The Speaker in Dreams

[Cyric]

Hi.

I know, it's bin a while since this product hit the shelves but I haven't got the time to read through it until now.

My first impression was quite good. The story seemed interesting, there is a city to use for later adventures or as a campaign base, a good way to introduce prionics in your campaign, etc.
The art, the text and the stats are ok.
What ist missing? A lot!
The city is there. The map is... okay. But the different quarters are not properly described, the history is missing and there is no overview about nps, shops, guilds and so on.
The plot looks nice but stammers from the beginning.
*Why a were rats running rampart in the city? There seems to be no other purpose but to get the pcs into the adventure. Why were rats at all?
*Why does the evil protagonist try to assassinate the pc's after the city celebrates them? Just wait a little while and go on with the plot after the pc's left the city. Why endanger the whole plan for a little retribution?
* Why are all encounters so easily solved untilthe pc's get to the last part of the adventure? The CR rating is rising dramatically to the end while the first part is much too simple.
*Why does the baron only appear to the end of the adventure. Using him in the beginning or some servant of him who is trying to inform the players about strange occurances in the castle could get the character deeper into some roleplaying.
*The foreword clearly states that the power of the pc's would easily be enough to whipe the whole city clean from guards (an the stats show this). So what's hindering all those evil guys to do this instead of waiting until some real adversaries show up?

I think with alot of work you can get something out of this adventure. But with a lot of work I can write my own and don't have to spend my bucks for Wizard products.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

By Steve Creech, Exec. Chairman, d20 Magazine Rack

This review examines The Speaker in Dreams by James Wyatt and published by Wizards of the Coast. This is the third module to be released and is designed for 5th level characters. This is actually a two part adventure placed in a small urban setting. The overall plot is somewhat intricate and does not come across well in execution primarily due to the many different "bad guys" involved and the connection between them. Part One pits the heroes against a confusing array of wererats, grimlocks, mad sorcerers, gibbering mouthers and two new monsters whose only real link between them is the master villain of the story. Part Two is a better crafted story and more satisfying too. Here the players must contend with demons who now enforce the city laws in addition to the final confrontation with the master villain.

Overall, I found this module disappointing. The first part is filled with all manner of skill checks and opposing skill checks to the point where it seems that nothing else gets done. Another potential problem has to do with the available options with nearly ever encounter in Part One. It seems that Mr. Wyatt went out of his way to cover every possible decision a group of players may make in a situation and account for it rather than choosing the most likely course of action and letting the DM deal with anything else on his own. While Part One has a very cluttered feel to it, Part Two comes across as more refined and finished. Too bad the entire module wasn't written and assembled equally as well.

To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to The Critic's Corner at www.d20zines.com.

 

[Felon]

It seems that Mr. Wyatt went out of his way to cover every possible decision a group of players may make in a situation and account for it rather than choosing the most likely course of action and letting the DM deal with anything else on his own.

I disagree. When only one possible venue is covered by the module, players wind up getting railroaded into pursuing that one course of action. There should be provisions for multiple contingencies.

In most situations, it's unlikely that there is a "most likely course of action". Some players will choose to investigate. Some will go looking for action. Some will go to the nearest authorities in search of help. Some will abandon the adventure altogether as soon as things start to look unprofitable.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

I feel the top review is dead on. I ran this module and quit often I saw my players with confused looks on their faces. Part way through I found that I had to modify the adventure just to have it make sense as to why all these dramatically different creatures are working together in this small town. I feel that the writer just tried to do to many things at once. But, with some mild changes to the overall story this is still a module worth running.