Review: The Forgotten Outpost

A module can be many things, depending on the temperament of the GM employing or reading it.  For some, it’s likely to be dropped into an existing campaign whole cloth, or even strung together with other unrelated modules to build a campaign.  For others, the module is primarily a source of inspiration and serves as a springboard for the GM to explore interesting concepts.

The Forgotten Outpost, by Bryan Meadows, M.S. Jackson, and Michael Garcia (“The Crazy GM”), seems like it was designed largely for the former group.  It is a straightforward, lair-based adventure for parties of 3^rd to 5^th level characters that can easily be dropped into a campaign already underway with minimal disruption or need for tweaking.  Further, Meadows and company provide a good amount of back story and context given the light 15-page length, giving the adventure itself a nice extra kick of character.  This material is one of the stronger points of the module, offering canny GMs or enterprising players a wide range of options to gain traction in the setting and to interact with the local NPCs even outside the immediate context of the cave-exploration which is the centerpiece of the adventure. 

Jackson’s maps are another highlight of the module.  The style is charming and clear, the design functional and a refreshing step away from the tried-and-true TSR graph paper style of map that is so common.  In their better moments, Jackson’s maps remind one of some of Dyson Logos’ work, though without a grid backing a key to scale would have been useful, since many room descriptions do not include information on room dimensions.

The room descriptions are evocative, and have a strong sense of purpose and setting to them—there is not a room in the module that is dull or without interesting features, and some of the monsters are likely to provoke a gasp of fear, excitement, or at least amusement from your players.

The module’s layout is clean and efficient, though without any special touches to really make it pop or enhance its visual appeal (or to aid reference especially, though at only 15 pages that’s not a big issue).  In addition, there are a number of simple illustrations scattered throughout the length, all apparently by Mr. Jackson, and this breaks up the content well.

On the practical side, there are a few false notes over the module’s length: first is the “random monsters” list, which is numbered but doesn’t provide supporting information—for example, whether it’s designed for wilderness or in the adventure locale itself.  One would assume that it’s for the dungeon, but the dungeon itself is just JAM-PACKED with encounters and adding a random monster table on top of that seems like a recipe for disaster.  

Additionally, while the “random NPC” list can be used to great effect by an enterprising GM (the personality trait listings for each are especially evocative), it is just dropped in the module without any reference or sense of purpose.  In the background text, the town’s inn is noted as a possible hang-out for adventuring types, but none are included, and while the adventure is for Level 3-5, the NPCs are all level 1—suggesting they are probably not pre-gen characters, though this might be an oversight in the module’s design.

The final things that seem slightly off on an initial read are a couple of minor dungeon design flaws.  First, the complex is divided between a short initial section and a longer follow-up area of greater interest and danger, and the only path between the two is a single secret door with a 50% chance of detection, which seems like a disaster waiting to happen.  Additionally, there is some odd scaling of “mandatory” monster encounters, including one real killer, and the treasure feels a bit light compared to the suggested character level and deadliness of the complex.

Overall, however, this is a solid first outing for a published adventure by Meadows, who is to be commended for some interesting monster selections and combinations.  While the module as a whole will not be a go-to for most GMs after its initial use, it does provide some very good examples of how to build on an adventure idea to establish hooks in a locale that extend beyond the current play session, and is a model of clean design where you’re looking to simply drop an adventure into your ongoing campaign.

Presentation: 7/10 -Strong point is the maps.

Originality: 6.5/10 -Employs standard tropes without too many twists, ending is interesting.

Execution: 7/10 -Some snags in the dungeon design hamper performance, but adventure backdrop is a model of efficiency.

Overall: 7/10 –I would recommend this to those interested in producing modules as an example of what to do right in setting the location, or for GMs looking to drop a no-fuss adventure into an ongoing campaign that won’t stir the waters too much.

How to Become a Lich (3E)

Be warned—the process described below is horrific, complicated and by no means guarantees success. Undertake it at your own physical and moral peril.  And don't read further if you are weak of spirit or stomach.

The ritual requires the following, done exactly as described with no deviations thereto, or else the end of the process will certainly be irrevocable death.

*In order to undertake this process, you must have a base Spellcraft skill of Rank 10—otherwise, your knowledge is insufficient to understand the complexities of the process.

A potion must be created according to the following recipe:

-The container for the potion must be a flask of pure crystal worth no less than 1,000 gold pieces because of its clarity and resonance.

-All steps of potion production must take place in the open air, under the light of the moon. If at any time during the steps outlined below, the moon is completely obscured (or new), the process is a failure and must be started again from the beginning.

-If a step of the potion production is failed, the crystal flask must be washed thoroughly and left to dry in the air for a full day before it can be attempted again.

-The base for the potion is formed from the bile of a newborn mammal, taken within twenty-four hours of its birth.

Fateful Finds: Bloodstone of Tharkos

Tharkos of the Steel Eye is a minor baron of Hell's outer reaches.  He is the infernal patron of servility and slavery, and delights in the groveling self-abasement of other beings (which he encourages in any way possible). 

Among his many other devilish abilities, Tharkos possesses the unusual power of gifting his living heart to a mortal creature.  Such a gift always requires an exceptional favor, rendered in advance, though Tharkos will often demand additional services to be determined at a later time in order to keep that mortal under his power in an ongoing way.  Tharkos can gift his heart to a mortal no more than once every seven years, for it takes this long to regrow.

In order to create a Bloodstone of Tharkos, Tharkos must intone a vow or pledge to bind those who hold his heart, and then he pulls it from his chest, still pulsing with life.  Once the moon has risen over the heart three times, its surface solidifies and it becomes gem-like, with an amber sheen lit from within by a slowly pulsing blood-red radiance.  After the heart is ready, any mortal being holding the heart and reciting the same vow uttered by Tharkos at the stone's creation will be bound by that vow until the end of their days.  The stone inscribes a blood-red mark on the subject's shoulder that indicates the influence of Tharkos, and if the vow is ever broken the Mark will burn deeper into the flesh, seeking out the bearer's heart and burning it until he or she is dead, a process that takes only a matter of minutes. 

If the subject is subsequently restored to life in some manner, the mark of Tharkos will once again be in its original position.  There is no known method of permanently removing the Mark, other than permanent removal of both arms (if one is removed, the Mark will appear on the other shoulder the first time the moon rises).

Any number of beings can be bound by a single Bloodstone of Tharkos as long as it remains intact.  If it is ever destroyed, all those previously bound remain bound, but Tharkos will not replace it.

Citadel of the Edge IV: Lesser Servitor (New Monster)*

What would Big Bad Villains be without their signature minions? 

The Servitors are the most commonly-encountered lieutenants of the Gray Council, occupying the upper ranks of the College of the Arcane.  These Wizards have submitted voluntarily to a complex process of alchemical transmogrification, in which their flesh is converted into one of three metallic substances not unlike bronze, silver or platinum.  Only the most trusted of the Council's mortal servants are offered this great honor.

This process does not destroy the consciousness or abilities of the subject, though it does establish some limitations on the use of magic.  In order to recover expended spells, all Servitors must bathe in demonic energy (such as that found in the Rift of Xerys and which can be channeled into the altar in the Soul Forge) for one hour.  Although Servitors by their nature are Lawful Evil, any magical effects they generate are considered Chaotic because they are infused with demonic energy.  Any Illusion or Mind-Affecting magic used by a Servitor gives its target a +2 bonus to save due to the corrupted nature and vulgarity of these effects.

Stonehell Post-Mortem

A quick campaign wrap-up on our fairly short-lived venture into Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Halls.  I want to capture what went well (and why), and what didn't work so well (and hopefully also why).  The group in question was me (DM), three decade-plus veteran players (though not really old-school in approach for the most part), and one new player (his first exposure to D&D was when he joined my 3E campaign about a year and a half ago).

The Pros:

• All of the players loved the simplicity of the B/X-LL combat system, and so did I.  That we could successfully manage combats with a dozen-plus participants several times over the course of an evening was a great change of pace from 3E.
• The deadliness of the environment, but the ease with which it could be negotiated once the players had learned a bit about an area's logic, was a big draw.  This is an aspect of megadungeon settings just generally, but the concept of "mastering" an area, even if it isn't truly tamed, gave the players a real sense of accomplishment.
• Some of the monsters and encounters in the gatehouse area and first level are really interestingly and well-crafted, despite being "generic" on paper, and the maps contribute very well to establishing a good mood for the delving.
• An early high mortality rate really contributed to a lot of the value players put on specific characters and their accomplishments as the game went on.  Hale the Flail's maniac pursuit of a band of skeletons into an unexplored region of the dungeon hoping to slay them (but without backup from the party) will be a legend for some time in my group, as will the epic struggle against the Death Ferret, a perfectly normal 2 HD giant rodent that killed half the party after the rest of its companions had been dispatched easily (wandering monster encounter gone horribly wrong).  It says something that the party spent money to have the Death Ferret's hide turned into trophies to carry along with them on future excursions--something that hasn't happened in my 3E campaign in over two years.

The Cons:

• The deadliness of the dungeon contributed to hyper-cautiousness on the party of the players.  Not that they worked hard to avoid monsters (they ALWAYS fought except in two cases when there was an encounter), but that after an encounter or two they decided to head back to town and regroup rather than press on.  They were burned by this early (pushing on when too weakened to make more progress), but held on to that caution to an extent that they either didn't push far enough into areas to really see rewards or stayed away long enough to allow the monsters time to regroup and repopulate.  This was perhaps the ultimate killer, because too many times the party would make an expedition and not return with any loot, then pursue a different path half-heartedly, not come home with any loot, etc., bringing in only one really major haul in their entire Stonehell careers.  Eventually they were demoralized by their ongoing lack of real success.
• Stonehell's room descriptions are an odd mix.  Some have relatively detailed contents (or contents at all) or suggestions of contents, and others have very little.  The presence of rooms with material inside suggests that more sparely-described rooms have little or no additional furnishing.  If I ran the dungeon again, I would certainly spend more time up front adding extra dressing to the areas that are not so fully fleshed-out.
• Given how dense the dungeon is, the overall design aesthetic on the first level is a bit more homogeneous than strictly necessary.  It took about eight sessions before any of my players made it to the first really interesting map feature on the first level, other than one way doors, portcullises and pit traps.  This is really a function of the overall pace of exploration involved--and at least part of the fault for that lies on me and on the players for our caution and deliberateness of exploration, but part of it also has to do with the regularity of the construction.  About 80% of the rooms in the first section have the same dimensions, just with exits leading out from different points.

I would gladly run a LL game again, and would also gladly run Stonehell, but I would also certainly spend some time tweaking it first, rather than running it straight out of the box like I mostly did this time.

Adventure Locales: Citadel of the Edge III

Today's installment: how to get to/into the Citadel.

In my first post I indicated that there were three main (and only one good) routes to approach the Citadel of the Edge--however, it turns out that it is surprisingly easy to enter the Citadel as long as you do it in the proper manner.  The Gray Council has not managed to survive in its present location for over 900 years through construction of an impregnable fortress--instead, they have chosen the much stabler (and safer) route of appearing to be something they are not.

The defense of the Citadel hinges on the widespread acceptance in the Southern territories of the College of the Arcane as defenders against unstable or dangerous magics.  Those manning the Citadel thus present the Soul Forge and the surrounding defenses as a mechanism by which the destructive energy of the Rift of Xerys can be held in check and researched, protecting the rest of the world until such a time as a permanent means of closing the rift might be found. 

This generally works because the remoteness of the Citadel ensures that for the most part only two types of visitors arrive there: first, wanderers who have made their way to the Citadel unwittingly; and second, those who have some exposure to the College of the Arcane and its dealings and know at least in part what to expect.  It is the second group that is potentially the most dangerous, if they are somehow opposed to the College's aims or if they suspect something is amiss.  Usually a traveler's reception is the same for both groups, but the hosts pay careful attention to the visitor(s) to determine the extent of his or her knowledge and to discern what brings them to the Citadel.

Given these circumstances, it is a breeze for any visitor to the Citadel, either a lone traveler or a small group, to gain entrance to the structure proper, providing they do not come with obviously hostile intentions.  They will be offered remarkably comfortable accommodations in the Main Hall and even be given a "tour" of the facilities so that they can see first-hand the important and dangerous work with which the College is engaged.  Once they are rested and their curiosity satisfied, the Council will send them on their way.

If the Council's investigation determines that a more antagonistic or dangerous motive has brought the visitor to the Citadel, however, things can turn out quite differently once they are safely inside...

Adventure Locales: Citadel of the Edge II

As I noted in some comments to a recent R.W. Chandler blog post, I plan to detail more of the Citadel of the Edge over the next few weeks, starting large and moving to more detailed section-by-section or floor-by-floor descriptions.  I've included a very badly-drawn map of the Citadel and its immediate surroundings with a basic legend here.

The Citadel was built on a high promontory of black stone much like that of which it is constructed, a spur of rock that juts out to the north from the craggy mountains alongside the western tip of the Rift of Xerys.  Some of the major features of the Citadel are noted here.

1. Slag Pool
The Slag Pool is created from liquid metal and other caustic runoff from the Manufactories that are hollowed out under the northern portion of the Citadel.  It is impossible for any living thing to survive more than a few seconds in contact with the harsh temperatures of the pool as well as the poisonous vapors, and even prolonged nearness to the pool can have debilitating effects.  Anyone stopping on or near the road as it runs along its closest point to the pool will be rendered unconscious within ten minutes of stopping to enjoy the scenery, and killed by the vapors within an hour from that point.