|
This adventure was a blast to run. It's slightly more roleplay than most adventures. I've also the (mis)fortune of running and playing it multiple times, and each time has been slightly different.
Ultimately, the PCs have the choice of what order to explore the place, which is good for PCs but may confuse novice DMs on what to do. The burgomaster's house can be skipped, but it's also a blast if there are any non-lawful members of the party and want to do good. This one also ties in with DDAL4-02 The Beast, but it is not necessary to run or play that adventure before playing this one.
As with all of the season 4 adventures, this one has the slight disadvantage of being trapped in Barovia if a player plays this scenario. Also, this adventure might be hard for anybody who prefers linear adventures. For everybody else, this is a fun advture to run.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Beast was a good adventure to run, and fun for the players. It is scheduled to only be two hours long, and unlike some "two hour" adventures, this one can be fit in a two hour session, with advice on how to expand it timewise by roleplaying the creepiness in the forest. I really like the potential to weaken the final encounter by using possible lore from the beginning of the adventure (even if my PCs did not do that). I also like the replayability by having semi-random encounters in the forest. The ending is sad no matter what the players do, but with an adventure in Barovia that is to be expected.
If there is any problem with this scenario, it is the fact that this adventure effectively traps the character in Barovia until they can escape. So if you have a character you want to play in other adventures, make sure you have enough downtime to exit the Mists.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Durlag's Tomb is a good scenario for characters levels 11 to 15. It is the second part of a two-part series (the first part being Durlag's Tower), but can also be played as a stand-alone adventure if needed.
The introduction for the adventure is a nice change of pace from the dungeon crawl portion of the scenario. I found that SEER and Tsing are wonderful to roleplay. The problem is that if you played the first part and the party chose to continue on rather than report back, this part might cause a bit of a continuity issue. Skipping this part, on the other hand, might cause them to miss an important clue for one of the dungeon's puzzles.
Most of this dungeon is puzzle- and trap-laden, although there are also clues to some of the traps hidden on some of the floors. Of course, there are also monsters to fight. One of the encounters almost took out the entire party when I ran it; which was dangerous because of more of the monsters appear if they delay (for instance, if the group rests near it after a hard fight, only for more to appear).
The final encounter isn't too hard but still poses enough of a challenge to be fun. Also, the treasure in this scenario is worth it, particularly to warrior-type characters. The overall story of this is great, especially if combined with Durlag's Tower.
All in all, one of the better of the level 11-15 scenarios out there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Durlag's Tower is a fairly good scenario, both for the Adventurer's League and for any other party with characters levels 11 to 15. It is the first part of a two-part series (the other part being Durlag's Tomb), but can also be played as a stand-alone adventure.
The introduction for the adventure is nice, if only because it is possibly the only portion of the adventure where you interact with people not trying to kill the party. I found that SEER and Tsing are wonderful to roleplay. Other parties might want to just get to the point and get out there to do the quest she gives; but by the same idea, SEER would probably not want to hang around "uncivil couths", so sending them on their way immediately isn't out of the question.
Then is the area around the tower that the scenario shares it name with. Contrary to what some people might think when they hear the name of the scenario, this portion takes up a good portion of the party's time. Granted, they could force their way into the tower (and if a party is willing to go through everything required to simply break through, I see no reason not to let them), but if they do so, they miss out on so much of the adventure (and rewards). I kind of felt sorry for the "crazy druid", since there was a reason she was crazed and I could see parties skipping over why and just slaughtering her.
The tower portion, likewise, is fairly shorter than the name of the scenario leads on. After exploring a bit (and by "a bit", I mean a single room), they encounter a puzzle followed by a boss monster. After that... the scenario is over, to be followed by "Durlag's Tomb". It might be good to have this on hand if you have the time and think the group might enter the rest of it; otherwise, they might be a tad disappointed in not being able to proceed on.
In short, this is a good scenario to run, especially if you are planning on going into the follow-up scenario. The group might be disappointed and feel they were misled by the name, but this is still a strong adventure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is an extremely good adventure; possibly one of the best of the "multiple 1-hour adventures" that the D&D Adventurers League has published. You meet a variety of monsters along the way (including a brief cameo of an older D&D setting in one of the adventures, which I won't spoil despite it not explicity saying that it was from that setting), which is very good for players who dislike fighting the same enemy over and over again. The adventures seem to have something for every class and type, even if they aren't in the same scenario.
The only problem I find with these inter-connecting adventures is that fitting some of these into a one-hour session is really hard (if not downright impossible). Of these, the first one is probably the only one that could be crammed into 60 minutes, and then there is the chance that it could be really rushed. The rest of them you will need at least 90 minutes to two hours to complete (even more if you decide to add roleplaying possibilities).
|
|
|
|
|
|
This adventure is more or less a dungeon crawl, with little opportunity for roleplaying. That said, this is an extremely well-made dungeon crawl, one that your players will likely love to play in a four-hour session. Better still, it comes with print-out item certificates for the magical item included in the adventure, so if you are running this as a D&D Adventurer's League Game, you can hand out a cert to the person who collects the item.
The plot isn't too special: evil person kidnaps innocent person and drags her away; heroes chase evil person to the lair. However, once they get into the dungeon, the fun begins. Traps are set off, monsters are fought and slain, and eventually they get to the final person and defeat them, saving the innocent person. However, what I like is that the PCs are under a time constraint in order to save the person alive. If your heroes take a short rest after every other battle, they will be too late to save the person, and a dark evil is unleashed and they have to fight it. (Fortunately, when I ran this, the PCs were able to save the person before the rite was completed; I did not want them to fight the creature that would have appeared.)
If I have any problem with this adventure, it's that one the doors can not be opened through any means. This door leads to the next scenario. The only problem is that this scenario was build for level 1-4 PCs, and the rest of the scenarios in this series are for level 5-10 characters, meaning that you will likely not be able to play the rest of the scenarios immediately. (Also, one of the PCs thought that the encounter with the bugbear was far too corny.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
This book gives you information on the early conflicts and state of the Inner Sphere during the early Dark Age era of BattleTech (3131-3135), including notable personalities of splinter groups during that period and a history and timeline of events between 3132 and 3134, as well as two new 'Mechs and a new vehicle. All of this information included in the book is done well for the size of the book.
However, I did find one key problem with the portion regarding making characters in A Time of War. All of the affiliations require Era Report 3145 to create a character (unless your character somehow happens to be from the Deep Periphery or Homeworld Clans). Having purchased this book for that specific reason (and not owning Era Report 3145 or Field Manual 3085), I am very disappointed in that part of the book. The rest of the information about actually role-playing during this era (once you have a character) is done fairly well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I was worried when I purchased this that another of the games Two Hour Wargames published (Rally Round the King) had made this Warrior Heroes outdated. Fortunately, that is not true.
The "character generation" in this is simple. Basically, after deciding what to play (and just about all fantasy choices are allowed to be played; my character for one campaign was a succubus and a human wizard the next campaign), you just assign a Rep, alignment, and equipment and that's it.
The campaigns are fun. This game is almost two games in one. The first option is typical adventuring. Looking on the map in the beginning of the book, you move around to different nations, possibly recruiting hirelings. Quests are offered, but it can be just as fun going into "enemy" territory and causing havoc. The second option is joining the army of a nation (it doesn't even have to be your home nation in some cases). You complete missions for the army. This route seems to be a precursor for Rally Round the King, with Warrior Heroes as a soldier/sergeant/lieutenant in small to medium military skirmishes and Rally Round the King as the character as a commander or ruler.
This game can be played solo, which is what I played it. The mechanics for how the opposing forces acts/reacts works well. Also, there is no need for you to run out and buy miniatures. As long as you have a fair supply of miniatures, you should be okay. I did have to improvise when the charts generated more mounted figures than I had, but it works out okay.
All in all, this is a good "tactical RPG" that can be played in an afternoon but is still simple so you don't spend all of that afternoon looking up how to resolve something.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This game is a great alternative to D&D if you are tired of the current (4th) edition of D&D but also feel that 3.5/Pathfinder characters are still a bit too powerful or complicated. The rules are simplistic, but still allow for flexibility.
The rules seem to be a fusion of 1st and 3rd editions. Like 1st edition, you roll 3d6 for your six attributes, each class has a separate experience point table for reaching the next experience level, and has more than three saving throws. Like 3rd edition, there is no minimum attribute requirement for classes, it uses a Base to-hit rather than the confusing THAC0, uses a target number for each skill/attribute roll, has 0-level spells for spellcasters, and has death at -10 hit points.
Saving throws and attribute checks are rolled into one mechanic. Each attribute has a saving throw/check target number, which is either 12 or 18 depending on whether it is a prime attribute or secondary attribute. Each character has two (or three, if the character is human) primary attributes; one of which is determined by the character's class, and the other(s) chosen by the player.
There are optional parts to the game, most being the more controversial parts like receiving experience points for gold earned, multi-classing, or (my favorite) the choice to use miniatures or not.
All in all, this is a welcome change from other D&D clones on the market. It may not be for everybody, but a good number of gamers should be able to enjoy this game.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The comic is drawn in a manga-like format. However, the art in this comic could have been drawn a little better for the price. The story is good; not horrible, but not that great. It might be worth checking out if you have the money to spare and like love stories and stories of immortal heroes trying to free their love from eternal damnation; otherwise, go ahead and purchase something else.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is a pretty good addition to the BESM game. It's a good fantasy mini-campaign, and actually gives some racial templates that I think should have been included in Fantasy Bestiary (particularly the nekojin, interdimensional exiled school girl/boy, and various half-breeds), as well as some that were repeated. It also gives general pointers on how to run the game (and how to keep the game in balance). I also love the drawings in the book. The main problem I have with this book is that while it reccomends to start the characters at 25 points (which may cause some players to complain), it also isn't enough points to purchase both racial and occupational templates for some characters; those who want to play elf mages may be disappointed (or end up having to take a lot of defects at character creation).
|
|
|
|
|
|
An okay pick. It's cheap and offers 4 new races, 5 new prestige classes, and a new "base" class for the players, and a bunch of new rules for various things such as ship-to-ship combat, traps. It's meant to be a sampling of some of the other books in the Legends & Lairs series, so some sections may seem a bit incomplete. However, they do give you enough information to run with the stuff. This one is a good filler if you want a cheap gaming rulebook and play D&D/d20, but it's far from a neccesary book.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The character sheet portion of this is very detailed. If you want to flesh out your character's family, past, likes, dislikes, feelings towards other party members (romantic or otherwise), opinions on subjects, etc., this is the perfect character folio/sheet. The only problem is the watermarked pages of the journal may be too light to actually print out, so the journal part might not be worth printing out.
I would reccomend this to all people who play the Tri-Stat version of BESM.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|