Final Challenge
Role Aids Module

Game Review

Reviewed by David Ladyman


Written by Matthew J Costello
Mayfair Games Inc. PO, Box 5987, Chicago, IL 60680
Released: December, 1984
Catalog No. 722 Price: $6.00
Complexity: Beginner to Intermediate
Solitaire Suitability. Good
***

"It is a debt we owe to Gwdion who was once our friend;' Rogan says. "For Gwdion has returned... a wizard, one must call him. And like the spreading stain of spilled wine, his evil moves through our land, twisting and distorting the way things should be. If he is not stopped, he will establish a Kingdom of Evil that will be an abomination forever. And you, my friend, must be the one to stop him; you must meet this one final challenge...."

Where armies cannot prevail, one lone man might succeed. It is a common theme in fantasy, but one which still yields interesting adventures. Final Challenge recalls a band of four friends, years after they have last seen each other. Gwdion, the mage, has mastered The Black School and threatens the entire land with evil. Rogan, the cleric, has perished in his vain attempt to curb Gwdion's power. As the adventure begins, Rogan's spirit appears to you, enlisting your aid against Gwdion. If you fail as El'ryn, the fighter, Rogan will again appear, this time to the fourth friend, Pyron, in the slim hope that his (your) thieving abilities can triumph over Gwdion's wickedness.

Final Challenge is a solitaire module in Mayfair Games Inc.'s Role Aids series, for use with TSR Inc.'s Advanced Dungeons and Dragons' It uses the narrative paragraph system, with the decision you make at the end of one numbered paragraph determining which numbered paragraph you will next read. it is a 32-page scenario, with a pull- out character sheet for the two adventurers you might be playing, El'ryn and Pyron.

Excepting numerous minor annoyances, I enjoyed Final Challenge. It is a fairly simple adventure which, if you make the correct choices, can telegraph its solution very early in the game. However, the scenario is not overly lenient to the foolhardy; poor decisions will soon lead to a dead adventurer.

As is the nature of paragraphed adventures, Final Challenge doesn't replay well, once you've discovered the secrets hidden in its text. Starting over with a fresh, newly provisioned character has never seemed particularly sporting to me; where's the challenge in succeeding when you have half the module memorized? Final Challenge nicely avoids this pitfall once, though, by giving you a weaker character and continuing the countdown toward disaster. If El'ryn spends seven weeks before succumbing to Gwdion, Pyron has only three more weeks to prevent Gwdion's triumph.

In general, Final Challenge is well- organized, with a reasonably complete guide to playing a solitaire adventure and a nicely written introduction to the scenario. The narrative paragraphs throughout the module are colorful and easy to imagine, particularly the town encounters at such places as Pasticchio's Herb Shop and Madame Fortuna's. Where to go is fairly straightforward; the harder choices lie in deciding how much time and caution to spend in investigation along the way.

The most annoying aspect of Final Challenge is its ambivalent attitude toward the AD&DO rules system. Monsters, magic items, and the combat system are taken almost whole cloth from AD&D However, at times Final Challenge violates AD&D rules (allowing fighters and thieves to use a Wand of Fear and a Staff of Curing), at times it misapplies these rules (a thief with dexterity 17, in +1 leather armor, should be at Armor class 4, not 2), while at other times there is no way to understand what the module intends witbout reference to AD&D (How can you know what a damage rating of "1-10/ 3-18" means without knowing the AD&D convention of describing weapon damage? I'm no fan of rigid adherence to the sometimes arbitrary rulings of AD&D but Mayfair Games Inc. should make a choice. It should stick faithfully to the AD&D system, carefully explaining where the RoleAid diverges, or it should develop its own independent and consistent system.

My complaint is based on the fact that, theoretically, the module is balanced. if you do well, you succeed; if not, you fail. Thus, it's aggravating to have to decide whether or not Pyron (a thief) is intended to have the powerful two-handed sword which AD&D denies him but which Final Challenge allows him. Does it unbalance things if he takes it? Does it unbalance things if he doesn't? Should he really be at Armor Class 4, with the "AC 2" a typo? These aren't decisions you should have to make in the middle of play. A scenario ought to make clear what the parameters are for balanced play. This one doesn't.

My other quibbles with Final Challenge pale in comparison with this primary grievance. There are a few of the ragged connections inherent in a paragraph narrative, and a couple of numbering errors. In sum, though, it is a nice little adventure, recommended more for those less experienced in fantasy adventuring.

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