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The Spear of the Lohgin
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<blockquote data-quote="Menexenus" data-source="post: 2011441" data-attributes="member: 8951"><p>Why hasn't someone exposed this stinker here on ENWorld yet? I can't believe that prior to this review The Spear of the Lohgin had an average score of 3.6! Let me be very blunt: this is the worst d20 module I've ever read, bar none! Although I don't enjoy trashing the work of others, I have no qualms giving this product the worst possible rating. (If the worst module you've ever read doesn't deserve a "1", then what does?)</p><p></p><p>Here are some of the reasons that this product deserves a "1":</p><p></p><p>A) Most of the monsters and NPCs were statted out incorrectly. Apparently the author of this module (Jarad Fennell) did not understand the following basic concepts at the time he was writing it: assigning Challenge Ratings (almost every creature/NPC in the module is given an inappropriate Challenge Rating), awarding Experience Points (the author gives flat XP awards for each encounter that are incorrect according to the DMG), and feat progression (many NPCs are missing feats that they ought to have given their levels). Why buy a module that forces you to basically correct every monster and NPC in it?</p><p></p><p>B) Almost half of the text in the entire module is in a gray box. In other words, almost half of all the words written in the module are for the DM to read to the players. As a DM, I appreciate some help describing areas, monsters, and NPCs to a group of players, but I don't expect half of the module to be descriptions! In addition, the font that was used in this module is rather large, and there is a border on every page, so the overall wordcount is not particularly high for a 30 page adventure.</p><p></p><p>C) Some of the creatures/encounters are built in a way that is unfair to the players. Take for example the Delusion Witch who has the following Special Ability: "The Delusion Witch is immune to damage. She is dissipated if forced to view her reflection." Immune to damage? So unless the players read the author's mind and figure out what they are supposed to do to dissipate it, they have no chance. That doesn't seem fair. In addition, it shows yet again that the author of this module have a very tenuous understanding of the D&D rules. Maybe the Delusion Witch is incorporeal, making her hard (but not impossible) to hit. Or maybe she has damage resistance of some kind. But to simply state by fiat that she is "immune to damage" is ridiculous.</p><p></p><p>I could go on with some other nitpicks (like the unrealistic layout of the Lohgin stronghold), but I think I've made my point about the lack of proficiency with which this module was written.</p><p></p><p>I don't feel it is fair to end this review without pointing out a few good aspects. </p><p></p><p>A) The module provides sufficient maps of the encounter areas (although they are low quality black-and-white CC2 maps which are occasionally hard to read).</p><p></p><p>B) The author makes very clear which encounters are crucial to the plot of the story and which are superfluous by means of a "hard point"/"soft point" system.</p><p></p><p>C) Monster stat blocks are usually provided on the same page as the encounter. (If the stat blocks weren't completely flawed, this would be more of an asset.)</p><p></p><p>In conclusion, do not waste your time with this module! In a way, I feel sorry for this module's author, Mr. Fennell. This product was obviously rushed into production to be one of the first d20 products available after the printing of the new 3rd edition rules. Unfortunately, Mr. Fennell was not given enough time to familiarize himself with the basics of those new rules before the company he worked for decided to go to print. (And since there is no editor listed in the credits, apparently there was no one else to help Mr. Fennell avoid mistakes.) I'm sure that Mr. Fennell is capable of better work, and I hope this blunder has not ended his career in the d20 industry.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Menexenus, post: 2011441, member: 8951"] Why hasn't someone exposed this stinker here on ENWorld yet? I can't believe that prior to this review The Spear of the Lohgin had an average score of 3.6! Let me be very blunt: this is the worst d20 module I've ever read, bar none! Although I don't enjoy trashing the work of others, I have no qualms giving this product the worst possible rating. (If the worst module you've ever read doesn't deserve a "1", then what does?) Here are some of the reasons that this product deserves a "1": A) Most of the monsters and NPCs were statted out incorrectly. Apparently the author of this module (Jarad Fennell) did not understand the following basic concepts at the time he was writing it: assigning Challenge Ratings (almost every creature/NPC in the module is given an inappropriate Challenge Rating), awarding Experience Points (the author gives flat XP awards for each encounter that are incorrect according to the DMG), and feat progression (many NPCs are missing feats that they ought to have given their levels). Why buy a module that forces you to basically correct every monster and NPC in it? B) Almost half of the text in the entire module is in a gray box. In other words, almost half of all the words written in the module are for the DM to read to the players. As a DM, I appreciate some help describing areas, monsters, and NPCs to a group of players, but I don't expect half of the module to be descriptions! In addition, the font that was used in this module is rather large, and there is a border on every page, so the overall wordcount is not particularly high for a 30 page adventure. C) Some of the creatures/encounters are built in a way that is unfair to the players. Take for example the Delusion Witch who has the following Special Ability: "The Delusion Witch is immune to damage. She is dissipated if forced to view her reflection." Immune to damage? So unless the players read the author's mind and figure out what they are supposed to do to dissipate it, they have no chance. That doesn't seem fair. In addition, it shows yet again that the author of this module have a very tenuous understanding of the D&D rules. Maybe the Delusion Witch is incorporeal, making her hard (but not impossible) to hit. Or maybe she has damage resistance of some kind. But to simply state by fiat that she is "immune to damage" is ridiculous. I could go on with some other nitpicks (like the unrealistic layout of the Lohgin stronghold), but I think I've made my point about the lack of proficiency with which this module was written. I don't feel it is fair to end this review without pointing out a few good aspects. A) The module provides sufficient maps of the encounter areas (although they are low quality black-and-white CC2 maps which are occasionally hard to read). B) The author makes very clear which encounters are crucial to the plot of the story and which are superfluous by means of a "hard point"/"soft point" system. C) Monster stat blocks are usually provided on the same page as the encounter. (If the stat blocks weren't completely flawed, this would be more of an asset.) In conclusion, do not waste your time with this module! In a way, I feel sorry for this module's author, Mr. Fennell. This product was obviously rushed into production to be one of the first d20 products available after the printing of the new 3rd edition rules. Unfortunately, Mr. Fennell was not given enough time to familiarize himself with the basics of those new rules before the company he worked for decided to go to print. (And since there is no editor listed in the credits, apparently there was no one else to help Mr. Fennell avoid mistakes.) I'm sure that Mr. Fennell is capable of better work, and I hope this blunder has not ended his career in the d20 industry. [/QUOTE]
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