Wryneck's Wheelhouse Second Rat Games
First off, let's clear the bias load. I am a big fan of HackMaster. I also am a fan of several of the contributors to this project. I have a neutral attitude towards PDFs. And I heard about this months ago on the Kenzer and Company forums and agreed to write a review after buying it to help get the word out. I'm not being compensated in any way, nor was my copy free, but it was important to put my biases up front to do a fair review.
Wryneck’s Wheelhouse: Mobile Home of Doom
Wryneck’s Wheelhouse is a third-party module compatible with HackMaster published by Second Rat Games. The module is another of the for-charity modules that brings together a group of talented gamers to help others. In this case, the charity is a non-profit organization that helps U.S. military troops get the extra training and supplies they need to fight the war on terror. All proceeds from the module go to this charity. Wryneck’s Wheelhouse is a PDF and sells for $7 in electronic form. Presently, it can only be purchased at
www.rpgnow.com though you do have the option of the electronic or bound copy.
Wryneck’s Wheelhouse was created by a number of individuals whom fans of Kenzer and Company, the official producers of HackMaster, will recognize. David Reeder, who has published a number of articles in KODT and Secrets of the Alubelok Coast setting book for Kingdoms of Kalamar and White Doom Mountain, a HackMaster version of the classic AD&D module White Plume Mountain, is the author. The artistic talents of Douglas “Dug” Curtis (Spacehack, Hacklopedias), Kent Clark, Erol Otus (well-known AD&D artist), Brendon and Brian Fraim (they are HackMaster art and did the bulk of KILL), Christophe Shill (Casual Gamers webstrip), Erin Asplund and Pauline Stapels, and Don Dennis. The cartography is by Craig Zipse, who has been producing excellent maps for months in KODT, and also David Reeder and Don Dennis. The team worked together to deliver an excellent product and so I’ll now get into the particulars.
So, what do you get in Wryneck’s Wheelhouse? You get a 66-page PDF with color front and rear covers, that show the Wheelhouse in two different scenes. There are 8 different color illustrations (some illustrations are repeated), 11 different black-and-white illustrations (again, some repeats), and a full color comics page by Christophe Shill. There are 9 new spells, 9 new magic items, and 4 new monsters. The module has full battlesheets (combat information in full), combat summary information for each encounter, and combat EP and treasure yields for each encounter. Text boxes clearly separate flavor text from GM’s background information. There is a list of potential random encounters as well with combat information for each random encounter and basic tactical information on the monster. There is also a map of the Wheelhouse, which has 21 rooms. The adventure is for level 4-6 HackMaster characters, but could easily be used in another system.
The basic plot Wryneck’s Wheelhouse presumes the players find it stuck in a rut in the meadow. Their curiosity should get them into the six-wheeled wagon and start them on a great adventure to find out about this powerful artifact which is much larger on the inside than on the outside, and like Baba Yaga’s Hut, is a famous artifact with much history. If finding it in the meadow doesn’t work, the GM can easily tweak that encounter and have the famous wheelhouse found elsewhere, for Mr. Reeder has produced a number of interesting former owners of Wryneck’s Wheelhouse whose lost artifact the PCs could be searching for. After the one encounter in the meadow (a well-designed encounter which fits well with the backstory if you chose to have the PCs find it in the meadow), the PCs can safely enter the Wheelhouse. After that, the remaining encounters are straightforward. Some are quite deadly for stupid PCs of the levels in question, but overall the adventure is well within the capacities of a party of HackMaster characters for the level 4-6 range.
The backstory and development of the new monsters, magic items, and spells is outstanding. The new monsters bring slightly different challenges to a party, but are similar to existing monsters so GMs should be easily able to use them if they lack the HackMaster rules (or without the appropriate HoB volume). All of the magic items have an interesting history and are of good use to a party, though more martially-minded parties from high-magic campaigns might be bored by them. The spells aid both clerics and arcane casters and are reasonably balanced for their level in a HackMaster game. In addition, while there is one running silly joke theme (ducks), the module is written in a lively style that fits HackMaster and old-school gaming but which is not based on bad puns. Take out the duck jokes or emphasize them less and your humorless gamer friends will be able to enjoy this adventure.
The artwork is one of the best selling points of this module. While David Reeder has spun an entertaining yarn, the artists make it even better. Douglas “Dug” Curtis does a great job on the front cover depicting a party of three adventurers cautiously approaching the oddly-colored wheelhouse. The image of snakes and the odd colors make me not want to enter it! His work on pages 14 and 30 enhances your sense of foreboding in the encounters those pages illustrate. While page 14 is understated in color, page 30 is more garish and more menacing. Page 41 illustrates a duck for one of the spells, and it is a more humorous piece to contrast with his other work. They rolled a d8 for random order, and so I’ll go to first in that, Erol Otus (as Dug did the cover and it made sense to talk about all his work at once). Erol Otus, the creator of classic fantasy art poses during his days at TSR, produces a black-and-white illustration of the wheelhouse that appears on pages 1 and 45. The wheelhouse is still menacing, but not as menacing as on the front cover. Kent Clark depicts the wheelhouse in a more whimsical fashion on the rear cover. This color cover features the wheelhouse in simple black with red interiors and a driver, a wizard at the rear looking out, and two blue-skinned cloven-hooved bipedal beings (they look like ogres) pulling the wagon. The bulk of the art is by the Brothers Fraim, Brendon and Brian Fraim. They contribute a nice-wrap around image of a mural showing their ability to individualize figures that are part of one group on page 16. Page 23 illustrates a new monster, and is an excellent action scene. Page 27 features a magic ring and two cartoonish fighters about to open up a barrel of Whoop-Ass; typical Fraim work and thus nice if you enjoy their style. On page 33, they expand their style with a nice use of perspective on a scene that many an adventurer has experienced. On pages 52 and 53, they humorously illustrate magical items. It’s good to see the Fraims back doing art for HackMaster again! Next in the roll-off is Christophe Shille, who contributed a page from his Casual Gamers webcomic. It’s a funny little offering and the only real ad in this charity piece, so it was worthy of inclusion. Erin Asplund and Pauline Stapels illustrate one of the new monsters and a scene of adventurers in the dungeon using electronic art, which though cartoonish in appearance is nonetheless satisfying. The monster looks like it is both horrific, and if in a good mood and participating in a proper health plan, could be quite cute. Don Dennis did a couple of the simple b&w line art magic items. These really help give an insight into the items. Simply put, while the names of the artists save for Erol Otis aren’t huge names to those who aren’t Kenzer and Company fans, the artists give you great art in this product. Several pieces are well worth the $7 for the whole module!
Though this is a good product, it is by no means perfect. One omission was a scale for the map. While reading the text makes it clear that 1 square is ten feet, it is always preferable to have this information on the map. However, the cartography is clean, clear, and in the old-school style, so this omission is a minor irritant. There are also a few typographical errors in the combat information, most notably on the main villain. In addition, there are a few typos where the author meant one or none and put the other word instead. Finally, one of the new monsters does not appear in the module, despite how it would fit thematically. Now GMs often customize modules, but the setup for this monster would require substantial rearrangement of at least one room. Fortunately, the author is aware of the issue and either an updated download or an additional free download will be made available to rectify this oversight.
Overall, this is a solid product for HackMaster, and rates a 4 out of 5 stars. If you’re budget-minded or a HackMaster compleatist, then pick up this product for you’ll get an evening from the adventure and then get more mileage out of the spells, magic items, and monsters. For 1st and 2nd edition gamers, this is something a little new and so they should consider looking at it. D20 gamers who want to support the troops and need a night of fun adventuring should definitely consider this purchase-for as a third-party HackMaster product that is easily available they can use it for conversions or get an idea of how HackMaster works without having the constraints of official works. There’s no intent to insult d20 players, but the contributors like HackMaster and were able to work out a deal with Kenzer and Company, so it’s a HackMaster module. If you can see past the base system and strip the module to its basics, it should be fine for your d20 game. Again, this is a work for charity and no profit is being made by the creators, so even if you aren’t a HackMaster fan, supporting our troops by buying this product is a good way to feel good about yourself and to learn about HackMaster.
Links to The People Involved in the Project:
Second Rat Games:
www.secondrat.com
Erin Asplund and Pauline Stapels
www.closetgamers.com
Christophe Shill
www.casual-gamers.com,
Erol Otuswww.erolotus.com/,
Brendon and Brian Fraim
http://www.brosfraim.com/,
Douglas “Dug” Curtis
http://www.flyingferret.com/,
