So the party has been captured and commanded to find Lodash the Sage or they’ll never get their money back. Well, they’ll get a little extra too if they manage to find Lodash but that’s only after they get the sage. There are some alternatives to this start but I can already tell I’m off on the wrong foot with the adventure. Thankfully some of the alternatives are a little easier to swallow and the Troll Lords have made efforts to make this module fit several campaign settings from the original Lejendary Adventures setting to the World of Erde.
The party is taken to the foothills where the sage is supposed to reside. Here they’ll contend with creatures similar to standard monsters, ala gargoyles, but slightly modified. Eventually, after several encounters ending with a leprechaun meeting, the party finds the Hut of the Hermit. Here they’ll have another search ahead of them but wind up in some dungeon crawling. The party will have to be quick on their feet, using items that they’ve earned and hunting down new ones to continue the journey.
Once through the maze, things are in a different ballgame. While invisible to the characters, they’ve shrunk size and must now search for Lodash among a different breed of people, the ellyllon. Some of the encounters the party can have at this size, while dangerous, like the catfish and pike, are almost humorous. Seems that because of Lodash’s good deeds and courage, he’s won the heart of the Princess Adetri, which is unacceptable to the Prince Moxtal. The party will have to use diplomacy to move through the Prince’s lies and search out Lodash in the Dome of Yirlane where they’ll have a final reckoning with those who’ve set themselves against the party.
Overall the tone of the module is one of wonderment and fun. There are several scenes where the party can have a heck of a good role-playing experience such as with the leprechauns. The fact that the adventure takes place in so many settings allows the GM to flex his dungeon crafting skills in addition to his role-playing skills. It allows the party to engage in some standard puzzle solving while rummaging through the gnome maze and allows those with social skills to shine in the dome. A good mix of all different scenarios.
Overall however, I found a lot of problems with the Hermit. One thing is breaking the barrier. When I say this, I mean reading aloud text to players that clearly indicates that the wall between the real world and the RPG are gone. Take page 24, “You even see a world like Saturn.” Why not a ringed world? How many campaign settings have a world called Saturn?
The editing is choppy in some spots as is the proofreading. When describing an ape, they mention its “matter gray green hair.” Is that supposed to be matted hair? How about “He has However an PC with” on page 43. What exactly is trying to be said here? Layout suffers almost every page as at the bottom, the flames that border it cut into the text frequently.
There are also a lot of assumptions about what the players do in many areas. Not exactly coming to the forefront of options in 2003 but harking back to the days of save or die. This is worst when it assumes the players are just going to go along with certain things like a complete disarming when Prince Moxtal demands it. If the GM is running a full party of 12th level characters, this module will be real short as Moxtal, one of the head foes of the adventure, is only 12th level himself.
There are at least two separate encounters where the players will die with no hope if they make the wrong decisions. I don’t like things of this nature because it defeats the purpose of role-playing. Think about it, a 12th level character killed with no saving throw, no chance to react, no measure of hope, because he made a bad decision. Poor module design.
In several cases, where there are some clever problems, there are no DC checks. As a matter of fact, the DC checks aren’t used in many cases throughout the book. Its as if none of the innovations that 3rd edition brought about were used here.
Art is fair in most spots. The interior maps are full color. The price, for a module of this size, is slightly less than standard, more so with the maps. Interior covers are not used while the text density is fair. Those worried about the second game system’s space use should relax, as it is minimal at best.
This would make an excellent tournament module and if thinking of it in those terms, due to spelling and editing issues, is worth a 3 star rating. Long-term or standard campaign use is probably right out the door unless the GM is going to heavily modify several areas.
