The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Introduction

I got this one for free. The owner of my FLGS wondered why the cheap Adventure Keep modules didn't sell while the regular $8 modules did. So she gave me a free Booster and asked if I would read it and give her my opinion. Of course I want to share my thought with you too. Anyway, I already posted a bit about this topic in a thread on the main forum.

I chose this adventure because the name "Matt Forbeck" rang a bell, though I was not too familiar with his previous work. And I am not a regular D3D player/GM so I picked a low-level adventure to help me and my players get to grips with the abundance of rules and rules and rules, one step at a time. Therefor this review will not concentrate on the D20 aspect but will judge the adventure on it's other merits.

It's always easier to bash something I didn't pay for; makes me feel less of a fool for wasting my money. But I will try to highlight the positive sides of this module as well.

I guess I should also put in a "SPOILER - WARNING!" but then again...

Style

"Bring Him Back Alive!" is one of AEG's mini modules for use with the D20 system. As all Adventure Keep modules, "Bring Him Back Alive!" is only 20 half-pages long (cover included). The cover is in color, the interior is black and white, OGL sections are clearly highlighted and I spotted no typos or errors. I did not check each and every monster's statistics with the Monster Manual.

Being a D20 product means 2 pages are dedicated to the OGL and other legal stuff. Given the small space available, most pages are well filled but remain readable. There is little needless repetition and even the back cover of the module contains information relevant to the adventure. And if you like boxed text you will also get your fair share.

The artwork is limited and not outstanding but is linked to the text. Given that the main creatures are supposed to be "entirely hairless" I wonder why they are all depicted with shoulder long hair. All right, the babe on the cover did shave her armpits and bikini line.

The map included in the center of the booklet is merely a cutaway view of a mountain with a castle silhouette and a linear four-room dungeon. In my opinion this didn't need to take 2 pages.

I give this product a Style rating of 3. I found no production flaws but the presentation is not above average either. (AEG is changing the presentation for their new Adventure Keep releases; judging from their website I would rate the new layout 3 and this one 2).

Substance

"For 4-8 characters of levels 1-4", says the cover. If you keep in mind the highest CR in this adventure is 2, a 4^th level party would only get marginal XP's.

The booklet opens with some background data and a player introduction. The adventure is very linear. A person is kidnapped. The PCs are asked to rescue him (hence "Bring him back alive!"). There is a short wilderness trek with one DC5 tracking roll. There is a two-level dungeon. Level one consists of random encounters and is not mapped. Level two contains 4 'rooms' and a new monster type (CR 1/4) and has a redundant map. There is a small twist in how the kidnappee should be "rescued" (by force or by diplomacy). The new breed also has some interesting special powers. And then, as an afterthought, there is also a wandering monster table for the initial wilderness trek. In defense I could add that the monsters don't look exaggerated for the environment. The booklet closes with the race description of the new breed and with a new artifact.

I give this product a Substance rating of 1. Maybe as a beginning player I would rate it a 2 but only because it could save me the time to do the numbers or as an example, but not because of the adventure.

There are numerous free adventures available on the web (notably the Cliffhangers and monthly free downloads on WotC's own site) that offer more detail and depth (and maps) than this module.

I could compare it to the 4-page adventures you used to find in gaming magazines, but even most of these adventures would look better than this one. The only thing that remotely comes to mind are the Fiend Factory pages in White Dwarf or TSR's "Book of Lairs", where a simple dungeon bash revolved around a new type of monster. Yeah. That's what this module reminded me most of.

Conclusion

"Bring him back alive!" contains little you couldn't write yourself, given a quiet afternoon and a Monster Manual. But this adventure can easily be plugged into almost any campaign with a minimum of preparation and a GM can easily flesh out the encounters.

And I just found "Independence Day" in my library, which proves Matt Forbeck has done better in the short format.

Would I buy any other Adventure Keep modules? Not very likely. Maybe, if I had to stage a session in, say, Egypt I might take a look at the "Heart of Amun Khonshu" but only because there's a Pharaoh's mask on the cover and only after checking if "Sethotep" wouldn't do the trick. I can't judge the quality of the entire Adventure Keep line on one supplement, but I remember other reviews of the AEG mini's

Would I play it? Let's say that for the moment I have other low-level adventures that have a higher probability. ;^)

Bring Him Back Alive!
Bring Him Back Alive! Capsule Review by Godfather Punk on 11/06/01 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money) Stating this is "A challenging adventure, which pits low level PC's against an immortal foe" would be a mite exaggerated... Product: Bring Him Back Alive! Author: Matt Forbeck Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group Line: D20 : Adventure Keep Cost: $2.49 Page count: 20 Year published: 2000 ISBN: unk. SKU: 8310 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Godfather Punk on 11/06/01 Genre tags: Fantasy	Introduction I got this one for free. The owner of my FLGS wondered why the cheap Adventure Keep modules didn't sell while the regular $8 modules did. So she gave me a free Booster and asked if I would read it and give her my opinion. Of course I want to share my thought with you too. Anyway, I already posted a bit about this topic in a thread on the main forum. I chose this adventure because the name "Matt Forbeck" rang a bell, though I was not too familiar with his previous work. And I am not a regular D3D player/GM so I picked a low-level adventure to help me and my players get to grips with the abundance of rules and rules and rules, one step at a time. Therefor this review will not concentrate on the D20 aspect but will judge the adventure on it's other merits. It's always easier to bash something I didn't pay for; makes me feel less of a fool for wasting my money. But I will try to highlight the positive sides of this module as well. I guess I should also put in a "SPOILER - WARNING!" but then again... Style "Bring Him Back Alive!" is one of AEG's mini modules for use with the D20 system. As all Adventure Keep modules, "Bring Him Back Alive!" is only 20 half-pages long (cover included). The cover is in color, the interior is black and white, OGL sections are clearly highlighted and I spotted no typos or errors. I did not check each and every monster's statistics with the Monster Manual. Being a D20 product means 2 pages are dedicated to the OGL and other legal stuff. Given the small space available, most pages are well filled but remain readable. There is little needless repetition and even the back cover of the module contains information relevant to the adventure. And if you like boxed text you will also get your fair share. The artwork is limited and not outstanding but is linked to the text. Given that the main creatures are supposed to be "entirely hairless" I wonder why they are all depicted with shoulder long hair. All right, the babe on the cover did shave her armpits and bikini line. The map included in the center of the booklet is merely a cutaway view of a mountain with a castle silhouette and a linear four-room dungeon. In my opinion this didn't need to take 2 pages. I give this product a Style rating of 3. I found no production flaws but the presentation is not above average either. (AEG is changing the presentation for their new Adventure Keep releases; judging from their website I would rate the new layout 3 and this one 2). Substance "For 4-8 characters of levels 1-4", says the cover. If you keep in mind the highest CR in this adventure is 2, a 4^th level party would only get marginal XP's. The booklet opens with some background data and a player introduction. The adventure is very linear. A person is kidnapped. The PCs are asked to rescue him (hence "Bring him back alive!"). There is a short wilderness trek with one DC5 tracking roll. There is a two-level dungeon. Level one consists of random encounters and is not mapped. Level two contains 4 'rooms' and a new monster type (CR 1/4) and has a redundant map. There is a small twist in how the kidnappee should be "rescued" (by force or by diplomacy). The new breed also has some interesting special powers. And then, as an afterthought, there is also a wandering monster table for the initial wilderness trek. In defense I could add that the monsters don't look exaggerated for the environment. The booklet closes with the race description of the new breed and with a new artifact. I give this product a Substance rating of 1. Maybe as a beginning player I would rate it a 2 but only because it could save me the time to do the numbers or as an example, but not because of the adventure. There are numerous free adventures available on the web (notably the Cliffhangers and monthly free downloads on WotC's own site) that offer more detail and depth (and maps) than this module. I could compare it to the 4-page adventures you used to find in gaming magazines, but even most of these adventures would look better than this one. The only thing that remotely comes to mind are the Fiend Factory pages in White Dwarf or TSR's "Book of Lairs", where a simple dungeon bash revolved around a new type of monster. Yeah. That's what this module reminded me most of. Conclusion "Bring him back alive!" contains little you couldn't write yourself, given a quiet afternoon and a Monster Manual. But this adventure can easily be plugged into almost any campaign with a minimum of preparation and a GM can easily flesh out the encounters. And I just found "Independence Day" in my library, which proves Matt Forbeck has done better in the short format. Would I buy any other Adventure Keep modules? Not very likely. Maybe, if I had to stage a session in, say, Egypt I might take a look at the "Heart of Amun Khonshu" but only because there's a Pharaoh's mask on the cover and only after checking if "Sethotep" wouldn't do the trick. I can't judge the quality of the entire Adventure Keep line on one supplement, but I remember other reviews of the AEG mini's Would I play it? Let's say that for the moment I have other low-level adventures that have a higher probability. ;^) GP