A substantial collection of short solo (no referee) adventures, which build to create a bigger story. They follow the conventions of Choose Your Own Adventure Books e.g. "if you pursue the thief, go to paragraph 7". Events are in motion, but quite what role the PCs will play will depend on their choices/good fortune.

Strengths: (i) there is a great deal of material; (ii) whilst combat is the main feature, other abilities are tested, and there are strategic decisions to make; (iii) replay value, as different choices/outcomes could lead to a very different sequence of adventures played; (iv) a subsystem which keeps track of how well you are regarded in various organisations, including romances; (v) dungeon delves are handled by random selection of rooms from a big list, adding uncertainty and excitement.

Cautions/Weaknesses: (i) Some encounters may prove too tough for the levels indicated, e.g. four mummies for a low level group. I suggest an old school mentality of altering any "impossible" encounter, in the example you could make the mummies very susceptible to fire, or reduce their numbers; (ii) the running marriage score makes good sense for Princess Jenn, but less so for other possible paramours: bespoke scores such as +2 marriage (Jenn), +1 marriage (Elinos) might be better, also a male love interest could be included.

Recommended.

A series of four combat/puzzle rooms: enough variation between scenarios to keep things fresh, and replay value as different notes are likely to be triggered in a second attempt. Combat is the focus, but other abilities are tested as well; the talking mirror (and its revelations) are a nice touch. I would like a little more variety in the encounter tables: perhaps a once only escaped prisoner, or summoned demon.

A couple of possible corrections: notes 738 and 739 are out of numerical order; the encounter table on p. 35 makes no reference to shadow knights, yet they are listed in the experience table, perhaps entry 12-14 is in error.

In a double play, the heroes got lucky in the columns room both times with a near immediate repeat of activated numbers; the magical locked door scenario proved the toughest, with exciting combats that were on a knife edge. The Beastman bodyguard (in the finale) nearly killed a Ranger in the second play, but the heroes prevailed both times.

Outside of the adventure there is a welcome expansion of spells, wizardly items, and magic-using companions.

Highly recommended.

PCs paid to protect the leaders of the losing side of a gangland war; they need to stop assassination attempts.

Spoilers follow. Interesting premise, well executed. It is a nice twist to have three identical assassins, the players might expect (or find out about) two, but then the third could be an unpleasant surprise. A good framework if the players decide to stop the assassins: there are useful notes on how the assassins might react. However I would have liked to see a couple of other approaches discussed (with some supporting material): kill Udan, the paymaster of the assassins; switch sides and deliver Jester and allies to Udan themselves. The former should be difficult, but the PCs might pull a "Joker", and deliver "the body of Jester", and launch a surprise attack. In the latter, if the PCs cut a deal with the assassins, all may be well, but if the assassins are cheated of their fee they might not be happy.

Review based on a read through: more may be added after play.

A region is detailed; there is a background plot which the PCs can interact with if they wish. Delightfully varied locations: in some areas PCs will want to massacre everything that moves; in the main area, infiltration wearing disguises is a much better strategy. Well designed magic items.

Reminiscent of the Red Prophet Rises without being a retread.

Low level dungeon crawl, with undead to overcome, and grave goods to claim; there are some nice features, such as geographical obstacles (cliffs, water) to surmount, puzzles/traps which are simple and can be overcome by player skill, and signs of a previous expedition.

Recommended.

A good take on the basic "Keep on the Borderlands" situation, that is an outpost on the edge of civilisation under attack from monsters. Instead of the usual humanoid tribe, undead are making the incursions; a crypt was unwisely opened, and local attempts to deal with the problem have led to most of the militia being wiped out. A perfect time for adventurers to arrive; as well as cleaning out the crypt, there are a number of lesser quests to undertake, such as investigating the noise in the basement of an inn, and capturing local bandits.

Nothing very original here, but solid fare which should provide good gaming. There is a background story which is easily adapted; you might want to change some names: King Trevor?

Written for Raven of the Scythe, but it is simple enough to restat for low level D+D, WFRP or Runequest.

Recommended.

Fairly simple fight the werewolves and their allies adventure, with the twist that one companion is a secret lycanthrope: determining the latter is cleverly handled by a nice mechanic. A couple of minor corrections: swamp zombies should be added to the miniatures required list; event cards Red 2 and 3 should refer to clue markers (but it might be appropriate to have a treasure token appear if the figure is defeated).

Ran through the event cards twice in play; Covin was the secret werewolf, and he managed to kill two of his companions before the PCs (Ranger and allies) triumphed. Another fun adventure with replay value.

I'm reviewing this as a solo roleplaying game (no referee) where one might use miniatures/counters to clarify certain situations.

The basic premise is that dark forces have consumed a neighbouring land, and small elite squads need to combat threats to the borders of the kingdom.

The game system is not complicated, yet surprisingly rich, with a number of non-combat actions. Setting details are currently sparse, but reader imagination can fill in the gaps, and this leaves plenty of room for unfolding revelations in subsequent products. Combat is the main feature of the (several) included adventures, yet they have variety both in mission types as well as (especially) in set up/presentation. As some details are generated randomly from a list, there is replay value.

The softcover book has clear print and is well illustrated. The missions are fun to play, and comprise much of the book.

I look forward to more products in this line. Highly recommended.

Superior example of an evening at an inn with multiple plot strands in play. PCs are embroiled in some automatically; others need to be sought out; the remainder depend on which NPCs they encounter. There are random tables for: (i) rumours (including links to Battle for Rivertop, It Came from the Sewers, and Caverns of Melusiah); (ii) tavern events; (iii) special actions in any tavern brawl; (iv) what happens to drunk PCs. There are sufficient interesting contacts for multiple visits.

Highly recommended.

Simple quest to track down an errant drinker in a busy city before he does an "Oliver Reed". Would benefit from a timeline (with locations) for Lord Hargraves; in a fun scenario, the despotic overlord and forced meeting with his Inquisition, the Anointed, is a jarring note. (See "The Lost Lush" for a better integration of this idea into a political situation.)

Four stars for the innovative plot and hilarious mishaps that Lord Hargraves may suffer.

Solo adventure for a level one cleric. A dungeon to explore; items to be collected to enable a final confrontation with the Shadow Lord; many undead opponents.

Strengths: some excellent riddles and puzzles; reasonable variety of challenges and opponents; sensible option to allow one "Divine Saving Grace", that is a reroll in a deadly situation.

Weaknesses/Cautions: some combats will prove extremely difficult for a level one cleric; will need luck with the dice, for example one essential item is only present two thirds of the time; some choices of direction are not meaningful as you are soon funnelled along the same path; treasure is somewhat mundane; there is essentially one true path, which limits replay value.

In play, a ranger joined the cleric, making combats more manageable: both had good ability scores. The quest was achieved.

Potentially good after some adjustments.

Short but enjoyable dungeon. There is a simple backstory that is revealed during play; some memorable skeleton encounters; the opposition have had a falling out, creating two factions, one not immediately hostile; a memorable villain; clear map.

In play, the bone arrows which grew into razortooth skeletons were a nasty surprise for the party.

Recommended.

A chance to play Maximus as the Games come to an oppressive city: there is a gladiatorial tournament, chariot races and fights against exotic beasts. The first is well described; some extra details of notorious charioteers, possible patrons, and one or two special monsters would be welcome. Of the hooks, a contest for an inheritance where a PC needs to outperform their relatives is the most compelling. A table of random street encounters helps to convey the atmosphere of the city. At my signal, unleash hell! Recommended.

The basic premise is that the PCs inherit a warehouse, and gain an invitation to a notorious gambling event. While some of the party are playing games of chance, others may be attempting rescues, burglary, or gaining information. I would recommend using multiple hooks from the given list, and would definitely include the rescue of a nobleman's daughter as the PCs are given a vital sketch map. Success will be measured in monetary profit, not numbers of foes slain.

Remarkable similarity to tackling a (Sean Connery/Roger Moore era) Bond villain: (i) you play him at games of chance; (ii) he has an exotic partner; (iii) owns a grand residence; (iv) his henchmen wear brightly coloured clothes; (v) one possible task is "rescue the girl"; (vi) crocodiles and big cats to avoid; (vii) opponents killed in horrific/unusual ways (acid bath).

Strengths: (i) Plenty for the PCs to do, and ample motivation to do it. They need gambling funds, so will wish to fence paintings from the warehouse; exploring the sewers will pave the way for a stealthy entry into the mansion. (ii) Interesting distinctive magic items. (A hallmark of this author.) (iii) Many intriguing NPCs well described in just a few words; should be a roleplaying treat. (iv) Lots of potential follow up encounters. (v) Nice clear maps gathered at the end.

Cautions/Weaknesses: (i) Referees will need to read the whole carefully and manage a divided party; it might benefit from a paragraph describing a likely chain of events. (ii) Does it really take one hour to play Shut the Box with nine players? A few minutes seems more reasonable. (iii) Kellerin should have extra cash in the games room, so that he can buy out gambling pledges. (iv) Some tables have very small print.

This version appears identical to a free download from the author's website. Whatever happens, it should be exciting. In play, my group were big monetary winners; they rescued the nobleman's daughter, robbed some chests, but one character was slain by a surprise attacker. As a PWYW offering, happy to give this full marks. Highly recommended.

Toolkit for running large-scale battles. Can be run as: (i) a series of PC actions; (ii) simple large unit combats; (iii) a mixture of both. Builds on similar ideas used in the same author's (very good) Battle for Rivertop; there is plenty of variety in how the action may unfold. A strength is that you can pick and choose which parts to use whilst maintaining the coherence of the whole. I advise running a few trials to calibrate a sensible number of opponents for the PCs in the Party Spotlight phases.

Recommended.