The Inside Scoop on Gaming



	Disclaimer I: I have seen in reviews that the content had "spoiler" ascribed to it. I feel that if you are reading a review, you invite that upon yourself. If you don't want "spoilers," why would you read a review of a product you do not own? I will not use the phrase of "Contains Spoilers" in my reviews, if you want a non-biased review that doesn't reveal content-look elsewhere. Disclaimer II: The majority of this review is opinion; your actual enjoyment of this product should vary accordingly.

	"... As you make your way to the top of the rise, almost two dozen armored figures become visible below. They are clearly divided into two groups. The members of the larger group wear tattered yellow tunics and stand in mob formation. One carries a yellow banner emblazoned with what looks like a severed leg. Two others carry pikes with actual legs pierced atop them. Also among this group is something larger. It has broad shoulders and stands almost a yard taller than the others. ..." (p. 27)

WARNING SHOT: Act Zero, Scene 72. Dungeon Master, in hopes of a good pre-fab adventure, scurries along the stacks in hope to see that beloved Dungeons & Dragons logo. And he does, atop an adventure from Kingdoms of Kalamar. Unfamiliar with the setting, but good with revisions, the DM heads to the counter, flipping through the book and begging that his low level party doesn't get to far a field before he is stuck with too much ad libitum.

Adriv's Revenge is a D&D/KoK first level adventure. It is also an update from an earlier edition version of what I assume is the same adventure, entitled Tragedy in the House of Brodeln (1995). The adventure is structured much like a play, presenting three acts in which the characters aid and assist a young prince reclaim his father's dignity-and break a curse or two in the process. While the adventure is lengthy, the action requires much shoehorning from the non-player characters to get the players into the swing of things. Unfortunate characters will be jailed, perform jailbreaks, breaking and entering and some host of other nasty stuff before the adventure concludes. Every now and again, having the party behave socially miscreant is good, but usually it is more enjoyable to have them do so later in their heroic careers. Despite having the prince saved, several guardsmen should rightfully be leery around the characters later. But I assume that the writers of the adventure expect that the heroes will be moving quickly away as the adventure concludes, probably directed (or forced) by the very people they've helped. I did like that tidbit added in for future threads. An overall feeling I get from this module is that the characters (player and non-player) are the driving force behind the thrust of the adventure. Several good (minor) characters make appearances that help and hinder the plot. The Captain Welvr character makes an excellent example of the scope of this adventures supporting cast, as does the pseudodragon. The adventures plot is small in scope, but very trying on the amount of locations visited throughout. The villages, castles, forests, lakes, caves, and etc. lend themselves greatly for the ad libitum that most low-level characters should avoid. Not everything written in the module is that great, and the adventure shows its age in some places. Some scenes test my sense of disbelief, like the dead bear in the caves. I don't think that the scent of death would be too hard too detect. I guess that comes from my personal experiences with burying animals. Overall, a careful referee should run this adventure or else the actions of the characters will ruin the enjoyment of some possible solid roleplaying. This is a decent adventure, but it will take some work to get the pieces together.

Aldriv's Revenge