Product Name: Blessed by Poison
Publisher: Sneak Attack Press
Author: Matthew J. Hanson
System: Dungeons & Dragons
Setting:
Series:
Theme: Epic Fantasy
Type: Adventure
Link: http://www.sneakattackpress.com/
Blessed by Poison is a short adventure module for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition and designed for 5 characters of 1st – 3rd Level. The adventure itself is written in a way that allows it to be run in a single gaming session, placed within an existing campaign, or used as a launching point for a new campaign. The encounters are a mixture of combat and skill challenges that should keep players interested. The storyline is clear and well developed with an actual purpose (as opposed to simply retrieving the mystical item). This purposeful storyline opens up the adventure to many options including the ability to easily tweak or make minor changes to fit within an existing setting.
ADVENTURE
The actual adventure module contains a mixture of combat encounters and skill challenges. The adventure starts with a quick journey to the actual location of the of the main storyline with the action starting quickly. While the combat starts quickly, the storyline is a part of these encounters and they help to move the story forward, dropping bits of information along the way. There are some skill challenges along the way which give the adventure module some options for how the PCs are able to find their way. I like this implementation as it adds a bit of a challenge to the actual journey rather than simply arriving at their destination. Once the PCs reach their destination, there is again a mixture of combat and skill challenges keeping the storyline moving forward and keeping the action interesting. There are some options presented throughout, but the basics of the storyline remains the same.
OVERALL
While the adventure may be short and the storyline is brief, there is a definite flow to the content with options for future adventures or even a launching point for a campaign. Blessed by Poison could most likely be played within a single gaming session and could make a great adventure to drop into an existing campaign, used as a launching point for a future campaign, or run at conventions.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 7 out of 10
The layout is very smooth and the illustrations are fairly good. Each section is properly identified and a background and synopsis are included to give the GM more ideas, options, and a better feel for the adventure. However, I find the maps could be improved upon to keep with the overall quality of the rest of the content.
Storyline: 6 out of 10
The storyline is fairly developed, has a purpose, and flows relatively smoothly throughout. However, there isn’t a large amount of narrative, which the storyline could benefit from, especially during the encounters and leading up to the beginning of the journey. The purpose of the storyline could also benefit from being expanded upon through more background, in-game effects, or possibly an “aftermath” narration. But there is still a fair amount of content that the GM could easily expand upon.
Desire to Play: 8 out of 10
Location-based adventures often offer more playability than what is simply published in the adventure module. This adds to the value of the content not only as an adventure but also as source material. Because Blessed by Poison has a developed storyline, maps of the location, and particular adversaries presented throughout, the playability value is higher and could potentially hold a decent amount of interest from the players.
Overall: 7 out of 10
As a short adventure module for a single gaming session, Blessed by Poison could be a nice change from the standard or used to continue an existing campaign. The material is flexible in nature allowing the GM to make minor changes here and there with a storyline that allows a multitude of settings. The content could easily be expanded upon creating a series of adventures or a new campaign. It’s a good, solid adventure module, but could benefit from an expanded storyline and more narration.
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