NeMorens Vault

[ColonelHardisson]

I've been crowing about this one since it first appeared. This is one of the most well-thought-out, logically plotted adventures I've ever seen, and I've been buying modules since 1979.

The interior art is the only weak thing about this module, and even it isn't that bad. The cover is fantastic, in my opinion - I'm baffled by how much criticism it's drawn.

The background story is interesting, and can be easily retolled to fit a particular campaign. The dungeon itself is thoughtfully detailed, and provides justification for the presence of all the inhabitants and encounters.

The sheet of counters and handouts is very nice and useful.

Also, this module is very well supported on Fiery Dragon's website. Go there to get some neat downloads, such as high-res versions of the module handouts and some magica sword background details. Best of all, download the free side adventure for NeMoren's Vault, which very neatly ties up one of the module's history's loos ends.

All in all, NeMoren's Vault is a classic in the making. It's one of the modules against which other d20 modules will, and should, be measured.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

Summary: Generic adventure, but great presentation.

I liked NeMoren's Vault a lot. The setup is great for a starting party. Each of them received a key and is asked to attend a reading of a will. There they learn that the keys will give them access to a Baron's treasure. He has done this to atone for something in his past.

There is a story to go with this setup and the players may discover it as they delve under the Baron's mansion, but it is not important to finishing the adventure. However, I slipped info. to the players from time to time and the result was that they were creeped out by the end of the adventure and a bit afraid of what they would find. It added nicely to the atmosphere.

The dungeon the adventure takes place in is dull and generic. A standard dungeon crawl. There is also way too much treasure for 1st to 3rd level characters, although power gamers will ove it, especially the magic items.

The module comes with nice player handouts, a good summary of the monsters appearing within, some monster and character tokens, sample starting characters on sheets that can be used right out of the module, new magic items, and a plain battle map. The module also give the password for access to the maps and handouts, as well as an expansion adventure, on the Fiery Dragon web site.

Overall, I would rate this module as an excellent buy. The good points are clean presentation, nice setup for beginning characters, and lots of extras. The bad points are so so art and a plain adventure. My players enjoyed it, though.

 

[Tuerny]

Nemoren's Vault, by James Bell, is the first in Fiery Dragon Production's line of d20 modules. Written for a group of 1st to 3rd level character with total party levels of 6 to 10, it is set in a generic land known as the Kingdom of Kalendia, but is easily useable with most any other quasi-medieval setting. The adventure is site-based, taking place largely within the confines of the adventure's namesake vault. It requires that one or more of the PCs previously gained a small silver key with no apparent purpose

Plot Outline
Many years ago, after a tumultuous war against the goblins, the Kingdom of Kalendia gained control of the West Wood from the Arborian Elves. One man, Kragor Nemoren, distinguished himself to the elves and humans alike as a man of valor and skill, and was granted ruler ship of the land as the Baron of West Wood. Kragor established a mansion and lavish vault in the border town of Weston, serving as a place of refugee and to store his growing riches. Namoren's descendants ruled well for many years, adding more to the vault as time went on, until the most recent Baron, Paytro Nemoren, came to power. He lost his young wife to the treachery of his vengeful, former lover within a month of his marriage. He gained his own vengence against her, though, trapping her in the vault and sealing it so that it could only be opened with a set of silver keys. With this act done, he withdrew into his mansion until his death, childless and alone.

In the years since Paytro Nemoren's sealing of the vault, it has changed, becoming the lair of a variety of monsters. The undead remains of his former lover, her brother, and some of Namoren's relatives live scattered about the vault, serving as a static present to impeded the recovery of the most valuable of its treasures. A small tribe of hobgoblins has claimed a portion of caves that serve to connect the Vault to the West Wood. An Undrathar, basically an umber hulk, also wanders the vault, serving as a random menace to all those who dwell within. As a result of the presence of these beings in the Vault, Weston's water supply has become poisoned and many of Weston's inhabitants have died, resulting in Weston being reduced to a bare-bones population.

The players are drawn into this by being summoned to the town of Weston to hear the will of the recently deceased Baron NeMoren. Lacking any heirs, he passed on his mansion to the possessors of the silver keys he scattered several years ago. The PCs have, in one way or another comes into possession of these keys, and thus the mansion, giving them the opportunity to explore and plunder the Vault of its treasures.

Presentation
Nemoren's Vault, a standard laminated, stapled, booklet, is thirty-two pages in length. The inside covers have a set of tables representing challenge ratings on the front cover and an ad for the web site on the back cover. The margins are blank and a half-inch wide.

The cover illustration, by Todd Secord, depicts the Undrathar emerging from a cave to battle two adventurers. The interior art largely displays illustrations of probable events covered in the text, with many of them including the sample characters included in the back of the module.

The maps are functional but informative, including a grid and scale where necessary, and major furniture and physical features.

Several additional features are included in the module, including a blank, square grid for miniatures combat, color, photocopy ready handouts, and a sheet of color, cardboard counters.

Overview
Nemoren's Vault is divided into an Introduction, Adventure Background, Adventure Synopsis, Background for the Players, Keyed Encounter Descriptions, Adventure Aftermath, and three Appendixes. The OGL/d20 System License fills up page twenty-eight with six sample characters presented on pages twenty-nine through thirty-two.

The Introduction discusses the premise behind the module and how to use the extras included in the module. The Adventure Background explains everything that led up to the current state of the Vault and the lands around it. The Adventure Synopsis summarizes what plot the adventure has. Background for the Players provides information players might gain before the adventure as well as their introduction to the adventure. The Keyed Encounter Descriptions are just that, a keyed guide to the module. The Adventure Aftermath provides hooks for future adventures based on the material introduced in the module. The three Appendixes cover monster stats, new magical items, and legal text.

Analysis
Nemoren's Vault serves its purpose as a low-level, introductory adventure well. It provides a good way to bring characters together into a group, without seeming forced or clichéd. All of the extras included in the module only add to this, making it an ease to use for both veteran and new GMs. The module itself is packed with information and tips that makes it easier to run, such as sidebars with tips on atmosphere. The module is also good about providing the GM with information of what happens in the aftermath of the adventure, including what happens if the PCs fail. The new magic items introduced are interesting, and the new material, Elven brass, is of use in any campaign that uses elves.

The major flaw of Nemoren's Vault is its overabundance of magic items. A thorough adventuring party could exist this module with enough magic items to fill out the suggested value of characters of at least fifth or sixth level, and thorough characters can get over two hundred thousand gold pieces worth. The presence of the Undrathar also has the very real possibility of wiping out the entire party, despite its disabled confusion abilities.

Conclusion
In its entirety Nemoren's Vault stands as a nice, introductory, site-based adventure for Dungeons and Dragons Third Edition. With the removal of the excess magic items and, perhaps, the Undrathar it is a worthwhile module assuming you enjoy site-based adventures. Its extra goodies combined with almost solid game design, make it a worthy addition to a d20 game library.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

(Mostly spoiler-free)

After reading so many great reviews on other sites, perhaps I was expecting too much from this adventure. Unfortunately, in the end it just didn't deliver what I'd hoped for.

First, the good points:
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The setup/hook: Inspired. Rather than the typical "you meet in a pub.." or "you're wandering through town when suddenly...", it has a well thought-out, (semi-) believable premise.

The history/NPC's: Rich and well-defined. Rather than simply throwing together some convenient ideas and characters, the authors really seem to have thought things out and put together something that makes sense, a rare thing among standard d20 adventures. A detailed history that has a genuine atmosphere, and possibilities for further campaign adventures. Well done.

The setting/dungeon itself: Again, well thought-out. The writers took pains to make sure everything interconnected well and makes sense; not satisfied with simple dry descriptions, they describe the atmosphere in more emotional and tactile ways, and are especially good at emoting the "feel" of the different locations. Some cool visuals, traps and puzzles, too. A few extremely grisly and visceral discoveries.

And now, the bad:
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The artwork: P.U.! Sorry to be harsh, but it varies from typical (though uninspired) to merely amateurish. Some graphics (particularly the counters - which I didn't use) honestly looked like something I'd see doodled in the white space of a bored high-schooler's notebook than a professional publication. The dungeon maps look like they were drawn in pencil on graph paper and photocopied; fine in 1978, but inexcusable if you have a PC on your desk with Photoshop or even Paintbrush. And that cover...yeesh. Extremely garish. Some of the black-and-white interior sketches were OK, but others were horrible.

The treasure: Overly generous, to the point of being nearly obscene. So many magic items I actually needed to put them on a separate spreadsheet just to track them, and so much treasure that the young adventurers could retire on this 1st level module alone. Not to mention the "big score" at the end... I understand the author's excuse that "it's supposed to be a vault", but this is waaaaay too much for a low-level party.

The adventure itself: Eh... ok. With the exception of a couple of rooms, nothing to write home about. Rather boring, actually. The single hallway design leaves little doubt that yo're being "guided" from beginning to end (although there is a bit of side-work in the attached caves, even this is forced). And as cool as some of the more interesting traps and puzzles were, a few seemed rather "out of place" in a dungeon vault.

Summary:
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It's a decent enough adventure for $10, but just don't expect too much. If they had just made it look a little more polished, chopped about half the treasure out, and threw in a few more twists and interesting encounters it would have been much better. Still, the overall content somewhat makes up for these faults, and with a little jury-rigging and DM fiddling, it's fine; I half-heartedly recommend it.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

Nominated for 2 ENnies!

A fully illustrated adventure for 1st-3rd level characters. NeMoren's Vault is an introductory fantasy roleplaying adventure for use with the D20 system. Included with this adventure are full color character and monster counters, full color visual aids and handouts, a battle grid, and pre-generated characters for "out-of-the-box" action!

 

[trancejeremy]

This is a relatively old (for d20) adventure module. Came out in 2000, according to the copyright date. It was always on my to buy list, and I finally got it on Ebay for relatively cheap. It's 32 pages (plus an insert and a sheet of counters) and retails for $9.95. I got it on Ebay for $3.99 + $4 shipping (and the guy sent it book rate for $1, which annoyed me). The insert has color illustrations on one side, and a square grid on the other (the downside is, it's a bit flimsy to use as a mat.

The cover is somewhat striking - it looks like an Umber Hulk. It turns out it's not an Umber Hulk, but a new monster that is a lot like an Umber Hulk, only weaker. The interior artwork is decent enough, and does a good job of fitting the text (illustrating various monsters and such).

It's for low level (1st - 3rd) characters, and is actually aimed for begining players. The premise is perfect for bringing together PCs from varying background - basically, the holders of a silver key are the heirs of this noble's will. (Why? Because he had no offspring. And in part because he wants some sort of absolution for a crime he committed.)

The keys will open his family's 'Vault', which is basically a dungeon in the D&D sense (not real sense). Sort of an underground complex with several different functions originally, now falling apart. Presumably the PCs will then explore it, to claim their inheritence.

The dungeon itself is quite good. It reminds me of the better dungeons from TSR in the early days. There's a mixture of puzzles , monsters (mostly undead & hobgoblins), and traps. Not deadly traps, more like obstacles. Also a few new magic items. On the down side, no role-playing or character interaction w/ NPCs in the dungeon (though presumably the PCs could parley with the Hobgoblins).

There's also a downloadable PDF on their web site that has a small follow up adventure to this. Also pretty good.

All in all, this is an excellent module. One of the best ever? No. But very very good. They also did a good job of making it easy for the DM to run, and provide numerous DCs for various things PCs might do (or know). I'm very very happy with my purchase, and thought it was easily worth the money.

The only real downside is that the backstory might not fit in all campaigns. But it doesn't take much to alter it, and it would fit into most D&D settings that I have (Kalamar, FR, Greyhawk, not sure about the Scarred Lands).

I think it's closest to a 4 1/2, but since I enjoyed it so much, particularly the suggestion for using a hobgoblin to get the magic sword, and since there are web enhancements for it, I'll round up to 5.

 

[Menexenus]

Summary: NeMoren's Vault is an excellent introductory adventure for low level characters and for players and DMs who are new to 3rd edition D&D. After playtesting it with a group of 2nd level characters, I recommend it highly (especially if you are able to find it at a resale shop at a reduced price as I did).

On the surface: This module has a copyright date of 2000, making it one of the first products in the d20 revolution. NeMoren's Vault is a 32 page soft-cover adventure with an additional few pages of extras. It is an introductory adventure designed for a party of 1st-3rd level PCs. The relatively unattractive cover art depicts a cartoonish blue umber hulk surprising a group of adventurers in a subterranean setting. Inserted in the middle of the booklet are 4 pages of extras. Two of these additional pages are taken up by 1" square grid paper. On the back side of the grid paper are 5 color player handouts. And sandwiched in between these pages is one page of cardstock which is printed in color on one side with NPC and monster counters as well as another player handout. Whether they are used or not, these extra pages will need to be removed from the booklet, because if they are left in, they will obscure the main map of the complex which spans two pages. The rest of the interior is exclusively black and white. Of the 32-page adventure, 4 of those pages are appendices used to describe NPCs, monsters, and magic items. Another 4 pages are used for pre-generated PCs. Another page is used for legal text. One of the inside covers provides three helpful tables providing the CR and most basic stats for every encounter in the module. The back inside cover displays an advertisement directing people to Fiery Dragon's website.

<Warning: spoilers follow.>

Adventure Synopsis: The PCs are summoned to the cursed town of Weston after the death of the local reclusive baron. The baron left no heirs and the PCs all have keys to his cursed underground vault. During the exploration of the manor's sublevels, the PCs first encounter the NeMoren family shrine which has several wondrous properties. Then the PCs venture into the family crypt which contains the predictable undead menace. But the real dungeon lies behind an iron door which can only be opened with an item that turns out to be the key to many of the special locations in the dungeon. Inside this expanded complex, the PCs will have an opportunity to interact with a small tribe of hobgoblins, fight some fiendishly aided ghouls, and perhaps encounter the lurking umber hulk. ("An umber hulk against 1st level characters!" Never fear, the umber hulk has been wounded and has lost its confusion ability.)

Innovations: Fiery Dragon's inclusion of color cardstock counters for monsters and NPCs was certainly an innovation at the time of publication. The inclusion of grid paper is also a nice touch for new DMs who don't already own a battle mat. In addition to these aids for the new DM, the adventure includes a reason for getting the PCs together - something which all DMs know can be a difficult narrative chore.

Pros: This module is perfect for fledgling DMs and Players. Players can use pregenerated characters if they wish. The DM has all sorts of aids, like the previously mentioned counters and plot device. The tables inside the front cover of the module are also quite helpful. Aside from extras and plot devices, this module is also proficiently written in terms of game mechanics. The author, James Bell, is careful to include necessary tidbits like Search DCs and hardness ratings for doors. Another good design feature of the module is the inclusion of the umber hulk (a.k.a. "undrathar"). This encounter is left entirely to the DM's discretion. So if the PCs are having an easy time, running roughshod over the whole adventure, the DM has an ace up her sleeve. Or if the PCs barely escape the skeletons and zombies with their lives, the DM can choose to leave out the umber hulk completely. I guess I would call this a way to "reactively scale" the adventure. It is a nice option. Finally, Fiery Dragon offers great support for this module on their website, including downloadable copies of the player handouts as well as a short additional adventure that could be used as a conclusion to NeMoren's Vault.

Cons: My biggest complaint about the adventure is the amount of treasure available. My PCs did not unearth the artifact level sword nor did they find the large cache of riches in the buried tunnels, and they still netted approximately 100,000 GP worth of money and treasure. At 2nd level, this is way too high. Second, despite the overall proficiency with which the module is written, some important statistics are ommitted. For instance, in the final encounter, the PCs find themselves in a room with statues that are able to read and cast spells from scrolls! I would think these statues would be very valuable commodities to some enterprising wizard, but unfortunately no monetary values are given for them. Third, I found the main puzzle encounter to be ridiculously easy to solve. Maybe this puzzle would have been just right for new players or very young players, but my players solved it as soon as I gave them the handout. Fourth, the key to the entire complex is the Orb of Light found near the beginning of the adventure. Designing the entire adventure around one item which the PCs could easily ignore or leave behind seems dangerous to me. My party was wise enough to hold onto the thing and to try using it later on, but a party of new players might not be so wise. Fifth, I had trouble figuring out the timeline for all the actions taken by the BBEG before she died. The notes that she left behind are 3 of the player handouts, but I had trouble squaring the information in them with the background information in the module. I found the information in these notes to be redundant in any case, and so I didn't bother using them. Lastly, although this may be a personal thing, I don't care for Todd Secord's artwork, and his art is used exclusively throughout this product.

Final Thought: This module includes lots of great help for new DMs and players. For newbies, this product deserves a "5" because of the great job it does introducing new players and DMs to third edition. However, I'm assuming that most of the people who visit ENWorld are veteran players. For veterans, the extras included in this adventure - like the battle grid, the counters, and the pregenerated characters - will probably not be quite as valuable. Hence, I'm going to rate this module with respect to the audience who might actually see this review. For veteran players, this module easily earns a "Good" rating but is not quite "Superb".