Review of Bartok: Where Ogres Dare

Bartok: Where Ogres Dare wins this year's award for best adventure title ever. I was slightly disappointed that it didn't turn out to be a parody of Where Eagles Dare but was immediately compensated by the quality of this work.

Instead of being a world war two tale of spies and infiltrating Nazi fortresses, this is a simple little tale that is more a connection of vignettes than an adventure proper. After meeting an unusual ogre, the PCs pass a noble in trouble, who is thankfully killed not soon after, but not before revealing that the people who robbed him must have buried the massive chest of loot nearby so as to come back for it later. Just in case the PCs aren't motivated by cash alone, the ogre will burn down the next inn they come across to ensure they suddenly need lots of cash badly. The cash is easy to find but has been since nicked by night goblins, leading to some underground battles which might turn nasty if caution is not exercised. Meanwhile word has spread that the fireball-throwing ogre is an unlicensed mage, and the PCs may return with the cash only to discover a nasty witch-hunter on their tail - but can escape the results of this when the goblins strike the town for revenge and throw things into chaos.

As mentioned, it's not a particularly strong flow of events but the fact that there are so many of them and they are so interesting is a strong suit. They also require a bit of railroading to actually turn into a plot: the PCs can't chase after the bandits immediately, they must go after the treasure to engage in the goblin scenes, and so forth. However, because each vignette stands alone, this isn't a huge issue. Nothing will happen to the 'plot' if the PCs simply move on down the road, so as long as you don't need this adventure to last an exact number of hours, you'll be fine. This modularity makes the whole thing feel more seamless - it is neither random encounter nor full scenario, preventing the players from seeing where one adventure starts and the next begins.

Well, there is one consequence of the PCs just moving on, and that's missing out on a dungeon crawl which, against all rules and expectations to the contrary is interesting, tense and full of strategic choices. But if it is missed, GMs can always put it in elsewhere. And likewise, there is much more entertainment available from Bartok, who remains with the PCs at the end of the adventure.

It is this central NPC - Bartok, the kind-hearted magically-endowed ogre - who ties all these loose vignettes together. As fits such a central character, the author, Daniel Jorgensen, works hard to make Bartok likeable despite his trouble-causing habits, and succeeds: Bartok may annoy the characters but should charm the players. This success is due to the quality of the writing in this scenario, with Jorgensen understanding that it is vital for a scenario to not just discuss the what and the where but the why, and the how.

An example of the why is that each scenario is prefaced by an explanation of its narrative purpose, something crucial to adventure presentation but so often absent. The how is more subtle, but becomes clear in the way the scripted encounters are presented. For example, the first encounter with Bartok finds him peering into windows in a village, wondering where everyone might have gone, not realising for a moment they might be hiding from him. This isn't just comical and entertaining, it is extremely communicative of character, instantly telling the PCs that this creature is gentle-hearted and naive.

It is one thing to write an adventure explaining that A is a friend and B is a villain. It is something else entirely to provide the GM with the tools to send these messages to his players without any effort on his part. In fact, this is the very heart and soul of good adventure and encounter design, and puts Bartok: Where Angels Dare head and shoulders above most adventures on the site and even on the market, in spite of any lack of cohesion between scenes. A strong contender for this year's prize, by an author to watch closely in the future.