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'The Siege of Durgam's Folly' is a 32-page stapled soft-cover module by veteran author Mike Mearls, written for 4 to 6 characters of 5th to 8th level. So far, this has been Mr. Mearls only adventure published by Necromancer Games. The cover is of the same high quality and style as known from all other publications from NG, very much reminiscent of the old 1e modules.

The maps for this module were made by Conan Venus, who has left Necromancer Games a while ago. Again, his maps are not error-free but still ok and well usable.

The price of $ 9.95 is standard for a module of its size, though I know that many people considered it too small for some reason. WotC modules of the same size and price do not receive this critique for some other reason (which is beyond my understanding).

If you plan to play a character in Siege of Durgam?s Folly stop reading now! The following part will contain heavy SPOILERS!

For best chances of concluding this adventure I?d recommend a healthy mix of character classes. There should be at least two fighters or otherwise melee-orientated PCs in the group, as there are parts of heavy fighting that will most likely eradicate any group not prepared to take on large numbers of enemies.

To the story of the module itself: The party gets hired to protect a mysterious caravan that is headed for Durgam?s Folly, a remote outpost on the border to the territory of the ogres and other vile races. This fort is somewhat legendary as it has never been defeated or taken by an attacking force. Unbeknownst to the party there is an old artificer, Theodocious, who conducts secret experiments in the dungeon he discovered below Durgam?s Folly. He is working on a new type of soldier that would not feel pain in battle and obey any order. For this reason he has developed a new category of constructs, the Clockworks.

The trouble already starts on the way to this outpost. The party finds the village nearest to Durgam?s Folly in ruins with all inhabitants brutally slain or gone. Pushing on to the fort, they are ambushed by a horde of ogres and get the opportunity to find out that Durgam?s Folly has fallen to a large band of ogres under the lead of an ogre-mage by the name of Grimulak. Reaching the vicinity of Durgam?s Folly concludes part one of the module.

In part two the party has to reclaim the fort, with or without the help from the caravan?s personnel. The author has left this part relatively easy. All the ogres are off guard and most of them drunk. Infiltrating the fort shouldn?t be too difficult, given that the party makes up a good plan (i.e. find out where the prisoners ?if any- are kept and free them, etc). At this point the PCs should still believe that Theodocious and Grimulak are working hand in hand, although this is not exactly the case. Defeating Grimulak and his band of ogres concludes part two.

Part three leads the party into the dungeon below Durgam?s Folly, where they?ll find out the bitter truth. Theodocious had enlarged the dungeon part by part and had accidentally opened a passage to an ancient temple of the Demon Lord Orcus. The influence of this evil place made his experiments go awry. The central control unit for his clockwork soldiers, the brain-gear, developed its own consciousness and enslaved Theodocious, now forcing him to build new clockworks all day, mainly from the bodies of the poor souls taken prisoner by the clockworks (they had taken over the fort, then contacted the ogres to reinforce them) or the innocent people taken away by the ogres from the nearby village. The dungeon itself is tricky and very interesting for both, DM and players, and should turn out to be a deadly challenge for anyone wandering in unprepared.

All in all, ?Siege of Durgam?s Folly? is an excellent adventure. Unfortunately, this is not quite obvious when reading through it. The story seems strange at first and the clockwork constructs (there is a 5-page appendix, detailing all different types of clockworks) don?t seem to fit a fantasy setting at first glance. On the contrary to (i.e.) Lance Hawvermale who writes in a very lyrical style, Mike Mearls? style is more technical, more DM-orientated. This means that it doesn?t read as easy as (i.e.) ?What Evil Lurks? and I guess this is the main reason why this module didn?t get the acknowledgement it deserves. There is one little secret about SoDF: You?ll have to play it. I gave it a shot and it turned out to be one of the most fascinating, PC-scaring, ass-kicking adventures I?ve DMed in over ten years. The atmosphere of horror and helplessness still makes my players shiver when they?re thinking back to this experience.

I?ve rated this great work only Classy/Meaty as it takes a half-ways experienced DM to have this module blossom into an Classy/Excellent adventure. I can only recommend this to all DMs out there. Wanna scare the sh*t out of your players? Run ?The Siege of Durgam?s Folly?! It?s unforgettable.

The Siege of Durgam's Folly
The Siege of Durgam's Folly Playtest Review by Björn Strohecker on 24/04/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Travel to a distant outpost, battle an unexpected foe. A masterpiece by Mike Mearls Product: The Siege of Durgam's Folly Author: Mike Mearls Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Necromancer Games / Sword & Sorcery Studios Line: d20 module for use with any fantasy setting Cost: $ 9.95 Page count: 32 Year published: 2001 ISBN: 1-58846-188-2 SKU: WW8370 Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by Björn Strohecker on 24/04/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Horror	'The Siege of Durgam's Folly' is a 32-page stapled soft-cover module by veteran author Mike Mearls, written for 4 to 6 characters of 5th to 8th level. So far, this has been Mr. Mearls only adventure published by Necromancer Games. The cover is of the same high quality and style as known from all other publications from NG, very much reminiscent of the old 1e modules. The maps for this module were made by Conan Venus, who has left Necromancer Games a while ago. Again, his maps are not error-free but still ok and well usable. The price of $ 9.95 is standard for a module of its size, though I know that many people considered it too small for some reason. WotC modules of the same size and price do not receive this critique for some other reason (which is beyond my understanding). If you plan to play a character in Siege of Durgam?s Folly stop reading now! The following part will contain heavy SPOILERS! For best chances of concluding this adventure I?d recommend a healthy mix of character classes. There should be at least two fighters or otherwise melee-orientated PCs in the group, as there are parts of heavy fighting that will most likely eradicate any group not prepared to take on large numbers of enemies. To the story of the module itself: The party gets hired to protect a mysterious caravan that is headed for Durgam?s Folly, a remote outpost on the border to the territory of the ogres and other vile races. This fort is somewhat legendary as it has never been defeated or taken by an attacking force. Unbeknownst to the party there is an old artificer, Theodocious, who conducts secret experiments in the dungeon he discovered below Durgam?s Folly. He is working on a new type of soldier that would not feel pain in battle and obey any order. For this reason he has developed a new category of constructs, the Clockworks. The trouble already starts on the way to this outpost. The party finds the village nearest to Durgam?s Folly in ruins with all inhabitants brutally slain or gone. Pushing on to the fort, they are ambushed by a horde of ogres and get the opportunity to find out that Durgam?s Folly has fallen to a large band of ogres under the lead of an ogre-mage by the name of Grimulak. Reaching the vicinity of Durgam?s Folly concludes part one of the module. In part two the party has to reclaim the fort, with or without the help from the caravan?s personnel. The author has left this part relatively easy. All the ogres are off guard and most of them drunk. Infiltrating the fort shouldn?t be too difficult, given that the party makes up a good plan (i.e. find out where the prisoners ?if any- are kept and free them, etc). At this point the PCs should still believe that Theodocious and Grimulak are working hand in hand, although this is not exactly the case. Defeating Grimulak and his band of ogres concludes part two. Part three leads the party into the dungeon below Durgam?s Folly, where they?ll find out the bitter truth. Theodocious had enlarged the dungeon part by part and had accidentally opened a passage to an ancient temple of the Demon Lord Orcus. The influence of this evil place made his experiments go awry. The central control unit for his clockwork soldiers, the brain-gear, developed its own consciousness and enslaved Theodocious, now forcing him to build new clockworks all day, mainly from the bodies of the poor souls taken prisoner by the clockworks (they had taken over the fort, then contacted the ogres to reinforce them) or the innocent people taken away by the ogres from the nearby village. The dungeon itself is tricky and very interesting for both, DM and players, and should turn out to be a deadly challenge for anyone wandering in unprepared. All in all, ?Siege of Durgam?s Folly? is an excellent adventure. Unfortunately, this is not quite obvious when reading through it. The story seems strange at first and the clockwork constructs (there is a 5-page appendix, detailing all different types of clockworks) don?t seem to fit a fantasy setting at first glance. On the contrary to (i.e.) Lance Hawvermale who writes in a very lyrical style, Mike Mearls? style is more technical, more DM-orientated. This means that it doesn?t read as easy as (i.e.) ?What Evil Lurks? and I guess this is the main reason why this module didn?t get the acknowledgement it deserves. There is one little secret about SoDF: You?ll have to play it. I gave it a shot and it turned out to be one of the most fascinating, PC-scaring, ass-kicking adventures I?ve DMed in over ten years. The atmosphere of horror and helplessness still makes my players shiver when they?re thinking back to this experience. I?ve rated this great work only Classy/Meaty as it takes a half-ways experienced DM to have this module blossom into an Classy/Excellent adventure. I can only recommend this to all DMs out there. Wanna scare the sh*t out of your players? Run ?The Siege of Durgam?s Folly?! It?s unforgettable.