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A set of four linked adventures for the world of Hellfrost. The first two scenarios are directly linked, in that the first concerns travelling to the location of the second, but the other two are linked only by a shared master villain, and set in different parts of the world - they could easily be run with a substantial gap between them. All four adventures are tied to their setting, although some more so than others, and would be difficult (although not impossible) to translate to some other game world. In particular, of course, cold is a major theme throughout.
The first adventure is quite standard fare, although well written and bringing out the atmosphere of the setting. The second concerns a siege, with the players on the defending - and apparently doomed - side. It's a good example of how to do this sort of story, something not often seen in RPG scenarios, where the PCs are more likely to be attacking somewhere from the outside. There's a nice sense of doom and battle against insurmountable odds that should make the scenario memorable.
The third adventure begins as essentially a direct re-tread of the <i>HeroQuest</i> adventure module "Orlanth is Dead", so that, should you happen to have run that you won't want to do this with the same group. Having said that, while the mystery to be solved is all but identical (and highly distinctive) the explanation for what's going on and how to solve it are entirely different.
The final scenario is basically a high level dungeon bash, fighting against the eponymous giants. For some reason, the maps here are not up to the standard of those earlier in the book, although they're perfectly functional.
All in all, a good set of scenarios, if not truly outstanding, and very useful for somebody wanting to use the Hellfrost setting and bring out some of its key elements.
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This is clearly meant to be a comedy, but basically it just ends up being plain silly. The encounters themselves are competently enough done, if not over-burdened with logic and supplied with very basic maps, but the overall tone of the thing is off-putting and not half as funny as it thinks it is. On the bright side, it's not as rude/puerile as the title implies, either.
To be fair, I can't honestly recall how, or indeed why, I got hold of this (I seem to have had it on my hard drive for a few years... was it given away at a discount with something else?). Although it's quite a long adventure, it is not, to my mind, worth the price tag.
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A 44-page adventure in an oriental (Chinese) setting, this uses the Arcana Evolved rules, but can be adapted to other systems with a little work, especially if they are a d20 variant like Pathfinder or D&D. Having said that, the unusual setting is the heart of the book, and, while it could be changed to somewhere else that isn't even oriental, you'd be losing a lot by doing so. In particular, it's worth noting that the races of the NPCs are unique to AE, and that the city it's set in is sufficiently odd that it may not fit in many campaign worlds at all.
Still, if you are using it as is, or are prepared to put in the work to adapt it, it's an excellent scenario and one that's far from run-of-the-mill. It is heavily based on role-playing, and, while there is some relatively straightforward action near the climax, it won't appeal to groups that just want fights and treasure. The plot is largely based around re-enacting a myth to keep the city safe, with various bits of skulduggery in the background, and a large chunk of it concerns wooing potential suitors with courtly skills.
I'll give it 5 stars, because it's excellent for what it's aiming at, giving a real feel of a pseudo-Chinese/Wuxia culture and a strong focus on roleplaying rather than regular combat. The art and layout are also top notch, and a great help to bringing out the atmosphere. I can easily see myself using it, but it might not be for everyone.
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An excellent set of five linked adventures set in the city of Freeport and all on obviously nautical themes. The adventures will work just as well in any seaport - specific details relevant to Freeport are included, but are easy to modify to suit any other setting. The scenarios are set up to allow PCs a good deal of freedom in how to resolve them, and, while they are linked, they don't have to be run consecutively. (OTOH, they are all scaled for 6th to 8th level characters, so you won't want to leave too long between them).
The nautical theme works well, with shipwrecks, slave traders, giant squid, and even a tavern brawl to keep the players entertained and active. It can be run straight through as an action piece, but there's also plenty of opportunity for roleplaying for those who want it. All in all, a very good set of adventures.
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A somewhat different take on dwarven culture, here describing a society based on a combination of democracy and slave-ownership (with more of a nod to Ancient Greece than to, say, the Antebellum South). I doubt it would be useful as a description of a 'default' dwarven society in many games, but it could work as an isolated nation in some corner of a campaign world.
The society itself is mostly well-described, although there are a few holes here and there. The sections on history and culture are followed by a sort of dwarven version of freemasonry, complete with a prestige class based around mystical abilities, and a second prestige class for the NPC leadership of the group. This is generally well thought out and atmospheric, and one could see it being useful in other campaigns with the right sort of background.
Finally, there are some monsters suitable for an area dominated by dwarves, and, somewhat incongruously, a chapter on what are essentially human gypsies. In general, it's a good book, albeit with a few gaps and oddities, and not suitable for every campaign.
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An alternate take on the Pathfinder drow, but one that is close enough the standard concept for parts of it to be easily used in campaigns not set in the world of Aventyr.
The book begins with the mythology of the Underdark and its creation. Although this does not deal heavily with the drow themselves, it is well written, and provides an interesting context to the race. This is likely useful stuff if you're using Aventyr (as is the idea), but it's the latter parts of the book that are likely to be most useful to those who are not.
Drow society is not described in depth, although there are the standard guidelines about alignment, adventurer origins, and so on for those playing drow as PCs. There are also traits modifying skills for male and female drow, to keep the two genders distinct, as well as bonuses for characters with particular favoured classes.
Almost half the book, however, is taken up with new rules for equipment, feats, magic items, and domain spells for use by drow. Although referred to, naturally enough, as a drow domain, the theme of the spells is, more generally, that of shadow and the shadow planes, and could therefore potentially be used by other races if they worship the right kind of deity.
On the whole, a good book, with some nice ideas for using the drow, and well-written with good artwork and layout.
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A straight forward dungeon bash, with the only twist being that the inhabitants are gnomes rather than goblins or whatever. The scenario is written for 1st to 3rd level orc characters, but they could be anything, so long as they're evil. Change the gnomes to some other race, or tweak their alignments, and the PCs don't even have to be evil. (This would, naturally, require some alteration to the encounters, but to be honest, not very much.)
There is a page of advice at the end on how to play orcs, although it doesn't really address the question of 'evil' acts in play - orcs, it seems, aren't really all that different from some PCs, only a bit more cowardly.
It's all competently written up, well illustrated, and properly laid out. But at the end it's a dungeon bash no different from any other, and not quite as 'different' as it would like to be.
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A two-page description of tavern, much of it written in terse sentences that look as if they were randomly generated by a computer. Physically, it looks very nice (although the more-or-less-random picture of a woman in her underwear manages to look sort of weird) but there is no real substance to it. The barkeeper has a description and stats, and a few patrons are listed, but there's no proper description of the tavern itself. It gets an extra star for the low price, but that's it.
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A 17 page (plus cover) booklet giving brief descriptions of real-world European herbs, and the sort of things herbalists thought they were useful for. 47 herbs are listed, each with a short entry describing its appearance and where you can find it, and one or two sentences on its uses. It's nicely laid out, with good line drawings of most of the herbs. It's usefulness in game is, however, somewhat questionable, except maybe as inspiration for potion ingredients or something, or if you're playing a low-magic game with a herbalist PC.
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A 31 page book (excluding cover, credits, and license), this describes a range of masks, from the mundane to the magical. The artwork is basic, but the book is well written, and includes a great variety of items. It begins with a list of twelve types of standard mask, which serve as a starting point for the later discussions, as well as an expansion to a typical equipment list.
After that, there are seven alchemical or mechanical masks, most of which duplicate more advanced technology (gas masks, diving masks, etc.) These are relatively cheap, and could well be useful, if your campaign allows such things - they could alternatively be replaced by something that uses simple magic to achieve its effects. Finally, there are sixteen magical items based on the mask theme, ranging from CLs of 3rd to 10th. With many of these, the fact that the item happens to be a mask is just a cool effect (albeit one that lets you the face slot for things you normally wouldn't), but others are directly linked to disguise, altered personae and the like.
The book rounds out with a description of a mask shop and its owner, which is well written, but fairly standard as shopping locations go.
All in all, I liked this book; it's an original idea for something a bit different, and easy to place in any campaign world. Some might prefer higher production values, but I can see this being useful enough that I'll give it 4.5/5.
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A 14 page (plus cover, credits, and game license) booklet detailing a magical well in the wilderness. The idea is fairly original, although it's intended as no more than brief encounter to throw at your players, rather than a full adventure. Some encounter seeds are provided, along with stats for two of the residents, although it's unlikely any encounter would be heavy on combat unless your PCs really insist on it (it's not like there's any treasure to be looted, for instance). If they do insist, there are three different versions of the NPCs for varying levels of game, and some ideas at the end to make it tougher.
The layout is bland, although the one piece of art isn't bad. On the whole, pretty good for a dollar.
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This is basically a floorplan for a one-room tavern, seemingly intended for a quasi-Victorian setting, although it's easy enough to adapt to any other. It's a nicely done line drawing, done as a single page version and a full-size one that can be fitted together from several pages, plus a GM key. There is also one page of text description, and a page detailing the barman and the serving girl, who are both interesting, with some plot hooks built into their backgrounds.
Nicely done, although it's more of a concept outline than a fully fledged location.
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A 14 page guide to a small land along the shores of a great lake, with a further two pages dedicated to B&W and colour versions of a map of the region. It serves really as an introduction to a series of adventures - which, so far as I can tell, were never published.
Because of that, it's all rather vague. Although technically for the Iron Heroes system, it's actually all but system free, and so can easily be adapted to anything else. The only exception is the page or so on suggested PC traits, and even those are generic enough that they could be fitted to another character generation system without difficulty.
It's well written and coherent, with a good variety of settings within it, including dank fenlands, boisterous mining towns, pirate isles, scholarly and religious communities, and so on. The artwork is good too, although not extensive. On the other hand, the primary menace comes from the Bloodwood itself - which is never really described, presumably because that was the intended point of the adventures. It's really that, and the lack of anything particularly obvious to do that makes the product weak as a stand-alone.
I'll give it an extra star for being free, but, without the adventures, all you have here is the competently written outline of a fairly mundane region, under threat from something that's never described.
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A 12-page booklet describing magical places within the world of Hellfrost, this could equally well serve as a source for any fantasy setting where magic can imbue the landscape. The first 4 pages or so are taken up a general discussion of sacred places and the incorporeal, otherworldly spirits that imbue them with power. These are not creatures to be killed, but sentient magical essences that can grant some kind of boon to visitors, usualy in return for a sacrifice.
This is followed by a description of thirteen such places, the nature of their spirits, and the powers they grant. Most are generally low-level, and there is a wide variety of different kinds, including divination, fertility, healing, and combat spells. They are all atmospheric, and should work in most settings. Finally, there is a description of the minor god of brewing, and of an undead monster.
This won't be of immense use if you're only interested in dungeon-style adventures, but otherwise it should be useful in most fantasy games. The rules for the sites and their powers are fairly minimal, and so should be easy to adapt if you happen to use a different system. High recommended if you're looking for a bit of magical flavour to make your world seem truly mythic.
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A short adventure in which the PCs must explore a network of submerged lava tubes on the seabed to rescue a locathah prince. It's well written, and the while the scenario itself is, perhaps nothing extraordinary, the underwater setting gives it a fresh and original feel. Indeed, the background to the scenario suggests many more plot hooks for continued aquatic adventuring.
The artwork and map are top notch, and the writing and layout are very good, bringing the unusual setting to life. The scenario also includes a monster template, and a couple of spells that can apply it to existing creatures. (One minor point: aberrations aren't included in the template description, yet they were obviously supposed to be, judging from the example provided).
On the whole, well thought out, and an interesting change of setting.
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