I think this game module is really at odds with how the Pits & Perils game world is described or implied in the rule books. The language and descriptions seemed gatuitous and much better suited for a game like Lamentations than P&P. I was disappointed.

Old-school now has its own Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and it's called Bloodnut Pass! This is a short adventure to place between adventures, but it could probably be completed in a single session using the Pits & Perils rules. The dungeon is physically laid out to be dangerous and challenging in itself, and the monsters are carefully placed to work with this, making it a tough one for sure!

Let me say this up-front: I know the author from the interwebs (although not in person) and I’m a fan of his maps and his rules-lite game Edge of Space (aff). I might be a bit biased with this review.

Bloodnut Pass

What do you need to know?

Bloodnut Pass is a short old school adventure by Chubby Monster Games/Matt Jackson. It’s written with Pits & Perils in mind but could be used with other games as well. The adventure is creepy and gross and a bit over-the-top. It is aimed at mature readers.

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Content

With a nod to the animated D&D series the main villain is called Vengar and is an evil cleric who was corrupted by a demon (or is this a stab at Mr. Venger Satanis?). Decades later, what’s left of Vengar is a walking head with spider legs. Creepy. The idea behind this adventure is that a clan of monsters called Dark Dwellers has taken residence in Vengar’s caverns. They rob travelers, rape, and torture and eat people. Yes, they are evil, no moral gray areas.

Generally, this short dungeon romp can be easily plugged into an ongoing campaign. The background is generic enough to fit most settings if you’re willing to live with the weird and creepy.

The adventure comes with a small map. The atmosphere of the dungeon is dark, dirty and gross. For example, there is a Meat Locker where the monsters hang the bodies (sometimes alive). I like how this is emphasized by players having to make a save against the foul odor. Be warned that there is also a Breeding Chamber where the leader of the Dwellers mates with the poor female prisoners. The encounters are deadly. Especially the leader has the spell STUN which can prove very dangerous to the party. Vengar can defend himself with nasty insults! Yes, you read that right. His magic affects a PC’s morale which will weaken the character. And he can STUN, too. Hilariously, the last locations are the Shit Pit and the Shit Slide where characters can leave the caverns. They won’t leave this way without a parting gift: they must make a save or contract a disease.

The last section of the book contains the stats for the monsters. The background info is well written. Level, numbers of attack and spells should give you a good orientation on how to convert P&P monsters to a D&D-style game.

Appearance

It’s a 17 pages black & white PDF with single-column-layout. The font style was chosen as a tribute to Pits & Perils and looks like from an old typewriter. While it conveys a certain nostalgic feel it is not that easy to read. Matt Jackson might be best known for his great old school maps (check out his Patreon). Unfortunately, this map isn’t that good as it uses a new style he is testing out. It’s a bit blurry and missing the sharpness and clear lines I’m fond of. The interior art is nice. I like the image of the Dwellers, they are very alien and Vengar suitably looks like a creepy fellow. You can easily print out the PDF as a booklet and the font will be big enough to read comfortably.

Final Thoughts

What do I like? I’m keen on Pits & Perils and it’s good to see a simple adventure which was written for this ruleset. I like the image of the Dark Dwellers, they are appropriately monstrous. I also like the humor and the atmosphere of this adventure, but your mileage may vary.

What I would have liked to see? Just for convenience sake I’d like to have stats for Swords & Wizardry or Labyrinth Lord. Some P&P entries are a bit cryptic without having the core rulebook. And please give me those nice maps you normally do, Mr. Jackson!

Musings I find this adventure difficult to rate. While it is solid work it is not necessarily a must-buy. It’s a small dungeon romp good for a few hours of gaming. The tone won’t appeal to everyone. Especially the Breeding Chamber and the Shit Pit with the remains of those experiments could be upsetting for some players. Furthermore, it’s a bit wacky. But I like it. It’s a decent adventure and a fun read and I would GM it. Bloodnut Pass will come down to personal taste. I’d guess that you’ll either like the premise or you’ll think it is ridiculous.

I am a big fan of the material that Matt Jackson comes up with. Normally he does maps, in fact he is prolific with his maps, but I came to know him through his fully realised game Edge of Space. A little while ago he came up with a map called Bloodnut Pass and I am going to be frank here, it is possibly my least favorite map that Matt had created as he was trialling a new style. Now, the other thing you need to know is that Matt is a huge Old School Renaissance (OSR) buff and through his love of the game Pits and Perils by Old House Rules I came to be pretty fond of the idea too!

Well Matt has taken the Bloodnut Pass map and has turned it into a mini-adventure approved for use with Pits and Perils. The beauty of this little gem, which you can pick up for a dollar at RPGNow is that it really would not be hard to fit it into any system (which is kind of a thing with OSR games). The map is supplemented with some nice art that is also done by Matt and the sordid, disgusting details of the pass are contained within, including a new monster (the Dark Dweller) and a head Cleric.

The adventure is not one that you are going to want to play with your children however. It focuses of dark material. The Dark Dwellers are torturers, rapists and eat the flesh of the local populace like it was an all you can eat buffet. The module suggests you take the descriptions as a GM and gory them up as much as you can. There are such lovely locales in this mini adventure as the Murder Room and the Shit Pit, so do not look here for a beautiful adventure featuring fey and faeries.

It is a short adventure designed to be slipped into an ongoing game that involves travel for the players. Do they take the longer route adding four days to their journey or do they risk Bloodnut Pass, rumored to be one of the most dangerous mountain passes in the area. Of course, being stout adventurers they will have to take the pass, won't they?

The map, by the way, now makes sense. The style of the map mirrors the darkness of the adventure and I am now fully on board with its use. I have to say that the adventure is one that I really like too. I tend to prefer dark, gritty campaigns as opposed to clean beautiful and fantastic settings so this plays to my strengths. I really would suggest that you pick this up, regardless of the system you use, and keep it on hand. Just when the players need to make some quick travel this may be just the little side adventure that will throw them a curve ball and provide a great nights worth of entertainment. Five out of Five severed man bits for this one. Great work Matt!