Highland Terror
A Chill Module

Game Review

Review by Sam Shirley


by Garry Spiegle Pacesetter, Ltd. P.O. Box 451, Delavan,)WI 53115
Released: September, 1984
Catalog No. 2003
Price: $6.00
Complexity: Beginner
Solitaire Suitability: None
***

Highland Terror is a CHILL system module from Pacesetter. In the adventure, the characters follow a trail of clues through Glasgow, Scotland to Loch Ness, where thev thwart an evil druid cult's attempt to summon a horrible monster from the "Unknown."

The player characters (PCs) are hooked into the scenario by an urgent message from a fellow S.A.V.E. (the good guys) agent stationed in Glasgow. They are provided with passage aboard a small freighter ship on its way from New York to Scotland. Mysteriously enough, a number of "Evil Minions" from the Unknown are also onboard for unknown reasons. They turn out to be the same Evil Minions causing trouble at Loch Ness. They decide to harass the characters, even to kill one or two, all for unknown reasons.

After a harrowing boat ride, the PCs arrive in Glasgow and pick up more clues in the residence of the recently murdered agent. Then they go to the island of Iona where they talk to a monk and look at the carvings on a monolith. From there the adventure leads them to an estate on the shore of Loch Ness, headquarters of the evil cult. They discover the clearing of the druids. Once the PCs have dealt with everything there, they can descend a secret stairway and arrive in the underground labyrinth, lair of Lug, a monster who is being summoned from the Unknown to wreak havoc in the world of men.

In all, the plot is simple. Much of the adventure is designed in broad strokes. The only information given is directly important to the story. For example, the author casts the Celtic druids as the evil cult and gives just enough information for them to fill their roll without including any of the detail that would make them unique, such as their religious beliefs, or their methods of worship.

The writing style, too, is simple. It is obvious that Racesetter is aiming at the young gainer market and doesn't want to get too complex for them. This leads to a few problems when writing horror. Highland Terror is riot terrible; it's not horrible either; it isn't even very scary. The lack of terror comes from a lack of detail; nothing is given enough detail to seem real. The monsters are lifeless; they don't reach out and grab you. Horror is a vivid personal experience; it won't work with two-dimensional monsters and vague cults.

Another complaint I have is with the redundancy of the material. It is accepted that Pacesetter writes for a younger market, but I think its audience is intelligent enough to get the point the first time. The space could be better used to provide greater detail.

The information is presented in a reasonable, organized fashion. It is a simple task to find a specific encounter or clue. The adventure is divided into six sections, each one taking place in one of the six major locations. Each section is divided into background information, optimal event sequence, clues gained from skill use, non- player characters (NPCs), and then information concerning maps, if any. This format makes it easy to find any specific information and helps the referee to evenly pace the adventure.

If it's easy for the referee to figure things out, it is even easier for the players. Both the entire story line and everything the PCs have to do is spelled out in the clues section. All the players need to do is roll dice- -they can solve the entire adventure without ever thinking. Still, the module isn't a pushover, but the only challenge comes from killing the monsters, not from solving the scenario.

The module looks nice. Racesetter does a very professional production job. The cover is decently painted and the interior art is above standard. it even provides the players with eight pregenerated character's complete with small biographies.

To sum it up, Pacesetter is definitely selling to the young unsophisticated gamer. It makes a number of allowances for this, including a simple plot, cursory information on non-player character groups and creatures, and a redundant writing style to make sure that the scenario is understood. However, it seems that the young gamer is usually more intelligent than Pacesetter's estimate and would probably welcome a bit more meat in his gaming diet. Still, Pacesetter produces quality material, and Highland Terror is an example of this. I think that if they offered a bit of a challenge to their audience, they would be surprised by the result.

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© Copyright 1985 by Dana Lombardy.
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