Kryptonian Scion's page

I grabbed the PDF of this adventure on Tuesday afternoon, for a game session that night that I had not prepared for.

Not only was the content easy to make slight changes to and fit into my campaign, but the plot was very unique and fresh. I loved it!

While I would not really describe the adventure as horror-themed (a genre nearly impossible to pull of in D&D, anyway), there is definitely a great investigation element to it.

The only thing I would change, which I did as GM, is get rid of the Knowledge checks and allow the players to uncover the various clues and information in other ways.

Overall, an excellent adventure with some neat red herrings and a great bunch of villains and NPCs.

This guide reads like a textbook -- the boring kind of textbook that Mr. Von York made you read in 10th grade world history, not a fun and interesting textbook. Maybe it's primarily meant as a supplement to the Skulls & Shackles adventure path, but that's not what I had gathered from the product page.

I run a nautical campaign. I wanted some original and inspiring ideas for islands that my players could visit, adventure seeds for a nautical campaign, and interesting character and encounter ideas. I got very little of any of these.

"Detailed entries on more than 20 of the Shackles’ most dangerous and mysterious islands and islets, each with numerous plot hooks, helpful or treacherous NPCs, and unique locations for brave adventurers to discover and explore."

This is where the majority of the bait and switch comes in. Every single plot hook, NPC and interesting location is mentioned in passing, with one to two sentences dedicated to it. If you're looking for more than the tiniest inkling of seeds, look elsewhere.

"Stat blocks for each island, detailing the region’s notable settlements and denizens, as well as possible plunder and resources, such as hidden harbors and shipwrecks."

Not particularly useful. Plunder and resources are simply short lists of good types, such as 'Furs, gems, gold, baby teeth.' There's no trade routes, suggestions on how such goods can be plundered, etc.

"A huge bestiary of new monsters and villains that roam the islands of the Shackles and the high seas around them, including the three-headed lusca, undead pirates and ghost captains, and the degenerate kuru cannibals of the Blood Queen."

Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of the flumph or ridiculous monsters, but the bestiary entries didn't do much for me. I will use the duppy, pirate and draugr blocks and the rest will never see the light of day -- especially the three-headed shark.

"Stat blocks for a wide range of seafaring NPCs, from humble deckhands and smugglers to pirate captains and shipboard sorcerers."

Seven. There are seven in this wide range.

The saving grace of this book is the half-page about ghost ships of the inner sea. It's great, but not so much that I don't regret spending $14 on the PDF.

Also important: There is ONE MAP in this product, depicting (poorly) all of the islands in the Shackles. If you are looking for excellent maps of individual islands, this book is not for you.

I cannot say much more than what has been said previously. I was skeptical, not being the biggest Downer fan, but the art on these cards is very sexy and well done.

My only complaint is that the backs of the cards, instead of being elegantly simple, have the HARROW logo and box art picture of the fortune teller on them. It's a little jarring when trying to create an immersive atmosphere for a reading.

I'd been looking forward to this one since it appeared on the products list a few months ago. Not only do I absolutely adore fey - especially nasty, evil fey - but I was looking forward to the first Event-based adventure.

I read this module from start to finish and was INCREDIBLY happy with my purchase.

The half-evlen instigator of the adventure's horrible events has appropriate motivations, the events as written flow easily, and everything culminates into a scene of terror and bloodshed unlike anything you'd expect to see from a bunch of faeries!

The original monsters in this adventure are great - especially the final "boss" monster. However, there's plenty of other interaction both before and after the nightmarish slayings begin. This adventure even has a chase scene as the heroes try to catch the villain's quickling henchman.

I can't say much more without giving away the plot - but I highly recommend this adventure! Take a break from dungeon crawling and let your players explore the Carnival of Tears.

Reading the blurb for this module excited me. I love urban adventures. In particular, the following line is what made made up my mind on the purchase of Gallery of Evil:

"When the mad painter’s visions come to life, the heroes find themselves entering his crazed landscapes to find a way to stop them from tearing the city apart."

Unfortunately, the adventure doesn't deliver. The heroes go into exactly ONE painting, and the landscape within features a single encounter. A fun encounter, to be sure, but not enough to make good on the blurb's promise.

The storyline leading up to the villain's mansion is very linear. The DM leads the PCs through several encounters by the nose, battering them with "clues" until, finally, their attention is forced to a painting of the villain that they would normally pay no attention to.

The saving grace of Gallery of Evil is the villain's lair at the end of the adventure, and the villain himself. Imron is presented in a unique fashion and, in a way, the heroes get to fight him three times -- a great way to get a party emotional invested in defeating their nemesis without using the old "teleport and fight another day" trick.

Overall a brilliant concept that was implemented poorly. Sorry Mister Greer.