Beware The Blackener Of Bright Waters, For She Is Come Again
Rumors of death move like a plague through the Crannogtowns of the Great Swamp: of ranger patrols mysteriously disappearing on routine scouting missions, of a winged shadow that blots out the midday sun, and of entire villages slaughtered, their homes left burning and the victims' flesh melted from their bones. All evidence gathered from the sites of these massacres points to the heart of the Great Swamp, where an ancient and primitive tribe of lizardfolk have ruled from an abandoned human temple for centuries on end. The Crannogtowns' protectors, the Stormhammer Rangers, warn that horrid half-dragon monstrosities still stalk the bogs and travelers would do well to stay away from the inner swamp. Yet the killing and the carnage continue, and the people of the Crannogs plead for heroes to aid them now as they did in days long forgotten. Are you up to the challenge?
"Reign of Ruin" is the first full-length adventure module in Jon Brazer Enterprises' Deadly Delves series, and is compatible with the best-selling Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. This adventure is designed to challenge four to five 7th-level PCs like no other content has to date. Inside this volume, you'll find:
20 fully-developed new monsters for your Pathfinder campaign
Three original traps and haunts, and two new magic items, including the sinister relic of unholy devotion and the awe-inspiring rainbow sceptre
Full-color maps of a Crannogtown village, as well as five floors of a terrifying temple dungeon
Specialized advice on playing a cunning black dragon against a group of PCs in a dangerous game of cat and mouse
Enough content to take a group of 7th-level PCs all the way to 9th-level, with ideas to extend the story even further once you’re done exploring the temple
This module from Jon Brazer Enterprise’s „Deadly Delve“-series for experienced groups clocks in at 40 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 35 pages of content. It should be noted that the pdf comes with an extra-pdf that contains properly-sized, big versions of the maps – these are key-less and generally player-friendly – with one exception: There is a “S” denoting a secret door left on one of them. The PFRPG-version comes with a second, more printer-friendly version.
This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion.
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All right, so this adventure begins with a ranger collapsing, talking about the village of Northam being razed to the ground – one of multiple settlements adjacent to swampy terrain. Trying to warn other settlements and find out more, the PCs will soon, in Mistlevy, happen upon their first massive fight – with the lizardmen of the Ixtupi tribe – a somewhat quasi-Aztec vibe accompanies them and their culture as a leitmotif, but more on that later. To their shock, the PCs will encounter a deadly black dragon crash into the clash between the elite Stormhammer guards and the Ixtupi – thankfully, this dragon, quite possibly the commander of the lizardfolk, does retreat – and she has an agenda.
You see, once, this whole area was rules by a black dragon named Nyrionaxys – the draconic being enslaved all it could find and killed the warmbloods. When the dragon was slain, the victors failed to notice one of the dragon’s eggs – this hatchling, fostered by the Ixtupi, grew into Nyrionaxys II, brainwashed to believe herself the reincarnation of the ancient draconic overlord by being raised by the Ixtupi. To complicate matters further, some more benevolent lizardfolk, tired of being salves to draconic whims, have since then split off, becoming the Tsiikil tribe, who was trying to keep the Ixtupi at bay – but with dark whispers in the dragon’s mind, her time seems to be drawing near: She heeds the call of Tlaloc, who has promised her power – all it takes is a blood sacrifice in her home, one of powerful individuals. And suddenly the blatant provocation of the dragon makes sense – the PCs are walking right where the dragons want them to go…
Still, this leaves the PCs without much recourse – they need to stop the black dragon, asap! Thus, they venture deeper into the marshlands towards the temple of the Ixtupi. Tsiikil lizardfolk can provide support and directions, should the PCs help them. The temple of the Ixtupi is a foul stone pyramid surrounded by a great moat – to even get to it, the PCs will need to deal with potent, dragonblooded lizardfolk; the presence of stormwyts, an alkaline-spit-using wyvern-variant adds a further danger – and woe if the PCs start using elemental magics: The taint of the place causes such magic to spawn tainted elemental spirits that employ a modified unholy template – stats for all 4 variants are included, just fyi. The PFRPG-version, just fyi, employs both variant templates (here: unholy) and archetypes in the respective builds, making the opposition generally an interesting cadre.
Breaching the temple is already a feat in and of itself – but exploring the dungeon will not be simple, either: Here, Ixtupi warpriests, mud-caked lizardfolk zombies, mummies and spirits, kobold trappers and even a dire venus flytrap, stand between the PCs and progress – but to reach further below, the PCs have to pass the mosaic pillar chamber – where multiple unique beasts spring forth from the pillar…and that’s before the traps, which make this transitional area a really nice gauntlet.
The bulk of Ixtupi resistance can be encountered in the lower temple – here, the most potent of the tribe await – alongside glass golems, demons, evil idols boosting the foes of the PCs…and even a half-dragon gynosphinx – and yes, she comes with sample riddles. Ultimately, past all the traps, the PCs will have to delve deep into the place where caustic water and grueling sights await and face Nyrionaxys II…if they don’t fall prey to the hatchling ghosts of her brood mates or the half-draconic anaconda. Or the stormwyts…and yes, all of this doesn’t sound so bad, right? Well, here is a big difference to almost all adventures featuring dragons: Nyrionaxys II doesn’t wait to be slain. A full page is devoted to tactics of the mighty dragon – who btw. actually has class levels as a standard bearer cavalier, making her a potent commander!
Speaking of which: Beyond the numerous variant monsters mentioned, I enjoyed the variety of the builds: From the numerous variants of monsters to the archetypes and templates employed in their creation, the respective critters are interesting, challenging and fit the thematic angle of the tribe. Also relevant: The module does not break the WBL-assumptions: While the hoard of the big boss is massive, the majority of coins are copper – it’ll be a logistics-challenge to get the coins to civilization…
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are very good. I noticed no serious accumulations of either formal or rules-language glitches in the module. Layout adheres to a really nice two-color full-color standard and the pdf comes fully bookmarked with nested bookmarks for your convenience. The maps featured for all major sites are solid and full-color; apart from the minor tarnish of the remnant secret door-relic mentioned before, the inclusion of player-friendly maps is another big plus. Artwork deserves special mention: The module sports a couple of really nice full-color artworks.
Richard Moore’s “Reign of Ruin” was an honest surprise to me: You see, there are two basic dragon-module set-ups (not counting random encounter dragons): The long, epic one, wherein you defeat a dragon at the end, after much hardship, and with the exact goal of defeating the draconic threat; and the briefer one, where a dragon at the end is basically the boss. The first tends to be represented by mega-adventures, campaigns, etc.; the second by smaller modules. Both have one thing in common: Most of the time, the dragons in them are DUMB, character-less engines of destruction, when ostensibly, they are supposed to be really smart. This module, thankfully, gets that aspect right: The dragon herein is an interesting character, embedded in a dungeon and social environment with an interesting leitmotif; she makes sense. Her proactive strategies can allow the Gm to unleash hell upon the PCs and vanquishing her doesn’t break ongoing campaigns – the rewards are significant, but won’t break the game.
In short: While this does not reinvent the wheel, it’s one of the few anti-dragon modules that did not cause my brain to hurt at one point – and that’s a big, big plus. The PFRPG-version of this module does a lot right: It doesn’t break the WBL-cap and can be inserted as a fun. Challenging module into any campaign without breaking its power-level. All in all, this is a well-made anti-dragon crawl with a smart foe. My final verdict will clock in at 5 stars.
I specifically requested the artist make Darlanrea well clothed. The funny thing is that when I evaluated both Wizards' and Paizo's signature characters, I realized that both had male human fighters (yes, WotC also had Tordek and there is a good story behind that, but still). So I decided that I wanted my signature fighter to be female and non-human. An elf seemed a good choice. My first stipulation was that she must be sensibly-clothed for a fighter.
I specifically requested the artist make Darlanrea well clothed. The funny thing is that when I evaluated both Wizards' and Paizo's signature characters, I realized that both had male human fighters (yes, WotC also had Tordek and there is a good story behind that, but still). So I decided that I wanted my signature fighter to be female and non-human. An elf seemed a good choice. My first stipulation was that she must be sensibly-clothed for a fighter.
Good for you Dale! Role Playing needs more decisions like that. Lack of clothes does not automatically make a character cool.
We're back home after an incredible weekend at PaizoCon 2015, but our sale prices haven't left yet! Take advantage of this discount before it comes down with the con crud and goes away!
I would be delighted for Endzeitgeist to review my work, as well as anyone else who cares to read/run/play it and offer their thoughts! (Maybe you, Thanael?)
With a very high review from Endzeitgeist, this adventure is great for anyone sticking with Pathfinder 1e whether for the short term or for the long haul. Download now.
Deadly Delves: Reign of Ruin is a great adventure to continue your campaign in the mid levels. This level 7 adventure features a black dragon that your players will not soon forget.
Need an awesome Pathfinder adventure, featuring a black dragon that is a worthy opponent instead of a dumb lizard? Download Deadly Delves: Reign of Ruin today.
