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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2008913" data-attributes="member: 18387">I picked up, and just finished running, Thunderhead Games' first adventure, Interludes: Brief Expeditions to Bluffside. From the high grades that I've seen this product receive, it made up my mind to buy this one (I got the print version of it). I was happily impressed by it.Good StuffI saw many great things in this module when I first started running it. The opening chapters included how to run the adventure, a brief history of the behind the scenes plot, and this new system for scaling the adventure with theme boxes.I have seen that most of the other reviews for this product have already gone into depth on the theme boxes, so I won't waste the time of the reader saying how wonderful this idea is... I'll just let you know that the sessions I ran I used two of them: Hollier Than Thou (I have a druid, a cleric, and a paladin in my game) and the Puzzles and Pits (my whole group, including myself, have a grand total of nearly a century's worth of gaming experience). With the combination of the two different theme boxes, this adventure took on an entirely different light.The adventure itself, which seems to be excluded from the other reviews other than a basic gleaming, is very well written. With the party starting out in Kirkwood (a small hamlet) they discover that the early winter storm (which caused my party no end of problems) blows in an evil plot to kidnap a family of important townsfolk. The characters are shocked to discover that the only person to escape the kidnappers falls into the beautifully rustic Rosewood Inn, in a bloody and frozen heap.The party then goes to the Greyfox family home and begins to conduct their investigation (only partially assisted by a few of the towsfolk). They discovered the tracks of the goblinoid rakers and their canine ripper mounts. A ghost of a man, the old ranger Fallar Sunbird gives the party some much needed answers to the questions they now have (in particular what made the tracks in the snow and where they are rumored to be found). The party immediately leaves to go and rescue the poor kidnapped family and begins to run afoul of the wintery weather and late night conditions (I am a particularly cruel DM that always enforces the environmental factors on the party, which the party was very happy that there was a new divine spell called remove exposure that they got from the cleric Synthia Mistwarden).The second part that detailed the Holy Grove area was perhaps my favorite part. A peacful and serene area that held evil beyond reasoning (for 2nd-level characters, a tribe of goblins and a few rakers are about the most evil thing they will come across for a time). My fourth player (the nevaequarlani monk) died a horrible and painful death at the hands of the goblins, and the player had a blast too. Rarely have I ever seen such simple yet so detailed combat tactics. It wasn't the same old "in Room 2 there are 3 goblins and a door to Room 3, which has 4 more goblins that never hear the battle and won't come in to aid anyone". My party did have a small problem with the goblin's sleep poisoned blowgun darts (I think the dice were cursed that day). But eventually the characters made it to the temple basement, where the goblins made their home.The plots that weaved between each NPC (even the rakers) was fabulous. My players capitolized on the conflict between D'saasz and T'bangah and it made the game play that much better. The characters stuck up deals and bargains with the evil rakers (even the paladin did, feeling that their evil nature was a birth defect in the overly cautious goblinoids), and they received the next piece of the puzzle, the half-orc Gizur Ungg.The race back to the town of Kirkwood and the ensuing roleplay between the party, the raker representative, Gizur, the mayor, and the mayor's crew lasted for nearly 3 game sessions for us. After resupplying and getting a few items from Kenna and Synthia, the party set off for the final confrontation with the group that Gizur belonged to, the Hammers.Along their path north, my party ran into the evil thorn faerie (I ran the web enhancement for that encounter so the characters could get a few more experience points), the divinely scarred Arnora Stillwater, and then they finally reached the showdown. The druid was severely wounded in that battle, but the combination of the cleric and the paladin brought the battle to a close (which I ran over the course of two game sessions).Bad StuffI really saw nothing to wrong with any of the module, except that I didn't like the read aloud text just being bolded and the picture of Bluffside at the end of the module is a bit blurry.CrunchiesNew FeatsArmored Caster - since I didn't really have an arcane caster in the party, this one didn't really do much for us. However, I did let the monk player make another character and he made a sorcerer/fighter with this feat.Sixth Sense - we loved this one. The paladin leveled (to level 3) and took this feat. He is 100% more difficult to pull the wool over on because of it (and it saved the party when they fought against the Hammers at the end).New Spellsagony of deceit - the sorcerer/fighter has finally convinced Kirkwood's Kenna to let him have this spell (he saved all his money from character creation specifically for that spell). remove exposure - my divine casters love this. As I mentioned before, I am very cruel DM that inflicts harsh environmental penalties on my parties.New Magical Itemscloak of elemental endurance - the cleric bought one of these, and I really like it as a low level character item - great job Thunderhead Games!everfull waterskin - I went to the Thunderhead Games site and see that they have some desert stuff planned in the future (July and September 2002). While the skin means little to a party full of divine casters (Synthia healed the druid), it does free up some much needed spell slots for a desert game.the fetishes - while these didn't physically appear in most of the module, the rakers can make them. The party is now going through the ruins of the Holy Grove researching for Synthia. They come in contact with the goblins and rakers on a regular basis now, and even have signed a treaty with them that if they discover any money that they will give them half. (The characters feel guilty of swinging weapons first and asking questions second.)font of the wisdom of ages - this is an interesting item. I'm thinking of inflicting a potion like this on my players at a later date.reading glasses - this is definitely an invaluable tool in the party's researching. Synthia has allowed my party to use one of these, but they need to return it before they leave the area.Synthia's quarterstaff of the traveler - Synthia is definitely a force to be reconded with, and this staff makes her the perfect party patron. I think the Hammers may come back to Kirkwood to cause more problems for my party by stealing the staff.New Extraordinary ItemsGoblin Sleep Poison - I love this stuff. My party wasn't expecting it at all.Golden Pocket Watch - the thought of realistic items never occured to me in a fantasy game. A clockwork watch made of gold is a truly valuable item and I look forward to playing with this item a bit more.NPCsThese NPCs breathe. I have never seen a module that gives you as much information about the minor players as it does the main NPCs.New CreaturesArbor Fish - a fish that is actually a bird. While this sounds goofy (it did to me to begin with), I think it adds an element of the fantastic to the setting.Bhagaista - a flying cat familiar. While I dislike all things feline as a rule, my sorcerer/fighter player is begging me for this one.Giant Tree Slug - once again, a great fantasy element.Ice Flower - this plant is a very sneaky way to get your players' attension.Lynx - normal animal.Mule Deer - normal animal.Nevaequarlani - this is a great new race. The depth of history for this race borders on mythical proportions. I hope Thunderhead Games does more with these guys in the future.Raker - the primary force behind part two of the adventure. Intelligent, barbaric and ruthless.Ripper - the raker's canine companions.Shadow Lynx - the nevaequarlani's mysterious animal companions. These creatures follow along the same historical path as the dark drow/elf decendants.Snow Leopard - normal animal.Snow Racer - a snake that borrows through the snow, with fur instead of scales. Once again, a great fantasy element to detail the world.Thorn Faerie - nice to see that someone has finally given the dryads a few darker relatives. I like to use evil dryads, but these beat my incarnations hands down.New Prestige ClassesBlood Guardian - a little high powered for a game of this level, but I do like the concept of it.Sisterhood of Mercy - the cleric of my group wants to become this prestige class. He only has three problems in this: 1) he's male, 2) no fighter levels, and 3) nothing in his path that has scarred him. I love this prestige class and can't wait for any future information about them.Final WordsSince I'm running a little long-winded, I'll make this brief. I liked what I saw here and it influenced me buying this product. I liked running it, but more importantly, my players liked playing it. More than one night I got phone calls from my players requesting that I run another session of it. We aren't normally the types that buy modules, and I was going to just buy this one for the source material. I read it over and it definitely does hold a great adventure. Thanks Thunderhead Games crew for making such a wonderful product.Thunderhead Games, is there ever going to be more information about the Road Wardens? My paladin wants to become one.~Paul Jefferson</blockquote>

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