Warning: possible spoilers ahead. Review based on NOT a playtest version, but a read through.
The Doom of Listonshire fills a vastly needed niche in recent necromancer games products: low level, self-contained (not minicampaign), wilderness, and more role playing than roll playing. It's small, accessible, adaptable, and actually quite good.
Overall plot: this is more akin to the Grey Citadel as a "murder mystery" than a standard dungeon crawl. I have no problem with that. The plot itself is relatively simple -- an upstart politico finds himself in a position of power after the last heirs of a "cursed" kingdom are done in. Of course things aren't quite what they seem... Mission: unravel the truth. Are the last heirs really gone? If they still survive, how could you prove their identity? Can you assemble enough evidence to convince a power-hungry soon-to-be ruler of the truth? And just what the heck is behind the "curse"?
Stucturally, Doom does something that I haven't seen recently -- and something I have to say I REALLY enjoyed. The module is so "modular" that the key pieces of evidence can actually be randomized and placed in different locations (each then with slightly different explanations of how they came to be where they are). The author gives suggestions as to where you might place those components to make life more (or less difficult). Fortunately, there are reminder text-boxes in each location so an overworked DM doesn't lose track of those key components. It seems to work fluidly and seemlessly while leaving an open playground for the players to explore. Additionally, a handful of recommendations to help drive the action and perhpas the BEST sets of random enounters (with cross referenced EL's and locations to where the beasties might actually be) could help to add spice to what could be a slow and wide-open adventure.
While the clues might be a little too scarce, the locations, encounters, and a couple of NPCs themselves are well thought out and evocative -- and there are enough side-quests to keep things intersting (and potentially deadly). A couple of encounters that really stood out: a fen witch and her quickling companions (ouch!); a nasty inhabitant that lives under a bridge that might not be all that it seems; and a search for a missing townsman that leads to a smitten fey in the woods. Finally, a suggested epilogue, a parting gift from a major villian, is sheer brilliance.
Not all the encounters described rely on "kill the bad guy" to succeed...the afformentioned fey, for example, will test a players ability to think quickly and negotiate rather than slice quickly and ask questions later. There are several places where moral questions might challenge a player to keep in alignment. Overall, the mix of roll and role seems solid. Having said that, if your players are the hack and slash type, this may not be the best module for you.
Doom draws HEAVILY on the Tome of Horrors (woo hoo!); fortunately, a detailed appendix of NPC's and creatures helps, but this might be a detriment to someone not having that invaluable text.
There are a handful of enounters that I didn't care for. The primary one being a "drench" -- that seems to show up and harass anyone around water for too long. While a participate references to other Necromancer Games products, the one-off suggested connection to Rappan Athuk here, struck me as flat. Finally, I think I would have appreciated a few more dynamic NPC's. A few key players are detailed in earnest, but there is a lot of exploring and a lot of ground to cover and not much in the way of intersting NPC's in between. None of these are particularly damning criticisms, just a few areas that might have kept me more enthralled and help me, therefore, draw players into an interesting story.
Overall, however, I found the Doom of Listonshire to be a very well written, very thoughtful, and (for me very important!) very modular low level adventure that is a welcome addition. I could easily see playing this between Crucible of Freya and Tomb of Abythor. Or as a neigboring province to the Lost City of Barakus. Or drop into the Wilderlands (pretty much anywhere!). That flexilibity and the novel flexibility of the structure of the module itself is worth another look. Most importantly to me, this isn't a massive mini-campaign or massive dungeon crawl. It's a return to slightly more self-contained, but easily adaptable modules and a welcome and ultimately successful addition.
I look for to more by the author and more in the Kenzer line.
Overall grade: B+
The Doom of Listonshire fills a vastly needed niche in recent necromancer games products: low level, self-contained (not minicampaign), wilderness, and more role playing than roll playing. It's small, accessible, adaptable, and actually quite good.
Overall plot: this is more akin to the Grey Citadel as a "murder mystery" than a standard dungeon crawl. I have no problem with that. The plot itself is relatively simple -- an upstart politico finds himself in a position of power after the last heirs of a "cursed" kingdom are done in. Of course things aren't quite what they seem... Mission: unravel the truth. Are the last heirs really gone? If they still survive, how could you prove their identity? Can you assemble enough evidence to convince a power-hungry soon-to-be ruler of the truth? And just what the heck is behind the "curse"?
Stucturally, Doom does something that I haven't seen recently -- and something I have to say I REALLY enjoyed. The module is so "modular" that the key pieces of evidence can actually be randomized and placed in different locations (each then with slightly different explanations of how they came to be where they are). The author gives suggestions as to where you might place those components to make life more (or less difficult). Fortunately, there are reminder text-boxes in each location so an overworked DM doesn't lose track of those key components. It seems to work fluidly and seemlessly while leaving an open playground for the players to explore. Additionally, a handful of recommendations to help drive the action and perhpas the BEST sets of random enounters (with cross referenced EL's and locations to where the beasties might actually be) could help to add spice to what could be a slow and wide-open adventure.
While the clues might be a little too scarce, the locations, encounters, and a couple of NPCs themselves are well thought out and evocative -- and there are enough side-quests to keep things intersting (and potentially deadly). A couple of encounters that really stood out: a fen witch and her quickling companions (ouch!); a nasty inhabitant that lives under a bridge that might not be all that it seems; and a search for a missing townsman that leads to a smitten fey in the woods. Finally, a suggested epilogue, a parting gift from a major villian, is sheer brilliance.
Not all the encounters described rely on "kill the bad guy" to succeed...the afformentioned fey, for example, will test a players ability to think quickly and negotiate rather than slice quickly and ask questions later. There are several places where moral questions might challenge a player to keep in alignment. Overall, the mix of roll and role seems solid. Having said that, if your players are the hack and slash type, this may not be the best module for you.
Doom draws HEAVILY on the Tome of Horrors (woo hoo!); fortunately, a detailed appendix of NPC's and creatures helps, but this might be a detriment to someone not having that invaluable text.
There are a handful of enounters that I didn't care for. The primary one being a "drench" -- that seems to show up and harass anyone around water for too long. While a participate references to other Necromancer Games products, the one-off suggested connection to Rappan Athuk here, struck me as flat. Finally, I think I would have appreciated a few more dynamic NPC's. A few key players are detailed in earnest, but there is a lot of exploring and a lot of ground to cover and not much in the way of intersting NPC's in between. None of these are particularly damning criticisms, just a few areas that might have kept me more enthralled and help me, therefore, draw players into an interesting story.
Overall, however, I found the Doom of Listonshire to be a very well written, very thoughtful, and (for me very important!) very modular low level adventure that is a welcome addition. I could easily see playing this between Crucible of Freya and Tomb of Abythor. Or as a neigboring province to the Lost City of Barakus. Or drop into the Wilderlands (pretty much anywhere!). That flexilibity and the novel flexibility of the structure of the module itself is worth another look. Most importantly to me, this isn't a massive mini-campaign or massive dungeon crawl. It's a return to slightly more self-contained, but easily adaptable modules and a welcome and ultimately successful addition.
I look for to more by the author and more in the Kenzer line.
Overall grade: B+
