Product Name: BP-2 The Manor of Deceit
Publisher: Blackbyrne Publishing
Author: Jeff Gupton
System: Dungeons & Dragons
Setting: Dark Veil
Theme: Fantasy
Type: Adventure
Link: http://www.blackbyrnepublishing.com/
The Manor of Deceit is the second adventure module of the Dark Veil campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. The group of adventurers are taken into the city and sent off on another excursion.
PRELUDE
The adventure module starts out with a summary of the adventure either from a continuation of the previous module or as a stand-alone adventure. The introduction then proceeds with the history of the location for the adventure giving a rough idea of its’ look and feel. This introduction is good but could easily be expanded upon giving a better layout of the area, a narrative to extract plot-hooks, and possibly an illustration.
Continuing on with the setting, the major NPCs of the adventure are introduced with a description that can easily translate into game-play ideas on how to run the NPCs. There are a couple secondary hooks included after the NPCs are introduced but they are only briefly described. To get the adventure moving, the Prelude finishes up with a pre-encounter.
Each encounter is well listed and detailed with an introduction to the encounter, a small narrative to further along the story, tactics, area features, scaling options, and of course the standard listings for adversaries. These encounters are then capped off with an aftermath description to move the story along.
PART ONE
Part One contains the purpose of the adventure within the given storyline. The encounters follow suit with the previously mentioned encounter in how each one is described and detailed and keep with the high-quality presentation of the entire adventure module. There is a large amount of combat and opportunities to gain gold and magical items.
PART TWO
Part Two follows the storyline on leading up to one of the major encounters. Not only are the encounters written as before, but the major encounter is put-together well and gives purpose to the overarching storyline. This method of moving the story along is easy to follow but does not lend itself well to a group of adventurers that want to do things as though each encounter was an individual module and not dependent upon the previous one. While this makes for great Fantasy fun, it does detract from the desire to play a more role-playing oriented adventure with more options.
PART THREE
Part Three is where the storyline for this module wraps-up with the excursion being concluded. The encounters are once again combat heavy but still follow the high-quality standard of parts one and two. The second major encounter is found here and is once again assembled well. But as before, the storyline needs to follow a certain direction and the encounters are not truly modular. While this moves the storyline forward at all points, it ties the hands of the players somewhat and forces them to proceed in a pre-determined “direction”.
APPENDIX
The appendix section of The Manor of Deceit are absolutely amazing! There is a print-out section for the adversaries sound within for easier DM reference, a quick map layout for one of the major adventure locations, and an incredible 36 pages of printable, color battlemaps all with a 1″ grid.
OVERALL
This adventure is not truly hack-and-slash but it is combat heavy and filled with combat encounters. Players looking for more role-playing opportunities may be turned away, but the overall storyline is well done and interesting. The Manor of Deceit fits very well with the Dungeons & Dragons 4E system and is a great way of running lower level characters.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 10 out of 10
The illustrations and maps found within The Manor of Deceit are fantastic! The printable battlemaps are full color and include the 1″ grid. For easier running of the adventure, smaller representations of these maps are included throughout. The layout is very professional and each encounter is properly described and detailed.
Storyline: 8 out of 10
The storyline contained throughout is typical Fantasy styled with a purpose and keeps the party moving forward. There isn’t much substance to the storyline itself, but it fits in well with D&D 4E.
Desire to Play: 9 out of 10
This rating is based on the overall quality of the adventure and the general interest of wanting to play without considering what style of play is desired. For those looking for an adventure with more social interaction, this is not it. Or for those looking for a true hack-and-slash adventure, this is not it either. The Manor of Deceit lies somewhere in-between with a lot of combat encounters and an overall storyline that has a purpose. This rating is based on a comparison of this adventure versus those of a similar style.
Overall: 9 out of 10
Blackbyrne Publishing has produced a very high-quality adventure module filled with great combat encounters and a well-written storyline. The full-color printable battlemaps enhance the value of the adventure module and the PDF itself. The module could benefit from further narrative on the setting and the storyline, but it doesn’t detract from the overall quality as the DM could easily come up with their own ideas.
Thanks for the great feedback!