The Inside Scoop on Gaming

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	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.

	"... Clomush the Ogre has made his abode in this place. He ia an odd ogre, with a temperament that leans more toward the artistic than then the violent. His cave and the clearing outside are decorated with all sorts of items that he has crafted from materials to be found in the forest, such as wood, leaves, bones, hides and so forth. Most of the sculptures are abstract and truly bizarre. ..." (p. 12)

WARNING SHOT: Most first level adventures have you facing goblins and classed kobolds in the first few encounters, but in Nephew's simply plotted Thieves in the Forest, we get to face artistic ogres and harpies. A different feel from other beginning level adventures, and good for the most part, but the work does leave something to be desired.

Thieves in the Forest is a d20 system adventure, designed around a 1st level party of good-aligned adventurers. The adventure is supposed to highlight the heroic nature of the game, and is fairly basic in the overall plot: thieves are raiding and assaulting the folk of Brandon's Bridge, and its up to the player characters to stop them. The adventure did come out just a few months after the release of the core system books, so having an adventure designed to highlight some of the rules and get new players involved was not a bad thing. Though referees wanting to use this adventure as a means of starting a new campaign, may want to add more detail than the module provides. This adventure has several encounters where hack-and-slash characters would be at a distinct disadvantage and even unwelcome. The characters are supposed to be motivated by good-hearts not greed, and so the rewards for the overall adventure may not be up to some character's standards. In the actual adventure's 20 pages, the text seems lighter than other adventure modules and assists new referees quickly get a handle on the story. The large space taken up by the open content sections (NPC stats, monsters and magic items) makes this adventure even quicker to read, and presents a simplicity that more advanced referees might find irritating. While the use of flavor text and story bits aid some referees visualize the adventure's plot, having a section with a brief synopsis would have greatly increased the value of the adventure. Other neat parts in this adventure are the oddball, artistic ogre and the large battlemap that come affixed to the center staples. Though not big on large battles on tactical maps myself, I know that its hard for some new referees to visualize the way facing and other rule bits come into play. Thieves in the Forest is a solid adventure for the new referee or for those rolling up characters for the first time. With some added details, even the jaded referee may find a way of making the heroes of Brandon's Bridge into a legend in their own campaign.

Thieves in the Forest