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Legends & Lair instant adventure for 4-6 characters of levels 4-6.
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The Punishing Passage
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The Punishing Passage
The Punishing Passage is one of Fantasy Flight Games' Legends & Lairs instant adventures. The adventure is designed for 4-6 characters of level 4-6. See the section entitled General Comments for information on the general layout and production value of such adventures.
(Warning: There be spoilers ahead!)
The adventure begins when the characters enter a tavern (yes, a tavern) and stumble upon a couple being accosted by some men in the tabards of the militia. However, overhearing the conversation will reveal that they are, in fact, deserters. Overhearing the conversation reveals that the ruffians want to know more about some passage that the young farmer discovered. The farmers wife, bruised by the brutality of one of militiamen, begs the PCs for help.
This is obviously intended to get the players involved, which unless the players have neither greed nor sympathy, it should. However, the adventure assumes that if the players start something at this interlude, the deserters will be able to get away during an ensuing barroom brawl to return later in the adventure. I consider this unlikely. I know players. They will typically do anything in their power to make sure the ruffians don't get away. By 5th level, they should have the means to do so, especially considering all of the ruffians are 1st level except for the leader, a 4th level ranger. If you really want to use the final encounter, you had best ensure that part of the (or most) of gang is not present.
Once the ruffians are defeated (or less likely, chased off), they may get the story from the farmer Tinneas. Tinneas appeals to the characters to deal with a trapped passage that he unearthed on his farmland that has already killed two of his horses. The referred to passage is a holdfast left behind by a long dead trapsmith.
The passage is, in the most literal sense, a linear site based encounter. Each encounter area in the site lead sequentially to the next. Most of the encounter areas are traps, and dangerous ones at that. A rogue or two with maxed out skills in dealing with traps will be essential for dealing with the traps; the remainder of the party will probably sit by watching while the rogue tries to deal with the traps.
However, one bad roll at the beginning of the area can make the rest of the adventure impossible, as the trap bestows a curse on the target. This can render your rogue totally ineffective.
The final encounter area in the passage contains a summoned creature for the party to deal with. Once they have defeated it, a significant treasure awaits, including the two new magic items, valued at 50,000+ each. This is quite excessive for nominally 5th level characters, whose total wealth is only supposed to be about 9000 each.
Once the adventure is done, the PCs may run into the militia men that they seek to claim whatever the booty the party collected for themselves. This is presented as a GM option, but really it probably depends on whether the characters thrashed them in the first encounter.
There are three new crunchy bits for your game ? two magic items and a creatures. The new magic items are Perivax's Amulet of Poison Perseverance (which grants immunity to poison), and Perivax's Tome of Trapsmithing (grants permanent bonuses to characters creating or dealing with traps.) As mentioned earlier, these treasures are a bit giving for default 5th level characters.
The new creature is an acid elemental. You might also call it "sir not appearing in this adventure", as unless I missed something, it doesn't.
Conclusion
This is a straightforward investigation scenario, that you will probably only want to use if your party has a strong contingent of rogues. I was a little uncomfortable with the premise and could tell you right off that the encounter with the militia rejects is not likely to turn out as advertised. More importantly, the single bestow trap has the real potential to make the outcome of the whole adventure hinge upon a single roll, and the treasure is way too generous.
The adventure is straightforward enough if your party is ready to deal with traps and you do a little tweaking to the traps and treasure. Alternatively, you might want to grab the traps from this adventure and drop them in somewhere else, if you find the premise or situation untenable.
Ratings: Ideas: 3, Ready to Run Material: 3, Value: 3
General Comments: Fantasy Flight's Legends & Lairs Instant Adventures
(standard blurb)
The Legends & Lairs adventures are similar in format to AEG's Adventure Boosters. They are small, cheap adventures for the D20 System, primarily targeted at D&D 3e players. The format is a single booklet, 4.25" x 11" (the size of standard US 8.5x11 paper folded in half lengthwise.) There are 16 interior pages (i.e., four 8.5x11 sheets), staple bound to the cover. Legends & Lairs adventures are a bit pricier than AEG Adventure Boosters, at $3.95 US each.
The covers of the Legends & Lairs adventures are attractive, with a "metal bound book" motif and a handsome illustration, doubtlessly from the Diskwars game. As with AEG Adventure Boosters, the back cover contains a bit of exposition, which is often the introduction to the adventure. The inside front cover has an introductory "how to use this" note and an ad for other Legends & Lairs adventures. The last page contains a blurb about who Fantasy Flight Games is and legalistic stuff. The inside back cover contains a copy of the Open Game License, obligatory for D20 System products.
Internally, the product is arranged similar to the AEG Adventure Boosters. The adventures are set in the world of the Diskwars game but by changing names it can fit the typical D&D campaign. The maps are of much higher quality than AEG's maps, or for that matter, than most D20 System adventures: they are clearly illustrated with a professional look and an easily readable simple key. The adventures also typically include a new creature and a new magic item, but some deviate from this formula.
Contrasted with the Adventure Boosters, it appears that the adventures are generally more flexible and original, in addition to having nicer maps and covers. This may not be a good value, though, if you consider that you are paying nearly $1 US per sheet. Considering that for a few dollars more you could pick up an issue of Dungeon and have many times the material, perhaps Fantasy Flight Games' pricing/quality approach is somewhat ill considered. Overall, they aren't quite the value that AEG's Adventure Boosters are, you should probably spend a little more time seeing how good the adventure within rates before you buy than you would with the AEG Adventure Boosters. However, some of these adventures are very good and worth picking up.
How I Rate D20 System Adventures
(standard blurb)[/b]
As far as I am concerned, canned adventures provide two primary points of value: ideas (adventure premises, interesting challenges, etc.) and ready to run game material (maps, useful and properly done encounter statistics, new creatures and items). The obvious third criteria is overall value for money, which includes page count for a given cost and use of space.
-Alan D. Kohler
The Punishing Passage is one of Fantasy Flight Games' Legends & Lairs instant adventures. The adventure is designed for 4-6 characters of level 4-6. See the section entitled General Comments for information on the general layout and production value of such adventures.
(Warning: There be spoilers ahead!)
The adventure begins when the characters enter a tavern (yes, a tavern) and stumble upon a couple being accosted by some men in the tabards of the militia. However, overhearing the conversation will reveal that they are, in fact, deserters. Overhearing the conversation reveals that the ruffians want to know more about some passage that the young farmer discovered. The farmers wife, bruised by the brutality of one of militiamen, begs the PCs for help.
This is obviously intended to get the players involved, which unless the players have neither greed nor sympathy, it should. However, the adventure assumes that if the players start something at this interlude, the deserters will be able to get away during an ensuing barroom brawl to return later in the adventure. I consider this unlikely. I know players. They will typically do anything in their power to make sure the ruffians don't get away. By 5th level, they should have the means to do so, especially considering all of the ruffians are 1st level except for the leader, a 4th level ranger. If you really want to use the final encounter, you had best ensure that part of the (or most) of gang is not present.
Once the ruffians are defeated (or less likely, chased off), they may get the story from the farmer Tinneas. Tinneas appeals to the characters to deal with a trapped passage that he unearthed on his farmland that has already killed two of his horses. The referred to passage is a holdfast left behind by a long dead trapsmith.
The passage is, in the most literal sense, a linear site based encounter. Each encounter area in the site lead sequentially to the next. Most of the encounter areas are traps, and dangerous ones at that. A rogue or two with maxed out skills in dealing with traps will be essential for dealing with the traps; the remainder of the party will probably sit by watching while the rogue tries to deal with the traps.
However, one bad roll at the beginning of the area can make the rest of the adventure impossible, as the trap bestows a curse on the target. This can render your rogue totally ineffective.
The final encounter area in the passage contains a summoned creature for the party to deal with. Once they have defeated it, a significant treasure awaits, including the two new magic items, valued at 50,000+ each. This is quite excessive for nominally 5th level characters, whose total wealth is only supposed to be about 9000 each.
Once the adventure is done, the PCs may run into the militia men that they seek to claim whatever the booty the party collected for themselves. This is presented as a GM option, but really it probably depends on whether the characters thrashed them in the first encounter.
There are three new crunchy bits for your game ? two magic items and a creatures. The new magic items are Perivax's Amulet of Poison Perseverance (which grants immunity to poison), and Perivax's Tome of Trapsmithing (grants permanent bonuses to characters creating or dealing with traps.) As mentioned earlier, these treasures are a bit giving for default 5th level characters.
The new creature is an acid elemental. You might also call it "sir not appearing in this adventure", as unless I missed something, it doesn't.
Conclusion
This is a straightforward investigation scenario, that you will probably only want to use if your party has a strong contingent of rogues. I was a little uncomfortable with the premise and could tell you right off that the encounter with the militia rejects is not likely to turn out as advertised. More importantly, the single bestow trap has the real potential to make the outcome of the whole adventure hinge upon a single roll, and the treasure is way too generous.
The adventure is straightforward enough if your party is ready to deal with traps and you do a little tweaking to the traps and treasure. Alternatively, you might want to grab the traps from this adventure and drop them in somewhere else, if you find the premise or situation untenable.
Ratings: Ideas: 3, Ready to Run Material: 3, Value: 3
General Comments: Fantasy Flight's Legends & Lairs Instant Adventures
(standard blurb)
The Legends & Lairs adventures are similar in format to AEG's Adventure Boosters. They are small, cheap adventures for the D20 System, primarily targeted at D&D 3e players. The format is a single booklet, 4.25" x 11" (the size of standard US 8.5x11 paper folded in half lengthwise.) There are 16 interior pages (i.e., four 8.5x11 sheets), staple bound to the cover. Legends & Lairs adventures are a bit pricier than AEG Adventure Boosters, at $3.95 US each.
The covers of the Legends & Lairs adventures are attractive, with a "metal bound book" motif and a handsome illustration, doubtlessly from the Diskwars game. As with AEG Adventure Boosters, the back cover contains a bit of exposition, which is often the introduction to the adventure. The inside front cover has an introductory "how to use this" note and an ad for other Legends & Lairs adventures. The last page contains a blurb about who Fantasy Flight Games is and legalistic stuff. The inside back cover contains a copy of the Open Game License, obligatory for D20 System products.
Internally, the product is arranged similar to the AEG Adventure Boosters. The adventures are set in the world of the Diskwars game but by changing names it can fit the typical D&D campaign. The maps are of much higher quality than AEG's maps, or for that matter, than most D20 System adventures: they are clearly illustrated with a professional look and an easily readable simple key. The adventures also typically include a new creature and a new magic item, but some deviate from this formula.
Contrasted with the Adventure Boosters, it appears that the adventures are generally more flexible and original, in addition to having nicer maps and covers. This may not be a good value, though, if you consider that you are paying nearly $1 US per sheet. Considering that for a few dollars more you could pick up an issue of Dungeon and have many times the material, perhaps Fantasy Flight Games' pricing/quality approach is somewhat ill considered. Overall, they aren't quite the value that AEG's Adventure Boosters are, you should probably spend a little more time seeing how good the adventure within rates before you buy than you would with the AEG Adventure Boosters. However, some of these adventures are very good and worth picking up.
How I Rate D20 System Adventures
(standard blurb)[/b]
As far as I am concerned, canned adventures provide two primary points of value: ideas (adventure premises, interesting challenges, etc.) and ready to run game material (maps, useful and properly done encounter statistics, new creatures and items). The obvious third criteria is overall value for money, which includes page count for a given cost and use of space.
-Alan D. Kohler
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