Island at the Top of the World

Achtung! Cthulhu is the roleplaying game of fast-paced pulp action and Mythos magic published by Modiphius Entertainment. It is pitches the Allied Agents of the Britain’s Section M, the United States’ Majestic, and the brave Resistance into a Secret War against those Nazi Agents and organisations which would command and entreat with the occult and forces beyond the understanding of mankind. They are willing to risk their lives and their sanity against malicious Nazi villains and the unfathomable gods and monsters of the Mythos themselves, each striving for supremacy in mankind’s darkest yet finest hour! Yet even the darkest of drives to take advantage of the Mythos is riven by differing ideologies and approaches pandering to Hitler’s whims. The Black Sun consists of Nazi warrior-sorcerers supreme who use foul magic and summoned creatures from nameless dimensions to dominate the battlefields of men, whilst Nachtwölfe, the Night Wolves, utilise technology, biological enhancements, and wunderwaffen (wonder weapons) to win the war for Germany. Ultimately, both utilise and fall under the malign influence of the Mythos, the forces of which have their own unknowable designs…

Achtung! Chtulhu 2d20: Operation Cold Threshold is a scenario that takes Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 back to North America, but not the Mid-West USA of Achtung! Cthulhu Mission: Seventh-Inning Slaughter! or the ice cold of British Columbia, Canada of Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Operation Snowstorm. Instead, it takes the Agents out into the Bering Sea in winter, more than a year before the USA joined the war effort and two years before the establishment of Majestic. It is March 1940 and from intercepted radio transmissions, Section M has learned that Nachtwölfe has dispatched a secret expedition ferried board a disguised Russian trawler, the Yalina, into US territorial waters where it has anchored off an uncharted island known as Threshold in the US territorial waters of the Bering Strait. In response, British government has informed its US counterpart and very quickly, the two governments have agreed to launch a joint Anglo-US mission to investigate and interdict the Nazi expedition. This is before the US government establishes Majestic as its counterpart to Section M, so it recruits the soldiers and experts that Professor Richard Deadman, one of the key figures in the future operations of Majestic, perhaps supported by Section M operatives who have already had experience with Nachtwölfe, the Mythos, and the Secret War.

Achtung! Chtulhu 2d20: Operation Cold Threshold is not a complex scenario. It is a simple matter of climbing onto the island from the other side to the site of the Nachtwölfe expedition, traveling across the top, observing the expedition’s activities, taking images using the assigned experimental cameras, and deciding what to do. There are a couple of wrinkles along the way, such as the weather and a potentially nosy polar bear, but as the Agents film the site, it is obvious that whatever it is that Nachtwölfe is doing on the island, is going to come to fruition soon! It is up to the players and their Agents to decide how they react to that, whether that is scouting the site and the trawler out, or going in all guns blazing. Whatever they decide to do, the mission is going to end in a big fight—though the Agents will have no idea how big—because after all, Achtung! Cthulhu is a roleplaying game of shooting and punching Nazis, let alone blasting the Mythos. Stealth is the better option, since it enables the Agents to learn more, perhaps gain some allies, find the documentation they have been assigned to look for, and perhaps even capture one or two of the enemy. Either way, the way, the scenario will climax with a fight that is both silly and actually makes sense in terms of the Secret War. Plus, there is scope for another faction from the Secret War to join in the fracas if the Game Master wants to complicate things and that also makes sense.

The scenario is solidly supported with stats for all of the Nachtwölfe (and other) enemies, including the quite odd expedition leader, Professor Tedrich Sauber, and the thing that he is after. There are maps for both the island and the expedition site, but no image of the thing that Professor Tedrich Sauber is searching for—and that is pity, because it does deserve to be illustrated. There are no pre-generated Agents either.

Where Achtung! Chtulhu 2d20: Operation Cold Threshold has the potential to be a little more sophisticated is when the Game Master decides to set it. By default, the scenario takes in 1940, early in the war when the USA was not yet involved. In terms of the Secret War, the scenario takes place mostly after the events of Shadows of Atlantis, yet before A Quick Trip to France and subsequent missions. This limits when the scenario can be run as part of a campaign, as does the fact that it requires more experienced Agents. One way in which it can be used is as a side mission that serves as an introduction to the Secret Wars for American Agents, potentially recruits to Majestic in a few months’ time.

Physically, Achtung! Chtulhu 2d20: Operation Cold Threshold is well presented. The area maps are serviceable, but otherwise, the scenario is not illustrated.

Achtung! Chtulhu 2d20: Operation Cold Threshold is a simple affair that can be run as a one-shot or a side mission—perhaps when not every player can attend a session—that will play out in a single session. Although it is set up as a classic Commando-raid-style mission, there are some some pleasing little nuances to it that make it a bit more interesting than the gun toting, spell blasting, Nazi-punching shootout that it is. Plus it has a really surprisingly big bad (one that you really really wish had been illustrated.)

[Free RPG Day 2026] Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview

Now in its nineteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2026 took place on Saturday, June 27th. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Unfortunately, due to vagaries of International Customs, Free RPG Day in the UK did not take place until Saturday, 22nd August.

This review is possible due to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham.

—oOo—

Quick-starts are a means of trying out a roleplaying game before you buy. Each should provide a Game Master with sufficient background to introduce and explain the setting to her players, the rules to run the scenario included, and a set of ready-to-play, pre-generated characters that the players can pick up and understand almost as soon as they have sat down to play. The scenario itself should provide an introduction to the setting for the players as well as to the type of adventures that their characters will have and just an idea of some of the things their characters will be doing on said adventures. All of which should be packaged up in an easy-to-understand booklet whose contents, with a minimum of preparation upon the part of the Game Master, can be brought to the table and run for her gaming group in a single evening’s session—or perhaps two. And at the end of it, Game Master and players alike should ideally know whether they want to play the game again, perhaps purchasing another adventure or even the full rules for the roleplaying game.

Alternatively, if the Game Master already has the full rules for the roleplaying game the quick-start is for, then what it provides is a sample scenario that she still run as an introduction or even as part of her campaign for the roleplaying game. The ideal quick-start should entice and intrigue a playing group, but above all effectively introduce and teach the roleplaying game, as well as showcase both rules and setting.

—oOo—

What is it?
The Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview is the preview of, and quick-start for, the fantasy version of Zombicide Chronicles: The Roleplaying Game. Published by CoolMiniOrNot and Guillotine Games, Plague Bearer: Dark Fantasy Roleplaying is the roleplaying adaptation of Zombicide: Black Plague, the medieval adaptation of the board game of Zombicide, 2nd Edition, which of course, is given its own roleplaying game with Zombicide Chronicles: The Roleplaying Game.

The Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview is a twenty-eight page, full colour booklet.

How long will it take to play?
The Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview includes the scenario, ‘Night Hunt’, which can be played through in a single hour.

What else do you need to play?
The Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview needs at least twelve six-sided dice per player.

Who do you play?
The Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview includes five pre-generated Player Characters. The consist of a Hedge Witch, Executioner, Pilgrim, Zealot, and Town Guard.

How is a Player Character defined?

A Player Character in Plague Bearer: Dark Fantasy Roleplaying is defined by his Attributes, Proficiencies, and Actions. Attributes and Proficiencies are rated between one and three and laid out on a grid with Attributes along the top and the Proficiencies listed down the side. The three Attributes are Muscle, Brains, and Grit, and Proficiencies, whilst the Proficiencies consist of Athletics, Combat, Magic, Perception, Survival, and Wit. In play, the Proficiencies are cross-referenced with the Attributes to give an Action, for example, cross-reference Magic and Muscle gives the Sense Action; Magic and Brains the Cast Action; and Magic and Guts the Ward Action.

A Survivor also has three Talents across three Tiers, though initially, he only has access to the Tier One Talent. During play, if he inflicts a critical strike or loses any Hit Points, he will increase his Fervour, representing the increasing intensity of the situation, and gain access to the Tier Two and Three Talents.

How do the mechanics work?

Mechanically, Plague Bearer: Dark Fantasy Roleplaying is simple. A player cross-references a Proficiency with an Attribute to give an Action, the combination of values for the Proficiency and the Attribute give the number of dice to be rolled for the Action. This generates a base dice pool which ranges in size from two to six dice, but to this can be added bonus dice for the right equipment, support from allies, and the situation. Penalties such as being impaired, suffering from fatigue, or facing NPC opposition can reduce the number of dice a player has to roll. A roll of one is always a failure, but any roll of six is counted as a Success with one Success counted as an ordinary success, two Successes as a superior success, and three Successes as an outstanding success. If an Action is favoured, rolls of five also count as Successes. A player can choose to force a success by converting any results of five into sixes and Successes. This inflicts Strain on the Player Character and if done too often, leads to fatigue and a reduced number dice he rolls in a dice pool (though not in combat as adrenaline kicks in).

How does combat work?

Initiative in Plague Bearer: Dark Fantasy Roleplaying uses its Initiative Cards, but for the Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview, the Game Master must construct a deck from an ordinary deck of playing cards. Otherwise, combat uses the same mechanics, with only one success needed to hit and weapons inflicting a fixed amount of damage. Combat consists of ‘Opening Shots’ of ranged combat, followed by proper Combat Rounds of melee combat. Zombies are attacked in speed order, from the slowest to the fastest, unless the Survivor takes the Aim move. Damage needs to be enough to kill a zombie in one go, or not at all, and some of the zombies, like the Abomination, can withstand more damage than most weapons can inflict. In this instance, the Survivors need to master their weapons with the right Skills. Zombies attack and automatically do damage in the Combat Rounds with the Game Master not needing to roll. Armour provides protection, but can be damaged. Another option is that the Survivors can take the Evade move.

Most zombies have a Toughness of one and can be dispatched with a single hit, so if a player rolls multiple hits, his Survivor can destroy multiple zombies. Others though, have a Toughness of two and a Survivor must inflict two hits in one go to destroy them. Stronger Adversaries have both Toughness and Hit Points and will need to be hit multiple times to destroy them.

How does magic work?

Two Survivors can cast spells. One has access to a Fire Bolt scroll, the other to a Fireball scroll. It is not clear whether these are single use only or if they ned to be held to cast from, though the artwork depicts both casting magic without needing to use their scrolls directly. There is no discussion of magic in the Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview.

What do you play?

The world of Plague Bearer: Dark Fantasy Roleplaying is one of the Old Kingdom brought low by Necromancers who raised undead hordes from cursed graves and corrupted the lands. Long deserted bar the crunch of zombies staggering, grasping, and searching for prey with bloodshot eyes, the Survivors scavenge what the dead left behind and the zombies impede access to. With no labourers and no farmers, a new threat has arisen—famine, and at the start of ‘Night Hunt’, the scenario included in the Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview, the Survivors are hungry and looking for food. When they come to the rescue of a farmer, she reveals she knows the whereabouts of a cache of food hidden away to avoid paying taxes on it. However, before they can carry it out of the nearby forest, the Survivors must defeat a horde of zombies and a giant-zombie-owl-abomination! It can have up to two attacks per round and is a fearsome opponent.

However, as much as ‘Night Hunt’ is action-orientated, it is short and will completed in an hour. If the Game Master has access to the scenario, Death Out of the Stars, she can possibly combine the two for a longer session.

Is there anything missing?
Yes. The Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview does not have any rules for fear which would seem necessary for a horror roleplaying game, and really needed a discussion of magic as it pertains to two of the Survivors.

Is it easy to prepare?
Yes. The Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview is easy to grasp and prepare.

Is it worth it?
Maybe. The Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview includes everything for a very quick demonstration, but anyone wanting more of an experience beyond combat or a chance to explore the setting will be disappointed. For an hour, the Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview is fun, but it is all combat and no world.

The Plaguebearer – Core Rulebook Preview is published by EDGE Studio.

Water Works

Twilight 2000: Roleplaying in the World War III That Never Was opens with the Player Characters on the run, attempting to escape the last hurrah of the US 5th Mechanized Infantry Division near the city of Kalisz in central Poland or the 2nd Marine Division near the central city of Örebro in Sweden. Where do they go? Where do they find shelter? Where do they find food and water? Spare parts for their vehicles? Extra ammunition for their weapons? Published by Free League Publishing, Twilight 2000 presents an expansive sandbox setting that the Player Characters can explore, forage, loot, protect, and even settle. A sandbox setting consisting of a broken world, torn apart and poisoned by war and weapons of mass destruction, followed by disease and starvation. In the immediacy of the aftermath of the war, it is a grim setting where every day is a struggle to survive at best, a fight at worst. Urban Operations, the first supplement for Twilight 2000: Roleplaying in the World War III That Never Was, examined the status of cities and other settlements in the broken world of 2000, in particular, updating the supplement, The Free City of Krakow, for the first edition of Twilight 2000 from 1984. This was followed by The Black Madonna, a scenario that updated the original The Black Madonna from 1985 and detailed the Silesia region of southern Poland. This journey and that of the Player Characters continues with Hostile Waters.

Hostile Waters is the marine and riverine supplement for Twilight 2000. It explores one of the few remaining and most reliable means of travel in the post-apocalyptic world of Twilight 2000—rivers, canals, lakes, and even the sea; presents specific rules for travel and combat on the water—whether up and down rivers and canals, or along the coast; details new equipment and vehicles; and describes factions that can be encountered and plots that can play out as the Player Characters try and find a safer way to cross Poland or Sweden. It maps out and offers two routes for that. One is the River Vistula, which runs all the way across Poland from Kraków, Warsaw, and Toruń, before emptying into the sea at Gdańsk, whilst the other is Göta Canal, Sweden’s ‘Blue Ribbon’, which runs from Gothenburg to Söderköping, connecting western and eastern Sweden via series of lakes and rivers as well as the canal. 

In doing so, Hostile Waters is an update and expansion of the scenario, Pirates of the Vistula, published in 1985 for the first edition of Twilight 2000. This pushes on the rough campaign outline begun with ‘OPERATION Reset’ in Twilight 2000 and continued with The Black Madonna and Urban Operations. It will conclude with Operation Reset, based on The Ruins of Warsaw, also published in 1985. These are not the only links other to scenarios in Hostile Waters. During the course of their travels, the Player Characters may learn about an operation to repatriate surviving Americans more fully explored in Going Home from 1986 and even discover the existence of a surviving Ohio-class nuclear submarine, foreshadowing perhaps, the events of The Last Submarine Trilogy.

Hostile Waters is a boxed set as is standard for Free League Publishing’s supplements for Twilight 2000. It contains the one-hundred-and-four-page ‘Hostile Waters’ source and scenario book; twenty-six new Encounter Cards; sixteen modular battle maps; six scenario specific battle maps; tokens for the battle maps; and a large, double-sided map, with northern Poland on one side and southern Sweden on the other. Both maps on the double-sided map abut the one included in Twilight 2000 which depicts southern Poland on one side and northern Sweden on the other. Together they cover the whole of Poland and Sweden respectively and depict the main riverine environments along which the Player Characters are likely to be travelling in Hostile Waters. The tokens depict the various vessels detailed in the ‘Hostile Waters’ book as either fully operational or as a wreck. The scenario specific battle maps in turn depict a castle, a submarine—inside and out, an island, and a floating village. There is a set of floorplans for the River Queen, a tugboat that appears in one of the scenarios. The depict stretches of river with docks, bridges, islands, banks (and or shores), harbours, and even a canal lock! The Encounter Cards can be mixed and matched with those released with Twilight 2000 and its supplements, but are in the main designed provide random encounters when travelling along a river, whether that is on the water or on the bank. They include storms, discovering bodies floating in the water, mines, a ship cemetery, Russian fishermen, pirates in speedboats, a shootout on a nearby bank, and more. All of these are of a solid quality, full, and look great on the table. The only thing missing is perhaps a map with a river section with a more pronounced curve to it. As per usual, all of the modular and will work with the maps previously published for Twilight 2000.

Hostile Waters is a boxed set as is standard for Free League Publishing’s supplements for Twilight 2000. It contains the one-hundred-and-four-page ‘Hostile Waters’ source and scenario book; twenty-six new Encounter Cards; sixteen modular battle maps; six scenario specific battle maps; tokens for the battle maps; and a large, double-sided map, with northern Poland on one side and southern Sweden on the other. Both maps on the double-sided map abut the one included in Twilight 2000 which depicts southern Poland on one side and northern Sweden on the other. Together they cover the whole of Poland and Sweden respectively and depict the main riverine environments along which the Player Characters are likely to be travelling in Hostile Waters. The tokens depict the various vessels detailed in the ‘Hostile Waters’ book as either fully operational or as a wreck. The scenario specific battle maps in turn depict a castle, a submarine—inside and out, an island, and a floating village. There is a set of floorplans for the River Queen, a tugboat that appears in one of the scenarios. The depict stretches of river with docks, bridges, islands, banks (and or shores), harbours, and even a canal lock! The Encounter Cards can be mixed and matched with those released with Twilight 2000 and its supplements, but are in the main designed provide random encounters when travelling along a river, whether that is on the water or on the bank. They include storms, discovering bodies floating in the water, mines, a ship cemetery, Russian fishermen, pirates in speedboats, a shootout on a nearby bank, and more. All of these are of a solid quality, full, and look great on the table. The only thing missing is perhaps a map with a river section with a more pronounced curve to it. As per usual, all of the modular and will work with the maps previously published for Twilight 2000.

The ‘Hostile Waters’ source and scenario book begins by making the point that since the Twilight War has smashed much of the infrastructure—sources of food, sources of water, transport networks, and more—that made modern life possibly, the post-war world has been turned back centuries to a time when waterways—rivers, lakes, and canals were vital society. Not only did they provide the fastest and most reliable form of transport, but they were sources of water, whether that was to drink, to irrigate crops, to supply livestock, or even use in various manufacturing tasks. As survivors abandon towns and cities without ready access to water, those that do have access or stand on navigable waterways become important trade hubs and places to protect. Or target, because in the post-war world, pirates have reappeared, preying on the traffic up and down the river and the towns along the river. Some pirates have ambitions beyond merely raiding as well. And since the war is not officially over, militaries on both sides of the war often patrol these waters too, clashing with other and pirates. Armed boats are not the only hazard on the waterways of Europe. Some routes are mined to stop traffic or barricaded by brigands looking to collect a toll, wrecks—submerged or not are a shipping hazard, and the war has prevented maintenance of all and any waterways, which can lead to rivers and lakes silting up and broken canal locks. That is in addition to any water having been poisoned by chemical or biological contaminants, let alone radiation.

Mechanically, riverine and nautical combat is treated like an extension of the vehicle rules in Twilight 2000. A boat can be anywhere from a rowboat or sailboat all the way up to patrol boats and missile boats. The larger the boat, the bigger its crew and the less manoeuvrable it is, but the more likely it to have fixed weapon points. Otherwise, crews will use portable weapons. The rules cover boat size, movement, water depth and running aground, sinking, and damage to both the hull and components, as well as travel and combat. In general, unless on the open sea, boats of all sizes will be limited in their manoeuvrability on rivers, lakes, and canals, and the players to take both this and the depth of the water into account. There is a good example of naval combat to show the Game Master how the rules work along with descriptions of various types of mine sown in the waterways of Europe and different naval weapons like anti-ship missiles, surface-air missiles, and torpedoes. This is backed up by the descriptions, illustrations, and stats for twenty-two water vessels of various kinds, including civilian boats and those operated by the USA, the Soviet Union, Poland, Sweden, and NATO. The rules also cover swimming, fighting in water, and drowning.

The four new factions added to Twilight 2000 in Hostile Waters can all be encountered along the waterways of either Poland or Sweden. They include the Pirates of the Vistula (or Sea Wolves in Sweden), which can be independent of or under the command of Baron Czarny (King Vasa), the warlord of Warsaw (or Stockholm), but which is attempting to take control of the river and its various towns, and has been quite ruthless in doing so. Led by an ex-popstar turned crime boss, the Pirates of the Vistula are the default antagonists in Hostile Waters, having been adapted from the earlier Pirates of the Vistula scenario. The other factions include the remnants of the U.S. 6th Fleet, assigned to blockade any Soviet naval operations, but currently planning a repatriation effort back to the USA, whilst a Russian Naval Spetsnaz group, reporting to the KGB rather than the GRU, currently monitors activity in a broken Europe, looking for loyal Soviet units, but prepared to target smaller threats like the Player Characters if necessary. The last of the factions, the Troupe, is perhaps the most fun, a travelling group of actors, performing classic Shakespearian plays as well as Star Wars and classic episodes of original Star Trek. All four factions are fully detailed, complete with important NPCs written up and goals for the group as well as the NPCs.

The five new plots provide frameworks for stories that can play out as the Player Characters travel up and down Europe’s waterways. The first, ‘Operation Reset’, first introduced in Urban Operations, brings a slight Science Fiction element into play with a secret Soviet technology programme that CIA and DIA are trying to track down. The Player Characters will not find it here, but instead locate it in the ruins of Warsaw in Operation Reset. Nor do the details actually explain what it is, but that does not matter here because the Player Characters are really only looking for clues and people who know more at this stage. The other plots include locating a decorated Russian general being held by pirates; looking for a missing US submarine that might still be armed with nuclear missiles; finding a way to get home to the USA via the US 6th Fleet; and supporting one town or another over access to a supply of water. The four plots are nicely detailed and come with a detailed, often lengthy countdown of events suggesting how they might play out once the Player Characters get involved.

Several scenario sites are detailed that tie in with the plots and the factions. The River Queen is a moving location, a mobile base, or river tugboat, that will travel up and down the River Vistula. In the original Pirates of the Vistula, the tugboat’s captain was travelling down the Vistula to Warsaw to rescue his family and this can still drive the plot forward. The other scenario sites include a floating village of boats which is being targeted by river pirates; the castle base of the river pirates where they are also holding an important prisoner—but are not aware of how important; the USS Maine, an Ohio-class nuclear submarine; and an island where some hoped to escape to form a utopian society, but which is now on the verge of collapse and hides a very deadly secret!

Obviously, some of the factions, plots, and scenario sites do tie together. The Pirates of the Vistula are the major threat during the scenario and the Player Characters can run into them as a result of an Encounter Card or because of the plot involving the prisoner they hold or the floating village scenario they are targeting. The U.S.S. Maine has its own plot and scenario location, whilst the other factions and scenario sites have their own internal plots as well. Some of these can be used on their own, but travelling aboard the River Queen journeys to Warsaw (Stockholm) is intended as a spine around which the other plots will revolve. Together, the various factions, plots, and scenario sites form a toolkit or set of options, some of which can be used on their own, but are really intended as a means for the Game Master to create a set of interlocking hooks and events for a lengthy journey and multiple stories.

To that end, the ‘Hostile Waters’ book comes to close with a pair of appendices that detail in turn the Vistula and the Göta Canal. Complete with history, rumours, a guide to travelling their lengths, and inhabitants that the Player Characters might encounter, these provide a geographical guide to the terrain through which they will be travelling in Hostile Waters.

Physically, Hostile Waters is very well presented. Everything is in full colour, the artwork is excellent, and the maps are clear and easy to use.

Much like Urban Operations and The Black Madonna before it, Hostile Waters is a toolkit rather than a traditional scenario. It can be pulled apart and its individual parts run as the Game Master wants in her campaign, but she can also use those parts to construct a darkly picaresque voyage into the unknown, whether down the Vistula in Poland or along the Göta Canal across Sweden, setting up some great stories in the process. All backed up with surprisingly straightforward nautical rules and ably supported with some great maps.

Friday Fantasy: Shrine of the Cabbage God

High in the mountains, across the sea in an old colony, there is plateau long dried out and dusty from drought and the wind. Once it was fertile, dominated by fields of rich brassica, or cabbages, and at the centre stood a temple. A temple to Oleracea, petty-god of cabbages. His followers and priesthood were slaughtered men who came in boats and the temple was all but destroyed, partially buried by a vengeful Earth goddess. For decades, if not centuries, Oleracea has been forced to sleep, weakened by a lack of worshippers and a lack of tribute, but now the weather has turned and rain has soaked the soil of the plateau and cabbages are growing again. Word is spreading that there is one last temple to plunder, a temple to a minor agricultural god, but a temple said to be full of gold and precious gems that was ignored when the colony was originally conquered. Perhaps the Player Characters learn about the temple by rumour or are sold a map showing its location? A priestess of the god of earth has received visions of a minor, but annoying god of old stirring in the mountains and wants to hire adventurers to ensure that this god remains buried or a messianic nobleman wants proof of his divinity and wants the wak’as—or relics—of other gods for planned new temple, and his aides have identified Oleracea’s shrine as a potential source? A famous hero has gone missing and the only clue is a map to Oleracea’s shrine that he left behind or a local family is getting annoyed by the recently awakened skull of an ancestor which keeps telling his descendants to go to the shrine in the mountain and they want someone to return the skull to the shrine.

This is the set-up to Shrine of the Cabbage God, a dungeon-scenario published by Coldlight Press. It is designed for a party of Fourth to Sixth Level Player Characters and is written for use with the B/X version of Basic Dungeons & Dragons. Which means that it will work very well with Old School Essentials from Necrotic Gnome and can be easily adapted to the retroclone of the Game Master’s choice.

The background to the scenario does have some demands to make it fit a Game Master’s campaign world. In particular, a Mesoamerican world faraway over the sea that long ago was discovered, conquered, and colonised, much like Central and South America. Sufficient time also needs to have passed for the temple to Oleracea to have fallen into ruin, and of course, it needs to have a pantheon with an earth goddess. Surprisingly, the one setting that is actually more or less fits much of those demands is Pirate Borg!

The temple complex itself consists of several crumbling Offering Houses above ground with the two Levels of the temple below ground. Everywhere there is dust and other signs of disuse, but the brassica theme shines through, whether it is the statues of men with cabbages for crowns, a seedbank of ancient cabbage varieties, and a tomb where an Avatar of Oleracea crouches in deep sleep, its bolted cabbage body humanoid in shape, but with its ears and eyes covered by the stony hands of a rocky statue. This rocky statue is an earth elemental assigned by the earth goddess to ensure that Oleracea can see or speak through his avatar, its presence a pleasing reminder of the earth goddess’ desire to punish the minor god! This is not this is not the only sign of the earth goddess’ presence in the temple as several earth elementals prowl the complex. The Player Characters may also discover other manifestations of Oleracea.

There are some utterly fantastic details to the scenario. For example, there are classic traps in the scenario a la the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, corridors with poison dart traps in the walls. It is called the ‘Genuflectory’ and its walls are carved with scenes of priests bowing deeply and kneeling, a hint as to what the Player Characters should do. Yet if they do activate the poison dart traps, it is so long has passed since the temple was actively used, the darts themselves have crumbled and all the holes out of which the darts were once fired do is belch the poisonous dust that remains. In the past, the priests would have kneeled and bowed to avoid the darts flying overhead, but now, if the Player Characters take the hint on the walls, they will be bowing and kneeling into the poisonous dust! It is a lovely detail that although effectively a bait and switch, is thematically appropriate.

Elsewhere, the Player Characters find a table with two masks on it, one of which has a melted face on the inside of it, whilst on the floor lies a dead man with his face missing! Both masks are valuable, but will literally melt the face off anyone who wears it without the correct vestments being worn. Nearby, there is a mummy on a table who will communicate with the Player Characters only sarcastically unless she is plied with food and alcohol. A gleaming golden dagger hangs suspended five feet above a raised square platform in a Calendar Chamber, a domed chamber with a ceiling painted in now yellowing white, marked with black specks for the stars. The dagger is one of the more powerful magical items in the scenario and the Player Characters are likely to want to grab it. Should a Player Character do so, he will find his hand and arm inserted in goopy acid! The platform is actually occupied by a translucent gelatinous cube, with the dagger suspended at its centre.

However, the scenario is underdeveloped in places. For example, the scenario does not explain to the Game Master what the mummy will tell the Player Characters and there are various bodies strewn about the complex, all of them thieves who were pillaging the temple, but none of the bodies are detailed. Similarly, the Game Master may want to detail the thieves who have survived the dungeon so far and have been unable to find their out. She will also need to decide where some of the individual locations are in a room since they are not clearly marked.

Physically, Shrine of the Cabbage God is scrappy. There are few illustrations and the maps are serviceable at least. The writing is often rushed and could have been better phrased in places.

Shrine of the Cabbage God is thematic delight! Who knew you could design such an interesting and enjoyable dungeon around a common garden vegetable—and do so as effectively as this? However, the scenario needs a polish, some development of the details, and an edit. In other words, Shrine of the Cabbage God deserves for someone to give it the professional treatment and make it shine as much as it deserves to.

[Free RPG Day 2026] All Bets Are Off

Now in its nineteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2026 took place on Saturday, June 27th. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Unfortunately, due to vagaries of International Customs, Free RPG Day in the UK did not take place until Saturday, 22nd August.

This review is possible due to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham.

—oOo—

With Everyday Heroes, publisher Evil Genius Games did for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition in 2022 what d20 Modern did for Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition in 2002. That is, facilitate and handle roleplaying in the here and now, in the world we see outside our windows, on our television screens, and at the cinema. It went even further though by doing something not actually included in the rulebook. This is providing access to a number of source and scenario supplements all based upon a surprising range of films. In fact, a range of films which nobody expected to see turned into roleplaying material despite their popularity in the hobby such as The Crow™ Cinematic Adventure and Escape From New York™ Cinematic Adventure. For Free RPG Day 2026, the publisher has contributed the scenario, All Bets Are Off.

All Bets Are Off carries the subtitle ‘A Free RPG Day adventure that proves every great heist fails at the escape’ and whilst the scenario does involve a heist, it remains to be seen if the escape fails. The scenario is designed for gang of four or five First to Second Level Heroes who together make up a professional heist team known in criminal circles as the ‘Stacked Deck’. However, since Everyday Heroes casts its protagonists as Heroes, the protagonists in the scenarios are only ‘technically’ criminals. Or rather, the Heroes are criminals with a heart who research organized crime money laundering locations, plan elaborate heists, and steal veritable fortunes from them. The money is then split between the members, their helpful associates, and their two clandestine benefactors, the Always sisters, Grace and Charity.

At the start of this adventure, the Stacked Deck has just performed a perfect, by-the-numbers hit on the Cold Cash Castle, a local casino well-known to be a front for the Rasmussen organized crime syndicate. The heist has gone off perfectly, and the team made it out of the casino, and is making a dash for its getaway van. All Heroes need to do is clamber aboard, but as soon as the vehicle is in sight, its tires are screaming and belching smoke as it drives away! Which leaves the Heroes in the lurch and needing to make their way across twenty blocks of the city to get to the planned pick-up point.

All Bets Are Off is a chase scenario. The Heroes have exited the casino, clown masks on in true American heist fashion, guns in hand, and black holdalls full of cash slung over their shoulders, with Syndicate Agents on their tail. How exactly they get across the city is detailed in numerous scenes, in turn using the environment and overcoming any number of challenges. These include diving down alleys and climbing fire escapes, dodging barely leashed guard dogs, facing down corrupt cops on their tail (how did they find them so fast?), and getting out from under the sight of a red sight dot, before finally trying to get past a police blockade. This is one of two scenes where the Heroes get to be inventive in how they overcome the problem, along with an encounter with a restaurant line chef as she steps out of the kitchen and is surprised at their sudden appearance. 

The scenario is intended to be played in a single session and comes with multiple endings depending on how well the Heroes have done. It includes notes on how to use it with ‘E.G.O.’, the Evil Genius Organized-Play Programme and also comes with six pre-generated Heroes. They are all Second Level and include an ex-MMA fighter, a sharpshooter, a bodyguard, a sleuth, and a leader. They all come with some background, fairly broad in detail. The inside front and back cover include a map of the streets that the Handler can use if she wants to employ miniatures.

Physically, All Bets Are Off is decently presented. The artwork is excellent and the Handler should use it to show her players various scenes in the scenario.

All Bets Are Off is short and simple. Arguably, it is not just simple, but simplistic too. Although its various scenes are thematically appropriate, too many of them come down to simple dice roll and beyond that, there is not a lot for the Heroes to really do. The scenario could easily be played through in a couple of hours and the Handler may want to add another encounter or two, perhaps have the Heroes hide out in a department store as Syndicate agents from the casino they just robbed stalk them or a race through a restaurant kitchen where an appropriately cinematic fight can take place. For a quick and easy-to-prepare demonstration game, All Bets Are Off is fine, but will need more if a Handler wants to better show off Every Day Heroes or use it her campaign.

Tactics & Tales (Part II)

13th Age Second Edition Gamemaster’s Guide is not the companion volume to the 13th Age Second Edition Heroes’ Handbook. Published by Pelgrane Press, it is instead a direct continuation, literally picking up with chapter eight following on from the character seven at the end of the 13th Age Second Edition Heroes’ Handbook. Together, they make up the core rules for 13th Age Second Edition, the ‘Fantasy 20’ or ‘F20’ roleplaying game derived from different editions of Dungeons & Dragons which combines the crunch of epic battles with narrative or story-telling aspects for grand adventures where the Heroes are special because of their individual ‘One Unique Thing’ which sets them apart from the inhabitants of the Dragon Empire. They are true heroes, each linked to two or three of the Icons, the great powers of the Dragon Empire in 13th Age, whose influence over the story can be positive or negative, depending upon the nature of the relationship. The 13th Age Second Edition Heroes’ Handbook contains everything necessary for the players, including rules for character creation, the place of the characters in the world and their relationships with the Icons, the great powers of the age, the core mechanics, and combat, plus a fantastic example of play and character creation. The 13th Age Second Edition Gamemaster’s Guide contains everything else, including a description of the Dragon Empire, the setting for 13th Age, advice on running the game, a bestiary, a treasury, and an introductory scenario.

The 13th Age Second Edition Gamemaster’s Guide starts with a description of its setting, the Dragon Empire. This is located at the centre of a large disc-shaped land surrounded by ocean and consists of the Land, the Underworld, and the Overworld. Seven cities line the shore of the stable Midland Sea, enabling easy travel between them, and each associated with one or more of the Icons. For example, Axis, the City of Swords, is home to the Emperor, but also has links to the Archmage, Crusader, and Great Gold Wyrm, whilst Glitterhaegen, the City of Coins is linked to Prince of Shadows, the Emperor, and the Dwarf King. It dips in and out subject matter, highlighting interesting elements of the setting, such the fact that the magic that causes the calmness of the Midland Sea forces monsters onto the nearby shores; that nobody likes to live too near the Imperial roads because they are haunted; and dungeons claw their way out of the earth and roam the land until stopped! Particular attention is paid to these dungeons as they are important and potential adventuring sites in a campaign, but for the most part, the write-up of the Dragon Empire is described by the authors as being ‘half-designed’. This is intentional as it leaves room for the Game Master to add her own details. There is a gazetteer which adds more specific details, whilst still leaving room aplenty for the Game Master’s own input.

This even applies to the history of the Dragon Empire with just a whole two pages devoted to it; or rather to the 13th Age and the past twelve Ages. Each Age began, rose and prospered before collapsing due to some catastrophe, and was replaced by a new Age. Each Age is associated with particular Icons and some Icons my appear in some Ages and not others, and so on. The overall description is brief at just two pages and so the Game Master may want to refer to one of the best supplements for the first edition of the roleplaying game, The Book of Ages.

Campaign advice discusses various topics—campaign identity, the ten-arc structure for the shorter campaign, customising the Icons to fit the campaign, and some examples. Campaign identity offers up a few other suggestions beyond the classic ‘Heroes on a Mission’, but clearly states that the ‘Forbidden Theme’ of a bait and switch theme to an Icon should never be done. The ten-arc structure is tailored to the maximum of ten Levels that a Hero in 13th Age can achieved, essentially one arc per Level, this replacing the Ten-Session Campaign concept from 13th Age First Edition. Customising the Icons to fit the campaign is intended to be a collaborative process between the Game Master and her players, starting with the Game Master selecting the Icon to her campaign’s main focus, whether as patron or villain, the players adding the Icons they want to see, and the Game Master deciding on the involvement of the unnamed Icons. This is supported by examples from each of the book’s authors. For example, ‘Servants of the Court’ sets up the Elf Queen as the primary heroic Icon with more powers and purviews than the Heroes suspect as she was also the Prince of Shadows with a combination of Archmage and Diabolist as the Icon villain. Of the other Icons, the Dwarf King had died whilst killing the Orc Lord; the Priestess championed civilisation whilst propping up a weak Emperor and was also the Dawn Captain, prophesised to die and become the Crusader; and both the High Druid and Lich King were involved elsewhere. These four examples actually better explain the concepts the customising process than the advice itself, showing the flexibility of the Icon roles in a campaign, whether that is in the 13th Age or a previous Age.

13th Age is played out in arcs, each consisting of three or four combat scenes or battles leavened with narrative scenes in between. The 13th Age Second Edition Gamemaster’s Guide discusses in detail how to design battles per arc, primarily adjusting them for the Level and number of Heroes. There is an optimal balance for the Monster Level versus the Hero Level, but the advice suggests ways in which this can be adjusted up or down, usually to fit a narrative. This might the Game Master wants the Heroes to wade through one or two hordes of monsters before they confront a bigger threat at the end of the arc, but there is plenty of scope to vary this or just simply balance all three or four of the battles that make up an arc. The advice also covers balancing the roles of monsters on the battlefield, such as archers, blockers, casters, troops, and so on; fighting a single monster type versus a single monster; ways making an encounter unfair and thus more challenging; and even making the battlefield itself dangerous as well as adding traps.

The process of designing a battle is not complex if the Game Master decides to use the suggested optimal Monster Levels, simply choosing the appropriate foes and their roles from the bestiary. However, the process does involve a little bit more arithmetic if the Game Master wants to create a battle where the Monsters Levels are not optimised to make a battle less challenging or more challenging. Fortunately, the designers have worked out the adjusted values beforehand and provide them for the Game Master in a handy table. That said, the Game Master should probably stick to the optimised Monster Levels for the first few battles and tinker with the battle design on subsequent ones. The process is pleasingly supported with a lengthy example of a Game Master designing multiple battles across the whole progress of the Heroes for First Level to Tenth Level.

Having discussed how to fit the monsters into arcs and monster roles, the 13th Age Second Edition Gamemaster’s Guide devotes half of its pages to talking about its monsters. The monster stat block is kept streamlined and as well as an explanation of the various monster abilities, there are lists of the monsters themselves by Level, strength (standard, mook, double strength, and elite), and Role. In comparison to other fantasy roleplaying games, one obvious addition to a monster stat block for 13th Age is that of an Icon symbol, indicating a specific link or relationship between a monster and an Icon. These can be positive, negative, or mixed, and not all of the Icons in 13th Age have relationships with the monsters in the 13th Age Second Edition Gamemaster’s Guide, but where they do, it enables the Game Master to tailor encounters and battles to the Icons featuring in her scenario or campaign. It is followed by more guidelines on tinkering with monsters, this on adjusting the stats of an existing monster or designing one from scratch.

The actual bestiary itself runs from Dire Rat, Giant Beetle, and Wolf to Wraith, Wyvern, and Zombie, including Demons, Dragons (notably the chromatic ones rather than the metallic ones, since the Heroes are more likely going to be fighting the former, Ghouls, Goblins, Kobolds, Oozes, Sahuagin, and Stirges, it is for the most part, very much a classic ‘F20’ style bestiary. The only new addition is the Hungry Star, but there are plenty of variations within many of the monster entries, and many have sections titled ‘Icons’, ‘In Play’, ‘In Your Campaign’ and ‘At Your Table’. For example, the Kobold entry has stats for the Kobold Recruit, Kobold Hero, Kobold Warrior, and Kobold Archer. The ‘In Your Campaign’ entry asks lots of the questions of Game Master as to the character of Kobolds in her campaign and notes that several variations appear in the 13th Age Bestiary and 13th Age Bestiary 2. The ‘Icons’ entry for the Ettin suggests that if one head has been swayed by the Diabolist, the other has been influenced by the Three. ‘In Play’ for the Otyugh states that it lives in filth and slime near the entrance to enemies’ caverns, so that it is close enough to alert the enemies if it attacks the Heroes or it joins the enemies if they are fighting the Heroes, before stating that, “Oytyughs were more common in an ancient age, when adventurers were so poor they used 10-foot poles to turn over dung heaps in search of loot.”

Some monsters get extended entries, for example, the Dragons. This makes entire sense, since as their entry notes, they are the Heroes of the monster world! Besides standard abilities, they are tough and have their own personalities, and they have dragon-ticks and campaign abilities. A dragon-trick can be used once per turn, such as its godlike reflexes that let a dragon reroll initiative or its magnificent scales to force a player to reroll an attack against its Armour Class. In comparison, campaign abilities like humanoid form or spells are intended to be used when appropriate rather than in every single battle that a dragon appears. Demons and NPCs are treated in a similar fashion adding further flexibility.

The treasure chapter divides its items into two types. These are one-use items and true magic items which are essentially alive, have their own personalities, and need to be attuned to. One-use items are typically potions—healing and resistance—and runes that apply bonuses to armour or a weapon or spellcasting, and there is a guide to their discovery per Hero Level. Similarly, the availability of magic items is tracked according to the Hero Level and by the tier of the campaign—Adventurer, Champion, or Epic. The personalities of magical items are reflected in quirks, quips, and quiddities. Quirks push the wielder of a magic item to act a certain way, such as dressing nicely at every social occasion or spouting puns; quips are phrases or comments that a magic item wants to hear its wielder say or a phase it wants the wielder to do; and a quiddity is its personality, effectively turning a magic item into a mini-NPC. A true magic will typically have one or more of these and they add individuality to each and every item. In many cases, magic items have more interesting mechanical effects than they do in other ‘F20’ roleplaying games and many are also linked to particular Icons. For example, the Boots of Elvenkind are linked to the Elf Queen and Prince of Shadows and require a skill check for the wearer to move quietly, but the player rolls twice an uses the higher roll, and in game needs a Quip such as ambiguous smile or mouthing the word ‘silent’ in Elvish. The list of magic items and also of wondrous items, is not extensive, but it is more than sufficient multiple arcs and campaigns, especially when it comes to weapons, since these are not listed by sword or spear or mace, but by the magical effect, so that weapons can be tailored to the campaign and the weapons wielded by the Heroes.

The 13th Age Second Edition Gamemaster’s Guide is rounded out with an introductory adventure, ‘A Bad Moon & The Wrong Stars’. It takes the classic ‘F20’ set-up of a ‘village-in-peril’ and gives it the 13th Age twist along with plenty of room for the Game Master’s input in form of Icon links and the details of the village. That village is Longmeadow, built on some ancient ruins. The Heroes are escorting a scholar of past Ages to Longmeadow when they are attacked by strangely dressed Elves. Investigation, again tailored to the Icons, will reveal the presence of a Living Dungeon nearby. This is the site of the adventure’s climax and what is interesting here is that the dungeon design is tiny at just four locations. In another ‘F20’ roleplaying game this would probably not be enough, but in 13th Age each room is battle, so a big encounter that all together with the fight on the road makes up a whole arc. In story terms, the play of this Living Dungeon, as much as it is in 13th Age, is not about lengthy exploration, but about getting to the action and the exciting bits. Each of the locations and the battles is detailed, some quite extensively so. Overall, ‘A Bad Moon & The Wrong Stars’ is a good introduction to the play of 13th Age and its key setting feature of Living Dungeons whilst having a lot of flexibility for the Game Master to adjust it to her players and their Heroes.

The 13th Age Second Edition Gamemaster’s Guide comes to a close with an array of appendices. These include a guide to using content from 13th Age First Edition, more options for the Game Master, a price list (if the Game Master and her players want to track Gold Pieces in their campaign, though 13th Age usually avoids this), tables for Game Master, a list of 13th Age First Edition resources, an excellent combined glossary and index, and more. All very useful.

Physically, the 13th Age Second Edition Gamemaster’s Guide is well written and an enjoyable read, though there is less input and commentary in this book than their was in the 13th Age Second Edition Heroes’ Handbook. The artwork is suitably heroic for the Heroes and monstrous for the monsters and all together, very good.

Despite its origins in two earlier editions of Dungeons & Dragons, it takes some adjustment to both play and run 13th Age since its combination of crunch and story is quite structured. The 13th Age Second Edition Heroes’ Handbook eased that process for the player and the Game Master, whilst the 13th Age Second Edition Gamemaster’s Guide does the same specifically for the Game Master in helping her in the process of setting up and running battles, arcs, and campaign.

Snæland Sagas #06: The Mystery of Raider Monks

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, and The Companions of Arthur for Pendragon, Sagas of the North is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Iceland the other lands that the Vikings travelled to. It enables creators to sell their own original content for use with Age of Vikings. This can be original scenarios, background material, alternate Icelandic settings, and more, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Vikings Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Age of Vikings campaigns.

—oOo—

What is the Nature of the Saga?

The Mystery of Raider Monks is a supplement for use with Age of Vikings.

It is a full colour, seventeen page, 14.13 MB PDF.

It contains a secret message the author’s cat.

The layout is tidy, but it does need an edit in places.

Where is the Saga set?

The Mystery of Raider Monks begins near the home of the Player Characters or that of their goði, but will take them far away and back again!

Who should be the subject of this Saga?

Any type of Player Character can take part in this saga. A Player Character able to sail a ship will be useful.

What does the Saga require?

The Mystery of Raider Monks only requires the Age of Vikings core rulebook.

Where will the Vikings go in this Saga?

The Mystery of the Raider Monks starts with a bang—or rather, with the clash of steel—and a mystery. As the title suggests, why are monks landing on the Icelandic coast and attacking any farmstead they find? It sounds as they are going ‘Vikinging’ or raiding, but they seem hellbent on beating to death anyone they find with their clubs and maces and do so in the name of Christ. The influx of Christianity and its increased adoption by many Icelanders is seen as a threat by many, but is this taking things too far? The scenario opens with such a raid and the Player Characters close by to intervene and hopefully drive the monks back to their ship. The staging advice for the battle is solid and the opening scenes provide some decent opportunities for the Player Characters to shine.

Even though the behaviour of the monks seems very strange, everyone after the battle will be calling for revenge and likely for the blood debt now owed by the monks to be paid. This will take the form of a raid on the monastery in Ireland where the monks who attacked the farmsteads came from. Securing the necessary boats can be run in as much detailed required, but could present some opportunities for roleplaying if the players want their characters to negotiate and bargain for supplies and boats. Or it could be run somewhere between the two, but either way it should make use of the Preparation rules in Age of Vikings. A second round of preparation should follow once the Player Characters and their ships reach the Irish coast as they scout the area, land in a favourable position, and so on. The sea journey is glossed over in the scenario, but an encounter roll or two would not go amiss if the Game Master and her players have more time.

The raid itself uses the rules from Age of Vikings for handling the process, and again, can be as abstract or detailed as is necessary. Again, the Player Characters will be facing yet more surprisingly fanatical Christian monks, but also, potentially, the true villain behind the raids. Although the scenario can be played as a one-shot, it works best as an addition to campaign as there are ramifications and consequences of the events of the raid on Ireland.

What will the Skalds sing of this Saga?

The Mystery of the Raider Monks is a short scenario that will probably take a session or two at most to complete. It not only presents an intriguing mystery—though quickly resolved—it also makes good use of the Preparation and Raiding rules. Although the Game Master may want to flesh it out a little, primarily in the scenes in which the raid on the monastery is being prepared, The Mystery of the Raider Monks is solid addition to any Age of Vikings campaign.

Friday Fantasy: The Grotesques’ Grotto

Up in the hills there is a grotto out of which a babbling spring rises where it is said that ghostly echoes of lurid ritual mania from millennia ago can be heard. Folklore says that the grotto hides a temple to Iakos, the ancient wild god who blessed the site and his followers with the power of delirium-inducing prophetic visions. The temple was sealed long ago after his worship was outlawed, but its hidden entrance was revealed two weeks ago when an earthquake hit the area. Drawn by the spreading news of the seal to the temple having been broken, four royal witch hunters—Aida, Crawe, Ric, and Oswin—arrived in a nearby town and set out to investigate. They have since entered the temple in an effort to suppress its heathen influence, but are yet to return. In response to this situation, perhaps the Player Characters are hired to go after them and rescue them; perhaps they are hired by a decadent noble to help bring about a prophecy associated with the temple and its destruction that would bring about a new world; or having learned of the temple having been unsealed and the witch hunters gone inside, the Player Characters simply want to follow them in and loot the place of its treasure and relics. This is the set-up and hooks for Quick Delve #2: The Grotesques’ Grotto.

Quick Delve #2: The Grotesques’ Grotto is an adventure for Old School Essentials from Necrotic Gnome and is designed to be played with six Player Characters of Second Level to Fourth Level. The scenario is the second in the publisher’s ‘Quick Delve’ series, following on from Quick Delve #1: Milk. Each is designed for one or two sessions’ worth of play and is intended to be perfect for side quests, one-shots, and conventions, as well as easily into any campaign. The scenario begins with the Player Characters outside the grotto. Inside is a temple that has long fallen into misuse, but more recently, extensively damaged by the earthquake. This also limited the Player Characters movement through the temple, effectively limiting them to edges before they can make their way into the middle. It has a strange, woozy atmosphere primarily because of three ‘Grotesques’ of the title, the servants of Iakos who have been trapped in the temple since it was sealed and desperately, monstrously welcome the arrival of interlopers after centuries. The creepy trio include Mu, Grotesque of Keeping, starved for new secrets to hoard; Thee, Grotesque of Disclosure, starved for new secrets to reveal; and Los, Grotesque of Revelation. The first of these has a hole where its face should be, the second has mouth framed by numerous empty eye sockets, and they both hate each other; whilst the third’s eyeless face sloughs off and regrows every five minutes (he is also the only one not to be illustrated). Their desires and rivalries will drive much of the Player Characters’ exploration of the temple and provide much of the scenario’s potential roleplaying.

Unfortunately, this leaves the rest of NPCs in the scenario—the surviving royal witch hunters and an NPC or two—markedly underserved in terms of roleplaying potential. They are sadly underwritten, leaving little for the Game Master to work from in terms of their portrayal, but possibly leaving lots of room to develop from that might fit her campaign. Another issue with the writing is the descriptions given of the various locations. The writing is sparse and punchy, but the boxes of descriptive text often veer into details that should not be initially apparent to the Player Characters. For example, the boxed text for the Crypt reads, “A large Martyr sits cross-legged atop an imposing stone sarcophagus. The east and south walls are lined with niches. Most are empty but 4 contain inanimate Martyrs. The archway north (to Area 12) is draped in strands of glowing moss, a humid, noisome atmosphere wafting through it.” It seems odd for this text to mention the presence of Martyrs when that instead should be information for the players and their characters to discover. What it also means is that what should be in other scenarios, boxes of descriptive text there for the Game Master to read out, fail to serve that function in Quick Delve #2: The Grotesques’ Grotto. As a consequence, Quick Delve #2: The Grotesques’ Grotto requires just a bit more effort to prepare than it really should—all of which could have been addressed during the development and editing process for the scenario.

Physically, Quick Delve #2: The Grotesques’ Grotto is generally well presented. Barring the issue with the boxed text, it is decently written. The cartography is good, but the artwork is better. In fact, the artwork is excellent and really capture the feel and atmosphere of the individual encounters in the dungeon. The depiction of two of the three Grotesques is appropriately disturbing, but the most unsettling illustration is of the near-cadaverous Nymph, Pity, as she preys on a victim ready to drown him.

Quick Delve #2: The Grotesques’ Grotto feels inspired by the Oracle of Delphi at the Temple of Apollo on Mount Parnassus, its trio of Grotesques echoing also the three Fates, but the scenario otherwise avoids being inspired by Ancient Greece. Its primary storytelling impetus for the Player Characters will be how they react to the drives of the three Grotesques. If they ignore them, the scenario is likely to be an underwhelming experience for the Player Characters. Engage in them and there are definite consequences, ones that are entertaining, but will not affect a campaign in a drastic way which would unpin it and send it in another direction. Quick Delve #2: The Grotesques’ Grotto is underdeveloped in places, but not fatally so, in what is otherwise a solid scenario easily dropped into a campaign.

Friday Fantasy: Idylls of the Rat King

The silver shipments out of Silverton north to the capitol of Archbridge have suddenly ceased. Goblin bandits have been attacking the caravans laden with silver ore, killing innocent miners, and stealing cargo. Their base of operations has been identified as the old Gannu Silver Mine, abandoned almost a century ago. Perhaps the Player Characters learn off this when they stop off at the Silver Cup Inn in the village. Or they are asked to find out why a young nobleman is suffering a vile fever after the caravan he was travelling with was attacked by Goblins. Or perhaps the Player Characters are approached by the leader of the Miner’s Guild whose operations have been sabotaged and caravans raided by goblins. He believes that the Goblins are being aided by an ancient evil that was the actual cause of the mine being closed almost a century ago. Whichever way in which the Player Characters learn of the situation in Silverton, they find themselves outside the collapsed tunnel entrance to the Gannu Silver Mine with Goblin footprints all about, ready to investigate. If this set-up sounds familiar, that is because it is. It is the set-up to Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the RatKing, the very first scenario in the Dungeon Crawl Classics line for Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition, published by Goodman Games in 2003. It is also familiar because Reviews from R’lyeh only recently reviewed Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King in 2023 on its twentieth anniversary. So why review it again quite so soon? The reason is that Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King that it is being reviewed here. Instead, it is Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King that is being reviewed.

Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls ofthe Rat King is not for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition, or even Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics roleplaying game. As its full title suggests, it is instead designed for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Or rather adapted for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Intended to be played by four to six Player Characters of First to Third Level, what it does is combine the modern rules of the world’s most popular roleplaying game with the sensibilities of the Old School. However, Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King does get off to an odd start by directly quoting the opening paragraph from the original: “Remember the golden days of role playing, when adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon on the 20th level? Well, those days are back. Dungeon Crawl Classics feature bloody combat, intriguing dungeons, and no NPCs who aren't meant to be killed. Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl, with the monsters you know, the traps you fear, and the secret doors you know must be there somewhere.” Of course, as an adaptation, Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King will deliver all of those elements, but it is an odd way in which to start the scenario, referring back to the original in such a direct manner, but without referring to the rules its uses. It is almost as if the publisher forgot to rewrite the opening paragraph to account for the adaptation.

However, beyond that, there is relatively little that is different from the original scenario. It still recommends the inclusion of a Player Character Rogue and a Good-aligned Cleric, as well as a Fighter with a silvered weapon. The scenario consists of a four-Level ‘Abandoned Silver Mine’ infested with Goblins and rats, but there is worse to be found the deeper that the Player Characters go. This is revealed first in a fun encounter at the end of the First Level with the Goblin Boss, who turns out to be a Wererat! To get to him though, there is the upper level of the mine to explore and plenty of stiff opposition from the Goblins to overcome. The latter due to a division in the Goblin tribe between those who are Wererats and those who are not, and those who are not, are frightened of those who are. This creates a little bit of tension in the scenario, though not necessarily something that the Player Characters are going to be aware of necessarily. What they are likely to be aware of is the number of secret chambers and vaults, given that under Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, it is easier to find secret doors, which are scattered across this and all levels of the mine. These are worth finding, not just because they might contain treasure, but because they may also contain silvered or magical weapons and useful clues to the secrets of the mine.

The encounter with the Wererat Goblin Chief is a sign of things to come. There are some entertaining encounters with the tribe’s torturer and jailer—into whose custody any Player character who is captured will end up, a Goblin sorcerer, a Gnome necromancer, a vampiress, and ultimately, the real villain behind the recent events. These last two encounters are tough, but they do present opportunities for roleplaying as opposed to rollplaying. In between, there is a whole level still being worked by miners still. Zombie miners, but miners, nonetheless.

There are some changes between Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King and the original Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King. For example, there is no daycare area or family room area for the Goblin tribe on the second level in Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King as there is in Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King. Which means there is no suggested Experience Point penalty should the Player Characters decide to slaughter the females and children of the Goblin tribe. This shifts the feel of the mine in original scenario from being the home to a Goblin tribe to this updated version in which the mine feel more like a Goblin military outpost. Also missing are the zombie badgers from the third level, but the several temples dedicated to the rat gods, Narrimunth and Nimlurun, remain. Effectively, some of the original spikiness of Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King has been scoured to take the edges off, so it is smoother, more palatable to a wider audience.

Rounding out Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King are three appendices. The first details the new monsters for the scenario. They include a Goblin Priest, Horned Giant Rat, Ogre Skeleton, and Wererat Goblin. The second details the village of Silverton. It is a one-page description of the village and its notable inhabitants. The third contains three handouts. If found during the adventure, the players and their characters will be able to learn about the secret history of the mine.

Physically, Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King is well presented and, in many ways, an improvement. The maps are a vast improvement with some actual detail, but they are small and not as easy to read as they could have been. It also needs editing in places.

Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat Kingg has been republished before, most notably with its sequel, Dungeon Crawl Classics #27: Revenge of the Rat King, rewritten for use Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition, and released at Gen Con 2008. Surprisingly, the scenario was not republished on its twentieth anniversary in 2023, nor indeed updated for use with Dungeon Crawl Classics. This update, Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King is not unwelcome, but feels both slightly rushed and an odd choice in terms of roleplaying rules. That aside, Fifth Edition Fantasy #31: Idylls of the Rat King is a serviceable scenario now brought to a wider audience.