The Dancing Hut

[HalWhitewyrm]

Peasants and nobles alike are frantic: The Tsar has fallen deathly ill with few viable choices for an heir. If the Tsar dies, his scheming twin sons will engage in a battle for the throne, thrusting Torassia into a civil war. But then a rumor surfaces that the Tsars youngest son, Ivan, still lives.
It is up to the PCs to find the young heir before the Tsars rivals reach him first!
The Dancing Hut is a d20 System adventure suitable for characters of 9th-10th level.

 

[Simon Collins]

This is not a playtest review.
Beware! This review contains spoilers.

The Dancing Hut is a sequel to Monkey God's 'Tsar Rising' adventure, but can be run as a stand-alone adventure. It is influenced by Russian history and folklore, and is suitable for characters of levels 8-9.

The Dancing Hut is a 72-page mono softcover product costing $14.95. The adventure uses Monkey God's standard layout with standard-size font, slightly large margins (with some sidebars overlaying these margins), and little white space. The art is average, with good detail in the sketches but a slight distortion of proportion on many of the characters and creatures. Some of the maps are scaled and with compass direction though others are not. Writing style is fairly good, whilst editing is average, and includes one occasion where the GM's information has been included in the boxed text.

The Tsar has fallen ill. Whilst his twin sons (Alexi and Dmitri) prepare to go to war to gain the throne, there are rumours that his youngest son Ivan, believed to have been murdered, is actually alive. The PCs can work for the Tsar and find his youngest son, or for Alexi against the Tsar and Dmitri. Either way, the PCs must set off through the cold wilderness of Torassia to the castle of an evil djinni, where further clues to the young heir's location can be found. After dealing with a lich in his lair, the PCs move on to eventually find their way to the legendary Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga. After dealing with Baba Yaga and the several challenging tasks the crone sets them, the PCs may eventually track down the young heir. Depending on their actions in the adventure, they are greeted with animosity or friendship by Ivan. Ivan has joined with a group of pagans dedicated to bringing down the influence of the Khrestianin religion in Torassia. The group is led by a powerful werewolf, who the PCs must deal with if they are to return Ivan to the Tsar or Ivan's brother. They are interrupted by Ivan's scheming aunt and her group of paladins, who must be overcome before Ivan whisks the PCs back to the Tsar's palace. Finding the Tsar has just died, Ivan must attempt to hold the throne from his two elder brothers and the PCs must choose their sides in the climactic battle. PCs who choose the winning side may be rewarded with magical items by the old gods.

The Appendix gives stats for a good- and evil-aligned NPC party that can be used to harry the PCs during their quest. There are also stats for some new monsters and magical items, a glossary of terms, and a table showing stats for unique Torassian weaponry and armour.

Conclusion:
The adventure is heavily influenced by an interesting mixture of Russian legends and history, that gives the quest a unique and memorable atmosphere and, apart from some editing gaffs, is well written. There are a number of aspects to the adventure that allow the PCs to influence the outcome of the adventure (notably a detailed section covering the various possible reactions of Ivan dependent on the PCs actions in the adventure), an option to follow the adventure as mercenaries working for Alexi rather than the Tsar, along with various factions aiming to beat the PCs to their target or stop them when they get too near. Unfortunately, this complexity does not seem fully supported throughout the adventure so that the GM is lost at times if, for example, running the PCs through the adventure working for the Tsar's son Alexi. A few deus ex machinas are also used which, whilst adding to the rich legendary flavour and plotline, may irritate some. There is also an issue with the final two scenes, one of which involves the possible betrayal and slaughter of the PCs by a group of lawful good paladins (which is reasonable on a historical but not an alignment basis). The climactic battle itself, which could involve a combat with Alexi and Dmitri's forces, is given an EL15 (for PCs of levels 8-9), could involve up to 14 NPC combatants as well as the PCs, and takes place in an unmapped 60 x 100 foot room.

In all, an interesting and atmospheric quest, with a range of combat, roleplaying, and skill use, which will nevertheless require some work by the GM before running (that could become quite significant if taking the adventure off the main plotline provided or for use in another setting).

 

[Messageboard Golem]

By Bruce Boughner, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack and Co-host of Mortality Radio

*Caution: Contains spoliers!!

Sizing Up the Target
The Dancing Hut a 76-page soft-cover adventure book published by MonkeyGod Enterprises. The author is Michael Tresca. The cover is by Scott Fischer and is a hag superimposed over a druid contemplating a crown towering over a Stonehenge-like circle. The interior art is by Sean Duereden and John Moniz and is available for $14.95

First Blood
Inspired by Russian folklore, The Dancing Hut is a sequel adventure for Tsar Rising for adventurers of 8th to 9th level, but it is not necessary to have that module to play this one. The adventure takes place in the Russia-like land of Torassia. The wilderness of Russian folklore is shown to be the cold and merciless place in those myths. Russian terms are used throughout the text.

Populated by the peasants and the wealthy boyars, this land is presided over by the Tsar, Petrov Nayavovich, known as Peter the Great. A bright visionary, yet volatile and violent man Peter fended off his usurper sister, consolidated his rule with a herd of War Mammoths, he declared a state religion of Khrestianin that was well received in the civilized areas of his domain, but made grave enemies of the druids of the old faith. This new faith was introduced by the mysterious Gregor (an Ostyuth devil in disguise), who insinuated himself into royal favor. Once in favor, he murdered the Tsarista and the youngest son (or so it was thought).

After a long campaign, Peter fell gravely ill, his twin sons, Alexi and Dmitri are beginning to tear the country apart in civil war. Amid the chaos, rumors of Peter’s youngest son, Ivan, having survived, have surfaced. Peter realized that Ivan was the lone hope to save the kingdom. Healers from around the realm have been brought in to cure the Tsar with no success.

That is until a hag, who was unable to cure the Tsar brought news that Ivan still lived. The hag, actually Baba Yaga, had in reality cursed the Tsar hoping his son Ivan, who was schooled in the old religion, would succeed him. It is here, as Peter commissions the search for his son that the adventure begins.

At this point, information for the players is given in a shaded parchment area of text. The characters can be hired by the Tsar or by the two traitorous princes. The adventure then leads into the Torassian wilderness, onto the glacier and the coniferous taiga below it. A land filled with many dire animals.

If hired by the Tsar, the party is given a magic item that leads them to a Djinn named Vikhor, who also seeks Ivan for his own sinister purposes, hoping to find him before his rival, Koshchei the Deathless. A second magic item leads Koshchei on his own quest for the whereabouts of Ivan. Yet a third item, this one leading to Baba Yaga, brings the party to her infamous hut. This rendition makes her a powerful medusa, quite a departure from the traditional hag she has been portrayed as.
To gain Baba Yaga’s knowledge of the Prince’s location, the party must face death to complete two tasks. If successful she gives the party yet another device to lead them to Ivan. Ivan, now a druid of no mean strength is allowed to react in a number of ways. Still this is yet all but one more intrigue.

The next 20 pages are filled with appendixes of NPC’s, new monsters, charts and magic items. The threads for a third module or a homegrown campaign resulting from the events of this adventure are given.

Critical Hits
This is certainly one of the more original modules I’ve seen in a while. The Dancing Hut brings a feeling of Mother Russia to the players. It is an interesting quest with enough political intrigue to baffle an experienced player. The traps and tricks are challenging enough for what they’re needed for but it is the human traps that are even more challenging.

Critical Misses
Most of the encounters are standard fare, the traps are nothing spectacular, yes they are challenging, but they are nothing out of the ordinary. Also I have to take exception with Baba Yaga as a medusa, c’mon guys, she’s an Annis or green hag, not a medusa.

Coup de Grace
This is a good middle of the road adventure, it is easily adaptable for any campaign and can be a good interlude while the campaign catches its breath before moving on.

To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to Fast Tracks at
www.d20zines.com.

 

[Grompi]

Gromp Stomp: Review of The Dancing Hut

Warning: Oi! I be a dwarf and a stereotypical one (that is bad attitude largely from being without female companionship, head like a hammer from banging into cavern walls, hairy like steel wool, and with a pickled liver from all that dwarven ale). This is me first review here, so feel free to whine and complain about how bad it is. I willna listen, but at least ye can feel good knowin' ye've said somethin'. This review be decidedly "low spoiler" and uses the most "proper" English (as if) I can muster, even though it be not how I speak. Me parenthetical comments occasionally appear below.

Obligatory and Obvious Introductory Niceties
Oi, bogatyri and polianitsa, there's an adventure out just for you. Fans of MonkeyGod's Tsar Rising will want this sequel too. (Unfortunately, this latter tale is for characters of the same level.)

The Tsar is dying and his wee, black-hearted, selfish sons will drive the land into civil war if he does. Yet, there is hope, for rumors persist that the Tsar's youngest son, Ivan, still lives. (It touches a dwarf's heart.) The protagonists have to find Ivan, for good or ill, before rival groups do the same. Just how to do this requires courage and a little help from an ancient crone with an iron nose.

The Dancing Hut is an adventure module set in a land based on Slavic folklore, published by MonkeyGod Enterprises, and written by Michael Tresca (also author of Dragon 299's "Campaign Components: Knights" article--woo-hoo!). Crafted to challenge characters of 8th-9th level, the adventure weighs in at 72 pages (counting title and OGL). Along with the adventure, you get unique characters that shape the future of Torassia, several new items, and ten new monsters from folklore and otherwise.

Toe Scrapers (Low Points)
I always start with the bad, so we can end on the high notes.

First and foremost, I noticed the trip to complete the quest takes the PCs on a long journey--about 925 miles. Now, this isn't a problem unless you consider a few things. The PCs must travel on horse and know not where they are headed (being led by special means). Most travel is assumed to be trackless (according to the adventure) so one assumes the party travels everywhere at half speed. Thus travel to all of the locations in the module (without forcing the march, but also without losing any time) takes at least 38 days. Well, the PCs only have 30.

A setting in the story, which contains all flying creatures, for some reason also has stairs. There's some lack of creativity for you. Apparently the owner of the place was expecting walking guests, even though his abode is nearly impossible to reach by such critters. The module specifically states the owner never has any visitors (which is odd, seein' as he's so gregarious and hospitable).

Statistics are incomplete in the module, and there's an occasional mechanics foible. A wizard here wears the equivalent of half plate, but has no arcane spell failure noted in his statistics. Somehow Baba Yaga is better at spellcasting than her class levels and race could possibly allow (such as knowing 5 7th-level spells, when her class allows 2). No EL is given for the encounter if things go terribly wrong, things can go wrong even if the heroes try to do the right thing, and the PCs are almost always assured a fight they cannot handle when this happens. In another place, speak with animals is considered a viable way to converse with an outsider (because it is, after all, a hound, by the Sky Forge).

In a few places, the prose seems to be incomplete or not revised to match a new version of text elsewhere. A paladin named Alyosha is referred to as Alesha in his enemy's description--no spoiler there, because the PCs will probably never know this character's (or his enemy's) name. Baba Yaga's hut has some mysterious and unique undead guardians that come and go in "shifts", yet where they come from and where they go to is not clear. In fact, they're only mentioned in about a paragraph of prose in which where they are in relation to the hut itself is completely missing, it seems. Further, one wonders how Baba Yaga controls such beasties, since she lacks the magical abilities (in game terms, at least) to do so. Perhaps this isn't so important, since fighting Baba Yaga is a bad idea even for high-level heroes.

In this vein, the module is set in the land of Torassia (a mythical pseudo-Russia). Unfortunately, there's not enough information about the land in the module to actually set the story in Torassia. There's not even an area map, which is usual for MonkeyGod. So, my recommendation is to get a topographic map of Russia, and make your own Torassia. (The Black Sea area is at the bottom left of the site's map. That body of water has to be the inspiration for the Sunless Sea in the module, the Black Sea thought to be the dominion of monsters in Russian myth--especially the chudo-yudo.)

The maps the module does have are poorly rendered, using digital tools, and uninspiring, anyway.

Skull Breakers (High Points)
As promised, high notes.

The players (and DM) may not know it, but they get to participate in a story straight out of Slavic folklore (almost literally, at one point, the story of Tsarevich Ivan's mythical clash with Koschei the Deathless). Great mythical personas dot the tale, such as Vikhor, the son of Stribog (the Slavic god of winds), lord of fierce whirlwinds, and Baba Yaga. Further, many seemingly meaningless encounters can provide the characters with later help or hindrances, depending entirely on the choices the heroes make. (Persons playing the "Red Sails" campaign setting presented in Dragon 290 can definitely use this module.)

The story makes sense, has a meaningful plot, and the feel the encounters have is great. There's always room for choice, always room for various outcomes, and plenty of non-violent options. In fact, against some of the potential foes in The Dancing Hut, violence is a poor choice indeed. In this race to solve the problem, there's plenty to do and competition to be had. Not only is this latter point true, but the story is also viable for heroic, mercenary, and villainous PCs, complete with a history-altering final battle that closes the narrative nicely. Great work there.

Some (wee pansies) may find aspects of the adventure too tough. Well, Russian folklore is hard on you, so get used to it. If you screw up, you usually only get that chance, so too bad. I find this kind of high-fantasy, yet-unforgiving air refreshing. Still, it is possible to tone down the danger for the lily-livered.

Tresca has made this adventure very D&D. By that I mean any liberties taken with the subject matter aid the story and make it a diverse and wondrous tale with an old-made-new flavor. Some of the choices are obvious (like Koschei's monster type) while others are utterly unique (like the take on Baba Yaga, which is supposedly supported by some Slavic myths according to a little blurb I saw on d20 Magazine Rack). The author has also excellently taken liberties with the D&D aspects of the game, mostly in the form of altering the alignment of one or more creatures from the standard found in 3E. Good choices all--although you may wonder at Baba Yaga's roll in the story and how that fits with her alignment. Then again, the old crone was like that in myth as well.

The cover (by Scott Fischer) is at once beautiful and a holistic visual metaphor for the module's story. The other art in the module is less thoughtful, but good.

Grompi Say...
The Dancing Hut has something to offer you, but not without some work. It's an epic story with mythological proportions in the sense that it's a grand adventure with real, and possibly dire, consequences and many fantastic elements. If you're familiar with Russian folklore, the adventure will be much easier to run. If your player's aren't familiar with the setting, include some bardic lore rolls or Knowledge checks to allow them to figure things out, or retool the story to fit your own setting and cosmology. Regardless, be sure to craft yourself an area map, such a bad thing to be missing from a "prepared" adventure. The fact of the matter is that this little gem is only $5 more than one of the "Adventure Path" modules from Wizards of the Coast, yet its more than double the size. Even if you've had a bad experience with past MonkeyGod modules, this one may be worth a look--especially if you're a fan of Slavic lore. Me, I'm inspired to look into Russian traditional tales more and see what it can offer my campaign.

Look: C. Nothing great, besides the cover. Some serious low points, like the maps and page borders.
Smell: A. Mmmmm. New book. Smells sweet. Oi, you're probably right--this ain't a proper rating category. Still, it's the truth. If I were a termite instead of a beardie, it'd be dessert time.
Taste: A. The story is solid, epic, and fun, requiring brains and brawn.
Crunch: B. Pretty good. There are mechanics mistakes to look out for however.


Grompi's Grade: B. Better than the other MonkeyGod products to which I've been exposed. Now if they maintain this level of story, get the editing solid, and the graphic elements together, we'd have something to treasure.