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ShortQuests -- Pocket Sized Adventures! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed for 1-2 game sessions.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheSword" data-source="post: 9868771" data-attributes="member: 6879661">Part One: The Enemy in ShadowsA combination of a short module called the Enemy Within which began the series and later gave it its name, combined with the classic Shadows Over Bogenhafen. They were combined in the Hogsheads 2nd printing of the original and again 25 years later into Enemy in Shadows.For what it’s worth I think Shadows Over Bogenhafen is the best investigative module ever written. It’s the quintessential Warhammer adventure and stands on its own even if you never play the rest of the campaign.[ATTACH=full]430890[/ATTACH]Very Brief Synopsis. On the way to the capital a coach trip interrupts a mutant ambush. A victim of which bears an uncanny resemblance to one of the PCs, and is set to inherit a large estate near Bogenhafen. This begins a train of mistaken identity where the party are caught between cultists who believe the double is avoiding sharing his new found bounty with them and a bounty hunter trying to use the inheritance to expose the cult. Funny, dangerous and mysterious.A barge ride gets them out of the Altdorf and a chase down the rivers and canals of the Empire gives them a taste of riverfolk life. A little foreshadowing for the next book. The party can stop along the way to foil an arson, have another meeting with the Purple Hand Cult and confront the Bounty Hunter if they haven't already.The Schaffenfest being held in Bogenhafen is a great cattle festival, complete with boxing ring, carnival, freak show, gambling, festival court, jousting, cattle fair and more. It’s a fun setting and the legged goblin and the job to track it down into the sewers is the inciting hook for the rest of the adventure. The sewers are well detailed and filthy and the end encounter is both chilling and worrying.The rest of the adventure comprises a grand cover up, featuring murder, the suspicious Purple Brain Fever, a secret society trying to manipulate trade within the Empire. There are avaricious merchant houses, prophecies, demon summoning, flight from the city watch and raid to disrupt a significant ritual that could spell disaster for the Southern Reikland.HighlightsThe activities at the Schaffenfest offer fun for all the family. Such a good set of encounters for anyone new to roleplaying or a new party to find their feet.The key members of the secret society are great. Some arrogant, some anxious, some driven. These give role players a great opportunity to question and dive into character, particularly when they are invited to a fancy private dining club.The City of Bogenhafen is really well detailed and could easily act as a longer term adventure location.Some of the consequences for failing are that a chaos gate can open over Bogenhafen - with the Duchy effectively mobilizing for war against daemonic invaders and destruction.Starting the adventure in the capital shows the greatest city in the Empire from a very ‘low’ status vantage point. Clearly something is deeply wrong but in the final book the PCs return as significant power players in their own rightDownsidesNot many! Arguably the initial introduction is a little linear - it relies on the party travelling to Altdorf then Bogenhafen. After that it opens up. It’s not a problem if your PCs come with good reasons to head that way and the adventure offers several other good and pressing reasons. Once they reach the Bogenhafen the adventure opens up into a beautiful sandbox.Favorite NPCGottri Gurnesson (no relation to Gotrek) a foul smelling and utterly drunken dwarf being tormented by urchins in the festival stocks, attaches himself to the party in the most pathetic way to wheedle himself money for more drinks. He keeps following the party for money and drinks, or ends up back in the stocks but eventually is found later having met a very sticky and tragic end.[ATTACH=full]430898[/ATTACH]Most Memorable Moment.Breaking into the House of Steinhager offices at night to raid their safe, while avoiding guards, dogs and making too much noise. And returning there the next day and trying to pretend they had never been there before.The CompanionProbably the most varied and useful of all the companion books. It contains the following<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Maps of the Berebeli (beer-belly) river barge</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Introduction to the Empire</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Highways and Coaching Inns</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Mounts and Vehicle Rules</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Journey Subsystem</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Road Wardens of the Empire</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Folk You Might Meet on the Road (about 30 detailed NPCs)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Mutants in the Empire</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A guide to the Purple Hand and the Lore of Tzeentch.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A roadside side quest</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Affair of the Hidden Jewel module</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Pandemonium Carnival module.</li> </ul>Basically a lot of good and useful stuff and two decent sized modules. (10 pages each). The travel rules formed the seed for Cubicle 7’s Journeys supplement for 5e and was itself heavily influenced by their Adventures in Middle Earth. The NPC library alone is brilliant and could fit into almost any setting.[ATTACH=full]430891[/ATTACH]SummaryA great mix of linear and sandbox. All the classic Warhammer notes: Daemons, cults, class, greed, mistaken identity and a great murder mystery. With a climax to avoid a chaos calamity. If you don’t read any other Warhammer product. Read this one!</blockquote>

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