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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2009569" data-attributes="member: 9860">Beware! This review contains major spoilers.This is not a playtest review.The Lost City is a mini campaign setting/adventure from RPG Objects for the Darwin's World Twisted Earth campaign setting. It caters for 4-6 PCs from 1st to 11th level.The Lost City weighs in at $5.95 for a 2.54 MB 42-page .pdf file. This is slightly more expensive than competitors equivalents in terms of content volume. Though the front 'cover' makes interesting use of colour and shadow, the sparse internal mono art is poor. Maps, though colourful and clear, lack scale and compass direction, and will use plenty of valuable colour ink (I couldn't find anywhere to turn off maps and images, as I have seen in some other products, for printing purposes). Writing style tends to be somewhat repetitive, verbose and confusing at times - e.g. "Nothing, if anything, bears a resemblance to anything other than complete and utter ruin." Editing seems fairly good.The Lost City promotes itself as a 'campaign adventure'. In essence, what we actually get is an underground city setting, with a description of each area, and some insights into the hostile inhabitants.The Lost City has several factions that hold sway over its different areas. At the entrance are weaker factions; the further the PCs go into the city, the tougher the opposition gets. Much like a horizontal dungeon. Each of the factions is given a recommended level that the PCs should be at, ranging from a faction of apemen near the entrance for 1st-3rd level PCs to mongoliants (giant mutants) suitable for PCs of levels 7-11 on the far side of the city (though there is no EL summary given for the various encounter areas, nor any given with the encounter areas themselves).There is a useful map of the entire city for the GM (there is also an equivalent one for the players though how they would get an overview from the given angle isn't clear). After some interesting plot hooks and some less interesting background history of the original city (the city is actually Bakersfield in California, plunged underground during massive tectonic shifts caused by nuclear weapons), the players are 'treated' to a lengthy railroaded set-up for entrance into the Lost City. The rambling boxed text is a poor follow-on from the excellent adventure hooks and would have been better left for the GM to make up himself. Thankfully, the remainder of the boxed text in the module is more succinct and does not railroad the PCs.The module recommends that the PCs should be encouraged to explore parts of the city before returning to the surface or another secure site to rest and recover, before once again heading further into the city. Some ideas are given for how the different factions might react to PC incursions, or news from previous raids on other factions, but mainly this is left to the GM to devise.The setting itself is home to various factions including a group of slavers, mutated plantmen and cannibalistic human mutants called 'ghouls'. Depending on the adventure hook used will depend on the PCs aims in the city, but the hostility of each of the factions is fairly uniform - no-one wants to give any territory away. This makes internal sense and provides a grim atmosphere, but may get a bit monotonous. The PCs must also face various dangers such as radiation 'traps' and are challenged in their use of various skills. However, there is little advice given on roleplaying, nor does there seem to be much call for it.The remainder of the module is given over to the new creatures introduced in the adventure - albino apemen, mongoliants, and some robots. There are some inconsistencies in the stat blocks which rang a few alarm bells.Conclusion:Similarly to other RPG Objects productions, this campaign/adventure brings some interesting ideas and a good atmosphere to the table. But also like previous products, it doesn't completely deliver the goods. After some nice, open plot hooks we are given a lengthy, railroaded introduction. After an interesting set-up of the different factions, there seems little chance for roleplaying or negotiation. There is certainly not enough advice to aid the GM in making decisions about the reactions of certain factions to the demise or rallying of certain other factions (dependent on the PCs' actions). We are given an open 'plot' in the form of the city itself, but all the inhabitants seem to want to kill the PCs. Finally, I felt very concerned about the level of the protagonists. Despite advice to the contrary, many PCs will attempt to follow the plot hooks through to the bitter end and may refuse to exit the city to rest and recover. Even if they did, there is not enough adventure (effectively only 29 pages is dedicated to the city setting itself) given in this module to raise the PCs from 1st to 7th level, which would be required to deal with some of the EL 11 or more encounters on the far side of the city. There is nothing but the GM and deus ex machina to stop the PCs heading right for the big bad guys, which is what some of the plot hooks implore the PCs to do. Low level PCs are likely to be decimated if they do this.  Another 'good feel, poor execution' accessory from RPG Objects.</blockquote>

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