The Witch of Loch Durnan
Written by Andrew Thompson
Published by Mystic Eye Games
www.mysticeyegames.com
72 b & w pages
$13.95
A combination of event and site module, The Witch of Loch Durnan is meant for four 5th-7th level characters. Although this module takes place in Loch Durnan and is a sequel to The Pit of Lock-Durnan, it also stands as an independent module set in The Hunt campaign through use of sidebars.
A breakdown of events from the Pit of Loch-Durnan shows that the evil imprisoned Devil Lord is back up to his old tricks of corrupting the surrounding lands. Apparently when a party of adventurers buried him (that party being the players if they went through Pit), they dislodged the crystal and set it lose in a close area where its corruption has wrapped the animals nearby.
The adventure is broken into five different acts: The Heroes’ Welcome, Attack on the Bekford’s Palce, Witch Hunt, Of Men And Monsters, Retribution, Aftermath. Also included are three appendixes to round out the module including NPCs and Creatures, Alternate adventure Locations and a Mutant Generator.
In the Heroes Welcome, the chapter provides information that the GM can use to customize how the people of Loch see the party. The important thing to note here is that there are internal power plays going on between the old inhabitants of the town and the newer ones who’ve come lured by the reestablished gold mine. Of those in power that are new are two priest from the Pantehon, a powerful religious organization in The Hunt setting. A few side adventures are possible and GMs should use them to incorporate the players properly into the setting.
Chapter Two, Attack on the Bekford’s Place, is the first event in the book where the characters are called on to battle strange mutants that are attacking an outlying farm home. The monsters are mutated versions of vermin like rats, leeches, and fish that walk, crawl and fly. Fortunately for the players, these creatures are low-level fodder fit for quick killing.
In Witch Hunt, the Witch of Loch Durnan is, yes you guessed it, hunted. The party may intervene through role-playing actions to stop the hunt here, but the gist is that the villagers want something done about these attacks and are on the move to find the source of this horror. Of course, it’s never a good idea to go walking into the fog where you can easily become separated from your comrades… One of the interesting side treks or events that can happen here is the party can encounter Ian, a mad devil-worshipping sorcerer. Those who’ve played through the first module may recognize Ian as he was one of the main antagonists from said module.
The monsters don’t sit still for this and another event, Of Men and Monsters, has the creatures attacking the village. A large map is provided so GMs can have some fun but the map would need to be bigger still for miniature use. Worse, since there’s no scale on the map, you’ll have to assume one square equals ten feet. The sequence of events that happens is a little complicated for new GMs but if you’ve got counters, it simplifies matters immensely. One of the most interesting aspects of this chapter is how it takes into account human opportunism as a pair of rogues decides to ply their trade at this critical juncture.
Much like in war, the townsfolk don’t sit still after their town has come under siege and beg the heroes to make short work on the monsters in Retribution. Here, the author has gone a step further than merely provided the GM with mutants to throw at the players. Oh no. Even though there are several unique creatures within the cavern, the devil Warphit has an extra surprise. You see, there was a tribe of elves buried under where the contained devil currently sits trapped and his dark powers have animated those tortured souls so now the players not only have to content with powerful mutants, but undead as well.
The book wraps up in the Aftermath where some continuity questions have to be answered. For example, now that the players have overcome the minions of the devil lord again, what will they do with his prison?
Appendix one is a round up of all the critters and creatures here and should really only be for the NPCs. The monsters are listed as you read through the text and they’re listed enough that I don’t want to see a collection of them at the end. How many times do I have to see the stats for Mosquito Beasts, Fish Beast and Leech Beast? I would say…once.
Appendix two is a little more useful to those considering a long-term campaign in the Loch area as it provides several areas with expanded details. Those who ponder what happened to the old manor that is now occupied by the church will investigate the full mpas of the Manor and find that perhaps not everything is on the up and up as it seems. Those more interested in the mines can help the dwarves fend off the giant ants while those more interested in seeing how the Halfling rangers fare, will explore the Longtoes valley.
To me, the most useful element of this book was Appendix Three, MutantGenerator. Several pages of tables and charts allow you to customize your monsters with a wide array of mutations. I say to me this is the most useful element because long after the party has finished with The Witch, they’ll be able to fight monsters created with this generator. Another reason is personal in that I love Chaos from Games Workshop and always work on little things to incorporate those horrible elements into my cultists and minions of the Four Dark Powers.
The book has a standard layout of two columns with a border on the outer edge. Space use is fair in most cases except the continual monster stats that are in large blocks, as are the read aloud descriptions. While the cover art, the Witch of Loch-Durnan shedding light of the horrors of the night is a fantastic piece, the interior art in the book ranges as there are three artists. While I enjoy Marcio Fiorito’s and Scott Purdyn’s, I’m not impressed with Scott Drouin’s work. Not that it’s bad, but comparatively, it doesn’t have the same level of quality. Maps are crisp and clean with a high readability factor. However, one does need to have a legend and scale put on it.
The book suffers from some editing gaffes that might’ve been caused by rushing the product to meet Gen Con deadlines. In addition, some of the writing itself feels rushed as if the author didn’t have time to investigate every avenue that needed to be written down. For example, the two people in power here are members of the Pantheon, a very powerful church. One of the biggest questions at the end of the module is how will the party handle the imprisoned devil lord. Not once is a reference made to handing the thing over to the Pantheon.
In addition, the layout of NPCs in Appendix One seems random because it’s not in alphabetical order. Worse still, illustrations for NPCs are not always on the same page, or within a page or two of the text. Lastly, the module is not for any character higher than 5th level without some scaling. The end encounter is with a Brood Queen is who a CR of 7. This is an appropriate climax for 5th level characters, not 7th level ones. Lastly, the book has a little too much emphasis on the Hunt campaign setting. For example, what type of gods do the Pantheon worshippers follow if your not using the Hunt? What is a good counter class for the Witch if you don’t own the Hunt? Things that like are seeded in small places but it crops up often enough to be noticeable.
The module provides several nights of game play but could’ve benefited from a few more rounds of editing and clarity in the writing. Those who enjoy The Hunt or have played through The Pit of Loch Durnan have a great adventure ahead of them. Those who’ve never heard of either setting or previous module can wrest a good module with some horror elements to challenge their players.
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