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_A Challenge of Arm's_ is the first module to be released in the Wolfmoon Adventure Module Series from Inner City. The series appears to be designed to develop a setting for a fantasy campaign, providing both setting information and a specific adventure--in this case, a dungeon crawl--in each installment. How many modules are planned in the series is not made apparent, but what clues are present suggest a few more are in production.

The text offers basic notes on the terms used to describe the capabilities of the people and creatures found within. The fashion in which this is done is highly reminiscent of adventure modules produced long ago, with a generic, level-based notation system. The module is recommended for characters of "skill levels two to five" using a level-based system, indicating low-powered characters. The text explains the notation for defensive capabilities and energy and movement and skills and the like in terms that most gamers will readily be able to convert to the system of their choice. The module can be used with any set of fantasy rules, with the difficulty of conversion dependent solely upon the complexity of the rules being used.

_A Challenge of Arm's_ is clearly a generic adventure/setting supplement, intended for use with any fantasy rpg. The setting material provided is not as generic, but can be easily modified to fit into existing campaign lands if desired.

The GM's background establishes the recent political maneuvering taking place in a frontier area. The ruler of one land has arranged for a raid on the treasury of a neighboring ruler in an effort to forestall a military buildup. As this rading party returns, it is ambushed, leaving but one unsuspected survivor to escape. The player characters stumble upon the site of this ambush, and the happenstance of finding it is what leads them into the heart of the adventure.

Once the players get to town, they draw attention to themselves in some fashion. If they ask about the ambush site, they will draw attention to themselves and be drawn into the story. If they spend any of the coins found at the ambush site they will get drawn in. If they encounter some of the townÕs evil NPCs, for better or worse, they will get tugged deeper into the story. If they respond to advertisement for a bit of employment, they will be hooked into the tale. The adventure is designed to pull the PCs in by hook or by crook.

At some point then, the PCs will find themselves waking up from drugged sleep and being interrogated by the Arm, the master of the local ThievesÕ Guild. The slain raiding party was formed of his people, and he wonders if the PCs are working on behalf of the neighboring land. Once he is convinced of their innocence, however, he offers them employment as agents of the Guild.

This is followed by "testing" in a pet dungeon below the town. Once the PCs have finished with the dungeon, they are officially offered positions in the Hand (the thieves' guild) under good terms. It is at this point that the adventure leaves off, with the taste of things to come established by the appearance of marauding wolfweres.

The material presented in this module is of mixed appeal. The setting material and background information are interesting and offer a range of activities for groups of all sorts. The dungeon, however, is of lesser quality and will probably be unused. The setting and background comprise the greater part of the module, though, and it can prove useful for this reason.

All of the material provided on the setting is generic enough to be easily lifted and placed into an existing campaign. The tensions between the two frontier kingdoms can just as easily involve a pair of duchies or baronies, or even a couple of neighboring tribes as the existing campaign demands. The names of the people and places are obviously meant to be customized in use--the town is called Hauberk and a major NPC is named Brain Fry, for instance--and have only enough specific detail to make the storyline work. The threat made by the wolfweres in the region is easily translatable into a different setting, not depending upon the tensions existing elsewhere.

The link between the Arm (and the Hand) and the King is explained, which provides an interesting twist on the idea of a Thieves' Guild. The extent of the Hand's activities in town seems overstated, but GMs can pick and choose from among the reported activities, buildings, and personnel to operate a guild of a size suited to the individual campaign.

The dungeon fails muster in several regards. First, why would a ThievesÕ Guild have as a test of competency something that has little to do with its normal activities? Next, the existence of ÒpetÓ monsters kept fat, sassy, and happy below the town stretches the bounds of willing belief too far. Why would an ogre sit in a single room all day waiting to assist adventurers? How much food does the mammoth eat, and how do they smuggle it into the dungeon, which is secret? Why would there be healers willing to spend hours in this dungeon taking care of ferocious beasts and healing them after adventuring parties chop up the critters? And that giant....

The physical components lend themselves to usefulness, with a handful of maps and handouts and the module book being packaged in a GMÕs screen. The module qualifies as being usefully generic, providing enough detail to cover the tensions and basic storylines but not so much as to lock the adventure into the setting provided. The promise of more material in the next module provides greater value for the background material in this one. GMs will not be left with merely the background tensions of the region, but will likely have specific adventures added which develop from those tensions.

The material presented is enough to spark interest in seeing how the next module develops matters further. The sub-standard dungeon decreases the value of the module, but is easily enough discarded and ignored. The dungeon does not ruin the module for use and GMs may find the rest of the material useful.

Coolness : Lemonade

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 3 (Average)

A Challenge of Arm's
Author: by Christopher Clark Category: game Company/Publisher: Inner City Games Designs Page count: 80 pp. Capsule Review by Larry D. Hols on 08/24/98. Genre tags: none	_A Challenge of Arm's_ is the first module to be released in the Wolfmoon Adventure Module Series from Inner City. The series appears to be designed to develop a setting for a fantasy campaign, providing both setting information and a specific adventure--in this case, a dungeon crawl--in each installment. How many modules are planned in the series is not made apparent, but what clues are present suggest a few more are in production. The text offers basic notes on the terms used to describe the capabilities of the people and creatures found within. The fashion in which this is done is highly reminiscent of adventure modules produced long ago, with a generic, level-based notation system. The module is recommended for characters of "skill levels two to five" using a level-based system, indicating low-powered characters. The text explains the notation for defensive capabilities and energy and movement and skills and the like in terms that most gamers will readily be able to convert to the system of their choice. The module can be used with any set of fantasy rules, with the difficulty of conversion dependent solely upon the complexity of the rules being used. _A Challenge of Arm's_ is clearly a generic adventure/setting supplement, intended for use with any fantasy rpg. The setting material provided is not as generic, but can be easily modified to fit into existing campaign lands if desired. The GM's background establishes the recent political maneuvering taking place in a frontier area. The ruler of one land has arranged for a raid on the treasury of a neighboring ruler in an effort to forestall a military buildup. As this rading party returns, it is ambushed, leaving but one unsuspected survivor to escape. The player characters stumble upon the site of this ambush, and the happenstance of finding it is what leads them into the heart of the adventure. Once the players get to town, they draw attention to themselves in some fashion. If they ask about the ambush site, they will draw attention to themselves and be drawn into the story. If they spend any of the coins found at the ambush site they will get drawn in. If they encounter some of the townÕs evil NPCs, for better or worse, they will get tugged deeper into the story. If they respond to advertisement for a bit of employment, they will be hooked into the tale. The adventure is designed to pull the PCs in by hook or by crook. At some point then, the PCs will find themselves waking up from drugged sleep and being interrogated by the Arm, the master of the local ThievesÕ Guild. The slain raiding party was formed of his people, and he wonders if the PCs are working on behalf of the neighboring land. Once he is convinced of their innocence, however, he offers them employment as agents of the Guild. This is followed by "testing" in a pet dungeon below the town. Once the PCs have finished with the dungeon, they are officially offered positions in the Hand (the thieves' guild) under good terms. It is at this point that the adventure leaves off, with the taste of things to come established by the appearance of marauding wolfweres. The material presented in this module is of mixed appeal. The setting material and background information are interesting and offer a range of activities for groups of all sorts. The dungeon, however, is of lesser quality and will probably be unused. The setting and background comprise the greater part of the module, though, and it can prove useful for this reason. All of the material provided on the setting is generic enough to be easily lifted and placed into an existing campaign. The tensions between the two frontier kingdoms can just as easily involve a pair of duchies or baronies, or even a couple of neighboring tribes as the existing campaign demands. The names of the people and places are obviously meant to be customized in use--the town is called Hauberk and a major NPC is named Brain Fry, for instance--and have only enough specific detail to make the storyline work. The threat made by the wolfweres in the region is easily translatable into a different setting, not depending upon the tensions existing elsewhere. The link between the Arm (and the Hand) and the King is explained, which provides an interesting twist on the idea of a Thieves' Guild. The extent of the Hand's activities in town seems overstated, but GMs can pick and choose from among the reported activities, buildings, and personnel to operate a guild of a size suited to the individual campaign. The dungeon fails muster in several regards. First, why would a ThievesÕ Guild have as a test of competency something that has little to do with its normal activities? Next, the existence of ÒpetÓ monsters kept fat, sassy, and happy below the town stretches the bounds of willing belief too far. Why would an ogre sit in a single room all day waiting to assist adventurers? How much food does the mammoth eat, and how do they smuggle it into the dungeon, which is secret? Why would there be healers willing to spend hours in this dungeon taking care of ferocious beasts and healing them after adventuring parties chop up the critters? And that giant.... The physical components lend themselves to usefulness, with a handful of maps and handouts and the module book being packaged in a GMÕs screen. The module qualifies as being usefully generic, providing enough detail to cover the tensions and basic storylines but not so much as to lock the adventure into the setting provided. The promise of more material in the next module provides greater value for the background material in this one. GMs will not be left with merely the background tensions of the region, but will likely have specific adventures added which develop from those tensions. The material presented is enough to spark interest in seeing how the next module develops matters further. The sub-standard dungeon decreases the value of the module, but is easily enough discarded and ignored. The dungeon does not ruin the module for use and GMs may find the rest of the material useful. Coolness : Lemonade Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 3 (Average)