The Horror Beneath

[bramadan]

Just to make sure this gets to the worst of the worse list, it needs to be said that this is a single worst product in any genre I have ever seen make its way to the publisher. The plotline is less imaginative then anything anyone can come up with after being explained the point of Role Playing games and merits no description here, and the artwork is just unbelieveably bad, reminiscent of the worse kind of super-hero comics.
Entire book smacks of trying to cash in on the initial enthusiasm of Dnd players over all things d20. I hope this company (which also brought us Foundation - another travesty of d20 licence) goes out of business soon.

 

[trancejeremy]

It's not that bad. Is it good? Not really. Pretty average, all in all.

The plot isn't exactly imaginative, pretty cliched in fact, but it's not bad. Same basic plot as say, Carrie or many slasher movies - bad guy with mysterious powers angered over treatment takes revenge on a town.

It's got some useable source material. The artwork does look like a amateur comic book, which isn't necessarily bad, but probably isn't good.

The main villain is a necromancer, a wizard, but his magical abilities are those of a sorcerer...(at least, according to the plotline).

Really, with some revision, better editing/rule checking, and playtesting feedback it would be a lot better. Seems a bit rushed.

 

[KDLadage]

updated on 22-NOV-02

My mother taught me not to say anything if I cannot say anything nice. I have never been one to listen to her much, so here goes... The books production values are average -- decent paper, staple-bound, fairly cheap artwork, and so on. I think that I managed to get better artwork donated to me for the Umbragia project... and I did not have to pay for it.

The writing is, well, to put it bluntly, bad. There is nothing here that a DM worth her/his weight in cow dung couldn't whip together in fifteen minutes. In fact, I would be surprised if a typical DM would write something this poorly. The plot is obvious, the story contrived and the idea cliche at best. Overall, the most use one can get out of this module is to use it as a prime example of what not to do when designing an adventure. Or perhaps it could make good cat-box liner.

Either way, this was the first purchase from a d20 publisher that I have ever returned. The store owner had no trouble refunding my money after he read through the book... actually, he didn't get past page 4. I would say to avoid this (and that I should have). Man. This product really makes me yearn for a '0' rating in this system...

 

[Messageboard Golem]

Despite the predicatable plotline and straightforward play, there was a wealth of hooks here for further adventures. In fact as a springboard for campaign play this proved to be a good starting place.

So while the art and adventure itself were somewhat disappointing, I found it useful to my campaign if only for the hooks within that have lead my players to several further adventures over the past few months

 

[Messageboard Golem]

"The worst d20 module ever..."

When I read that I had to pick up a copy just for the heck of it. I was expecting a really, really bad product. Something to really look at and laugh.

Is it that bad? No, it's not, it's not very good, but is much better than a lot of people seem to think it is. The plot is much like a ton of B movies, contrived and easy to follow. The cover art is Ok, better than some not as good as others. The interior art is above the industry average in places and below in others, but all in all it works out to be OK.

Is this module great? Nope.
Is it the Worst d20 Module ever? Not by a long shot.
Why did I give it a 3? Because it's average.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

"Appalling" is too easy on this dog. There should be a new ranking score category called "Nightshift Games Level of Hurting" that let's us all know that a product has established a new low in D20 standards.

Bad art.

Bad writing.

Incredibly stupid dungeon. Ooohh, pit traps.

Only the Foundation comes close in terms of badness.

The Grump is angry. The Grump wants the schumcks behind this to spend some time reading other D20 products to see how to do things better. It doesn't matter which one they look at, cause they're ALL better than this steaming pile.

 

[Archer]

Don't vote that a module is great just because you thought someone else rated it too low. Are you seriously recommending people buy it? If not, then don't give it a 4.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

Your right.
I have changed my review to a 3, since I think it is average. Painfully average in nearly every way. But average, not a steaming pile of crap.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

For 4-6 characters of 3-5 level. The outside world has lost contact with the village of Scarborough, and your small band of adventurers has been tapped to find out why! Includes information on the village, the mines and the surrounding area.

 

[ASEO]

This Product is total Crap!

The adventure revolves around a mine infested with an "Aliens" type beast. Total rip-off and painfully unimaginative.

Maps suck, NPC stats are incomplete and inconsistant with the rules published in the PHB.

I am ashamed I shelled out the money for this module and caution everybody to avoid it at all costs. I only wish reviews had been available prior to me purchasing this product.

This module has no redeaming features and as such it is probably best if I end this review seeing how in writing it I am only getting madder at inferior quality of this product.