Bring Him Back Alive
Last Gods, The
Murder of the Seven Points, The
Adventure Boosters (series II)
by various authors
d20 Adventures (16 pages 4 - 1/4" x 11" = 8 - 8 1/2" x 11" pages)
Alderac Entertainment Group, $2.49 each
These half-sized adventures are basically 8 1/2 by 11 inch booklets, folded in half. Each contains 16 pages, but in fact only 8 full pages (8 1/2 x 11) of actual adventure material. Considering the price and amount of material inside each of these booklets, I would advise most GM's to pick up a copy of Dungeon magazine instead. You'd get more for you money that way. However, if you're looking for some unique adventure that all RPGA members won't have, then you may consider picking up a few of these modules, which total 12 currently. Reviewed below are three of these adventure boosters.
Bring Him Back Alive! By Matt Forbeck
This module involves having the characters try to rescue the son of a rich merchant from the hands of a group of small humanoids, left-overs from an ancient wizard's domain. The adventure booster is for characters of 1st to 4th level. The adventure revolves around a castle ruins, and the creatures living within. The players can solve this adventure in a number of ways, from brute force to simple negotiation. I found the adventure to be somewhat lacking in substance. It's rather simple and could be finished in one easy gaming session. One thing I found funny about this adventure, is that the creatures encountered within are described as hairless, but the drawings on the cover and within the booklet always show them with hair. Not a really good continuity job!
The Last Gods By Kevin Wilson
In this adventure, the players are confronted by Azrael, Lord of the Undead. He sends them on a quest to kill himself, before he destroys the entire universe. It's an interesting high-level module, for characters 9th-12th level. The adventure contains a series of rooms that challenge the player's wit and combat abilities. I found many of the encounters to be a bit tough, but then again, it's a high-level module. One of the puzzles in the game is even quoted as being relatively easy, but I know that most players would have a tough time with it. This module is recommended for those GM's who either like undead or enjoy throwing nasty encounters at their players.
The Murder of the Seven Points By Erik Yaple
An adventure for characters of 5th to 8th level, Murder of the Seven Points takes place in a small town where a series of killings has taken place. The group is asked to help solve the murders, which leads the adventurers around the town in search of clues. In the end, the players end up fighting a demon, summoned by the murderer himself. The module is more along the lines of a 'drag the players by the nose' type of adventure, wherein the characters pretty much have to follow a certain preset path to the end of the module. Altering from this path proves fruitless. I personally don't care for this type of adventure, but this particular one does have its good points. It's put together reasonably well, and involves a decent amount of character interaction with various NPCs. If you like role-playing over hack 'n' slash, you may like this module more than others.
(review (c) December 2001 / David Flemming)