I purchased this scenario and the next in the series because I liked the Epic style settings. The plots are usually interesting and the players given a lot of leeway in how to accomplish their goals. I did not expect it to be table ready so I did not mind developing the various parts that needed to be fleshed out.

This particular scenario was very well designed and presented. It is very much the type of mission my gaming group likes to run. It is challenging and the price for doing things wrong is not always apparent to the PCs. It seamlessly rolls into the next in the series as well.

My only problem with the the scenario is the fact it does not mesh easily with the TNE:1248 source books. It actually takes place in the year 1201. I had trouble coming up with any information on RCES teams and who they worked for. I wasn't going to go buy the old TNE products just to be able to run the scenario either. In the end I made a few minor changes as to who the RCES was and where they came from and it worked quite well.

Overall- Well done! We enjoyed it a great deal. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The plot and background information on the planet is first rate. The PCs can range over a whole host of options that the GM will be able to support with the material provided. My particular gaming group likes to role play first and fight second, this scenario is perfect for them.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: It was confusing that the adventure did not tie into the TNE:1248 source books seamlessly. I would have preferred something in either the sourcebooks or the adventure to help merge the two. In the end I changed a few things and it worked out very well with not very much extra effort.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

First up, a "buyer beware" warning: this is a Traveller: The New Era (TNE) adventure, set in the year 1201. Although this book came out on the heels of the Traveller 1248 sourcebook, it is not one of the promised adventures set in 1248 and beyond.

While hardcore TNE fans would immediately pick up on this, because of the mention of things like Restoration Coalition (RCES) teams in the product description, general Traveller fans, or people new to Traveller with the 1248 sourcebook might be confused. I wanted to set things straight right off the top.

Part of the reason I find myself wishing that ComStar/Avenger would adopt a separate label like "Fourth Imperium" for its 1248+ material, rather than grouping it under "The New Era" rubric is to prevent just this sort of confusion among buyers. I myself -- while tipped by the mention of the RCES -- wasn't entirely certain I was getting a pre-1248 adventure either from the product description alone. At present, it seems ComStar/Avenger continues to refer to both pre- and post-1248 Traveller material as "The New Era", even though they are effectively two different types of campaign setting.

At the very least, I wish ComStar/Avenger would adopt a different color scheme for their 1248+ products from their baseline TNE materials. Currently, TNE products appear to be marked by a yellow color-stripe, while 1248+ materials are apparently marked with (wait for it) -- a yellowish-orange color stripe.

Sigh. It's enough to make you bang your head on the keyboard in frustration ?

But enough of the whining. Is Operation Dominoes 1: Moonshadow a good adventure?

Sure. It has the same strengths (a solid, wide-open plot with many ways for players to go) and the same weaknesses (it's essentially a very large, very clever plot outline -- making this "table-ready" with maps and player handouts will fall to you as the gamemaster) as with every other Dougherty-penned Traveller adventure I've bought.

To give credit where credit is due, however, there is a clear effort made this time toward taking some of the table-ready burden off the gamemaster (a.k.a. the referee, in Traveller parlance). There are a couple of area maps provided; a full-color overview map, in both a referee's version and a player's version; a short overview of planetary military capability; and expanded personality writeups for many of the adventure's major NPCs, including details like the NPCs' favorite catchphrases.

While I will continue to call out author Martin J. Dougherty for writing first-rate intricate and expansive adventure plots -- and then leaving it to me to map out all the necessary details to make those conflicts and combats come alive on the gaming table -- Operation Dominoes 1: Moonshadow at least takes some obvious steps in a gamemaster-friendly direction.

Plot has always been author Dougherty's main strength, and that's true here again. As the adventure title and product description imply, this is very much a mercenary/para-military infiltration sort of adventure, and Dougherty deftly avoids one of the major mistakes most miltary SF game adventures make: Operation Dominoes 1: Moonshadow is not merely a modern-day military op adventure dressed up with some science-fiction scenery, it's a genuine military SF tale.

The famous science-fiction editor and author John W. Campbell Jr. used to say that a true science-fiction story was one where you couldn't take out the SF aspect without having the whole story fall apart. By sending the players to infiltrate a planet ruled by psionics, the science-fictional aspect of the plot is integral to the story. No matter how often the players follow the Ghost Recon/Splinter Cell -style paradigm while covertly gathering intel on this Tech Level 6 (1940-1969 AD) world, the fact that psionics rule said planet will always keep the adventure in the realm of science-fiction.

Is it a worthy buy? Yes, if what I've already described appeals to you and your players. Again, you'll have to fill in a lot of the table-ready details yourself, but there is a ton of textual detail at your disposal, and -- as usual -- author Dougherty's plot is deep and far-ranging.

While this adventure is tailored for Traveller:TNE campaigns set in 1201, gamemasters using other SF game systems could find a wealth of ideas to plunder here. If playing "silly bugger" (as my ex-Canadian Forces pal calls it), doing infiltration and intel gathering on a potentially hostile planet ruled by psionics piques your interest, then it's definitely worth a look.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>:

-- A large and far-ranging plot from author Dougherty, which maintains its SF cred throughout. Perfect for military SF fans who like the idea of infiltrating a planet ruled by potentially-hostile psionics.

-- There is a wealth of written background material here, and a couple of very useful maps.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>:

-- It's not made explicitly clear in the product description that this is an old-style TNE adventure set in 1201. This is not the first of the promised adventures meant to tie in to the recently-released 1248 sourcebook.

-- While effort has been made, this adventure is still more of an elaborate, intricate plot outline than anything else. It's a good story, but making it table-ready will involve a certain amount of prepatory grunt-work by the gamemaster. A lot of support text is provided, but this is still nowhere near a "plug and play" type of scenario. The downside of its large, "go anywhere" story structure is that the character-scale details are often left entirely up to the gamemaster.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>