If Dungeon Mastering was High School, sending your party into the bowels of hell for a seemingly one way mission is the final exam of Physics class. At least once during every campaign, at some point the PCs should flirt with the afterlife. Consider then, A Trip to Hell: Greenbaum’s Prison, by Lich Haven games, written by Tom Ryan, to be your text book.

Greenbaum’s Prison is a 50 page adventure that takes a group from a devastated farming community, down a well and onto the fringes of hell where they must invade a tower prison of a rogue demon. With most books and hell adventures, trips to the fiery pits usually turns into large hack and slash sessions with groups of demons. What a relief it is that the author took a different route with the adventure, instead introducing a tense political climate among different groups of devils. Sure there is lots of combat, of which the author made sure to include as many creative sets and situations to challenge the pcs, but there are a few really good times where having a diplomacy or bluff skill will save a party’s skin.

However, what is most enjoyable about the adventure is its focus on out of combat encounters. Though the author plays a little too much with the adventure’s own deities, which can easily be replaced with your campaigns, the history is very engaging and understandable. Readers will enjoy that it is not overly advanced as with a lot of adventures, and the simple explanations given to the devil’s imprisonment are kept simple.

For the Dungeon Master Seek and Destroy adventurers are very common, which is why it is so nice to see a seek and rescue adventure produced. The fact that the success of your adventure depends on how many people you rescue is a nice touch.

The Iron Word Greenbaum’s Prison is a pretty unique adventure that combines creative encounters with some good social encounters. The artwork, especially the cover, is great and the author does not get too caught up in his own world.