The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Introduction

d20 adventures have it tough. Not only do a good number of GMs not use them, but they have to compete against 20-some years of previously published AD&D adventures, the cost-efficient Dungeon magazine, and even free adventure downloads. The Serpent Amphrora and the Serpent in the Fold are the first two parts of Sword & Sorcery's Serpent Amphora Cycle. The SA is a free 13-page download from the Sword and Sorcery site, for 1st-2nd level good characters. SitF is a 56-page staplebound black and white booklet (photocopy-friendly for player handouts) for 3rd-5th level good characters. Both take place in the Scarred Lands campaign and refer to the Relic and Rituals, Creature Compendium and Creature Compendium II supplements. However, only the 3e Player's Handbook is needed for play.

***SPOILERS***

The Plot

Both SA and SitF center around a magical artifact, the Serpent Amphora. This artifact is just a mcguffin, something that doesn't do anything except to drive the adventure. Although a powerful magic item, the players can't do anything with it, and the NPCs who want it don't know how it works. The plot of SA is that the players must deliver it to a city, fighting a few villains in the process. The plot of SitF is that the party is sent to find information about the item in another city, only to be told of a traitor back home. To find the traitor, a herald sends them to follow a party of enemies in a dungeon seeking their own mcguffin. At one point, the party overhears the name of the traitor and, after defeating said enemies, returns home to find the traitor. It's all pretty standard stuff. Except for one thing...

GM's Bits Box

I don't know how many of you convert miniatures, but the term, "bits box" refers to all those neat little bits and pieces you can stick on a miniature to improve its "ooh, ahh" factor: Cut off a warrior's head and replace it with a creature's. Create a mixed army unit by replacing the sword of some figures with spears and axes. That sort of thing.

SA and SitF is a very nice set of bits. You can lift nearly every scene and stick it into either a dungeon or wilderness adventure. There's even a manor house you can use for a haunted house or non-fantasy roleplaying game. NPC bad guys can be used in other adventures.

Monster statistics and rules for uncommon mechanics (eg. fighting uphill, surviving a storm at sea, competition at a skill contest at a carnival) are included in the scenes, so you don't have to refer to the DMG or improvise a mechanic.

Most scenes can easily be removed from the adventure with little effect on play. Party too tired? Remove a monster encounter. Late start? Remove a city encounter. Unfortunately, there are two scenes I would recommend modifying...

Forced roleplaying

In forced roleplaying, a character fails some roll, and is forced to act in a manner his player may not want to do. Some players can do this, some players won't. In SitF, if a PC fails a Will roll during the nightmare scene, he must attack the creature in the nightmare when it appears. The nightmare can be easily cut from the adventure, or you could add and NPC to the party to suffer the nightmare.

Railroading

Railroading is an scene in an adventure where, regardless of what the players do, something **must** happen. Not surprisingly, many players don't like this, and GMs don't like being put in this position. In a SA combat scene in SA, the players have the mcguffin in their possession and the adventure says they **must** lose it to their opponents. Maybe fiddle with the events: Preceding this scene, a fallen ranger gives the mcguffin to the party. Then some bad guys take it away from them. Replace this with the party seeing the ranger being killed off by the bad guys, of which one of them runs away with the mcguffin. The rest of the bad guys stay to delay the party. Or something.

Other than these two scenes, the adventure is quite playable.

Conclusion

Both the Serpent Amphrora and the Serpent in the Fold are standard fare for fantasy adventuring. But if you're the type of GM who's looking for detailed scenes to add to an adventure, you might want to take a closer look. SA is a free download. If you like it, you'll find that SitF is more of the same.

Swords and Sorcery site. Click on the Web Extras for a free download of the Serpent Amphora:
http://www.swordsorcery.com

MageKnight "bits box" miniatures conversion. Note some of the more interesting bits in his box... :
http://www.wizkidsgames.com/mageknight/article.asp?cid=36952&frame=gameresources

Alfred Hitchcock and the McGuffin:
http://sc.essortment.com/alfredhitchcoc_rvhd.htm