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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2008670" data-attributes="member: 9860">Beware! This review contains major spoilers.This is not a playtest review.Price: $9.95Page Count: 40Price per page: About 24 cents per pageDesigned for character levels: 5-6External Art: A relatively good piece of colour art showing a group of bugbears, led by their fanged leader atop a rock, facing fur-clad PCs.Additional Page Use: The back page contains an introduction and overview to the two adventures, as well as a small average colour picture of PCs investigating some bodies fused into an icy cave wall. The back inside page contains ads, the front inside cover has challenge tables (a summary of ELs, CRs and stats), and a couple of small charts for tracking changes within the adventures. The first page contains credits and contents. The penultimate page holds the OGL.Internal Art: The quality of the black and white internal art ranges from poor to good. There are also a set of square cardboard counters for the relevant monsters stapled to the centre of the module - the quality of the pictures depicting each monster is average to good.Maps: The maps are basic, clear, scaled, and keyed to the adventures.Page Layout: The text density is good and there is little white space. Margins are not large.Writing Style: Both adventures are written in a clear and entertaining manner. I was unable to find any typos.The Adventures: There are actually two adventures in 'Nature's Fury', both set in extremely cold conditions.In Swords Through The Ice Gate (14 pages), The PCs discover a village and its surrounds suffering from freak winter weather in the middle of summer. All the inhabitants are missing and the village has been smashed up. Following the tracks the PCs discover a portal to an icy world called Gillidia. The villagers have been taken by a tribe of bugbears, who are offering them as sacrifice to a white dragon half encased in ice. The PCs can benefit from interacting with an exiled bugbear before mounting a rescue operation for the villagers. The adventure includes background on the world of Gillidia, adventure background, summary and plot hooks, advice for using the adventure in your own campaign, tips for running the adventure, a summary of the rules dealing with the effects of the cold climate, and ideas for further adventures.In The Crystal Tower (18 pages), the PCs are hired by a wizards guild to retrieve research from a traitorous wizards' tower, which is located within an iceberg. Another mercenary group is also searching the tower when the PCs arrive. The PCs must avoid the guards and wards of the tower, beat the competing mercenaries to their goal, and return with their prize to the wizards guild. The adventure gives background, synopsis and hooks, as well as adapting the adventure for use in your campaign, tips for running the adventure, a summary of the rules dealing with the effects of the cold climate, a section on running the competing mercenaries, and ideas for further adventures.The Appendix has stats for the monsters, stats and some description for the NPCs, and three new magical items.High Points: The first adventure focuses on roleplaying and combat, whilst the second focuses on traps and puzzles - between them there is a nice balance. Given their focus on cold climates, the two adventures are relatively simple to integrate into a campaign setting (and there is good advice for doing so). The text is clearly written and the plots are straightforward and logical. The addition of creature tokens for the monsters and NPCs is a nice touch.Low Points: Both adventures are solid without being exceptional. There's not a lot I can pick out as being bad (maybe the internal art in places), but nothing that shouts top quality at me either.Conclusion: On the high side of Average - clear, well thought out, with plenty of advice and  original basic premises, but lacking a certain flair overall. About a 3.8 if I was allowed to score with decimal places.</blockquote>

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