The Inside Scoop on Gaming

As one of the very first modules produced under the D20 Trademark license, this adventure has, no doubt, garnered a great deal of gamers' attention. I know that I, at least, awaited its release with great anticipation, especially since I am very hopeful that the open source licensing will open the floodgates for good, creative adventures from many new areas of the gaming community. In reality, however, I suspect that many of the new additions will be of bad to mediocre quality. At any rate, being one of the first adventures released, DEATH IN FREEPORT will be subject to gamers' high expectations. Let's see if it meets them…

Setting

The 1st-3rd level adventure is set in pirate city known as Freeport. It comes complete with a map of the city and introductory historical information (about four pages out of 32, which is not bad)--enough information to give the Game Master a flavor for the city and its seedy beginnings. In addition, the author reveals that future adventures will add more detail to the city and continue to build on the plot seeds hinted at in this adventure.

So, is there enough setting information to work with? It depends on your Game Mastering style. If you like everything spelled out to the letter, then you will only be satisfied with an entire supplement detailing the city (which is, of course, beyond the scope of an adventure). Personally, I like the openness of the city's information; it gives a Game Master just enough to build on without stifling his/her creativity.

Rating: I'd give the setting an A. There is enough to build an ongoing campaign around the information contained herein, and I found it to be pretty creative.

The Adventure Structure and Plot

An adventure background and an adventure synopsis follow the section on the city's historical information. The background section is succinct, doing all that it should, and the synopsis outlining the flow of the adventure should prove useful to beginning and experienced GMs alike.

The adventure itself is a mystery requiring the PCs to find a missing librarian. The PCs are assumed to be travelers entering the city via the docks. Thus, the initial hook deals with the characters being attacked by a press gang, and then being approached to find the missing librarian by a priest of the god of knowledge. The press gang encounter is really unnecessary (except as a means to express the dangerousness of the city), and I do not agree with the author's statement that characters need to be out-of-towners so as not to have knowledge of the city's inner workings. In my opinion, such knowledge does not come into play in this first installment of the series--it may be of more importance in the coming adventures, but I cannot say for sure.

Ultimately, the PCs follow clues left at the missing librarian's home, check out an orc pirate ship and the local temple to the god of knowledge, and eventually wind up finding the evil cultist temple where Lucius, the missing librarian, is being held. As information gathering is of primary importance to the adventure, the presented encounters allow for plenty of role-playing situations; yet, there are also adequate encounters in which the PCs may test their mettle. The possible encounter with Enzo, the nervous, would-be cultist, is hard to swallow as a plot thread, however; I find it hard to believe that a secret cult would utilize a person who is so easily panicked. It seems they would seek out members who could keep their secret silent if pressured, let alone lead their enemy to their very doors.

Rating: B-. I genuinely like the adventure, and it will be great for beginners, but it lacks a certain "umph."

Layout and Art

As others have complained, the cover art reprint by Brom does not immediately trigger any connection to the adventure. Nonetheless, it is an eye-catching cover. The inside covers are not utilized for maps or creature information, but Green Ronin is a small company and probably chose not to do so for cost effectiveness. This should not be held against it. The inside art is sufficient in content and quantity to get the adventure's point across without taking away too much space from the text. An appendix includes all the creatures and NPCs encountered, which is good for quick referencing. It also includes a new monster (the serpent people--somewhat reminiscent of the Yuan Ti in D&D) and four characters that can be used by beginning players to jump right into the adventure.

The writing style flows well. The print size is fairly large, allowing for easy readability, and the sections placements appear in a logical order. On the print size issue, I realize that some GMs will appreciate the text size, while others may argue that a smaller print would have allowed for more information to be presented. It is a tough call. In regard to the location sections, I did have a problem with the site numbering system. The locations started out with numbering like 1A, 1B, and 1C for Location 1. Location 2 stopped putting the location number in front of the rooms, so you have rooms A, B, and C on the orc pirate ship section. And finally, in Location 4 (the Bricked-Up House), you have rooms numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4, etc. Consistency on numbering would have been nice, but it does not hurt the module overall.

Rating: B+. A B+ is a fine rating in my book, especially for a small-press company. I think Green Ronin has done much to set a standard for which other D20 creators should aspire.

Conclusion

Basically, the product is a success. It provides all the seeds of a good adventure: mystery, intrigue, suitable encounters, and plot threads for future games. Yet, as I said earlier, it lacks that certain "umph-factor," so I find myself unexcited about it. Nothing about it screams, "You Must Play this!!!" Even so, I know it will provide an interesting gaming session, and I do plan on using it in my campaign. In a nutshell, "solid but unexceptional" best describes this adventure. At $7.99, though, it easily earns its value-- but it does not exceed it. Of course, this is not a bad thing. There is definitely a market for solid, dependable adventures. As a game buyer, I know that I have spent way too much on modules that fail to meet any of my expectations. This is definitely not one of those. I do, indeed, recommend it, and I will buy future products by this author and his company if this module is any indication of their quality.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Death in Freeport
Author: Chris Pramas Category: game Company/Publisher: Green Ronin Publishing Line: D20 modules Cost: 7.99 Page count: 32 ISBN: 0-9701048-0-4 SKU: GRR1002 >Capsule Review by Christina Stiles on 11/22/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	As one of the very first modules produced under the D20 Trademark license, this adventure has, no doubt, garnered a great deal of gamers' attention. I know that I, at least, awaited its release with great anticipation, especially since I am very hopeful that the open source licensing will open the floodgates for good, creative adventures from many new areas of the gaming community. In reality, however, I suspect that many of the new additions will be of bad to mediocre quality. At any rate, being one of the first adventures released, DEATH IN FREEPORT will be subject to gamers' high expectations. Let's see if it meets them… Setting The 1st-3rd level adventure is set in pirate city known as Freeport. It comes complete with a map of the city and introductory historical information (about four pages out of 32, which is not bad)--enough information to give the Game Master a flavor for the city and its seedy beginnings. In addition, the author reveals that future adventures will add more detail to the city and continue to build on the plot seeds hinted at in this adventure. So, is there enough setting information to work with? It depends on your Game Mastering style. If you like everything spelled out to the letter, then you will only be satisfied with an entire supplement detailing the city (which is, of course, beyond the scope of an adventure). Personally, I like the openness of the city's information; it gives a Game Master just enough to build on without stifling his/her creativity. Rating: I'd give the setting an A. There is enough to build an ongoing campaign around the information contained herein, and I found it to be pretty creative. The Adventure Structure and Plot An adventure background and an adventure synopsis follow the section on the city's historical information. The background section is succinct, doing all that it should, and the synopsis outlining the flow of the adventure should prove useful to beginning and experienced GMs alike. The adventure itself is a mystery requiring the PCs to find a missing librarian. The PCs are assumed to be travelers entering the city via the docks. Thus, the initial hook deals with the characters being attacked by a press gang, and then being approached to find the missing librarian by a priest of the god of knowledge. The press gang encounter is really unnecessary (except as a means to express the dangerousness of the city), and I do not agree with the author's statement that characters need to be out-of-towners so as not to have knowledge of the city's inner workings. In my opinion, such knowledge does not come into play in this first installment of the series--it may be of more importance in the coming adventures, but I cannot say for sure. Ultimately, the PCs follow clues left at the missing librarian's home, check out an orc pirate ship and the local temple to the god of knowledge, and eventually wind up finding the evil cultist temple where Lucius, the missing librarian, is being held. As information gathering is of primary importance to the adventure, the presented encounters allow for plenty of role-playing situations; yet, there are also adequate encounters in which the PCs may test their mettle. The possible encounter with Enzo, the nervous, would-be cultist, is hard to swallow as a plot thread, however; I find it hard to believe that a secret cult would utilize a person who is so easily panicked. It seems they would seek out members who could keep their secret silent if pressured, let alone lead their enemy to their very doors. Rating: B-. I genuinely like the adventure, and it will be great for beginners, but it lacks a certain "umph." Layout and Art As others have complained, the cover art reprint by Brom does not immediately trigger any connection to the adventure. Nonetheless, it is an eye-catching cover. The inside covers are not utilized for maps or creature information, but Green Ronin is a small company and probably chose not to do so for cost effectiveness. This should not be held against it. The inside art is sufficient in content and quantity to get the adventure's point across without taking away too much space from the text. An appendix includes all the creatures and NPCs encountered, which is good for quick referencing. It also includes a new monster (the serpent people--somewhat reminiscent of the Yuan Ti in D&D) and four characters that can be used by beginning players to jump right into the adventure. The writing style flows well. The print size is fairly large, allowing for easy readability, and the sections placements appear in a logical order. On the print size issue, I realize that some GMs will appreciate the text size, while others may argue that a smaller print would have allowed for more information to be presented. It is a tough call. In regard to the location sections, I did have a problem with the site numbering system. The locations started out with numbering like 1A, 1B, and 1C for Location 1. Location 2 stopped putting the location number in front of the rooms, so you have rooms A, B, and C on the orc pirate ship section. And finally, in Location 4 (the Bricked-Up House), you have rooms numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4, etc. Consistency on numbering would have been nice, but it does not hurt the module overall. Rating: B+. A B+ is a fine rating in my book, especially for a small-press company. I think Green Ronin has done much to set a standard for which other D20 creators should aspire. Conclusion Basically, the product is a success. It provides all the seeds of a good adventure: mystery, intrigue, suitable encounters, and plot threads for future games. Yet, as I said earlier, it lacks that certain "umph-factor," so I find myself unexcited about it. Nothing about it screams, "You Must Play this!!!" Even so, I know it will provide an interesting gaming session, and I do plan on using it in my campaign. In a nutshell, "solid but unexceptional" best describes this adventure. At $7.99, though, it easily earns its value-- but it does not exceed it. Of course, this is not a bad thing. There is definitely a market for solid, dependable adventures. As a game buyer, I know that I have spent way too much on modules that fail to meet any of my expectations. This is definitely not one of those. I do, indeed, recommend it, and I will buy future products by this author and his company if this module is any indication of their quality. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)

Death in Freeport