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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Neuroglyph" data-source="post: 7648280" data-attributes="member: 85633">So there’s a game designer, a fantasy illustrator, and a cartographer… and they open a virtual adventure shop… Sort of sounds like the start of a bad gamers joke, doesn’t it? But it’s actually a reality. Tomorrow on the first of March, a new online “store” is beginning to offer its services to the OGL/3.5 and Pathfinder communities. It’s called Adventure-a-Week.com, and if I give you three guesses as to what they’re selling, the first two don’t count! Behind Adventure-a-Week.com is Todd Gamble, Tim Tyler, and Jonathan Nelson, each of which brings a variety of talents to the table. Todd Gamble is the ENnie Award winning cartographer and illustrator who has worked on maps for Wizards of the Coast products, as well as for board games and model scenery. Tim Tyler is a comic book artist, having worked on such Indy comics as Razor, Faust, Dreadstar, Cuda, Blood Reign, Devil-Jack, Hades, Djustine and is currently writing an online graphic novel, ENGINE. Jonathan Nelson is a 25 year veteran of D&D, as well as the editor-in-chief of NerdTrek.com.    So just what is Adventure-a-Week all about and what does it have to offer the Pathfinder OGL/3.5 community? Adventure-a-Week.com / Crypt of the Sun Lord<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Designers: Todd Gamble and Jonathan Nelson</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Illustrations: Tim Tyler</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Year: 2012</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Media: Online Service + Four Monthly Adventures + Subscription Perks</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Price: $10.00 monthly subscription / $99.00 Annual Subscription </li> </ul><a href="http://adventureaweek.com/" target="_blank">[align=right]http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/rpgblogs/home/neurogly/public_html/rpgblogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Adventureaweek-Free-Trial.jpg[/align]Adventure-a-Week.com</a> is a new adventure subscription service providing weekly adventures for use with Pathfinder, OGL, and 3.5 systems. The adventures can be accessed and run straight from the website or can be downloaded into PDF format. In addition, the designers have created a campaign setting for use with the adventure modules, or they can be used in other settings as well. Subscribers will also have access to the Adventure-a-Week.com forums, as well as to blogs written by the designers. Content from the adventures will also be made available for use with Hero Labs character generators.  There are two levels of subscription service available, but the Annual Subscription offers a discounted rate ($8.25 per month), as well as special features not available to Monthly subscribers:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Every adventure on the site</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Free PDF download option for all adventures</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Adventurer’s Journal (side quests & maps)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Treasure Trove (new magical items)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Audio Soundboard (sound effects for your game)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Printables (high resolution images for download/printing)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dungeon Tiles (professional dungeon tiles for combat)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monsters (new and original monsters complete with full color illustrations)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">AaW Campaign Setting – Maps, History, Culture</li> </ul>There are other features as well for Annual Subscribers – a complete list can be found in the <a href="http://adventureaweek.com/?page_id=939" target="_blank">FAQ</a> on the website.  Overall, the Adventure-a-Week.com idea is fairly ambitious, and getting 4 adventures per month seems like a pretty sweet deal, although there is no telling how good those adventures will be. But the designers have a free 1st Level adventure available for examination called the Crypt of the Sun Lord, and it can be accessed <a href="http://adventureaweek.com/?page_id=49" target="_blank">here</a> on the AaW site.  The First Taste is Free… Crypt of the Sun Lord is a freebie adventure written for Pathfinder rules, although it can be easily modified for use with 3.5 as well. It’s designed for 4-6 first level adventurers, and is a nice solid dungeon delve into an ancient crypt, filled with undead, traps, and crazy goblin treasure hunters. There is also information in the module about the Adventure-a-Week campaign setting, which includes information about the Klavek Kingdom and the neighboring barbaric territory of Vikmordere.  The writing for the module is sharp and descriptive, and there is plenty of opportunities for both role-playing and combat encounters throughout. The module is easy to read through, and is very user friendly, with highlighted text blocks and nifty icons to inform the DM of skill checks, traps, combats, and where read-aloud text is to be used. As you can well imagine, the maps and illustrations are totally top-notch as well, and it’s easy to recognize Todd Gambles’ handiwork in the cartography. In fact, I realized I had used Mr. Gample’s maps in the past, specifically from the old WotC <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/mw/mw20011025a" target="_blank">Map-a-Week archives</a> and from his work on the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Overall, I have to say I was quite impressed with Crypt of the Sun Lord, and if this is any indication of the quality of the adventures, then getting a subscription to AaW seems like a pretty good deal.  But wait, there’s more… But one of the other features being offered by Adventure-a-Week.com is the chance to get published. Dungeon Masters can submit their own adventures to the site, and if chosen, will be put up for sale in the AaW store. But what makes this feature attractive is the fact that an adventure sold at the AaW Online store will have the artwork and cartography done by Todd Gamble and Tim Tyler!  Information about submitting adventures for sale can be found <a href="http://adventureaweek.com/?page_id=5138" target="_blank">here</a> on the site. It should be noted that the split is 60-40, but given the amount of work done by the AaW staff to make the module “come to life” as a professional product, there are many a DM that would likely consider that a very good deal!  Conclusions I really think the creators of Adventure-a-Week.com have really come up with a very good idea for providing the Pathfinder and 3.5 community with some quality adventures, and at a fairly reasonable price as well. Even at the monthly subscription rate, paying $2.50 per module is a darned good price, and the other perks offered, particularly the downoadable content for use in Hero Labs, is really nifty.    Of course, on the downside, there is no way to know if the site will be able to sustain a constant stream of quality adventures for the long term, so it is a bit of a gamble. But considering the quality of their first – and free! – offering, it Adventure-a-Week.com is definitely a service worth considering for Dungeon Masters out there looking for new content to add to their campaigns.  So until next review… I wish you Happy Gaming!</blockquote>

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