This is the third in the Frog God Games Splinters of Faith adventure path. Each module appears to have a strong stand-alone elements to it, with a small tie-in to the overall adventure path. This one is no different. In it’s 24 pages we get about eleven pages of actual adventure detailed about 42 locations. In addition we get about four pages detailing the city in which the adventure is set and about another four detailing the temple complex. The cover is the same as the other 9 modules in the series, and the back cover blurb is about two sentences long. Frog God does themselves a disservice with this: so far this series has delivered very well and just seems to be getting better and better.
The city proper is only very briefly described and the locations detailed all relate in some way or another to the adventure that appears further on in the module. There’s not really enough information here to make the city a detailed environment for adventure, and only a brief description is given for the ‘flavor’ of the city. IE: Generic fantasy city. The locations that ARE described are well done, as are the two major factions. Thus you get exactly enough detail to bring that aspect of the city to life enough to run the adventure. The city feels like a bolt-on, but what IS presented is what you nee to run the adventure, so I don’t think I can complain too much. Well, no, I can complain a lot but it may not be justified. Similarly we get a four page description of the temple which the party needs to visit for the adventure path portion. The backstory is interesting (Lessons Learned: Don’t worship the god of Luck) and again, enough of the temple is described that the party can interact with it’s elements prior to setting for on the core of the adventure. Turns out the priestess won’t do what the party wants for the adventure path unless they help her with a little Necromancer problems she’s having …
The core of the adventure is a journey through the sewers. Wait! Stop! Don’t close your browser. Yes, I know, “sewer adventure” ranks right up there at the top of ‘cliched adventure ideas.’I LOATHE them and seeing one in this set my teeth on edge. Maybe it’s filled with kobolds too! Or maybe goblins! Yeah! Well, no, that’s not what’s going on. There _is_ a lot of dreck with sewer adventure portions out in retail-land however this one is rather well done. For example, on the wanderers table the party meets a house cat in the sewers who is running down the tunnel mewing like crazy. Turns out it’s got some green slime on it. How many animal loving PC’s did THAT one just get? As with the other modules in this series, the Wanderers table is not all enemies and most of the encounters actually have some plausible reason for being in the sewers. The encounter areas in the sewers are well done also; they are briefly described and yet interesting and plausible. For example, the sections of the sewers under the slaughterhouses are filled with blood & gore, with some of it hanging from the gates in the ceiling as the floors above are cleaned. Reveling in this gore is a group of ghasts/ghouls, and a blood golem thing lurks in a different part of this area. Not just your usual “ghouls in the sewers”; they have a reason for being there. This sort of detail really helps bring the module to life.
This is a good time to talk about the sewer map. Essentially, I think it sucks … but I may be wrong. It’s basically a long sewer tunnel with a few twists in it. Side branching corridors lead to different encounter areas, each of which has some sort of theme. IE: This section is under the slaughterhouses, or, this section is controlled by wererats. A smart party will avoid all of the side branches and head sPeter Pan like straight on till morning to find & defeat the Necromancer. So while the map _is_ pretty linear, the side branches _offer_ encounters but don’t _force_ encounters, which is a very good thing indeed.
In reviewing this I’m reminded of another adventure, from Dungeon magazine I believe. It was centered around a bunch of goblins in their cave. Ho hum, pretty boring. Except it wasn’t, it was very well put together and well worth playing. (I recall an earthquake in there which made the exit difficult.) That reminds me of this: an idea that has been badly done a hundred times in the past but is well done this time. And that, after all, is the point of a review: to guide you past the hundred examples of dreck and to that one certain sewer adventure that is worth checking out. This is that one. I can heartily recommend this one.
This is $5 at DriveThru.