The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I ran this module (err...adventure) recently, and it is great! The setting is in the Kingdoms of Kalamar, another product of Kenzer and company (http://members.aol.com/relkin/kenzerco.html). The adventure takes place in and near Thygasha, the City of Dreams (due to a 'magical' sand that causes either nightmares or extremely pleasant fantasies. The area is Egyptian in style, and can easily be adapted to such a setting. Stats are generic, yet very closely resemble AD&D. Well, on to the review.

The cover is an interesting picture of a giant spirit monster erupting from a pyramid, with Tellene's two moons in the background. I like it.

The inside front cover is a map of the city of Thygasha. There are not too many details on it, so it can easily be adjusted. Then a decent Table of Contents, along with printer information on the first page.

The next four and a half pages give an interesting account of what has been happening with the main protagonists in the area. It is quite interesting to read, and shows how an independent mage, a good church (of restful dreams), and an evil church (of nightmares) can all get entangled in each others problems. An artifact unique to Tellene is unearthed by the mage, and both temples seek to retrieve it.

The next 4 pages describe Thygasha, focusing on the rival temples and the silver sand bars (kind of like opium dens). Pretty interesting, but it could have been a lot longer. Next comes a section on desert travel, along with a VERY good monster encounter table for desert and hill areas. A number of unique encounters are also given (some of them are quite good...if you rescue a certain lost man with his eyelids sewn shut, then later run into a nomad tribe, you could have a lot of trouble from normal 'good' guys).

There is a also a cool encounter involving a kobold tribe. One kobold, Shagaaz 'the Hulk' was magically altered, and can transform to ogre size. He also has a well-trained kobold tribe that uses excellent tactics (which are given basic descriptions). I really like this!

Next is a small 'dungeon', actually an evil temple. Illusion magic is their strong point, and this really shows! Nothing is quite what it seems here. This section would be very difficult for PC's unless they are very careful (one character died in an iron maiden here).

The next section deals with the main adventure area, a lost pyramid. The pyramid is now inhabited by a high-level mage and his bugbear retinue. A Kalamaran soldier trains the bugbears, so they are better than average, especially in regards to tactics. There are a lot of traps here, left over from the original owners. There is also some powerful magic floating around. As long as the PC's are careful, they should do ok.

In the center of the module are a number of picture handouts. Each is numbered, and the text says when to present them. They give the players a better idea of what they are seeing, and were universally liked. They are standard for the 2 modules so far produced.

The maps of the 'dungeon' areas, are fairly standard. You have to be careful in the pyramid's last level though. Inadvertantly, several rooms were numbered 65, when only one of them was supposed to be. It's fairly easy to figure out, but is something to look for.

The appendices give descriptions for all the major NPC's, as well as a brief history and their motivations. I really liked this.

They also give the complete write-up from the boxed set on the evil temple and their god, which was nice.

Next was a cool section called 'Thygashan Dreams'. Anyone who uses the silver sand (a drug) rolls on a table. He can have either nightmares or really good dreams. These dreams will affect his actions for the next day (lots of neat ideas are given).

Next are the obligatory new monsters, spells, and magic items. The best one is the Orb of Midnight (an evil artifact), which is the focus of much of the adventure.

Lastly is a 2 page glossary, explaining the Kalamaran and adventure specific names. Nice.

Then an ad for Knights of the Dinner Table and the Kingdoms of Kalamar.

The inside back cover is a DM's map of the general area. The back cover has the standard module writeup, as well as a blow-up of the Kalamar poster map showing the adventure location (similar to that used by ICE's Shadow World).

Overall, I really like this module. There are lots of hand-outs, and the adventure is not linear. In fact, each area is presented as a totally different entity, allowing the DM to move things around as he or she wishes. Suggestions are given that would give the PC's reason to investigate each area, but much is left up to the DM. I wish all adventures followed this format.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Secret Temple of Adajy
Author: Steve Johannson + others Category: game Company/Publisher: Kenzer and Company Line: generic Cost: $13? Page count: 72 SKU: RB1 Playtest Review by Dan Buterbaugh on 04/12/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Generic	I ran this module (err...adventure) recently, and it is great! The setting is in the Kingdoms of Kalamar, another product of Kenzer and company (http://members.aol.com/relkin/kenzerco.html). The adventure takes place in and near Thygasha, the City of Dreams (due to a 'magical' sand that causes either nightmares or extremely pleasant fantasies. The area is Egyptian in style, and can easily be adapted to such a setting. Stats are generic, yet very closely resemble AD&D. Well, on to the review. The cover is an interesting picture of a giant spirit monster erupting from a pyramid, with Tellene's two moons in the background. I like it. The inside front cover is a map of the city of Thygasha. There are not too many details on it, so it can easily be adjusted. Then a decent Table of Contents, along with printer information on the first page. The next four and a half pages give an interesting account of what has been happening with the main protagonists in the area. It is quite interesting to read, and shows how an independent mage, a good church (of restful dreams), and an evil church (of nightmares) can all get entangled in each others problems. An artifact unique to Tellene is unearthed by the mage, and both temples seek to retrieve it. The next 4 pages describe Thygasha, focusing on the rival temples and the silver sand bars (kind of like opium dens). Pretty interesting, but it could have been a lot longer. Next comes a section on desert travel, along with a VERY good monster encounter table for desert and hill areas. A number of unique encounters are also given (some of them are quite good...if you rescue a certain lost man with his eyelids sewn shut, then later run into a nomad tribe, you could have a lot of trouble from normal 'good' guys). There is a also a cool encounter involving a kobold tribe. One kobold, Shagaaz 'the Hulk' was magically altered, and can transform to ogre size. He also has a well-trained kobold tribe that uses excellent tactics (which are given basic descriptions). I really like this! Next is a small 'dungeon', actually an evil temple. Illusion magic is their strong point, and this really shows! Nothing is quite what it seems here. This section would be very difficult for PC's unless they are very careful (one character died in an iron maiden here). The next section deals with the main adventure area, a lost pyramid. The pyramid is now inhabited by a high-level mage and his bugbear retinue. A Kalamaran soldier trains the bugbears, so they are better than average, especially in regards to tactics. There are a lot of traps here, left over from the original owners. There is also some powerful magic floating around. As long as the PC's are careful, they should do ok. In the center of the module are a number of picture handouts. Each is numbered, and the text says when to present them. They give the players a better idea of what they are seeing, and were universally liked. They are standard for the 2 modules so far produced. The maps of the 'dungeon' areas, are fairly standard. You have to be careful in the pyramid's last level though. Inadvertantly, several rooms were numbered 65, when only one of them was supposed to be. It's fairly easy to figure out, but is something to look for. The appendices give descriptions for all the major NPC's, as well as a brief history and their motivations. I really liked this. They also give the complete write-up from the boxed set on the evil temple and their god, which was nice. Next was a cool section called 'Thygashan Dreams'. Anyone who uses the silver sand (a drug) rolls on a table. He can have either nightmares or really good dreams. These dreams will affect his actions for the next day (lots of neat ideas are given). Next are the obligatory new monsters, spells, and magic items. The best one is the Orb of Midnight (an evil artifact), which is the focus of much of the adventure. Lastly is a 2 page glossary, explaining the Kalamaran and adventure specific names. Nice. Then an ad for Knights of the Dinner Table and the Kingdoms of Kalamar. The inside back cover is a DM's map of the general area. The back cover has the standard module writeup, as well as a blow-up of the Kalamar poster map showing the adventure location (similar to that used by ICE's Shadow World). Overall, I really like this module. There are lots of hand-outs, and the adventure is not linear. In fact, each area is presented as a totally different entity, allowing the DM to move things around as he or she wishes. Suggestions are given that would give the PC's reason to investigate each area, but much is left up to the DM. I wish all adventures followed this format. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Secret Temple of Adajy