Unlike most monster stat blocks, there are no physical descriptions of the creatures nor any accompanying artwork. Entries include only part of the necessary information. The booklet has basic monster stat blocks, including most of the necessary information to scale up the encounters. Having to reference a second booklet for basic information is annoying but manageable.Ĭombat – This booklet consists of sixteen pages (matte stock this time), including the cover. Neither the adventure’s premise nor presentation inspires me. In the end, the unimaginative layout with its single-column format, no art, and distracting watermark makes reading the adventure a chore. Then again, low-level parties may need whatever help they can get. Low-level parties might quickly become very powerful with enchanted weapons. If the scenario is scaled up for a high-level party, this isn’t all that unbalanced.
#Dead maze party full#
It’s only after reading the adventure in full that you realize there is a fair amount of magical gear and weapons. The treasure characters find appears, at first blush, to be balanced. If successful, a party could easily succumb to the second Nagi, hiding, waiting to pick off enthralled characters. Take, for example, the first encounter is with a pair of Nagi (the author’s version of Naga, I assume), one of whom is trying to charm the characters with its “Nagi Song” spell. The adventure is a no-holds-barred and pretty challenging for a party of 1st level characters in any fantasy game system. We’ve seen this theme done over and over at various scales-characters trapped in a maze-like cave system looking for a way out. They also lack monster stat blocks, requiring Gamemasters to refer to the “Combat” booklet.Īs far as fantasy adventures go, the Death Maze feels run-of-the-mill. Location entries are identified simply as “Area #1, Area #2, etc.” The layout’s design does nothing to draw a reader’s attention to these entries-blending in with the surrounding copy. The adventure is laid out in a single column of text over top of a large watermark. The Narrative – This booklet consists of twenty semi-gloss pages including, the cover. The Deluxe Edition comes with a detached cover and three booklets “Narrative,” “Combat,” and “Art and Maps.” The Contents
The publisher has noted that the Deluxe Edition, with the extra material (Combat and Art booklets), is an incentive for customers to purchase from their favorite local game store. The Deluxe Edition is, however, only available directly from the publisher or through authorized retail locations. The Standard Edition is available from Amazon in both print and Kindle versions.
They must not only survive but find their way out, or they’ll be trapped inside the maze forever. The scenario begins with the players falling through one of the portals, finding themselves underground. Although the warlock can still access the maze and banish adversary there, every day at a random time and location, a portal opens and remains open until some unsuspecting person or creature falls through. The exact location of the maze is unclear even the warlock no longer knows precisely. Later he uses it to banish formidable foes, eliminating them as a threat to his power. A second booklet is included (at least in the Deluxe Edition), allowing Gamemasters to scale up the encounter difficulty based on the average party level, from level 1 to 20.Ī powerful wizard created the Death Maze to serve as an elaborate trap to ensnare unwary travelers for his sadistic amusement. Level agnostic simply means the scenario has a mechanism in place, allowing it to be scalable. All system language is generic, including monster stats-falling outside the scope of any game’s implied or open gaming license. The adventure’s narrative does not conform to a specific game’s rules. If you have an item you’d like Rolling Boxcars to review, please visit our Product Review Request page.ĭeath Maze is a fantasy adventure for 4 to 6 players and is level and system agnostic. Note: a review copy was provided by the author to Rolling Boxcars for this article. His products are available in two versions-Standard and Deluxe. Christian Blake of Glendor’s RPG Adventures is one such small independent publisher he’s taken a different path. The increased accessibility of digital distribution and print on demand continues to make it possible for so many.
That’s the case with so many small, independent publishers today. A game designer’s creativity knows no bounds.
0 kommentar(er)
