Tales That Dead Men Tell
Role Playing Adventure Module
Review by Russ Lockwood
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Tales That Dead Men TellRole Playing Adventure ModuleReview by Russ Lockwood |
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Published by Basement Games Unlimited, LLC, $9.95
A decade ago, local officials discovered a connection between the Kamon family and organized crime. Acting swiftly, the botched arrest led to several deaths, including all the male Kamons, the Kamon bodyguards, and several of the local militia. Kamon's wife Maria was imprisoned, only to die while incarcerated. Since then, nothing grows on the Kamon estate. One day, the Kamon church bell rang. The militia was sent to investigate, and none came back. The curious contend the estate is haunted, and the wise want nothing to do with it. That is the launching point of the adventure, for which the player character party expects to be well rewarded in gold to find out about the estate, who's ringing bells, and how the wealthy new owner of the estate can take possession of the already possessed estate. Without giving away the plot, plot twists, or plot secrets, Mark Kibbe has created a clever adventure based on apparitions, real and apparent. Although descriptions of the estate are necessarily brief, the layers of promising situations are deep. Better yet, hooks are embedded within to extend the adventure. Certainly the details are geared towards Forge RPG system, but with minimal conversion, even if you are not conversant with Forge, you can adapt Tales to almost any system. Keep in mind that the adventure concerns low-level characters, and you'll be fine. Production values are quite good -- color cover with a multitude of black and white interior illustrations, including maps. Everything is clearly labelled, and the internal logic of the situation remains consistent. I have a minor quibble about the interaction between a spirit and the intruding player characters, which does not occur with the already intrusive guards, vis a vis the history of the estate, but it's of no consequence and will add an element of surprise for the players.
Tales That Dead Men Tell brings an excellent sense of balance and mystery. Just reading about Lyvanna and environs is worth the price of admission and dropping this into any campaign promises an intriguing and thoughtful evening's entertainment. Contact: E-mail for more information
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Although destined for use with the Forge: Out of Chaos RPG, the Tales That Dead Men Tell module can fit into just about any campaign with minimal changes. Oh, you might have to change a name here and there, but for 4-6 1st-3rd level adventurers, this 44-page, illustrated module will be a pleasant and interesting diversion.
By the way, the Mul Dogs (see right, artwork courtesy of Jim Feld) have real potential for additional adventures as well.