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This adventure is a free pdf download. Many companies have produced introductory adventures in this format as a route to introduce themselves and their future games to players and GMs. Printing and distribution costs are high enough that many new d20 publishers aim to only produce .pdf adventure files for download.

Dead Fire revolves around a forest fire that is approaching a small, predominantly human town named Foresthall. The total download is 31 pages in length with 4 pages devoted to the cover, back page, and Open Gaming License. To assess quality and layout the adventure was printed (double-sided) on 24 lb high quality paper using an Epson inkjet printer at maximum quality. I found the black and white artwork to be slightly sub-standard but this may be my own bias. Maps were legible and relatively easy to follow but did not include a map of the town. It is organized in a standard two-column format with text meant to be read to PCs set off in the standard gray-box that has become the industry norm. The printed adventure can be punched with a three-hole punch and placed into a three-ring binder without disrupting the text, figures, or maps.

Spoiler Alert: The rest of this review contains information about the plot that players probably do not want to know. If your GM may be using this adventure you probably want to stop reading now.

The PCs begin in the town of Foresthall where they must gather information before entering the forest to find the source of the fire. Although there is no map of the town, a clear description of the major NPCs and locations is provided. I don’t see the lack of a map as a problem but some GMs looking for a quick adventure might find it annoying. After gathering some information the PCs must enter the forest where they encounter Niederial, a mad dryad. Niederial was turned to stone by a wizard during a brief battle many years ago and was recently returned to flesh only to find her sisters gone and the grove of trees where she lived horribly ill. Using an amulet of charming she charmed a powerful elven wizard and forced him to summon a horrible creature to attack the wizard’s tower in the forest. The summoned creature turned out to be a ‘flame hive queen,’ a new creature whose stats and description are provided at the end of the module. The flame hive queen destroyed the tower and began the fire now threatening the entire forest as well as giving rise to a number of offspring from the elemental plane of fire. The PCs need to investigate the ruined tower to find the stone statues of Niederial’s sisters as well as a way to return them to flesh. The restored dryads can then summon a large water elemental to battle the flame hive queen. The PCs may also decide to help the dryads heal some of their damaged trees.

On the whole, this is an interesting adventure with an interesting premise. One of the things I liked was the table of rumors the PCs discover based on different Gather Information skill checks. I liked the idea of these tables, as well as descriptions of the types of information different townspeople can provide the PCs. I felt the number of ‘false’ rumors was a bit high, more real information should be provided through the Gather Information checks than is listed. One unfortunate aspect to the information the PCs require is the fact that encounters with two particular NPCs are required for the PCs to get all the information they need to solve the problem of the forest fire. The encounter with Ardruar Desmid in Foresthall seems easy and straight forward enough and shouldn’t create many problems; however, the PCs MUST encounter Niederial and the charmed elven wizard (Ancorohir) in the forest and they need to do it on ‘friendly’ terms or the adventure is basically over. This requirement may put the GM and the players into a rather contrived situation if not played out carefully.

The tower the PCs must investigate is relatively straight-forward, well-described, and the maps are easy to follow. “Fire zombies,” one of the two new creatures introduced by the module, are prevalent throughout different parts of the tower, and placed in numbers that might cause some parties trouble. For a module designed for 1st-2nd level characters several of the encounters seem potentially deadly if the party does not possess a cleric capable of turning undead. A number of the potential random encounters in the forest might also put a low-level party to the test. Convenient placement of a wand of ‘stone to flesh’ inside the tower might be a bit contrived for some players and GMs, but forcing the PCs to return to town, or Ancorohir, to find a way to return the dryad statues to flesh would press the proposed time-line for the forest fire.

In general I thought this was a good adventure that provides a great deal for a GM to use in a small space. Some people might complain about the lack of a map for the town of Foresthall but I don’t really think that it is a minus. I would have preferred the PCs have more options for gathering information and a route to success that didn’t require someone or something else to take over the major battle required to end the adventure. A low-level party tackling this adventure needs a cleric that can turn or rebuke undead along or they had better be ready to do a great deal of running. Some of the encounters might be a bit overwhelming for injured or poorly prepared parties so a supply of healing potions might be in order.

I give the module an ‘Average’ style rating, it doesn’t do anything wrong, but it won’t blow anyone’s socks off either.

Based on the module’s design, target audience, and length, I give it an ‘Above Average’ substance rating. I liked the somewhat different plot and I see a number of different things here a GM can use in their own campaign.

Some people do not like the .pdf download, print-it-out-yourself format but it is easy to forget the amount of money that goes toward printing and distribution of modules. A $10 print adventure generally nets the publisher only about $3-4 after printing and distribution are taken into account. Many smaller publishers will be going toward download formats to reduce their expenses. Good quality paper and a good printer can easily turn a .pdf adventure into a clean, legible paper copy that the GM can write on to their heart’s content.

Dark Fire
Dark Fire Capsule Review by Patrick Lawinger on 17/04/01 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) A good, short adventure with many useful items for a GM. Some encounters might be a bit difficult but are easily modified. Product: Dark Fire Author: Tony Bounds, Darrin Drader, and Dan Eveland Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Dark Portal Games Line: Cost: Free Page count: 31 Year published: 2001 ISBN: SKU: Capsule Review by Patrick Lawinger on 17/04/01 Genre tags: Fantasy	This adventure is a free pdf download. Many companies have produced introductory adventures in this format as a route to introduce themselves and their future games to players and GMs. Printing and distribution costs are high enough that many new d20 publishers aim to only produce .pdf adventure files for download. Dead Fire revolves around a forest fire that is approaching a small, predominantly human town named Foresthall. The total download is 31 pages in length with 4 pages devoted to the cover, back page, and Open Gaming License. To assess quality and layout the adventure was printed (double-sided) on 24 lb high quality paper using an Epson inkjet printer at maximum quality. I found the black and white artwork to be slightly sub-standard but this may be my own bias. Maps were legible and relatively easy to follow but did not include a map of the town. It is organized in a standard two-column format with text meant to be read to PCs set off in the standard gray-box that has become the industry norm. The printed adventure can be punched with a three-hole punch and placed into a three-ring binder without disrupting the text, figures, or maps. Spoiler Alert: The rest of this review contains information about the plot that players probably do not want to know. If your GM may be using this adventure you probably want to stop reading now. The PCs begin in the town of Foresthall where they must gather information before entering the forest to find the source of the fire. Although there is no map of the town, a clear description of the major NPCs and locations is provided. I don’t see the lack of a map as a problem but some GMs looking for a quick adventure might find it annoying. After gathering some information the PCs must enter the forest where they encounter Niederial, a mad dryad. Niederial was turned to stone by a wizard during a brief battle many years ago and was recently returned to flesh only to find her sisters gone and the grove of trees where she lived horribly ill. Using an amulet of charming she charmed a powerful elven wizard and forced him to summon a horrible creature to attack the wizard’s tower in the forest. The summoned creature turned out to be a ‘flame hive queen,’ a new creature whose stats and description are provided at the end of the module. The flame hive queen destroyed the tower and began the fire now threatening the entire forest as well as giving rise to a number of offspring from the elemental plane of fire. The PCs need to investigate the ruined tower to find the stone statues of Niederial’s sisters as well as a way to return them to flesh. The restored dryads can then summon a large water elemental to battle the flame hive queen. The PCs may also decide to help the dryads heal some of their damaged trees. On the whole, this is an interesting adventure with an interesting premise. One of the things I liked was the table of rumors the PCs discover based on different Gather Information skill checks. I liked the idea of these tables, as well as descriptions of the types of information different townspeople can provide the PCs. I felt the number of ‘false’ rumors was a bit high, more real information should be provided through the Gather Information checks than is listed. One unfortunate aspect to the information the PCs require is the fact that encounters with two particular NPCs are required for the PCs to get all the information they need to solve the problem of the forest fire. The encounter with Ardruar Desmid in Foresthall seems easy and straight forward enough and shouldn’t create many problems; however, the PCs MUST encounter Niederial and the charmed elven wizard (Ancorohir) in the forest and they need to do it on ‘friendly’ terms or the adventure is basically over. This requirement may put the GM and the players into a rather contrived situation if not played out carefully. The tower the PCs must investigate is relatively straight-forward, well-described, and the maps are easy to follow. “Fire zombies,” one of the two new creatures introduced by the module, are prevalent throughout different parts of the tower, and placed in numbers that might cause some parties trouble. For a module designed for 1st-2nd level characters several of the encounters seem potentially deadly if the party does not possess a cleric capable of turning undead. A number of the potential random encounters in the forest might also put a low-level party to the test. Convenient placement of a wand of ‘stone to flesh’ inside the tower might be a bit contrived for some players and GMs, but forcing the PCs to return to town, or Ancorohir, to find a way to return the dryad statues to flesh would press the proposed time-line for the forest fire. In general I thought this was a good adventure that provides a great deal for a GM to use in a small space. Some people might complain about the lack of a map for the town of Foresthall but I don’t really think that it is a minus. I would have preferred the PCs have more options for gathering information and a route to success that didn’t require someone or something else to take over the major battle required to end the adventure. A low-level party tackling this adventure needs a cleric that can turn or rebuke undead along or they had better be ready to do a great deal of running. Some of the encounters might be a bit overwhelming for injured or poorly prepared parties so a supply of healing potions might be in order. I give the module an ‘Average’ style rating, it doesn’t do anything wrong, but it won’t blow anyone’s socks off either. Based on the module’s design, target audience, and length, I give it an ‘Above Average’ substance rating. I liked the somewhat different plot and I see a number of different things here a GM can use in their own campaign. Some people do not like the .pdf download, print-it-out-yourself format but it is easy to forget the amount of money that goes toward printing and distribution of modules. A $10 print adventure generally nets the publisher only about $3-4 after printing and distribution are taken into account. Many smaller publishers will be going toward download formats to reduce their expenses. Good quality paper and a good printer can easily turn a .pdf adventure into a clean, legible paper copy that the GM can write on to their heart’s content.

Dark Fire