, ignoring the supporting-role characters such as the rogues, druids and the like. Force the fighters to make will saves, force the wizards to make fortitude saves. When a PC drops, make sure the cleric(s) can't get their hands on him (a demon can pick up a limp body and fly away with it). Beholders are the most obvious creature to employ to achieve this effect, but be careful about these critters. Their offensive capabilities are quite nasty, admittedly, but they don't much in the way of hit points or defenses. And that anti-magic cone is not so great a threat on open ground, where players can move out of its range. Consider whether or not your players are the type of folks who fight to death, or are willing to surrender if things go bad. In the latter case, they may choose to become prisoners instead of the walking dead.

3) Yes, the prison sequence did seem fairly scripted to me. I know the DM had a map of the dungeon that could give the players some ideas about how to escape, but I think in the end he didn't feel that the module really provided support for an elaborate escape plan. I guess he wasn't in the mood to improvise on his own. Frankly, you can't expect much from the players at this point due to the design of D&D itself; this is a game where characters are intended to need certain possessions in order to be effective. Sripped of all weapons, armor, material components, and spellbooks, a player character is the proverbial one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.