Party attempt to escape a death trap in the royal vaults. Classic set-up, atmospheric. Some very good riddles, excellent use of illustrations/handouts: easy for the referee to describe; not too challenging for the players. Well-crafted magic items. More generous with treasure than some DCC funnels. A welcome aspect is dungeon exploration.

Some possible improvements. Opponents could be more varied; somewhat overwritten; I'd recommend Queen Yoros is given a ranged spell for the climactic encounter. Would be better to gather maps at the end: some room descriptions for areas on the page 7 map are on the reverse page.

In play, two party victories by killing the Queen, the former a close run thing.

Recommended.

Quest to track down a person who charmed the Count's daughter at a masquerade ball. Good concept, and a number of possible avenues of exploration gives replay value. However the execution could be better: encounters could be more varied; perhaps there should be a physical clue; more complications would be welcome, such as magical deception. Including a map suggests this could have been written as more of an exploration (via clues and player choices).

Linear solo adventure, tracking down a missing sorcerer. Some interesting ideas but not well executed. The investigator quickly gains possession of a map of Emberfall; that could be made available to the player, who would choose which locations to visit to gain clues. Attacks could be triggered by incautious inquiries and the passage of time, as values are reached on an alert tracker. Allies might be available. The finale is underwhelming, and the whole relies too much on die rolls.

Strong adventure, effective atmosphere of horror, some memorable encounters, and a fine mixture of adventuring activities: interactions in the village; travel; dungeon crawling. More of the treasure might be bulky and difficult to move, or tricky to find.

After a couple of plays, five level 2 OSE characters (including a knight) with one magic weapon, one silver weapon, and a sleep spell seems about right.

Minor erratum: AC5 for the chainmail clad hunt-leader.

Highly recommended.

Solo adventure which is a connected sequence of quests, some of which you may choose to skip (aside from the climax). A good feature is that you do not necessarily benefit from these missions, and there is an opportunity for a "Faustian pact". Follows the usual vampire tropes, and might be summarised as "Vampire Hunter Mina" if you gave that character some of Van Helsing's skills.

Stylishly done, a number of exciting combats to fight, with some encounters best handled by talking. Links seem accurate.

In assessing this adventure, it should be noted adaptations of Dracula are legion, with a couple of excellent solo offerings already available. Vault of the Vampire (Fighting Fantasy, Carl Sargent writing as Keith Martin) is well crafted, and includes puzzles; locating and destroying coffins is important, encouraging exploration. Vampire Hunter Belladonna (The Fantasy Trip and OSE versions) is a hexcrawl, with freedom of movement and action. Classical tropes are used, but sometimes with an interesting twist. There is an intriguing overall plot, which is revealed in satisfying snippets by a variety of devices. Lair of the Vampire doesn't add much that is original, but is a strong substantial free offering. There are a number of challenging foes, and even with the right items and a judicious choice of when to fight, it may prove difficult to triumph. In five plays two victories achieved, with one failure in a desperately close climactic struggle with the vampire.

Highly recommended.

Quest for a stolen relic which opens out into a sandbox pointcrawl. Achieving certain goals opens up other possibilities. A nice touch that recovery of the strand of a saint's hair is not the true climax.

Links seem accurate. Good variety. Fun in play.

Highly recommended.

A good attempt at an intrigue and social adventure where correct etiquette, bluffing and charm are at least as important as combat skills. Would benefit from more examples of possible strategies and guidance for determining their success, especially in the Hotel Imperial phase. The six possible complications for the ball are the sort of material that supports the referee, although even here sample economics-related questions would have been helpful. An excellent feature is a comprehensive set of illustrations of NPCs, exactly what is required to make a social gathering easier to run.

Could be adapted to other rulesets with a skills system.

Fun in two plays. Recommended.

Elite female agents masquerade as ingenues seeking partners whilst attempting to locate and destroy a Blood Shrine. More of an outline then a fully realised adventure; however the central idea is a good one. The text might suggest possible locations for the mirrors which need to be uncovered; perhaps some activities/investigations could take place in the grounds. Adaptable to other systems, especially if dancing, gambling and charm skills feature.

Short solo, 53 entries (not including the author's afterword). Can be resolved very quickly.

The author asked for feedback.

Good points: (i) links seem accurate; (ii) variations in play are possible, giving replay value; (iii) decent attempt to build atmosphere, foreshadowing the climactic encounter; (iv) sensible decision to start small.

Possible improvements: (i) some lengthy entries, at times overwritten; (ii) a number of paragraphs have neither choices nor significant elements like combat; (iii) little opportunity for exploration; (iv) the detail of what mysterious liquid the vial in 012 contains is not resolved. Failure results could be significantly shortened e.g. 002 Eaten.

As a first effort, worth four stars.

Some spoilers. Last part of the Rescue trilogy, an assault on the complex where Prince Ruthic is being held. As "Tenebrous" suggests, shadow magic is weaving its spell, and deception, mental anguish, as well as tough combatants, await the heroes. Reality is shifting, and the six lower level rooms are dealt with in random order. Extreme danger lurks if you linger in one chamber (see front cover) for too long; there are splendid troves of magic heroes will need later. The final tower has three sections, each with a task (free the Prince, discover a concealed exit, align stones and escape) whilst battling formidable foes, and a time constraint as poisonous fumes spread and the party suffocates if they have not completed the missions. Play is likely to be exciting: resources must be juggled and the Prince protected. In the event of a mission failing, there is an extra scenario, Dream Shackles, giving a chance of another go.

In play, the powerful first group had done well in the two previous parts of the trilogy, accumulating a good stock of useful items, and extra companions: Yarra, Crames, and Sir Hector (a Lorenthian knight). The Mind Bender seems the most challenging room on level one, with Crames poisoned by a giant spider, but otherwise the heroes did well. (They slew the serpent.) Efficient progress in the tower, coupled with good numbers and boosts from herbs and potions, enabled them to take a shot at the Shadow Lord; he rolled poorly, and was destroyed; an outrageously lucky throw discovered the exit quickly. Keeping Arisien alive paid off handsomely in the final chamber as his skill was central to activating the portal. Only seven levels of smoke accumulated; a success so comprehensive it rivalled "Where Eagles Dare". A second group had fewer members and assets, and lost a companion to a shadow controlled Ranger in the Mind Bender room. Otherwise there was good progress in the lower chambers. They were able to free the Prince, which set the scene for a battle royale with the Shadow Lord. The tenebrous one took damage, but slew two of the group as they struggled to locate the exit. A timely appearance by Saint Emilia gave the heroes some breathing space, and a depleted group took the crown and limped to the transportation room. Once again having Arisien (called Ludwig in this group) still in play was important, and a rearguard action was fought. Fleeing was the only option when the Terror Wing arrived; one stone was not fully aligned, and the Prince, rolling poorly, suffered a permanent injury (crushed left arm). Ten levels of smoke and a near thing, but another triumph.

Very few errors. Some suggested changes: p17 Event Deck, Black Queen. "Shadow Knight" not "Death Knight"; p39 Top. Should read "The Shadow Walkers Event Table" not "Reading Room"; p52 Challenge level should refer to "skeletal knight", not "armoured skeleton". Delete +1XP armoured skeleton from Outcomes and Experience table on p53, add +2XP per skeletal knight destroyed.

Highly recommended. A satisfying conclusion to the first phase of a Shadow Deep campaign.

Good premise for a one to one adventure; execution could be more concise. Map seems to be linear with branches, and you can avoid the branches.

Straightforward monster hunt, stylishly written. Good foreshadowing of the ultimate foe, building anticipation. Variations in play are possible; if you collect a couple of vital items, it is easier to succeed. Exploration is generally rewarded; foolish and craven actions are penalised. A number of memorable combats, with a particularly satisfying final encounter. There are occasional physical obstacles, or foes you can bargain with/fast talk.

In play, some lucky rolls at the right time enabled three of the four (varied) characters to succeed, the fourth narrowly losing the climactic battle. Links seem accurate.

Highly recommended.

Consists of four smaller adventures. The first, Wheel of Time, is the weakest: there are some railroady elements; a notorious typo of "goats" when "giants" is meant; however there are some exciting set piece combats. Locksmith is something of a battle of wits, with a potentially nasty ambush by competitors at the end; if the PCs have played well, they might be doing the ambushing. The Evils of Symbolism is a raid for an item, which gets much more difficult if you allow the enemy to raise the alarm; stealth (and swiftly dispatching sentries) is key. Divine Wine is a quest adventure with an excellent revenant encounter. In the last three adventures especially, the odds can be tipped in the party's favour with skilful play.

For some reason p. 31-32 of C3 Lost Island of Castanamir have been included in the pdf, although I don't think any material is missing.

Not in the same league as C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, but better than most in the C series. On the basis of the quality of the last three adventures, highly recommended.

Good attempt at an investigative adventure. The mystery is not so complicated that it is too difficult to unravel by deductive reasoning; however what has taken place is sufficiently involved that there is still skill in posing the correct question, even for those aided by divination.

A good edit would improve the product: some information is repeated, some witness statements are very lengthy (and could have been reduced to bullet points). There is also the question of why nobody has ever come looking for any previous missing clients, and why no one has noticed a pile of bodies floating about at a particular location.

These three lone investigator scenarios make a good contrast with the adventures in (the core) Regency Cthulhu. Some spoilers follow.

Loom and Lucidity. A chance for some comedy and farce as guests begin to express radical opinions (cf Ripping Yarns' Roger of the Raj) before matters take a dangerous turn. (I would have behaviour tend to bawdy, then to brutal.) The investigator needs to destroy the loom to avert disaster. In contrast to the other two adventures, there is a potential love interest, which is highly appropriate for the Austen part.

Curate and Curability. Gothic horror scenario, well clued, but lacks a clever trick by which the character can escape, e.g. some object in the church such as holy water, or a concealed mirror to show a creature its own reflection, that tips the odds. Tending to railroady, and player survival is dependent on a series of good rolls: would prefer more emphasis on player choice at the climax.

Note and Notoriety. A ball climaxes with an attempted transportation, which the player must thwart. A good point is flexibility in finding necessary clues. There are too many rolls when attempting the counterspell for my liking, this could be streamlined. Might work better with a group.

Good attempts at a different sort of scenario. More might be made of the Brighton season, adding some additional social encounters. (There is useful information in an Appendix).

Recommended.