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Starting things off, to save people time we have…. Who Shouldn’t Buy This? There is a recurring theme of monsters raping women in the module. It doesn’t actually happen “on screen”, but serves as a motivation for the disappearing villagers (some may recognize the monsters on the cover of MoD and have a hint as to what’s going on). I mention this since rape is a “trigger” for some people. Since the monsters have a second reason for abducting people, a novice GM could edit the rape element out and it won’t hurt the story to do so.
Now, I won’t go into the plot too much here. Partially because I don’t like to spoil surprises in adventure modules, and partially because it makes it easier for me to write reviews when I can leave a bunch of stuff out by intent. The main plot is that the players are hired by the leader of Walsave to find missing village folk. While trying to determine what happened to the villagers, the party discovers a tunnel leading to the underground ruins of a pre-apocalyptic shopping center, which Walsave is built over (the titular “Mall of Doom”). In exploring the mall, the players will face numerous dangers, forgotten treasures, disgusting bathrooms, some truly horrific sights, and more.
Okay, so if I won’t go into the plot, what will I say about this adventure? Well, let’s start with this “multi-path” concept. The MoD is designed in a style similar to an old “choose your own path” adventure novel. In theory this allows for people to play it singularly or use it as a more traditional module. In practice, the multi-path structure isn’t probably linear enough for people to truly play it as a GM-less, solo game. It tries really hard for that and provides randomizers and options to a great effect, but there are still several places where the author seems to have forgotten that this module was also meant for solo playing. That and this adventure is intentionally designed to be brutal, recommending eight to ten party members in order to survive. I figure only the most dedicated (obsessive?) of gamers would want to run a table top RPG module with ten characters, playing all of them all by themselves. So do I think the multi-path is a bust? Far from it.
As an introductory adventure for novice GMs, the MoD is a freaking godsend. The multi-path structure serves to help guide rookie GMs from one point in the story to another. And it offers multiple variables for just about every encounter, NPC, looted treasure, and so forth. There’s even tables to generate variable payments to offer the PCs, with deeper tables to offer them still more randomly generated payments should they reject the first (or second in some cases!) rewards. Another nice touch is the number of potential recruits scattered throughout the adventure, to either replace dead PCs or further strengthen the party. There’s even a table to help generate reasons for some of the party members to care about Walsave’s fate beyond the reward. “But what if I’m an experienced GM who already knows how to run a game? Can I break with the multi-path structure?” Absolutely! In fact, you’ll likely have to at some point since your players will inevitably want to stray from the path they’re on.
“What’s this about it being PG-14?” I dunno’. I guess it’s some sort of Canadian thing. Oh! You mean why is it there in the first place? Well, there is a running theme of monsters abducting breeding stock from amongst the villagers. There’s also a potential encounter with a rather randy village person or two (or three) that’s given various amounts of attention in the adventure. There’s also lots of disturbing non-sexual imagery, violence, gore, and so forth. But ultimately, MoD isn’t any more brutal or violent than the core rule book. I give all the attention to sex because I know that there are people who will find the sexual themes a bit offensive or unsuitable for kids (granted, most of them were already turned off by the core book, so any warnings I give here may be unnecessary).
Well, what else does the module have to offer? The village of Walsave is a partially described place; there’s a map provided, but not every building is detailed (and some of the undetailed areas look very interesting). For purposes of this adventure there is plenty of information, but I suspect most GMs will want to flesh the village out themselves to use it further. A new creature is detailed, but it’s role in the adventure means it’s not likely to see everyday use otherwise. A couple of pieces of new gear are present, and after adventuring in the MoD the party will likely have quite a stockpile of the new items. There’s also a rather interesting NPC who could make for an impressive recurring villain (heh heh). But really, the star of the adventure is the Mall of Doom itself.
Style: Honestly, this book has the same caliber of art as the core rules, but lacks the same degree of editorial oversight. This does make solo playing a bit more difficult than it should be, it just reads poorly otherwise. On the other hand, for one guy doing everything it would seem I’m inclined to give it a bit higher rating than I would otherwise. And the art is pretty good and reflective of the text. The worst I can say about the art is that it reminded me of the old AD&D modules with art flipbooks to show to players, only in this case the module reminds me of those flipbooks and then comes up a bit short in the amount of art devoted to said “flipbook”. It’s still good though. Assuming 3 is an average rating, I’ll go with a solid 3. It could use work, but it’s not bad and I’ll give some slack for one guy able to put out something this good rather than condemning him for not doing better.
Substance: It depends on what you want I suppose. If you’re looking for a solo-playing module, I’d go with a high 2. Between some hiccups here and there in the multi-path structure and the idea of running over 8 characters for a solo game, I just don’t think this one works too well. If 3 is average, this one comes close but ultimately fails to make the grade. On the flipside, if you’re looking to run a traditional adventure for a group of players, I’ll give this one a solid 5. The multi-path structure should help new GMs run their first game, the random tables for just about everything should help inspire experienced GMs and guide the rookies, and there’s simply a ton of replay value to be had even when playing with the same group. Plus, it’s a pretty good little horror/post-apocalyptic module worth idea mining for Deadlands: Hell on Earth, Gamma World, Rifts, and likely other post-apocalyptic games besides.
Conclusion: Honestly, I don’t think it works as a solo module. It tried, but came up short and probably expects too much of people anyway. But as a more traditional adventure, or an adventure for novices, it’s almost perfect. It transcends the average module by blending the genres of gonzo post-apocalyptic survival, dungeon crawling exploration, and mind numbing horror. It’s not a must buy for the Mutant Epoch, but it’s a damn good book regardless.
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