Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: Tower of the Necromancer

Tower of the Necromancer

Author: Riley
System: Swords & Wizardry
Party Size: 3-4
Level Range: 1-2

Hidden amongst a copse of trees atop a small cliff lies the tower of Santha of Nikoza, the Conjurer. Recently villagers have reported seeing undead and hearing strange moaning sounds.

What's really going on? The magic-user has captured a blink dog and her two pups, whose pitiful howls echo through the caves (this is the ghostly moaning heard by villagers). The magic-user has been experimenting on the blink dog and his magical research has resulted in the flesh of his sell-sword guards phasing out and becoming transparent, giving them the appearance of skeletons (these are the reported undead). Finally, the experiments have caused his charmed ogre servant to periodically teleport to a random location nearby.

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: The Copper Circle

The Copper Circle

Author: A.M Jackson (bucolian)
System: AD&D
Party Size: ?
Level Range: 1–2

This construct was built by the once-great wizard Thenzur for magic-users to find his spell, which can only discovered through exploration. He was known to carry every coin out of the dungeon; this structure is what he made from all the copper: a giant cylinder 200' wide and 60' high. [It] is actually a levitating vehicle which housed Thenzur’s exploratory study as well as a site full of puzzles. The vehicle “landed” here a while ago, driven by psionic pygmies in search of Thenzur.

The Designer's Notes at the end of the writeup explain that, "[t]his dungeon was created with the simple prompt of: “What kind of shrine would house [a] 1st-level spell that must be discovered through play?” Questing to find new spells is considered part of the essential activity a magic-user must engage in to fill his spell book, and this adventure places that activity front-and-center. Love that.

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: The Moldiwarp's Burrow

Continuing with my series of reviews of submissions for the Adventure Site 2 Contest. Unfortunately, this one violated the contest rules by using a font size smaller than the 10 point limit (this appears to be 6.5 point or so). 

As a fellow contest participant, I scratched and scraped and cut and snipped to fit my 10-point manuscript onto 3 pages, so I cannot afford mercy to a fellow author who didn't accept the same limitations as everyone else. This would probably be a 5–6 page document at 10-point. I will still evaluate the adventure to provide feedback, but I will not be including this submission in my list of potential winners.

The Moldiwarp's Burrow

Author: Woad Warrior
System: AD&D
Party Size: ?
Level Range: 5–6

Located not 10 miles from the borderlands of civilisation and visible from Skepeside, rising ominously above the windswept moors of the wild lands, Gnomish hill has long been a symbolic landmark in the division between wild and civilised land. 10 years ago an adventuring party by the name of the Blue Band laid claim to the hill and built a home for themselves to civilise the wilderness, but were slaughtered to a man by a gnomish army. Now the hill has only its black reputation, even as the wounds left by the Blue Band slowly heal.

The intro identifies this adventure site as "...a combination of dungeon, small settlement and timeline-activated plot. It is not intended to be material suitable for a one-shot, but rather as material to place within a sandbox or campaign." So, not an adventure site? Timeline-activated? Plot? Uh-oh.

"You can, of course, use just the dungeon component of the module, Gnomish Hill." Ok, there we go.

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: Stables of Zothay

Stables of Zothay

Author: Patrick Dolan (aka OwlbearHugger)
System: AD&D
Party Size: ?
Level Range: 4–5

Kritas, the tyrant of Zothay, has a cavalry of 100 men and 100 horses. Horse shows have long been featured at his stables, but he has recently entered the horseracing field with an emaciated black steed named Kate. She has won the last three races.

This adventure is written for use with Gabor Lux's expansion of the City of Zothay setting—as found in the Barbarian Altanis region of Judges Guild's Wilderlands of High Fantasy. Related materials are used with his permission. The writeup even provides a location for this site on the Zothay city map, which is a convenient touch.

So, there's a local lord who's on a winning streak with his new black mare. Why does the party care? 

On the one hand, local bookmakers are losing big and need capable horse-killers to take care of business. So deep is their anger, they want the beast's head as a trophy and offer 10,000 gp to do the deed. To sweeten the deal, the gambling cartel reveals that the lord keeps his fortune in winnings in the stables, there for the taking. On the other hand, the local high priest is convinced that the mare is a tool of corruption planted by foreign powers, and wants its head to divine its origin. He offers the gratitude of the gods and the services of the temple to the party.

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: Pit of the Red Wyrm

Pit of the Red Wyrm

Author: Jakob McFarland
System: Swords & Wizardry
Party Size: 4-6
Level Range: 5

The red dragon Nimgobar has stolen a banks (sic) strongbox and taken it to his lair, a deep hotspring in the rainforested mountains. In the ruined asylum above, insane dragon-worshipping berserkers grow the merciless insanity peppers of Quetzalemalan which begets them greater strength and insanity.

This adventure is written for Swords & Wizardry, an OD&D clone that includes all the supplemental material (if I understand correctly). I have no direct experience playing or running this particular version of D&D, but I found a lot of help online. I plead ignorance for any mistakes I make with rules assumptions, and I'll be happy to make edits if someone has a correction.

As we begin, the party is traveling through wooded mountains to someplace else when, suddenly, they spy a red dragon soar overhead clutching a golden chest in its claws. It descends below the treeline over in that direction.

Now there's a strong start for an adventure! Perfect, even. No messing around with elaborate job offers or village rumors. Rather: Look! There goes a dragon and he's carrying treasure! (chef's kiss, muah!)

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: The Pit of the Muirneag

The Pit of the Muirneag

Author: Stooshie & Stramarsh
System: Labyrinth Lord (Advanced Edition Companion)
Party Size: 4–6
Level Range: 5–8

The Pit of the Muirneag (‘Beautiful Girl’) is in a rugged gorse-filled and lightly wooded area that sees snow for 7-8 months of the year. The pit was a holy shrine dedicated to the earth goddess Muirneag as it was a bountiful source of gems, and the goddess gave her people the Iron Egg. Last winter a calamity befell them and the holy site was attacked. The reports say that white demons emerged from a blizzard and slaughtered all, taking the riches for themselves. Recently however trappers and hunters have went (sic) missing as have some brave traders who use the nearby trail as a shortcut across the hills.

The referee's background provides further information as to what's going on here: The shrine to the earth-goddess was a facade. The site is actually dedicated to Ogremoch, one of the Elemental Princes of Evil (Earth) from the Fiend Folio. The events of last winter were precipitated by an archmage named Sloop, along with a mother-and-son pair of white dragons, who attacked the shrine with the intention of stealing the shrine's relic, an item known as the Iron Egg. When the archmage realized the false shrine was actually an elemental cult, he nabbed the egg and fled, bailing on the white dragons who then took up residence in the sacked ruins (I think). 

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: The Fall of Saddleroddle

Continuing with my series of reviews of submissions for the Adventure Site 2 Contest. Unfortunately, this one violated the contest rules by using nearly a third of the map page for body content so I will not be including it in my final rankings. If it was just the encounter table (a mistake I made last year), then I might have simply deducted a point, but it also includes the adventure intro and a paragraph detailing the dungeon's features. 

Part of the challenge of this contest is showing creative restraint and trimming down to fit the allotted space. I'm terrible at the former, and I struggled mightily to achieve the latter this year, so I'm going to be a little unforgiving here. As with The Mound of Akbarj, however, I will take the time to evaluate it so as to honor the contest's actual purpose: helping each other improve our adventure writing.

The Fall of Saddleroddle

Author: DangerIsReal
System: AD&D
Party Size: ?
Level Range: 4–5

Once upon a time the Devil's Swamp was a place of hills where the Gnomish Federation of Saddleroddle was thriving led by the great Saxif the Cryptic. Legend has it that one night the ground shook so hard that all the hills collapsed into the depths, leaving a field of crevasses and tunnels dotted with the ruins of the city. As time passed, the area became a sinister swamp populated by creatures vomited from the depths of Saddleroddle. But who really knows what lies at the bottom of the sunken rooms?

We're given the map immediately, even before the above introduction. It's a side-view map showing the dungeon's verticality, which may limit its usefulness to many DMs. It's also absolutely packed with 31 keyed areas. Next are details about the dungeon environment: Humid, dark and fetid; a third of doors are stuck; wet stairs are slippery making charges risky; vertical shafts may be climbed using equipment (or by thieves). Wandering encounters occur on 1:6 rolled every 2 turns. That's a lot of checks for a dungeon that will obviously require extensive exploration time, but there are only six encounter types listed meaning the players will be fighting the same monsters over and over unless the DM expands the list.

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: The Calid Cryo-Caves

Continuing with my series of reviews of submissions for the Adventure Site 2 Contest. This one is by a prolific adventure designer with a unique style and voice who offers his material for free, therefore I'm approaching this review with a great deal of respect baked in already.

The adventure's written for the Seven Voyages of Zylarthen (7VoZ) ruleset, which I understand to be a retroclone of OD&D with a sort-of implied Mediterranean/Levantine sword-and-sandals flavor. I have no experience with the system (or OD&D for that matter), other than having read some of Jeff's other adventures, so I plead ignorance if my review gets a rules detail wrong.

The Calid Cryo-Caves

Author: Jeff Simpson
System: Seven Voyages of Zylarthen
Party Size: ?
Level Range: 3–5

A set of twisting tunnels set in the liminal space between glacial frost and subterranean heat hide the treasures of long-dead travellers but also fearsome creatures! Can you survive the sweltering heat, the oppressive cold, and the cramped passages of the Calid Cryo-Caves?

Why is the party even trying to address that question? That's up to you, Mr. DM. They're already here, standing outside a darkened geothermal cave. They enter, stirring up (harmless) bats. The air turns suddenly cold. The striated cave walls brim with fossilized plants and shells. A cryptic message is drawn in the dust. Three cramped passages exit.

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: The Mound of Akbarj

The Mound of Akbarj

Author: Kurt
System: AD&D
Party Size: ?
Level Range: 4–6

This is the second submission from Kurt, his first being The Caves of Despair. I applaud his fecundity, but I'm not keen on allowing two submissions to the same contest. It's not an explicit rule but I seem to recall a gentleman's agreement that it was one submission per contestant. Rule or not, I'm only considering his first submission for ranking purposes. In the spirit of the contest's objectives to promote the craft of good adventure writing, however, I will at least give this work a read-through and present my take on it.

Deep in the tangled forest of Ymi – an ancient burial mound, the tomb of an exalted wizard from ages past. Guarded fanatically by the hooved geese-men that are the Katar. A massive oak is said to grow from the barrow, its blood-infused branches bearing gemstones of exceedingly rare size and brilliance. It is well known in town that the tomb is protected by the birds of Ak, ferocious beasts that are capable of turning a man's flesh into solid stone.

Just from the introduction, its obvious this is going to be a weird adventure site, and I like weird. Barrow mounds are always fun to explore and the gem-laden tree sounds sufficiently intriguing enough to lure treasure-hungry adventurers. Not sure what to expect with "hooved geese-men" at this point in the read-through, but I'm fairly open-minded. Exotic names and strange creatures are right up my alley, so hopes are high. Even if "the birds of Ak" just turn out to be cockatrices, that bit of in-game flavor is great and gets me onboard right away.

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: The Cleft in the Crag

Continuing with my series of reviews for Coldlight Press' Adventure Site Contest. This adventure is written for OD&D, which I confess I don't have much experience with (and none at all in terms of actually running or playing it). I started playing D&D back in 1981 with Holmes Basic, which I understand to be mostly an edit/rewrite of OD&D. I know there are some important assumptions that are different from Basic and AD&D, but that all three systems are comparable from a conceptual point of view.

I did my best to check references against online sources, but if I make any system errors in this review, I plead incompetence and will note them accordingly if someone corrects me.

The Cleft in the Crag

Author: J. Allen/Graveslugg
System: OD&D (3 LBBs plus GH plus custom)
Party Size: ?
Level Range: 4-6

The Temple in the Crag was made long ago by paragons of LAW to seal away an artifact of CHAOS from the world. The Temple and Tomb-Halls are constructed in such a way as to make it nigh impossible for the CHAOS aligned to gain entry. 

The overview explains where the various rules references throughout the manuscript may be found in the OD&D books (very helpful and appreciated!), and gives some suggestions on placing the dungeon and reading the map and key. The designer's notes also describe the tomb and the artifact contained within it as "...purposefully difficult to interact with, likely necessitating multiple trips and employing Sages." This in reference to the builders of the site, who created it with one purpose: Keep everyone out.

The rumors/hooks section contains just two pieces of info: The temple of LAW is a vault for a CHAOS artifact, and lizardmen are kidnapping villagers back to the cleft but no one has the courage to do anything about it. Enter the party.

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: Troll Market

Troll Market

Author: Rob_S
System: AD&D
Party Size: 3–4
Level Range: 1–3

Poppy the Magic-user is frantic; her baby, Par, was taken. She made a deal with Elf Lord Orion for her first born but reneged. Orion oversees the Troll Market, a nexus between distant points across the world. Poppy, barred from entering the market, needs help. The market entrance lies within the roots of an ancient tree. It only appears under an ‘old moon’ which will last another two nights.

The adventure starts with an immediate prompt to launch the party into action. The ancient tree in question is a "towering gold-leafed beech" at the top of the hill. Four gibbets hang from the branches, one of which is occupied by an illusionist who begs for help. Giving him water earns the merciful character a timed-release Change Self spell. (But wouldn't he rather someone release him instead?) Steps of cyclopean stone descend between two roots, down a fairy stair to a pair of "verdigris-covered copper doors shaped like intertwined branches" (lovely).

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: Fog Valley Retreat

Continuing with my series of reviews of submissions for the Adventure Site 2 Contest. This time, I'm reviewing the entry from the founder and host of the contest, Coldlight Press' Ben Gibson, who makes a study of such small, one- or two-session modular adventures he digs up on itch.io.

Disclaimer: I had the pleasure of being part of a playtest group for this adventure, so my review is colored by the fact that I've seen it in action at the hands of its author.

Fog Valley Retreat

Author: Ben Gibson
System: AD&D
Party Size: n/a
Level Range: 6-9

Deep within the valley, where the high keening voices sound in the heavy air and ivy shifts against the wind, an elegant edifice looms out of the fog, cloaked in whispered rumor. They say it is a refuge of all wicked highborn, most recently the villainous one who owes you his head...

This elven sanctuary—a former temple dedicated to the Lady Lelit, the Angel of Refuge—is no lovely Lothlorien, with all its singing and loafing about. This is a cold and desperate haven for any noble or elf fleeing danger, no questions asked. The place is run by the elf high-priest, Hilgal, who pays obeisance to "The Guide," a petty elven god who still watches over the site masquerading as the refuge's matron saint. Many "fallen tyrants, deposed lords, and other cruel refugees" have found shelter within its walls. There is a suggestion that the priest is converting many of these nefarious fugitives to the worship of The Guide. Fog Valley Retreat is the current hideout of a villain named Fingol the Vile.

Why are the characters interested in this site? Why would they go there? These are for the DM to decide when plugging this site into their campaign. There really isn't a whole lot going on here of its own volition...the PCs will be visiting the site to make something happen. Whatever it is you need the players to do there, you'll understand how the place will respond and therein lies the adventure. Rumors and hooks provide you with some options: maybe some unholy stuff is going on up there; maybe there's a rich jewel thief to rob; maybe its a den of chaos that needs to be dealt with (harshly).

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: The Lair of the Lamia

The Lair of the Lamia

Author: J. Blasso-Gieseke
System: OSE
Party Size: 4-6
Level Range: 4-6

In a nearby pine forest, a granite monadnock rises 5,000' in the air: a travelers landmark known as the Watcher that local legends claim is haunted by devils. Large “birds” circle on thermals around the summit, where a mysterious red flash winks. Lately, travelers passing along the road have disappeared. The local merchants guild offers the party 25,000 gp to clear the threat. 

The description of the monadnock serves as the adventure intro. From it, we derive some other key details: The birds at the summit are perytons; there's a strange red flashing at the top; the missing travelers were lured into the woods by leucrotta cries; there's a den of leucrottas at the base of the mountain that leads into the ruins of an old monastery; a lamia lairs in the ruins and she has enthralled the leucrottas to bring her human meat; the merchant's guild is aware of "the threat" and offers a large reward to deal with it. It's unclear how much of any of this information is known by the merchants guild and/or the PCs.

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: The Caverns of Despair

Continuing my reviews of the submissions for the second-annual Adventure Site Contest.

The Caverns of Despair

Author: Kurt
System: AD&D (Oriental Adventures)
Party Size: 6+
Level Range: 4–7

Deep in the swamps, a deadly evil festers within the ancient caves of Feng Hua - a small army of chaotic bandits, led by a gargantuan man, wielder of a legendary black longsword with a fist-sized nacre embedded within its hilt. The sleepy frontier town of Pai Lo, perched on the edge of civilization, lies a mere ten miles from these accursed caves. For months, it has suffered under relentless raids, as have its neighbouring hamlets to the east and west. Crops are burned, livestock slaughtered, and children taken in the dead of night. The town's leaders, weary and desperate, have turned to the only solution left: hiring mercenaries and adventurers to cleanse the caves of the evil that has taken root within.

Awesome...an Oriental Adventure! Or is it?

The intro is all a pretty standard D&D setup. The villagers pay the PCs 12,000 GP in loot plus the hands of the village shaman’s three daughters to take care of the bandits. A list of six rumors is offered, two of which are false. I don't care much for false rumors unless the DM provides the fake info to the players via a source that the players would have reason to doubt. Actually-false rumors tend to produce pointless, session-wasting efforts and create confusion among the players who believe the DM is giving them legit game information. Worse still, one of the "false" rumors in this case is that the bandit chieftain (an ogre mage) is "skilled in the art of shapechanging." One of the ogre mage's chief abilities is polymorphing, so what is false about that rumor? Granted, this discrepancy will be invisible to players, but it's a discrepancy nonetheless.

Despite this, the rumors establish some important adventure points: The bandits are led by a shapeshifter; they are allied with demons; they worship the "god-killer" Ma Yuan (nice inclusion from the Deities & Demigods book); and they have monstrous pets, though the "wolf-monkey" description is likely to draw blank stares from the players. So far, we have many of the elements of a classic (if generic) oriental adventure.

Adventure Site Contest 2 REVIEW: Sausages of the Devil Swine

I was invited to help review and judge the submissions to Coldlight Press's second-annual Adventure Site Contest. Last year's competition resulted in the Adventure Sites I compilation of the top-rated submissions, which included my own adventure. There were 30 (!) submissions to this year's contest, so here is my review of the first adventure on my list (and my first review of someone else's work).

Sausages of the Devil Swine

Author: John Nash
System: BX
Party Size: 4
Level Range: 5

A curse afflicts the good people of Piggton. Insatiable hunger drives them to eat until they are sick and no one knows where the compulsion comes from, nor why some are affected and others not. At night, snuffling and grunting is heard outside. Those who go out to investigate vanish. 

The setup for this adventure site involves a town built on the ruins of an ancient settlement. Lately, many townsfolk have fallen ill with a strange malady that causes them to eat so much that they get sick, but no one knows why. The priests in the temple are completely overwhelmed with the victims. In "unrelated news," the rivalry between the town's two butchers has driven one of them to extremes: He sells sausages at such a low cost that his competition is in danger of going out of business. Worst of all, monsters from the nearby ruins have begun ravaging the town at night. Their depredations are causing the townsfolk and local merchants much angst. Won't someone do something?