Friday Fantasy: Haunting of Beggar’s Creek

Haunting of Beggar’s Creek is a scenario for Shadow of the Weird Wizard, the roleplaying game set on the world of Erth in the Borderlands between the remnants of once great empires and the realm of the Weird Wizard greatly changed by his magics. The unexplained disappearance of the Weird Wizard allowed all manner of creatures and strangeness to flood into the empires and kingdoms causing strife and civil war, as refugees fled into the borderlands and adventurers ventured into the Weird Wizard’s lands into explore its strangeness, hopefully stop any dangerous threats, and perhaps return with treasures both magical and mundane. Player Characters progress from Level One to Level Ten, their progress divided between three Paths—Novice, Expert, and Master, gaining greater ability, skill, and specialisation. A Novice Path begins at Level One, an Expert path at Level Three, and a Master Path at Level Seven. Adventures for Shadow of the Weird Wizard are tailored to these three Paths. Haunting of Beggar’s Creek is designed for Expert Heroes and can be run as a scenario for slightly more experienced Player Characters for Shadow of the Weird Wizard.

Haunting of Beggar’s Creek opens with the Player Characters traveling along Towers Track, one of the roads leading to Four Towers, the guild-dominated city known for the dungeons that extend deep under the city and Delver Halls, its distinctive district home to the delver companies, the groups of professional treasure-hunters who live off what they can recover from the depths. The countryside either side of the road is lightly wooded and dotted with small farms, but what catches their attention is the body of young man on the road. There is blood encrusted around his nose and eyes as well as on his face, and his bluish-white skin, feels cold to the touch. There is no obvious cause of death and no obvious sign of a scuffle. The nearest settlement is Beggar’s Creek, just along the road, a town best known for Beggar’s Bridge which crosses the creek and the large inn, the Muggin’s Rest, which caters to the townsfolk, the farmers and farmhands, and the frequent travellers on their way to Four Towers.

The scenario is a murder mystery, almost a cliché in its backstory and its set-up. The Player Characters are not suspects themselves and once they have been directed to take the body to the nearby cemetery for burial, they are free to do what they want. They could walk away, continue their journey, and leave it at that—and that is the scenario’s biggest weakness. It really does rely upon the players’ curiosity and that of their characters. If they remain and investigate, the Player Characters will discover that their discovery was not the first and the bodies of several men have been found on the road in similar circumstances. Worse, their spirits have been seen prowling the area at night and the locals are worried, including the owners of the Muggin’s Rest. So, the question is, what is killing the men and causing their spirits to walk at night instead of passing on?

Haunting of Beggar’s Creek mixes a mini-sandbox with some decent interaction and investigation with a big dollop of horror thrown in. There is a surprisingly large cast of NPCs to talk to and question, a few locations to visit—none of them overly detailed, and a distinct difference in tone between day and night. By day, it is bucolic, tinged by the locals’ concern at the curse which seems to have beset the area. By night, ghosts and worse walk, perhaps leading to situation wherein the owners of the Muggin’s Rest, their family, guests and patrons, as well as the Player Characters, all find themselves under siege by the undead! This is only one possible climax to the scenario, but it is one that can be used to push the plot behind the scenario to a conclusion, especially if the Player Characters have not resolved it by then.

There are not a lot of moving parts to Haunting of Beggar’s Creek, but they are enough to keep the Sage busy and most of them will require more preparation than most other scenarios for Shadow of the Weird Wizard. This mostly consists of a lot of NPCs and ideally a map and a floorplan. The scenario would certainly benefit from a map of the area around the Muggin’s Rest and Beggar’s Creek, and whilst the Sage will need to draw one herself, she will probably find it easier to find a floorplan of an inn to represent the Muggin’s Rest. These are perhaps the only omissions from Haunting of Beggar’s Creek.

Physically, Haunting of Beggar’s Creek is decently presented and well written.

Haunting of Beggar’s Creek is a thoroughly likeable and engaging scenario, a classic set-up in terms of fantasy and horror roleplaying. It does need pulling apart a bit to make clear all of the clues and a fair amount of preparation, but once done, this player-driven scenario will provide a good session or two’s worth of solid play.

Friday Fantasy: Drink Deep from the River of my Hate

Drink Deep from the River of my Hate is a scenario for Shadow of the Weird Wizard, the roleplaying game set on the world of Erth in the Borderlands between the remnants of once great empires and the realm of the Weird Wizard greatly changed by his magics. The unexplained disappearance of the Weird Wizard allowed all manner of creatures and strangeness to flood into the empires and kingdoms causing strife and civil war, as refugees fled into the borderlands and adventurers ventured into the Weird Wizard’s lands into explore its strangeness, hopefully stop any dangerous threats, and perhaps return with treasures both magical and mundane. Player Characters progress from Level One to Level Ten, their progress divided between three Paths—Novice, Expert, and Master, gaining greater ability, skill, and specialisation. A Novice Path begins at Level One, an Expert path at Level Three, and a Master Path at Level Seven. Adventures for Shadow of the Weird Wizard are tailored to these three Paths. Drink Deep from the River of my Hate is designed for Expert Heroes and can be run as a scenario for slightly more experienced Player Characters for Shadow of the Weird Wizard.

In Drink Deep from the River of my Hate religious fury and war comes to the Borderlands. Following his  exile from Paradise, the archon Invidian the Fallen has sworn to take his revenge upon the High One and his followers wherever they may be. This has drawn him to the Auxen Vale where there is both a Temple of the High One in Auxen Village and the Holy Brothers Monastery also dedicated to the High One. With him is a band of marauders known as the Unbelievers. Whilst some of them fight for him because of his reputation and his desire to kill all and any worshippers of the High One, others simply fight for him because they can indulge in their own murderous desires and take their share of the plunder. Ahead of their progress across the Borderlands rumours have spread of burned shrines, sacked temples, murdered priests, and slaughtered villagers, giving rise to fear in many and a loss of faith in some. Now those fears have materialised in in Auxen Vale and Father Montaine, the priest of the Temple of the High One in Auxen Village, has sought out the help of mercenaries and adventurers in the defence of the vale and village.

This then is a classic village-defence scenario, not quite The Magnificent Seven, more the malign quartet. The Player Characters need to survey the area, perhaps find some allies (there are some potential allies, but they are far from willing), and reconnoitre the enemy and its activities. To that end several locations are detailed across the vale, including the village of Auxen itself, the monastery, the nearby woods, and the ruined keep where Invidian the Fallen and the Unbelievers have made their camp. None of the NPCs or creatures who live in Auxen Vale are given stats, nor are there any stats included for Invidian the Fallen and most of his acolytes and followers. The Sage will have to provide those. However, stats are provided for his chief lieutenant, Agada the Seer, a fiend-worshipping diviner who takes pleasure in torturing and killing priests of the High One. She is quite vile!

Unfortunately, the NPCs are the cause of a big problem with Drink Deep from the River of my Hate. Or rather, the number of them. Including its leaders, there are over seventy members of the Unbelievers. This is a lot of stats to provide and a lot of NPCs for the Sage to control. Fortunately, most of them are raider wildlings, and except for the major assaults on the village, the Unbelivers will not be operating together, but rather in smaller warbands. Ideally, the Player Characters need to picking these separate warbands off, one-by-one, so as to reduce numbers they will be ultimately facing in the assault on the village.

The nature of the scenario means that it works better with some set-up time, so as to lead the Player Characters into its events. That set-up should ideally also involve the Sage creating some maps for the various locations, including at least the keep where the Unbelievers are based and the village. The Sage may also want to add a hook or two to involve the potential other allies for the villagers.

Physically, Drink Deep from the River of my Hate is decently presented. The map of the Auxum Vale is nice and clear and the scenario is well written.

Drink Deep from the River of my Hate is a classic set-up in terms of fantasy roleplaying and it is a well done, player driven scenario. However, it is underwritten in places and needs development—not too much, but a little more than it should—to make it easier to set up and run. 

Rotten Labour Relations

Downright Nasty is a scenario for the PunkApocalyptic: the Roleplaying Game, set in a terrible future dominated by vicious gangs, dangerous mutants, and predatory monsters spawned by the strange chemicals and radiation released in the days that followed the Time Before The Shit Hit. This is a post-apocalyptic setting with an adult tone, both grimy and grim, if not a little unhinged. Or a lot unhinged. As Mercs, the Player Characters take the jobs that most settlements want to avoid being associated with, whether that is because of bravery or pragmatism, and once out in the Wastelands, they face strange creatures, gangers and cannibals, plus an environment which just as likely turn on them or mutate them even more. PunkApocalyptic: the Roleplaying Game is based on Shadow of the Demon Lord and like the other roleplaying games based on its mechanics, Player Characters progress from Level One to Level Ten, their progress divided between three Paths—Novice, Expert, and Master, gaining greater ability, skill, and specialisation. A Novice Path begins at Level One, an Expert path at Level Three, and a Master Path at Level Seven. Adventures for PunkApocalyptic: the Roleplaying Game are tailored to these three Paths. Downright Nasty is a mission for Novice Mercs and sends them into the Lower Septic to restore some order.

Downright Nasty is essentially about dispute in a wasteland settlement. Vaguely east of Scrapbridge and south of Liberty City is Septic Town, a settlement which has got rich fishing for and selling megatroutasses, the large trout-like fish studded with fleshy protuberances that look like bare arses, that tastes surprisingly good. Well, some of those that live in the town, those that live in Upper Septic Town, an old bridge, have made plenty of money selling the fish across the Wasteland and have attitudes to match. The rest live in Lower Septic Tank, in ramshackle buildings stacked on a series of floating platforms connected by rope and wood walkways on the foul and stinkingly green waters that they also fish. With minimal pay and some healthcare, the conditions are deplorable, but of late, they have got worse. People have gone missing, the megatroutasses are refusing to bite, and the numbers of leechcrabs has risen becoming an increasing threat. So, the Low Tankers have organised and are demanding both better pay and some protections, which is really annoying the Upper Tankers. In response, the Upper Tankers have hired the Mercs to descend into Lower Septic Tank and restore order before the mobs start demanding mob rule or something.

Of course, there is more to the story than militant mutants in the Lower Septic Tank. It turns out that the Lower Tankers are victims in the three ways. First by the oppression of the Upper Tankers; second at the hands a rogue medical doctor, Doctor Dare; and third, at the claws of a very scary monster called The Grim. The Mercs can begin play in Lower Septic Tank, or the Game Master can run a scene getting to Septic Town and negotiating terms for their employment. The scenario can be run after ‘Two Dead in Shit Town’ found in the PunkApocalyptic: the Roleplaying Game core rulebook, but it is not a direct sequel. The players and their Mercs are free to approach the scenario however they want, but whilst beating up the Lower Tankers will likely win the Upper tankers favour, it will not really solve the problem. Talking though will, gaining the Mercs some leads, and ultimately the location of the two threats currently preying on the Lower Tankers. The investigation is straightforward, mostly involving talking to an oddball cast of characters, before a couple of nasty showdowns with the villains of the piece.

Physically, Downright Nasty is several pages of text. There is an illustration of The Grim and a ‘Local Colour’ table to add some flavour, but otherwise, the scenario is dense. One thing that it does lack is a map and given that the scenario is a monster hunt, a map of Lower Septic Town and its surrounds would have been useful. (There is one here though.)

Downright Nasty can be played through in a single session or two and has a distinctly grubby, greasy feel to it from start to finish, and honestly, even if the Mercs are successful, sort out the problems besetting the Lower Tankers, and get paid, the sad news is that the lives of the Lower Tankers are not going to get better. After all, the Upper Tankers like it that way and whilst there is nothing to stop the Game Master from adapting its plot to the post-apocalyptic roleplaying game setting of her choice, it fits the grim and grimy nature of the world of PunkApocalyptic: the Roleplaying Game.

Friday Fantasy: Trip the Light Fantastic

Trip the Light Fantastic is a scenario for Shadow of the Weird Wizard, the roleplaying game set on the world of Erth in the Borderlands between the remnants of once great empires and the realm of the Weird Wizard greatly changed by his magics. The unexplained disappearance of the Weird Wizard allowed all manner of creatures and strangeness to flood into the empires and kingdoms causing strife and civil war, as refugees fled into the borderlands and adventurers ventured into the Weird Wizard’s lands into explore its strangeness, hopefully stop any dangerous threats, and perhaps return with treasures both magical and mundane. Player Characters progress from Level One to Level Ten, their progress divided between three Paths—Novice, Expert, and Master, gaining greater ability, skill, and specialisation. A Novice Path begins at Level One, an Expert path at Level Three, and a Master Path at Level Seven. Adventures for Shadow of the Weird Wizard are tailored to these three Paths. Trip the Light Fantastic is designed for Expert Heroes and can be run as a scenario for slightly more experienced Player Characters for Shadow of the Weird Wizard. Like One Bad Apple before it, Trip the Light Fantastic confronts the players and their Heroes with one of the changes in Shadow of the Weird Wizard in comparison with traditional fantasy roleplaying games.

Trip the Light Fantastic starts out with a cliché and gets better. It starts with a village seemingly abandoned, apparently mid-activity, when the Player Characters come upon it. The village could be any number of the ones that have been settled in Borderlands and although the village can be one that the Player Characters have never been to before, the scenario works better and is likely to have more of an emotional impact if the village is one that the Player Characters have been to before and know some of the inhabitants. This might be because the Player Characters live there or because they have simply visited it before, but either way, it requires some degree of set-up upon the part of the Game Master. There are odd signs about like lots of small footprints dotted about and the milk being spoiled in addition to the missing people and livestock. The clues point towards a nearby grove of trees where the Player Characters are swarmed by Atomies, tiny faeries, that play pranks upon them and steal items from them, and if the Player Characters follow them, they find themselves elsewhere and in another realm. Then the scenario proper can begin!

The Player Characters find themselves in a faerie realm. It is heavily forested with faces in the bark of the tall trees and glowing motes drifting softly providing light under the canopy and seems like an otherworldly idyll. There appears to be no way back and so the Player Characters will need to search for one in addition to searching for the missing villagers. Fortunately, a stranger says that he will offer them a means of returning to the mortal realm in return for undertaking a number of tasks for him. These include things such as fetching the mirror from the bottom of Starry Pond or freeing Old Man Time from the witch. There are five of tasks, four of which are at set locations, whilst one can be encountered randomly at the Game Master’s choosing. There are another six locations within the realm not associated with the tasks that the Player Characters have been set, including a stair into the clouds that will fling the Player Characters randomly across the realm, a wishing well, and a sword in a stone. There is a sense of whimsy to the place as you would expect for a faery realm, but a darkness too. An old hag steeps in her bad luck and tormenting any she captures with her resentments, including an old knight whom she keeps chained up under the watchful eye of a carnivorous tree, a quartet of Poweries that wear blood red caps that like to refresh the colour of said caps with the blood of their dinner guests, and the discovery of the fate of the missing villagers. There is a definite streak of cruelty and darkness to many of these encounters , but some humour too, such as the bird that the Player Characters have been directed to rescue singing every time someone comes near waking up the Ogre holding him captive in the process like a bad version of Tweety and Sylvester (just give the Ogre a lisp to highlight the comparison)!

Physically, Trip the Light Fantastic is decently presented. The map of the faery realm is nice and clear and the scenario is well written.

The only thing Trip the Light Fantastic is perhaps missing is a random encounter table and again, the Game Master will need to provide the stats for all of the monsters as well as setting up the village so that the players and their characters have a connection to it. The scenario is will likely take longer to play than the previous scenarios, probably two to three sessions. Overall, Trip the Light Fantastic is an entertaining mini-sandcrawl through a dark amd whimsical mini-realm filled with mini-quests and mini-encounters.

Friday Fantasy: Eye of the Serpent

Eye of the Serpent is a scenario for Shadow of the Weird Wizard, the roleplaying game set on the world of Erth in the Borderlands between the remnants of once great empires and the realm of the Weird Wizard greatly changed by his magics. The unexplained disappearance of the Weird Wizard allowed all manner of creatures and strangeness to flood into the empires and kingdoms causing strife and civil war, as refugees fled into the borderlands and adventurers ventured into the Weird Wizard’s lands into explore its strangeness, hopefully stop any dangerous threats, and perhaps return with treasures both magical and mundane. Player Characters progress from Level One to Level Ten, their progress divided between three Paths—Novice, Expert, and Master, gaining greater ability, skill, and specialisation. A Novice Path begins at Level One, an Expert path at Level Three, and a Master Path at Level Seven. Adventures for Shadow of the Weird Wizard are tailored to these three Paths. Eye of the Serpent is designed for Expert Heroes and can be run as a scenario for slightly more experienced Player Characters for Shadow of the Weird Wizard.

Eye of the Serpent shifts the action of the previous two scenarios—One Bad Apple and Friends in Need—from a rural location to an urban one. The Sage can set the scenario in the city of her choosing, but the city of Westport is suggested as being suitable. Of late, the members of minor and formerly benign cult, the Followers of the Silver Road, have been making a nuisance of themselves, including engaging in odd pleasures, buying up rare and expensive crystals, recruiting the young, wealthy, and influential, and daubing their mark all over the city. Whether because of the lure of treasure that the city’s temple must surely hold, to rescue a recent recruit at the behest of his family, or a local constable wants to know what is inside, but lacks the authority, the Player Characters are hired to break into the temple. The Player Characters are free to investigate the cult and ask questions about it round the city and even visit the temple during the day.

The action, then, will take place at night. The Player Characters will have to sneak in at some point and explore the grounds of the temple and its buildings. These are far from extensive and similarly, neither are the warrens beneath temple. The cultists are not a danger to the Player Characters, except in numbers, whereas the cult leaders are definitely a danger. As with other scenarios for Shadow of the Weird Wizard, the Sage will need to supply the stats from the core books. Once the Player Characters have found the entrance to warrens and climbed down, it will quickly become obvious what type of threat they face. They do represent quite a challenge to the Player Characters as they are likely to encounter quite a few of them in the warrens and a stand up fight is likely. There are some magical traps too, but the Player Characters will be decently rewarded if successful.

With multiple possible motivations, the ending of Eye of the Serpent can play out in different ways. The Player Characters might find themselves being hunted as thieves for breaking into the temple and stealing valuables; praised for rescuing a child; or hunted by the cultists still alive. The scenario includes a few notes which cover these possibilities, though the Sage will need to develop some of these possible plot threads.

Physically, Eye of the Serpent is decently presented. The map of the temple in particular is done in vibrant colours and with the pagoda at its heart, it has a slightly exotic feel that shifts to unworldly once the Player Characters enter the warren below.

Eye of the Serpent is short and sharp and direct. It can be prepared with ease and run within a single session. Its handful of motivations give different ways of involving the Player Characters whilst the possible different consequences, which do need to be worked into a campaign, are a surprising consideration. Otherwise, solidly serviceable.

Friday Fantasy: Friends in Need

Friends in Need is a scenario for Shadow of the Weird Wizard, the roleplaying game set on the world of Erth in the Borderlands between the remnants of once great empires and the realm of the Weird Wizard greatly changed by his magics. The unexplained disappearance of the Weird Wizard allowed all manner of creatures and strangeness to flood into the empires and kingdoms causing strife and civil war, as refugees fled into the borderlands and adventurers ventured into the Weird Wizard’s lands into explore its strangeness, hopefully stop any dangerous threats, and perhaps return with treasures both magical and mundane. Player Characters progress from Level One to Level Ten, their progress divided between three Paths—Novice, Expert, and Master, gaining greater ability, skill, and specialisation. A Novice Path begins at Level One, an Expert path at Level Three, and a Master Path at Level Seven. Adventures for Shadow of the Weird Wizard are tailored to these three Paths. Friends in Need is designed for Novice Heroes and can be run as a beginning scenario for Shadow of the Weird Wizard. It confronts the players and their Heroes with one of the big changes in Shadow of the Weird Wizard in comparison with traditional fantasy roleplaying games.

Friends in Need takes a classic set-up—or a cliché, depending upon your point of view—from high fantasy roleplaying and gives it just of enough of a twist to make that set-up interesting. That set-up is the meeting of the heroes of in a tavern, or the stopping off on a journey in a tavern and spending the night, and either being hired to go on an adventure or following up on some rumours and so going on an adventure. The tavern in the adventure is more than that, a walled compound called the Traveller’s Rest, which was once a stop on a coaching route through the Borderlands. The current owners have worked hard to retore it to a going concern and it also has a forge and a general store as well as somewhere to eat, drink, and stay, overall, offering a major source of employment in the area. Here the Player Characters have a chance to stop and rest on their journey and interact with the staff and patrons, perhaps while away the evening playing cards and dice, and along the way picking up a rumour or two. Amongst the latter is the fact that several people from the area and some travellers have gone missing, a lion in the nearby Green Hills have been preying on goat herds, and there is word that a new disease is spreading through the borderlands. Then, of course, the Player Characters are offered a proper job.

A scholar resident at the Traveller’s Rest recruits the Player Characters to escort him on an expedition in the Green Hills where he has discovered an old tomb. He believes that there is treasure to be found in the tomb, but also clues as to what happened to the peoples once indigenous to this part of the borderlands. However, the twist comes the following morning, when the Player Characters discover that the scholar has already left without them, and worse, has done so in the company of another band of adventurers which was the bar the previous evening. Essentially, what has happened is that this other band of adventurers has undercut the Player Characters!

This is an entertaining twist, but as much as the Player Characters’ newly-encountered adventuring rivals undercut them, the twist has the potential to undercut the scenario. Whether this happens depends on what the players and their characters decide to do next. They could simply do nothing or leave, and events will play out without the Player Characters’ involvement in which case they do not what discover what is actually going on and the region surrounding the Traveller’s Rest suffers the consequences. Effectively, this negates second half of the scenario. Alternatively, the Player Characters can follow the path of the scholar and his hired guards, and this is the plot thread that the scenario presents, but the Player Characters could also explore one of the other rumours that were floating about the tavern the previous evening. The events of these sidequests can be brought back connect to the main plot, but the Sage will need to develop these a little more to flesh them out.

Eventually, and ideally, the Player Characters will reach the tomb site which the scholar wanted them to guard whilst he excavated. Here the Player Characters discover another twist to the classic set-up—or a cliché, depending upon your point of view—from high fantasy roleplaying and what is actually in the tomb. The latter plays out in more traditional fashion.

Friends in Need is a slightly more complex scenario than, One Bad Apple, the previous one for Player Characters on the Novice Path. It will need more input from the Sage to keep the players and their characters on the main plot and thus into the second half of the scenario. That said, this is not too difficult, but it is in addition to the preparation required to ready stats for both the NPCs and the monsters for the scenario.

Physically, Friends in Need is cleanly and tidily laid out. It is well written, but there are no maps. The Sage may want to provide them, but they are not necessary to run or play the adventure.

Friends in Need is strong on interaction and roleplaying with the Player Characters given time to interact with the other patrons at the Traveller’s Rest, learn about the area, and perhaps gamble away some of their monies. The various NPCs are nicely detailed and there is even an example dice game which the players could play too. The scenario is short, but Friends in Need will probably take two sessions to play through if its plot is followed as written. If it is, the players and their characters will find that Friends in Need delivers a couple of nice little twists to its clichéd set-up as well as a good mix of interaction, combat, and exploration.

Friday Fantasy: One Bad Apple

One Bad Apple is a scenario for Shadow of the Weird Wizard, the roleplaying game set on the world of Erth in the Borderlands between the remnants of once great empires and the realm of the Weird Wizard greatly changed by his magics. The unexplained disappearance of the Weird Wizard allowed all manner of creatures and strangeness to flood into the empires and kingdoms causing strife and civil war, as refugees fled into the borderlands and adventurers ventured into the Weird Wizard’s lands into explore its strangeness, hopefully stop any dangerous threats, and perhaps return with treasures both magical and mundane. Player Characters progress from Level One to Level Ten, their progress divided between three Paths—Novice, Expert, and Master, gaining greater ability, skill, and specialisation. A Novice Path begins at Level One, an Expert path at Level Three, and a Master Path at Level Seven. Adventures for Shadow of the Weird Wizard are tailored to these three Paths. One Bad Apple is designed for Novice Heroes and can be run as a beginning scenario for Shadow of the Weird Wizard. It confronts the players and their Heroes with one of the big changes in Shadow of the Weird Wizard in comparison with traditional fantasy roleplaying games.

One Bad Apple is set in the small village of Two Forks, located in the Borderlands between the twin forks of the Flenderish River and marked by the two stone bridges which cross the sluggish, muddy rivers, the temple, and the Two Forks Distillery and Public House, the most profitable building in the village. Were it not for the quality of its spirits, Two Forks would be utterly unremarkable, a place where nothing happens. That placid nature has been shattered with the sudden change in behaviour by the town’s blacksmith. Victor the Smith has always been a friendly, agreeable man, always ready to help others, but now, a sudden, unprovoked and extremely violent outburst has left his neighbour, Ruprecht Allson, bruised, battered, and bloody, and like the rest of the village unable to explain why he was attacked. Two Forks’ two guards managed to subdue Victor the Smith and lock him in a shed, where he continues to rage and scream and hammer at the door. What has affected Victor the Smith? What is the reason for his rage? How long will the shed hold him?

The Player Characters may be residents of Two Forks or they might be passing through, but they get caught up in the situation following a village meeting. When they investigate, none of the villagers have any explanation, but there are signs of other odd activity in the village. Footprints and warning graffiti suggest that Goblins have been skulking about in Two Forks and the nearest Goblins are known to live in a relatively nearby forest. When confronted, the Goblins and their leader, Bung, will defend their temple ruin hideout, but will ultimately reveal what they have done, and that is to place a curse on Two Forks, one that inflicts ‘Soul Sickness’ upon the villagers. This ‘Soul Sickness’ manifests as a magical disease that drives sufferers to ever greater rage and acts of unprovoked violence, before ultimately transforming them into Orcs. This is one of the radical changes in Shadow of the Weird Wizard that divorces the origin of the Orc from its traditional cultural difficulties, and as seen here in One Bad Apple, suggests new story possibilities and adds to the lore of Shadow of the Weird Wizard.

Bung though, is not the only threat to Two Forks. Salty Lemon, a vicious Bauchan, has his own issues with the village, but as it turns out, would rather not see everyone there turned into Orcs as that would be dangerous for both him and the surrounding area. He knows of a cure to the ‘Soul Sickness’, but of course, wants something in return. This is a jewel that was stolen from him and which can be found in the tombs below the temple where the Goblins had their base. The heroes may already have explored this and may even have found the jewel and so be ready to hand it over in return for the recipe, but either way, the last part of One Bad Apple is an exploration of tombs under the temple, essentially, a mini-dungeon foray. With luck, but mostly skill, the heroes should be able to find the jewel, get the recipe, and so help stop the spread of the ‘Soul Sickness’.

The scenario is straightforward and easy to run. The Sage will need to refer to Secrets of the Weird Wizard for details of the traps and treasures to be found in the tomb, as well as all of the monster stats. If Bung survives and runs away, he could easily return as a recurring villain in subsequent scenarios and the Sage might want to develop him further to that end.

Physically, One Bad Apple is cleanly and tidily laid out. It is well written, but the map of the tombs below the temple could have been easier to read.

One Bad Apple offers a good mix of investigation and interaction, combat, and exploration in its short few pages that all together should provide two or three sessions’ worth of play. It is a classic village-in-peril scenario, but one based upon a major twist that Shadow of the Weird Wizard brings to fantasy roleplay. In this way, as an introductory scenario, One Bad Apple shows both the Sage and her players that although based on classic fantasy roleplaying, Shadow of the Weird Wizard is different. It is a good start.

Weird Wizard Wondrousness II

Shadow of the Weird Wizard introduced us to the divided land of the Great Kingdom and other nations in the west and the lands once dominated by the Weird Wizard in the east. For centuries, he ruled from his capital, the Forbidden City, over a land in which he worked great changes—raising mountains to the stars, making rocks flow like waterfalls, islands set to float in the sky, growing forests of mushrooms, and setting clockworks to run his capital. Long is the reach of his shadow, its touch still felt despite his recent disappearance that has triggered civil war in the west and chaos as refugees fled east to escape the conflict and monsters from the east—cruel faeries, hybrid beasts, the undead, multilegged hulking collectors, and floating eyes that hang in the air trailing their nerve endings—have skulked west. Now there exists a borderland between the lands of the east and the west where people and refugees need protecting and from where monsters can be tracked back into the old lands of the Weird Wizard and expeditions can be launched into his lands. It is a time for heroes and a time for the brave to make a name for themselves. Written for use with the Demon Lord Engine, first seen in the publisher’s grim dark, horror fantasy roleplaying game, Shadow of the Demon Lord, the difference is that the fantasy of Shadow of the Weird Wizard is high fantasy and heroic fantasy, and thus much more positive in tone. However, although it introduces the setting, provides means to create Player Characters, and gives rules for acting and action, combat and magic, it is not complete. The Sage—as the Game Master is known and a self-confessed reference to Skip William’s long-running ‘Sage Advice’ column in the pages of The Dragon magazine—will still need its companion volume, Secrets of the Weird Wizard.

The reference to both Skip Williams and The Dragon magazine is only the first of the references to Dungeons & Dragons throughout the pages of Secrets of the Weird Wizard. These are very knowing nods, but Shadow of the Weird Wizard is not doing Dungeons & Dragons per se. Rather that it offers heroic fantasy roleplaying using a simpler, slicker rules system, a multiplicity of character options, and a standard campaign structure.

Secrets of the Weird Wizard is effectively, the book for the Shadow of the Weird Wizard Game Sage. With that in mind, Secrets of the Weird Wizard does something surprising. Something for the players. This is that it addresses the lack of non-Human ancestries to be found (or rather not found) in Shadow of the Weird Wizard. From Archon, Cambion, and Centaur to Sprite, Spriggan, and Woodwose, as well as the traditional to fantasy Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling, Secrets of the Weird Wizard gives the player access to twenty-four ancestries and thus a wider choice in terms of what characters he can play. That said, the Weird Ancestries supplement is a handier supplement to use for that purpose and it does include six more than is given in Secrets of the Weird Wizard.

Other than this, Secrets of the Weird Wizard is very much for the Sage and to that end, it is divided into three chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to advice for the Sage, the second provides a more detailed description of Erth, the setting for Shadow of the Weird Wizard, and the third is a bestiary for Shadow of the Weird Wizard.

The advice begins from the moment that the Game Master opens the book. The introduction opens with an explanation as the mood and tone of Secrets of the Weird Wizard, that its setting is one of a world in crisis, as old nations war and collapse and the new lands offer opportunity and danger in equal measure. That the new lands are ripe for adventure by heroes who seek to make it a better and safer place, to undo damage done by the machinations of the Weird Wizard, and looking to better future. This is in deep contrast to the blood, mud, and horror of Shadow of the Demon Lord. There is solid basic advice, like that of taking time to learn and play through the rules, to keep what the players and their characters simple, to keep the Player Characters foremost in the game, and so on. Much of the ‘Sage Advice’ is familiar, but it also suggests collective origins for the Player Characters, such as explorers, merchants, and outlaws, as well as adventurers. It breaks down the overarching structure of the Shadow of the Weird Wizard, categorising its quests into ‘Novice’, ‘Expert’, and ‘Master’ Quests which represent greater and greater challenges for the Player Characters. Together they will take the Player Characters’ progress from First to Tenth Level, at which point a campaign typically ends. There is guidance though for play beyond and for what the Player Characters might do in their downtime.

There are rules for travel and guidance on the many things typical to fantasy roleplaying. This includes terrain types, doors and gates, locks, walls and structures, and the like, before detailing a plethora of traps, including a hungry chest trap, flooding chamber, falling blocks, and much more. There is a guide to creating NPCs and roleplaying, combat and making it exciting, and rewards. In terms of treasure, there are oddities and items of power. The former are minor artefacts whose manufacture is lost, whilst the latter are devices of great history and power, often dangerous power. Several examples are included. Overall, the advice is excellent, giving a good idea of what the roleplaying game is about, how to handle the rules, and more.

The middle chapter, ‘Borderlands’ focuses on the lands between the Old Country and the New Lands. This covers social groups, societies and institutions, such as Bards, Druids, Free Companies, and more, so in its way looking at both classic fantasy roles and groups. Some of these are cults, like the Cult of the Last Door dedicated to Lord Death and Daughters of Hate detailed under the pantheon also detailed. The pantheon itself is conceptual in its depiction and naming of some of the gods—Want, Calamity, and Hates, for example—others less so. In the main, what the description of ‘Borderlands’ is trying to do is hit the high spots and in doing so, show off the weird and the traditional, all whilst still leaving room for the Sage to add her own content. For example, Asylum, City of Thieves, is the largest, wealthiest, and safest city-state because its government is the actual Thieves’ Guild and the most efficient organisation in the city; the Cinder Peak Isles grow in number with every new eruption; the Sylphs of the Cloud Islands are fiercely xenophobic and allow no-one to land or climb onto their islands in the sky, except the Cloud market, which they winch customers up to; the arrival of Augustus, wizard and sage in the pirate town of Eastport, echoes the ride of Emirikol; ruled by four guilds from four different towers, the primary industry of the city of Four Towers is catering the delving companies that explore the extensive and deep dungeons under each tower; and the Wyvern Forest has long overgrown a fairy realm where in its deepest parts, the Horned Lord and the Wild Woman gods are known to walk. There are notes too, on the lands beyond the New Lands, including the Weird Wizard’s Forbidden City, but these are not as extensive or as detailed. There is a good mix here of elements that the Sage or her players are not necessarily going to be surprised to find in the Borderlands, but there are plenty that they are. Plus, there is room for the Sage’s ideas as well as room for the author to expand too.

The third and final chapter is the longest. The ‘Bestiary’ takes up almost two thirds of Secrets of the Weird Wizard. The ‘Bestiary’ takes up almost two thirds of Secrets of the Weird Wizard. As well as the aforementioned entries for races or species that have options as Ancestries for the Player Characters and NPCs (handily listed all together in the PDF), there is again, a good mix of the familiar and unfamiliar. Often this is a case of making the former into the latter. As well as Slimes, Oozes, and Goos, there is a Blob, a leathery-skinned corrosive liquid-filled bladder that has eyes, mouths, and other organs dotting its skin, so is much more Lovecraftian; the Hydra are actually classed as Angels, having sprang from the blood spilled when Lord Death defeated Draconus, but are otherwise the multi-headed serpents who regrow lost heads; Kobolds are fairy folk, the diminutive miners of Germanic folklore; Ogres are the creation of Trolls, made from human stock and spawned from the Trolls’ flesh-forges; and Orcs are victims of a magical sickness that affects the soul, infecting anyone—Humans, Elves, Dwarfs, and others—who has lived too close to one of the imprisoned Ancient Ones and instantly transforming them into the hate-fuelled Orcs. The origin of the Orc here not only divorces it from its traditional cultural difficulties, but suggests new story possibilities and adds to the lore of Shadow of the Weird Wizard. The bestiary in Secrets of the Weird Wizard does this again and again, just shifting the familiar to make it that little bit different and that much more interesting. There are remnants too, of the Weird Wizard like the Observers, floating eyeballs that monitored his lands passively unless attacked and signs of the OM collective, the invaders from another dimension that the Weird Wizard fought so hard to hold off, but which are now making a resurgence with his disappearance. The OM Collective is not the only ‘alien’ incursion which threatens the new lands. All of the entries are in the bestiary are neatly organised and often multiple variants under each entry, giving the Sage more options in terms of tailoring threats and encounters to her Player Characters.

There are no real issues with Secrets of the Weird Wizard. From a useability standpoint, a bigger map of the Borderlands would have been a good idea, perhaps presented inside the front or back cover. The one given is too small to read with ease. The inclusion of a bibliography—perhaps the equivalent of the ‘Appendix N’ for Shadow of the Weird Wizard would have been a nice touch.

Physically, Secrets of the Weird Wizard is very presented. It is well written and engaging, especially the chapter describing the Borderlands, whilst the illustrations vary a little in quality. For the most part though, the illustrations in Secrets of the Weird Wizard are excellent.

Secrets of the Weird Wizard is not just the companion volume to Shadow of the Weird Wizard, but the second half of the full rules, providing as it does a bestiary of NPCs and monsters, advice for the Sage, and setting details for the roleplaying game. The advice is good, but the setting content is really good, providing details and information to make the Borderlands intriguing and playable whilst leaving room for more content, as the bestiary adds extra little details and populates the setting with the old and the new, the familiar and the unfamiliar. The Shadow of the Weird Wizard Sage is definitely going to want—even need—to have Secrets of the Weird Wizard and she will not be disappointed.

Dark Tales

Published in 2015, Shadow of the Demon Lord is roleplaying game which feels like a combination of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and the Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft setting that is slipping towards Fantasy Flight Games’ Midnight setting by way of The Dying Earth and some steampunk elements and an unhealthy dose of Heavy Metal. Published by Schwalb Entertainment, it combines fast character generation—taking no less than five minutes—and offers a player  plenty of choices in what his character becomes; models short campaigns which take a Player Character from Zero Level to Tenth Level, a group of characters going up in Level at end of each adventure so that a campaign can be played in just eleven sessions or scenarios; and as the titular Demon Lord rattles at the last bars that keep him imprisoned in the Void, his influence continues to despoil land and mind alike, the ‘Shadow’ of the Demon Lord and its effect upon the world can be adjusted and set by the Game Master. This can be something hinted at in prophecies, a rumour threatening in the background, an imminent disaster, or a catastrophe such as a pandemic, famine, earthquakes, the dead living and walking, the Wild hunt abroad in the land, a sudden winter out of season, wild magic warping all and sundry… and more.

Tales of the Demon Lord is a campaign for Shadows of the Demon Lord. It consists of eleven adventures set in the lands of the Northern Reach, the far-flung province of a dying empire, whose capital is Crossings, a city perched on shores of the island-strewn and fae-inhabited lake known as Dark Waters. The city is best known as a fishing port and for its Academy of Engineers established by the Empire long ago and the six faerie spires which have stood since long before the city was built. Originally founded by exiles, refugees, and bandits from the Empire, but since subsumed into its borders before being ignored as a distant province, the council rather than governor-led Crossings acknowledges Sixton as the capital of the province, but otherwise ignores it and decides what is best for the citizens of Crossings. However, as the Shadow of the Demon Lord looms over the Empire, Crossings is not immune to the impending doom, an ancient cult with a branch in the city, the Brotherhood of Shadows, scrambles to find a way to bore a hole into the Void that is home to the Demon Lord, and so release both him and hordes of demons intent on destroying the world. As the Player Characters undertake one task or mission after another, they will cross paths with not only these cultists, but also rival cultists who want to take control of the Brotherhood of Shadows and so claim the glory of successfully summoning their master and doom the world…

Tales of the Demon Lord provides several reasons why the Player Characters might be in Crossings according to their Profession—Academic, Common, Criminal, Martial, Religious, or Wilderness—and quickly lays out the basics of the plot and details Crossings and various NPCs. Some of the city is described in detail, including its government, various districts, and important NPCs. The description is accompanied by a decent map and is enough for the Game Master to run the Tales of the Demon Lord campaign or any other scenarios set within its walls, whilst still leaving plenty of room for the Game Master to add her own content. Very quickly though, Tales of the Demon Lord gets into the first part of its campaign.

The first of the eleven adventures in Tales of the Demon Lord is ‘Harvester of Sorrows’. A priest from Crossings’ poorest district, Grievings, has gone missing following a series of disappearances he was investigating himself, and the Player Characters are asked to find him. A little investigation will reveal that the priest was enquiring about a nearby dilapidated house, once home to an infamous demonologist, and after a run-in with a local gang, there the Player Characters will discover that someone else also has an interest in the house and accidentally released a dread creature that is preying on the inhabitants of the surrounding the district. This is a common aspect of the scenarios which will follow in Tales of the Demon Lord. ‘Harvester of Sorrows’ gets the campaign off to a grim start just as you would expect for Shadow of the Demon Lord, but is not too challenging.

‘Born to Die’ is the first of two scenarios for Novice-level characters. The gang encountered in ‘Harvester of Sorrows’ has kidnapped the daughter of a local merchant and is holding her for ransom, and her father engages the Player Characters to see to her safe return. However, the Player Characters are not the only ones looking for the daughter and will need to deal with at least one other faction to get to her. Mostly set on an island in Dark Waters lake, the first of several scenarios which will take the Player Characters out of Crossings, this is a hostage rescue scenario, which of course, will go wrong. The second scenario for Novice-level characters, ‘The Curious Case of the Errant Swine’, takes the Player Characters truly out of the city to the farm of Farmer Ham, who recently had one of his fine hogs stolen. He wants the thieves caught and his hogs returned, if possible. Signs point towards the nearby Sentinel Wood and investigation there will locate both the culprits and the reasons behind the abductions, but has horrid secrets of his own he wants kept hidden. This scenario has a nice mix of interaction, investigation, and exploration, in particular into a partially-flooded Elvish underground shrine.

‘Temple of Shadows’ sees the Player Characters back in the city as a vile plague sweeps through Purse, Crossings’ wealthiest district, its victims descending into gibbering madness before dying and rising as demon-possessed animated corpses! In this first scenario for Expert-level characters, the fact that house of Pentachus Katandramus, a wealthy aristocrat, has been destroyed in a recent explosion surely cannot be a coincidence and Inquisitor Randolfus and his henchmen, but have not returned. When the Player Characters get past the cordon and descend into the house, they discover another factional feud, this time for control of the vile temple under the remains of the house and what might be hidden there. ‘Temple of Shadows’ is followed by ‘The Moon Spire’, which will take the Player Characters away from Crossings again, this time to the hamlet of Carbuncle, infamous for the physical oddities and infirmities of its inhabitants, and the strange Moon Spire, an elvish tower which appears at the full moon. This is a strange exploration of an even stranger building, the Player Characters needing to find portal after portal to work their way up the tower without being kicked out. Again, this is another search for a relic which needs to be denied to the enemy, but one which will require the Game Master to track carefully where the Player Characters are as there is a high chance of their being separated.

Another theme in Tales of the Demon Lord, that of others uncovering things best left covered, continues with ‘Mines of Madness’. The third scenario for Expert-level characters, this has the Player Characters sent into the Black Hills west of Crossings, where the Dwarf, Gundren the Ironmonger, operates a mine. Ore shipments have stopped coming and he wants to know why. Arriving at the mine, the Player Characters discover that the miners are missing and must descend into the mine to find out what has happened. This scenario is incidental to the campaign, as is the next, but ‘Mines of Madness’ is a decent enough dungeon-bash. The fourth, and last scenario in the campaign for Expert-level characters is ‘In the Name of Love’, which takes place in the rapidly declining town of Verge. This is a more sophisticated piece, one-part sandbox, one-part character study, in which rumours of missing villagers and strangers seen about the place should drive the Player Characters to investigate. A combination of good roleplaying and investigation will reveal that not all is well in Verge as anger has awoken a demon-tree, strangers predate on victims’ tears, and brigands pick at the bones of the settlement in this bloody tragedy.

If the Player Characters have been working to prevent the coming of the Demon Lord and thus the end of the world, if only inadvertently at this point in the campaign, then they find themselves with a rival in ‘Shadows in the Mist’ in this first scenario for Master-level characters. When they return to Crossings, they hear reports of new-borns having gone missing, a new island appearing in the lake, and then a monster haunted fog rolls in and shrouds the city. The island and its inhabitants prove unwelcoming to visitors and when the Player Characters get to close to the culprit, they become the hunted. The steampunk elements of Shadow of the Demon Lord are played up in ‘Off the Rails’, as the provincial governor recruits the Player Characters to investigate a recent train crash and recover several iron titans, prototype mechanical soldiers which might replace the Empire’s Orc soldiery and which were aboard the train. As the Player Characters are investigating the crash site, they are drawn to a nearby village by the sound of an explosion. If they race to investigate, they discover the village under attack by Orc rebels in command of the iron titans—but the villagers have their own means of defence! The likelihood is that a big battle will ensure, either against the Orcs or villagers, not both, and then there is the matter of the remaining rebels to deal with…

The penultimate scenario in Tales of the Demon Lord is ‘Prince of Darkness which brings the summoning of the Demon Lord one step closer, but for the Player Characters, help comes from an unexpected quarter—a reformed demonologist who has escaped Hell! A demon has taken possession of the demonologist’s former stronghold and is tearing open a rift to the Void. With the demonologist’s aid, the Player Characters must enter his stronghold and find a way to defeat the demon or prevent it from opening the Void. The last scenario and campaign finale is ‘The End is Near’ in which the Brotherhood of Shadows moves openly to summon its master as rivals try to take control of the cult’s efforts. The scenario begins with an investigation into the death of Crossings’ mayor, the first of several possible murders in the city, and culminates in the Player Characters confronting several factions in an attempt to bring about the end of the world!

Tales of the Demon Lord is rounded out with ‘Appendix: New Creatures’, which presents several types of an insectoid species encountered in the mines in ‘Mines of Madness’. Physically, Tales of the Demon Lord is well presented, with decent artwork and some nice cartography. In terms of a campaign, Tales of the Demon Lord lives up the grim and bruising tone of Shadow of the Demon Lord, the Player Characters being constantly assailed by demons, cultists, and other vile threats. It feels compact, there being roughly two or four pages per scenario, each of which should provide two or three secessions’ worth of gaming.

However, Tales of the Demon Lord does not quite work as a campaign as written. Some effort is required by the Game Master to provide monster statistics and magical relics when found, but further, the Game Master will need to set up and provide continuing links between the scenarios, as none are provided. A patron is required for the Player Characters at the very least, but once the campaign gets under way, this should be less of an issue. It does add to the set-up requirements for the Game Master though. Similarly, the Game Master will be on her own when comes to the outcome—successful or failed—of any scenario, plus the outcome, if successful, of the campaign. The effects of failure though, is easier to determine. The lack of connective tissue between the scenarios means that not every scenario is specifically connected to the campaign’s story line as well, and whilst in places this means that the campaign is showcasing the ongoing, dying nature of the world around the Player Characters, it also means that sometimes it feels as if they are being shunted off scene whilst other things occur. However, the lack of connective tissue between the scenarios has an advantage too, providing some flexibility in terms of the order in which they can be played—though this would have to be within the confines of the Path the Player Characters are on (Novice, Expert, or Master)—as well as making them easy to extract from the book and either replaced, added to another campaign, or run as a one-shot. With some effort, a Game Master could also adapt the campaign to the roleplaying game of her choice, whether grim and perilous, or not.

Tales of the Demon Lord is as dark and twisted and as grim and perilous a campaign as you would want for Shadow of the Demon Lord. It is a solid, intentionally short campaign, which serves up a good mix of horror and insanity, but which will require more development and set-up than another campaign might not.

A Perfect Investigation

Although there is no scenario in the rulebook for Shadow of the Demon Lord, the first RPG released by Schwalb Entertainment following a successful Kickstarter campaign, one of the excellent decisions upon the part of the designer has been to release support—and release it early—in the form of scenarios for the game. This way a gaming group can get playing quickly, even if they are just using the core rules presented in Victims of the Demon Lord: Starter Guide and an adventure. In addition, the publisher has also released Tales of the Demon Lord, a complete mini-campaign that takes a party of characters from Zero Level up to Eleventh Level. In the meantime, the twenty-second adventure is One Perfect Moment.

One Perfect Moment is the third adventure written for characters who have entered their first or Novice Path, that is of First or Second Level. It is written by Colin McComb, who has contributed to settings as diverse as Birthright, Planescape, and Ravenloft. It comes as a ten page, 25.22 MB PDF. Physically, One Perfect Moment is decently presented with a nice piece of cartography and two good illustrations. The GM needs to give the scenario a careful read through, primarily to understand how its structure works, for One Perfect Moment is an investigative scenario played against the clock. Note that the scenario has been written using content from The Demon Lord’s Companion, but alternatives are provided the GM who does not have that supplement. Note also that the content of the scenario is of a mature nature and the second piece of artwork is definitely of a mature nature.

The setting for One Perfect Moment is the town of Granville, a small trading town astride a major route between two cities. (Ideally it should be located near the city of Set, but really it can be set anywhere.) Some weeks prior to the arrival of the player characters in the town, the Adepts of the Epiphany came to Granville. They promise enlightenment through ecstasy and pleasure, telling worshipers they would gain insight at moments of utter bliss. Whilst the Adepts of the Epiphany might be genuine in their intent and teachings, the branch that came to Granville is anything but! The player characters are are spending the night in the small trading town when first thing the following day, they are summoned to an audience with its leading citizen, Loria Cassenault. Her niece and heir, Fallon, has fallen in with the Adepts of the Epiphany and spends her time on spiritual matters rather than on learning the family business and preparing for her inheritance. Loria Cassenault wants the player characters to determine how much danger Fallon is in, to rescue her if necessary, and to protect her family, her family name, and thus her family fortune.

In investigating Fallon and the Adepts of the Epiphany, One Perfect Moment presents plenty of leads to follow. These include tracing agents previously employed by Loria Cassenault, asking around town about the Adepts of the Epiphany, talking to Fallon’s friends and Fallon herself, and so on. Each of these takes a certain amount of time and each comes with one or two complications that only add to the time taken to gather clues. Whilst it would be tempting to for the player characters to split up, this would be ill advised, since some of the complications do involve combat and having too few numbers might make such encounters just a little too challenging. The timed structure of the investigation and the various leads should suggest to the players and their characters that they are up against a deadline, but unless the player characters really mess around, they do have sufficient time to follow leads, gather clues, draw some kind of conclusion, and act before the deadline falls.

If there is a problem with the scenario, it is that whilst its conclusion does cover a variety of possible outcomes, it leaves the GM to fully work out the effects that all these outcomes will have on the town and populace of Granville. This perhaps could have been better developed and thus have provided a better means for the GM to better present the ramifications of the events in the town. Overall though, One Perfect Moment presents a good mix of roleplaying and investigative opportunities with a timing mechanism for the latter being simple and easy for the GM to keep track of.

A Haunting Encounter

Although there is no scenario in the rulebook for Shadow of the Demon Lord, the first RPG released by Schwalb Entertainment following a successful Kickstarter campaign, one of the excellent decisions upon the part of the designer has been to release support—and release it early—in the form of scenarios for the game. This way a gaming group can get playing quickly, even if they are just using the core rules presented in Victims of the Demon Lord: Starter Guide and an adventure. In addition, the publisher has also released Tales of the Demon Lord, a complete mini-campaign that takes a party of characters from Zero Level up to Eleventh Level. In the meantime, the thirteenth adventure is The Huntsman’s Isle.

The Huntsman’s Isle  is the third adventure written for characters who have entered their first or Novice Path, that is of First or Second Level. It is written by Skip Williams, co-designer of Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition, regular columnist in both Dragon and Kobold Quarterly magazines, and author of the boxed campaign supplement, The Rod of Seven Parts. The scenario also marks a reteaming of Williams with Kim Mohan, the longtime editor at TSR, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast and now editor on Shadow of the Demon Lord, their having worked together on Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition. It comes as a five page, 12.13 MB PDF. Physically, The Huntsman’s Isle is decently presented with a nice piece of cartography and one good illustration. The GM needs to give the scenario a careful read through, primarily to understand how its big monster works.

The scenario is almost, but not quite setting neutral, requiring a wide, fast flowing river where Stocesa Island can be located. The island was once the home of the Stocesa family, but since the death of the last baron, the family castle has fallen into disrepair and the island has gained a poor reputation. It is said that the island and the surrounding lands are haunted by a restless and greedy spirit who demands a toll from anyone using the river. Monsters are also said to infest the island.

The Huntsman’s Isle is an exploration adventure, one with just eight locations and encounters. Most of these are nicely detailed and not all of them are combat related. Some of them though are a little odd—exactly why are some of the locals giving tribute to the island and its inhabitants? A more pressing issue is that of getting the player characters involved. Two means are suggested, either the locals hiring them to bring an end to the dangers emanating from the island or their visiting it in search of treasure, but these are underwhelming given that the scenario is really just an extended encounter. Of course, any GM worth his salt should be able to come up with a stronger hook, but it is disappointing that no such hook is given. Especially given that there is just enough room for it in the scenario’s five pages. The primary foe in The Huntsman’s Isle is also quite tough for a party of characters in their Novice Path. The GM may feel that he needs to adjust the abilities of this foe, especially if there are fewer numbers in the party. He may also want to add a little more treasure or other reward as what is included is decidedly scanty.

The scenario may also be perhaps a little too short to warrant the player characters going up a Level as with longer adventures. So the GM might want to use it as a side encounter rather than a full scenario. Nevertheless, The Huntsman’s Isle is a solidly written encounter that should provide a gaming group with a single session’s worth of play.

Consumptively Consumptive

Although there is no scenario in the rulebook for Shadow of the Demon Lord, the first RPG released by Schwalb Entertainment following a successful Kickstarter campaign, one of the excellent decisions upon the part of the designer has been to release support—and release it early—in the form of scenarios for the game. This way a gaming group can get playing quickly, even if they are just using the core rules presented in Victims of the Demon Lord: Starter Guide plus the adventure. In addition, the publisher has also released Tales of the Demon Lord, a complete mini-campaign that takes a party of characters from Zero Level up to Eleventh Level. In the meantime, the twentieth adventure is A Case of Consumption.

A Case of Consumption is written by David Noonan, best known as a co-author of titles such as Urban Arcana for d20 Modern and more recently of the Ultima Thule campaign setting from Sasquatch Game Studio. It is the seventh adventure written for characters who have entered the Expert Path, that is of Third Level or higher, and comes as six page, 12.75 MB PDF and presents a missing persons case that turns into an alimentary dungeon delve. It takes place in the town of Thorpe, just east of Crossings in the Northern Reach and although this location gives the adventure a passing link to the ‘Off the Rails’ adventure to be found in the campaign, Tales of the Demon Lord, the link is minor at best and A Case of Consumption could easily be located elsewhere.

The scenario begins when the player characters are summoned—though this may be at the point of a sword or two—to Castle Garnach, which overlooks the town. Lord Garnach has discovered that his three children are missing and he wants them found, which for the player characters means a job—and if successful—a sizable reward. Worse though, all three are all suffering from Consumption, so not only is time of the essence, there is the possibility that whoever has the children might also have caught it, and worse, in effecting a rescue, the player characters might come down with it themselves! There is some investigation involved in determining where the children have gone and who took them there, but the bulk of the scenario is an exploration of their destination.

Their destination then is a nearby cave complex on the shores of Mirror Lake. It is relatively short complex at just five locations, with each location being of a singular nature, all of it very much concerned with the themes suggested by the scenario’s title. To say more would give way the conceit at the heart of the scenario—and that is all too easy given the brevity of A Case of Consumption. This brevity also means that the success of the scenario will mostly depend upon what the players and their player characters bring to it rather than its plot. Overall, A Case of Consumption feels somewhat thin, even consumptive in the true meaning of the word.

Fromage Affray

Although there is no scenario in the rulebook for Shadow of the Demon Lord, the first RPG released by Schwalb Entertainment following a successful Kickstarter campaign, one of the excellent decisions upon the part of the designer has been to release support—and release it early—in the form of scenarios for the game. This way a gaming group can get playing quickly, even if they are just using the core rules presented in Victims of the Demon Lord: Starter Guide plus the adventure. In addition, the publisher has also released Tales of the Demon Lord, a complete mini-campaign that takes a party of characters from Zero Level up to Eleventh Level. In the meantime, the nineteenth adventure is The Demon’s Wet Nurse.

The Demon’s Wet Nurse is written by Stan!, best known as a co-author of titles such as Urban Arcana for d20 Modern and author of Call of Cthulhu scenarios like Midnight Harvest and Murder of Crows. It is the fourth adventure written for characters who have entered the Novice Path, of First and Second Level and then selected their first or Novice Path—Magician, Priest, Rogue, or Warrior. It comes as a nine page, 14.50 MB PDF and is designed as a standalone adventure that slots easily into a campaign as an encounter when the player characters are travelling between more important destinations. 

The setting for The Demon’s Wet Nurse is Ephraim’s Fork, a small trading town that stands at the intersection of three well travelled roads. Initially, the player characters find it to be healthy and thriving, but after interacting with both the townsfolk and fellow travellers it becomes apparent that the town is beset by a flux that causes sufferers to evacuate themselves, sometimes bloodily, at both ends. Is Ephraim’s Fork subject to an outbreak of dysentery, the bloody flux, or something worse? Well… Of course, it is something worse—this is a scenario for Shadow of the Demon Lord after all.

Essentially, The Demon’s Wet Nurse is divided into two parts. The first involves the player characters traipsing back and forth across Ephraim’s Fork, interviewing locals and visitors alike in search of clues. Once the adventurers have found enough information, then they have reason to track the origins of the disease to its source and there have a vilely lactosed encounter with the real villain of the piece. This is a horrid, fecund encounter and might just put the player characters off child care, let alone the players…

The Demon’s Wet Nurse is a longer, more detailed adventure than the others released for Shadow of the Demon Lord. This is because it more details the town of Ephraim’s Fork for future use than it does provide a convoluted plot, which is really quite straightforward. The details though should help the GM given description to some messy encounters and nicely serve to dish up another slice of body horror, all blood and bodily fluids.

The Wrong Father's Day

Although there is no scenario in the rulebook for Shadow of the Demon Lord, the first RPG released by Schwalb Entertainment following a successful Kickstarter campaign, one of the excellent decisions upon the part of the designer has been to release support—and release it early—in the form of scenarios for the game. This way a gaming group can get playing quickly, even if they are just using the core rules presented in Victims of the Demon Lord: Starter Guide plus the adventure. In addition, the publisher has also released Tales of the Demon Lord, a complete mini-campaign that takes a party of characters from Zero Level up to Eleventh Level. In the meantime, the eighteenth adventure is Feast of the Father.

Feast of the Father is written by Jason Bulmahn, co-author of various titles for Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, most notably Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk. It is the sixth adventure written for characters who have entered the Expert Path, that is of Third Level or higher, and comes as an eight page, 13.22 MB PDF. It is designed as a standalone adventure that slots easily into a campaign as an encounter when the player characters are travelling, especially near the coast or other large body of water.

It takes place in the small fishing port of Argron’s Dock, a settlement whose isolation has forced the inhabitants to their own traditions and faiths to keep them safe. For the people of Argron’s Dock, their faith is placed not in the Cult of the New God, but a god they call The Father. Every few months they hold a holy day upon which they give thanks to The Father for his bounties from the sea and receive further gifts. It is on one of these holy days that the adventurers find their way to Argron’s Dock. It is not a welcoming place. It is run down, parts of it have burnt down, and its inhabitants are a slovenly, lumpen lot, suffering it seems from a lassitude. Nevertheless, the player characters are invited to join in the festivities by the locals.

As a scenario, Feast of the Father is little more than a single session in length, its structure and plot echoing that of so many other scenarios in which an isolated village turns to another faith and becomes a nest of cultists, unguided or otherwise. In fact, the scenario could all but be described as a cliche--and in various ways it is. That said, Feast of the Father lifts itself above such clichés with a strong vein of body horror and the sense of listlessness that pervades the community. Over all, a short but enjoyable combination of the bilious and the sluggishness.