This adventure is a throwback to the old 'hack and slash' games that some of us remember with either fondness or disgust that Mr. Gary Gygax seems to have been unfairly labeled with creating.
Simply put, this is for those of us who just want to slaughter everything. And frankly, it's refreshingly honest about it, and unlike those older scenarios, this game actually helps you get into it mechanically. More on that after.
Some more information first:
It's designed for six to eight level 1 characters, although you can do it with level 2 or 3 characters, for which they recommend no less than a combined total of 8-12 character levels for the PCs.
I'm not going to spoil the adventure, other than gives this synopsis:
A merchant wants to take over the town this tower is located in, but instead is killed by his warrior son, who kidnaps the King's newest trophy wife to help hide his real intent, and decides that HE'S a better ruler than either men. And to prove it, he's willing to rape and pillage the very same town.
That's it. That's the setup, and so with whatever hook the DM wants to use to get your heroes into the fray, you're off to kill the wizard, or more accurately, the fighter. There are few, if somewhat predictable, 'twists'.
Now, as for the new rules to help get into the mood for XTREME slaughter. This is in a section just after the GM only setting information, to give you a sense of what the module is like.
First up: The Finishing Move. This little perk is to allow the player to choose and create a maneuver that hearkens back to the Video Game glory of Mortal Combat and it's spawned ilk. Once you get a foe to a suitably bloodied level, you can take a full action to initiate your finisher.
Now, you need to determine what you're using, like if your a Fighter type using melee weapons, odds are you're going to want to make it using something you're good at. Likewise a spell caster will most likely want to use a magical effect.
Then after adding and subtracting the various and standard D20 bonuses into the deal, and making the roll, which even a Wizard or Cleric has to do even if it's a spell effect, should you beat the target's AC, then you get to add half your level (Round up) in d6 for damage. If that manages to do him or her in, then the player gets to describe how the finisher goes off. If it fails, well nothing happens, outside of a perhaps embarrassing description and combat continues.
And it doesn't use up a spell slot, or other limited effect, it's just there for the player to feel good and show off. Also it's suggested that the DM give some bonus XP (50 in this case) whenever you pull it off.
For example: Fighter Bob (Hi Bob!) gets into a scuffle with a Girallon (Four armed and massive gorilla) and gets it down to a mere ten hit points. He decides that this is the time to do his finishing move. So taking a look at what he got, he adds his Base Attack Bonus, his Strength, the Weapon Focus for his two swords and makes the D20 roll. He gets a 21 with all bonuses getting over it's AC. And rolling damage: 4d4 for Base weapons, 6 for 18 Str, 3d6 because he's 5th level... Total via averages: 21 points, beating it by 11. FINISH HIM!
Fighter Player says: "I swing both blades in an X pattern right across the beast's chest cutting straight lines and severing it into four meaty chunks. But before the pieces slither onto the floor, I scissor my weapons straight across it's throat, chopping it's head clean off it's neck, which spurts blood upwards as it falls to the ground covering it with gore."
Same scene with a Wizard (also Level 5 in this case)? Well, he still has to make a roll, but his is a combination of his highest Caster level (Which in this case happens to be 5 as he's a full wizard) his casting stat (Intelligence) all added to his die roll.
Wizard Player: "As the beast staggers back from my blast, I coalesce more arcane force into a ball between my hands. Getting it large enough I cast it straight at it's chest wherein it penetrates and expands. Cracks form along the body as the monster screams in pain until it suddenly explodes into steaming gobs of gorilla meat."
See? Fun stuff.
Now to prevent abuse of this, the DM is told to make sure it's an appropriate time to pull it off, and that any attempt to abuse the ability is to be denied firmly. Like telling the player, "No, it's not time yet."
The second change are the inclusion of Mook Rules. I personally like these as I'm very much into the 'cool' cinematic aspects of gaming. For those characters who are melee oriented, you automatically get Cleave and Great Cleave feats whenever facing these gobs of goobers. In this adventure, it means most of the humans are the poor suckers who get nailed, and most of them have special symbols that tell you that you're facing Mooks.
If you should already have Cleave, then you get 4 to hit. If you have BOTH, then you get 4 to hit AND damage.
For Ranged fighters, like Archers, you get the Rapid Shot for free, if you use throwing weapons, you also get Quick Draw. Should you already have Rapid Shot, then you get none of the usual penalties at all when using it.
Casters get the joy of a free Maximize spell effect without any of the costs.
Now, should you have a group of Mooks and a 'Named Character' (To use a Feng Shui-ism) you don't get Cleave or the like if you drop him (Unless you have the feat), but you do if you keep targeting the walking scenery. Same thing applies to magic, you roll normally on the big guns, while the surrounding meat gets the Maximize effect.
Also you don't need to hurt a Mook to pull off a Finishing Move, so go nuts with that.
It's fun for the whole family.
The last major ruling is that the Big Bad Guy gets a power called Big Badass. This allows him or her to get a full resurrection after the first death. He/she comes back with full health and stats, and then it's on. You also get extra experience for killing the Big Bad Guy again.
It's there to provide a challenge for you or your players.
The stat blocks are streamlined, mainly with all the bonuses and damages already calculated, and most of the extraneous stuff removed, although for you purists, all the work is done below in the appropriate sections.
And the last part in the same section is how to get a feel for it, namely the 'Block Buster Movie'. This is the sort of adventure where your party of dudes and dudettes go in and show off in grand style, but at the same time, there's danger so they can just be cavalier about it.
Right up my alley, really.
However, for those of you who would really want something deep and meaningful for a campaign, this is not for you. It's a purely, unapologetically bog standard adventure in the vein of the old second edition Dungeons and Dragons line. It's a "Creep & Sweep", "kill 'em all, take their stuff!" style of session.
The art in it is stylized and somewhat hokey, with people wielding oversized weapons, with the cover being the best part showing off the main NPC's of the piece. It has an mistake. The female is actually a redhead, not a brunette.
It's legible with only a couple of noticeable spelling errors. But nothing really out there to wow you. The maps are inside the covers depicting all four floors, with one page near the back for player handouts. The treasure and new monsters are also, right where they usually are, in the back of the book.
Still, it's not there to kick of a campaign, so it doesn't really need to be meaty.
So, in the end, if all you want a fun, over the top session of destroy and conquer, this little gem will be for you.
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