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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JoeGKushner" data-source="post: 2010354" data-attributes="member: 1129">Morrick Mansion is a 56 page adventure designed for 3rd-5th level characters. In a small town, a curse is slowly spreading its evil outwards and it falls to the party to determine if they can cure the curse before all of Grollek's Grove falls under its say.Now that the introduction is done, here's the review. Note the spoilers below. Players, you go away now. Leave the review to the Dms.There are a number of ways that the players can get involved with the quest to end the curse. The first is of course, being hired by the relatives of the family who are posting a reward. The second is a local druid, trying to stem the curse. This ties into my take on the roles of druids as patrons for parties in Druids and Druidism. Other factors can help the GM get the party into the swing of things. One of the most interesting might be for a group of evil characters to try and replicate the curse or work with some of the NPCs within the Grove for other nefarious purposes. The characters will have ample opportunity to explore the nearby countryside and speak not only with those who might hire them, but also seek out the services of the many shops within the Grove. Almost like a sourcebook-adventure with the details provided on the Grove.Most of the mission is going to involve the players trying to survive the Mansion, which has a nasty curse about it. Seems that all food and drink on the grounds is cursed and the curse has some nasty effects. Things like giving the user claws, super strength, insanity, you know, minor things really. One of the most dangerous parts of the adventure is that every time the user is hit by an infected creature, he's got to make a saving throw or become infected himself. Now the save is an easy one to make, but it builds up so that if you keep getting hit, then you're going to have some rough saves ahead of you.Now as if the curse itself wasn't enough, the changes it makes insure that even if the characters have fought many of the creatures within the book before, they can't take anything for granted. A quick look at the cover reveals that not everything is normal with these two bugbears and they aren't the only ones who've undergone augmentation. This helps keep the players on their toes and doesn't rely on the GM having to use outside monster books or numerous templates to change the core creatures.One of the things that the book does right is that it provides multiple resolutions methods for the players so that they're not pigeonholed into a single solution. This is nice because it allows the GM to provide as much or as little help as the players need in order to achieve the goals of the mission. Another strength is that there are a wide variety of characters in the Grove for the GM to customize and help and hinder the players with. The interior covers are used, the front being a map of Grollek's Grove, the rear Grollek's Groave and the Surrounding Area. One rear page is used for an ad on the Judge's Guild product coming out soon. The book is laid out in standard two-column format. White spaces leak occurs at the end of the chapters. All art is handled by Brian LeBlanc, who uses his 'charcoal' look as opposed to the pen and ink he sometimes does. Most impressive, to me at least, is that Ed Bourelle handles all of the maps. This gives the maps a very polished, high quality feel. Easy to read and understand, although I still want a map key.The adventure provides bonus experience points for various deeds, including the rescue of those trapped within the manor. Those more interested in monetary rewards will be pleased to know that not only is there gold to be had, but new and unique items that players may wind up with as a result of their actions. Those looking for further adventures get some ideas to help further their campaigns, but no deep details.One of the things I thought was backwards, is that the reward offered isn't listed up front with the starting of the adventure, but in the rear of the book. Make sure to read the adventure all the way through as the NPCs have various motives and take different actions depending upon how the characters act and who they interact with. The module itself is also an odd page count, weighing in at 56 black and white pages. Normally I see 64 page books for $12.95 but this puppy is $13.95. Inflation or ? A personal pet peeve, one that I hear many other people do not have, is that it takes place in a mansion in a small town. Just for something different, I may move it to a city where the need to come up with a cure is more urgent.Morrick Mansion is a solid adventure that has a good play between investigation and combat, between exploration and a simple dread that only comes when a player hears the dreaded, “Make that saving throw.”</blockquote>

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