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The Standing Stone |
| Author : |
John D. Rateliff |
| Cost GBP : |
£6.99 |
| Publishing Details : |
Wizards of the Coast - 2001 |
| Pages : |
33 pages (Module Size 32 +2 for maps on the inside covers -1 for credits) |
| Price Per Page (PPP) : |
21 pence |
| Levels / Number : |
Four 7th Level Characters |
| Blurb : |
Evil Lurks in the Forest: What terror stalks the villagers of Ossington? Who is the ghostly horseman haunting the road, stopping anyone from leaving? Why are the wild elves slaying villagers from afar with thier deadly stone-tipped arrows? What lies buried in the old Great Barrow, and why is it stirring anew? What secret do the ancient standing stones surrounding the village hold, and can the heroes solve the mystery before a fouls plot comes to fruition?
The Standing Stone is a stand alone adventure for the Dungeons & Dragons game. This carefully crafted adventure, designed to challenge 7th level D&D heroes, it presents a mystery for the heroes to solve if they wish to save an isolated village from the dangers that threaten to overwhelm it. |
| The Module : |
The theme of the adventure, as it says in the Adventure Summary section, is "misdirection" and is written in such a way that different outcomes are possible in that the PC's could be hoodwinked, play a full adventure and leave being none the wiser. Of course they would miss the "final encounter" but given that the evil dude has a plan of world domination, as all evil dudes, it leaves an open door for a rematch in a very different style of adventure.
The adventure takes place over a small area with there being only one small dungeon map. I think this is my biggest gripe with the module in that there are a few, (at least 3), other sites to visit but no maps provided. Perhaps I'm being unimaginative but I don't go and spend £6.99 on an adventure where I have to create maps!
The module also has a new monsters and magic section along with a summary of the NPC's. I always think that the New Monster section of an adventure does not always fulfil its full potential. If the new monsters are good we vary rarely use then other than for the current adventure. Good new monsters can provide an idea injection into existing games. I see these in a "Bodysnachers" type campaign, but I'll say no more. |
| Good Points : |
High production quality, good original scenario. |
| Bad Points : |
More encouner maps needed. High PPP tag. |
| Stars out of Five : |
|
| Other Notes : |
As mentioned in my earlier reviews on the first of the 3rd Ed. scenario's I liked the old style of production where the maps were printed on the inside cover of the module and the cover could be separated. It's a shame that this design concept was dropped. |
| Reviewed by : |
Justin -ssendam@manx.net |