Beware! This review contains major spoilers.
This is not a playtest review.
Price: $9.95
Page Count: 48
Price per page: About 21 cents per page
Designed for Character Level: 1st - 3rd
Format: Softcover
External Artwork: An interesting pastiche of images with a central image of a Byzantine palace beneath a night sky.
Additional Page Use: Both inside pages are blank. The first two pages and the last page contain OGC and OGL information.
Internal Artwork: The black and white images run from appalling to average. Nothing to write home about.
Maps: The maps are basic and generally serviceable, but the main map of the city lacks a scale.
Text Density: Density is average, and there are no great amounts of white space, but the frequent sidebars with large graphic margins decreases the amount of actual text.
Text Style: The text is clear and engaging and, though my knowledge of Byzantine history is minimal, the author seems to know his Byzantine history, using language to create the feel of the period.
The Adventure:
Its April, 1453. The Ottoman Empire is about to crush the last remaining bastion of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine city of Constantinople. The Turkish army has laid siege to it and are about to storm the walls. Within the city are the Emperor and supposedly his new wife. The PCs are charged with the task of rescuing the young empress, as part of a scheming papal legate's bid for power.
After a short introduction, the module launches into Part One: Byzantine Background. Subjects covered include The Turks (far more advanced technologically and culturally than their enemies), Magic (feared and abhorred, all magic-users face death at the hands of the mob, even for raising the dead), Good and Evil (each side is both good and evil depending on perspectives and behaviour rather than alignment), Prisoners of War (who are generally put to death), The Power of Prayer (which can have actual game effects using icons or requesting the intercession of saints), Impalement (a horrific torture method whose main proponent is Vlad the Impaler, an ally of the Turks), Money (still using Roman terms), Food and the Byzantines (the Byzantines had table manners we would recognize today, unlike the rest of mediaeval Europe), Weapons and Equipment (including sections on Greek Fire and the Turks secret weapon, the Great Cannon, plus a sidebar on Arquebuse and Light Cannon), Clothing (men wear their hair long to distinguish themselves from the shaven eunuchs and criminals), and Plague and Pestilence (bubonic plague is still a regular occurence).
Part Two: The Mission, describes the PCs' meeting with the papal legate who plans to sneak the PCs through the Turkish sea blockade, in order to rescue the empress from the clutches of the Turks and certain death. Various options are given for the reality of the empresses presence in the city - everything from false rumour of her presence to kidnapping by a traitorous priest. There is also a sidebar with new rules for gaining Honour and Glory by the PCs actions, since XP means little when faced with likely death within the besieged city.
Part Three: The Voyage, discusses the corrupt captain and sailors aboard the galley that will attempt to break through the blockade and includes options if caught by the Turkish warships blocking the sea route to the city.
Part Four: At Constantinople, begins with details of how to enter the city and a sidebar on random encounters in the four main sub-sections - the city, the palace, the trench raid, and the Turkish camp. The module goes on to describe the house of the PCs first contact in Constantinople - actually a brothel. Various NPCs and the setting of the high-class whorehouse are described. The next sub-section details the Palace of the Emperor, including a rather unpleasant servant who the PCs will have to find a way of dealing with as he presents some awkward roleplaying opportunities due to his huge ego and his empty promises of help. Various advisers, bodyguards, and the Emperor himself are detailed. The PCs are offered a job to kidnap the Emperor and remove him to safety by one of the Emperor's advisers, even though this is against the wishes of the Emperor himself. The next subsections, In The Palace and Secret Exit, detail the geography of the palace and a possible escape route for the PCs if they go through with any of their possible missions or just decide to escape. One of the options given at the beginning of the adventure is that the Empress has been kidnapped by a traitorous priest, and this idea is followed up in the sub-section, The Lair of Phocas. The priest Phocas is actually a demonologist who has a secret room beneath his church. The Empress could be being held here, and there is some advice on tying in this plotline with the kidnap of the Emperor. Phocas may approach the PCs in order to attempt to bribe them to open the gates to the Turks as part of this more complex plotline. Optional missions are also detailed where the PCs are asked to launch a disruptive raid on the Turkish trenches, or foil a Turkish plot to undermine (literally) the city walls. Some details of the Turkish camp are also given in case the PCs try to launch an attack directly against the Sultan leading the Turkish forces, or are captured by the Turks at any time. Finally, there is an overview of the final Turkish assault and destruction of the city, climaxing with the disappearance of Christian clerics into the wall of the Orthodox Hagia Sophia church. Various options for escaping the city or witnessing the climactic miracle are given.
The module ends with some historical notes regarding the authenticity of the setting, locations, NPCs and the climactic miracle.
The High Points: This was a superb adventure with a real historical feel to it. However, the ideas behind the adventure could easily be changed to reflect a more standard fantasy setting. The module implies orcs could replace the Turks, and the level that the adventure is designed for would minimise any over-powerful effects of magic. The restrictions on magic for the PCs could be relaxed slightly with no great loss, though the NPCs would still have to be restricted in high-level magic use. The complex intrigues, doomed setting, and colourful NPCs could also easily convert to a more standard fantasy adventure. The text is engagingly written and there is plenty of advice throughout the adventure for avoiding railroading the PCs.
The Low Points: That said, all the stats and rules in this adventure would have to be rewritten, or seriously amended. The use of the D20 rules is absolutely appalling. New rules introduced such as the Glory/Honour system and the Prayer Effects are weak and unbalanced. Most of the interior artwork is mediocre.
Conclusion: This module needs a fair amount of work to make it useable. However, if you're willing to put in that work (revamping stats, maybe changing names and the magic restrictions to reflect your campaign setting), then the adventure itself is an excellent one, even better if the players are unaware of their Byzantine history. Personally, I am less concerned with the revamping, which I feel I can fairly easily do, than with the excellent plot, setting, and intrigue. Therefore I am giving this a Good rating, but would give a major word of warning to those seeking to spend their money on something immediately usable.