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The Reeve's Tale is available for sale (New DW scenario)
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Author:  Dreadnought [ Sat Oct 08, 2016 10:49 pm ]
Post subject:  The Reeve's Tale is available for sale (New DW scenario)
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/195325/The-Reeves-Tale
Author:  Damian May [ Sun Oct 09, 2016 1:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The Reeve's Tale is available for sale (New DW scenario)
Lovecrafty...
Author:  Cobwebbed Dragon [ Sun Oct 09, 2016 2:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The Reeve's Tale is available for sale (New DW scenario)
Damian May wrote:
Lovecrafty...

Very much so - I was reminded of Lovecraft's "The Alchemist" when reading the Reeve's Tale setup - although the adventure spins off in a much higher fantasy direction than Lovecraft's story (I think Lovecraft's short stories are great inspiration for DW adventures - that sussuration of horror that pervades Lovecraft's writing can easily be adapted to the pseudo-Dark-Age setting of Legend and the superstitious fears spawned thereby).

Overall, this adventure is amazing value (under £3) and I enjoyed the story - it's similar in structure to the Elven Crystals (fight your way to some artefacts you need to unlock the final dungeon in which to have an even bigger fight) and it's not really possible to pick up and play this adventure without some preparation for the role-playing encounters, little guidance for which is given in the adventure. The Reeve's Tale only provides structure for the three dungeons and assumed the GM is comfortable preparing all the role-playing encounters required to fill in the PCs on what's going on, how to progress the adventure, and how to survive - the text only mentions that the GM should pull these together, but doesn't really give any guidance to inexperienced GMs. For example, by providing:
  • information each NPC in the household has about the goings on (and possibly the history of Brochleah or the family)
  • examples of memories the stones might reveal (especially those clues that might be useful in the final encounter)
  • the personality of the fay spirit in one of the locations and how the PCs might interact with it (maybe its overheard things in its time dwelling there, which it will share for a small favour...)
  • suggestions for how Grisaille might be planning to exploit the situation
  • what might be revealed in Yvault's ballad (and what might be a red herring)

There's also no real information about the setting to put this adventure into its mundane context - navigating the marsh, local politics, how the locals live, appropriate encounters, etc. - all of which might have rounded off the adventure into something that GMs might more easily fit into their campaigns and lured new GMs into gaming more in the Lands of Legend (and, of course, commanded a much higher price for the PDF!)

But that said, there are some nice touches, such as the ghost of the boy, the fay spirit, the potential to include Grisaille's plots into the adventure, and opportunities for NPC relationships that could extend long beyond the adventure (both allies and enemies - Grandmother Cob would fit beautifully as a recurring NPC in my campaign...) - golden opportunities for GMs to make this adventure feel more Legend-y. I think my biggest disappointment, however, is with the ending - the PCs only have a single non-obvious way to escape the final peril (even if they've done everything else right), which could make for some very disgruntled players!

I'd definitely recommend it, though - and once I've properly adapted it to my campaign and put some structure around the role-playing scenes, I can see it being a really eerie DW adventure for my players.
Author:  WodenKrait [ Tue Oct 11, 2016 8:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The Reeve's Tale is available for sale (New DW scenario)
I've just downloaded my copy and will read it on the bus tomorrow.

Cheers,

-Kyle
Author:  Kharille [ Tue Oct 11, 2016 8:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The Reeve's Tale is available for sale (New DW scenario)
got my copy, but too busy with my fallout 4 addiction to give a toss...
Author:  WodenKrait [ Sat Oct 15, 2016 10:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The Reeve's Tale is available for sale (New DW scenario)
Finished it. Its a good adventure, particularly for those (like me) with a taste for something more eldritch and alien than typical fantasy. There are a few typos and I'll echo Cobwebbed's observation that a lot of the meat is missing from the bones, but this doesn't bother me personally; I like filling in the gaps.

One thing that I might need to re-read to understand is why Balor couldn't just kill the King in Glass; if a bunch of petty adventurers can do him in then surely the Prince of Darkness would have had no problem. What did I miss?

Cheers,

-Kyle
Author:  Damian May [ Sat Oct 15, 2016 11:49 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The Reeve's Tale is available for sale (New DW scenario)
My take on it was that Balor wanted him to suffer in his confinement.
Author:  Cobwebbed Dragon [ Sat Oct 15, 2016 12:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The Reeve's Tale is available for sale (New DW scenario)
WodenKrait wrote:
One thing that I might need to re-read to understand is why Balor couldn't just kill the King in Glass; if a bunch of petty adventurers can do him in then surely the Prince of Darkness would have had no problem. What did I miss?

In the introduction, it mentions that Balor was unable to penetrate the Salt King's citadel - by finding the amulets, the PCs are already ahead of Balor. I guess it's also reasonable that the Salt King's powers have waned over the centuries so that what might once have given Balor pause can now be overcome by a handful of mid-ranked PCs.
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