|
"...
In his researches, Milos learned of extraplanar beings that possessed
mortal hosts tp study different times and places. When Lucius underwent
a personality change overnight, Milos knew just what was going on—but,
to his frustration, he also knew that when the real Lucius returned,
he wouldn't remember anything of his time away. When the librarian began
having nightmares and memory problems, Milos took notice. Apparently,
Lucius was remembering something of his time on anpther plane. Milos
decided to kidnap the man and torture the information out of him. Such
arcane knowledge could benefit the Brotherhood greatly. ..." (p.
16)
|
|
Death
in Freeport is a d20 system adventure, listed to challenge characters
of 1st to 3rd level. Though the party may start out being this low,
the slow moment of plot and sharp challenge curve towards the end will
keep the characters wanting mass-amounts of healing potions.
The characters
arrive at Freeport, a pirate city where violence is common as a cold,
and sometimes more deadly. The adventure features a solid, if sordid,
history of the city and gives the referee no sense of plotting. The
referee may just lead the party down too many blind alleys and use several
red herrings before the characters get to the bottom of the Case of
the Missing Librarian.
The adventure
prides itself on being part political and part mystery. While, it seems
to me, in this adventure the main thrust is a mystery and not a political
plot. The heroes are asked to help find the missing librarian, they
find him at some cultists' subterranean temple to an elder god, and
free him after confronting the vile serpent men that hold him.
The simple
drive of the plot, while good for beginning referees, is bound too much
on having the party (and by default, the players) enjoy tracking down
little details; yes, its a mystery, but we're not working with the mystery
machine here, as the adventure makes it feel that the party must be
to get some of the leaps in logic from point to point. The story may
very well breakdown at the pirate ship, and several party members would
be happy with its magical loot.
Several
things about this adventure struck me as I was reading it over: first,
is the lack of story-based awards for hunting down the wayward librarian,
after all, the final encounter is of a fifth level rating and even a
third level may be wiped out and sacrificed to the Unspeakable One;
second, the whole Cthulhu-esque adventure would be a good thing to adapt
into the Gaslight setting; third, the whole text of the adventure, which
includes Freeport's history, is open content and allows anyone to develop
scenarios or supplements based in/on the city.
Other
points that got to me, was that a timeline of events once the party
has begun investigating the disappearance is notably absent. Having
a small flow chart, or paragraph just detailing what is going to occur,
would greatly aid the referee in following through successfully with
the adventure premise.
Overall,
the adventure is an interesting idea on presenting a mystery with a
cluttered backdrop. The party would have a fun time trying to get to
the final encounter, but I feel that if they make no headway (read here:
advancement), any future adventures for Mysterious Dungeons, Inc. will
lie with their sanity in the hands of the Unspeakable One and his cult.
|
Go to forum!
(Due to spamming, old forum discussions are no linked.)