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The Dead of Winter (at Bearhamer Hall) $3.00
Average Rating:3.3 / 5
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The Dead of Winter (at Bearhamer Hall)
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The Dead of Winter (at Bearhamer Hall)
Publisher: Black Death Publishing
by Nathan C. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/09/2008 11:26:13

Often, adventures by independent companies fall into two categories. Dreadfully boring romps that feel like it was written a few decades ago or wildly imaginative pieces that are quite imaginable but too over the top to run with an average group.

To much surprise, the Dead of Winter at Bearhammer Hall by Blackdeath Publishing falls into the narrow chasm between two and into the pit of traditional fantasy with strong bursts of creativity.

On the surface the adventure is one we have heard before. People are missing and the culprit is slowly revealed through a fast paced dungeoncrawl. And despite a twist here and there, the story does not divert too much from what you would expect. But like a sheep in wolf’s clothing, Dead of Winter’s talented writers craft such a good tale with their strong descriptions and tight editing that a group may have found lost children, sheep, doctors, merchants and warthogs in their past adventures and still would feel the all the exciting mystery and suspense of every NPC and encounter in the adventure.

The writers also do a good job of placing DM tools and not getting wrapped up in their own story. There are explanations of the encounters, monster statics in early 3.5 format (my favorite format and the one most easily transferred into other sources) and extra encounters that can be thrown anywhere in the story.

Dead of Winter is strikingly well produced. There are plenty of distinctly designed maps and artwork that capture of the feel of the land. Unfortunately there are no navigation tools, though the adventure is only a mere 29 pages, there are 5 parts to it. The world is also a bit tricky, taking place on another plane, though again this is easily adjusted.

For the Dungeon Master The writers speak Dungeon Master English throughout the book as opposed to over the top Hemmingway type descriptions some books have. This made the adventure a more natural fit to the party. Often times a player can hear module a mile away because of language not normally heard at a game table.

The Iron Word The Dead of Winter is a good side-trek adventure with an overt horror tone to it. The writers capture the feel of the region with crisp descriptions that create a suspenseful mood. The adventure does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, which makes me excited to read the next chapter.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thanks so much for taking the time to review this adventure in great detail. We now have the completed additions to this adventure available: Wokrah's Dungeon details the lair where the villian hides and The Labyrinth of the Lost, which ties in several of our adventures with a dangerous quest...
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The Dead of Winter (at Bearhamer Hall)
Publisher: Black Death Publishing
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 08/24/2008 08:29:54

An RPG Resource Review:

A simple task surely - a party of friends on a late-autumn hunting expedition have failed to return from the mountains: can the characters find them? But rather nicely, instead of using this to start the adventure, it opens with the party travelling through a wintry landscape (presumably about their own business) and coming across a small settlement, home to the missing hunters, where their friends and relatives request help.

The DM's notes make it plain what has really happened to the hunting party, but those in the settlement have no idea what dangers lurk in the mountains save goblins, wild animals and severe winter weather. The characters will have to travel around, braving weather and creatures alike, to find out what has taken place. Undead abound, so be sure there is a good cleric in the party to deal with them. Other denizens of the mountains prove more helpful, provided the characters deal with them fairly. The 'clue-chain' is a bit linear but holds up well, and there are some interesting encounters along the way. However, although there is a suitably climactic battle at the end, things are not really resolved - apart from mention of another adventure yet to come.

Overall, quite a good winter adventure, making good use of the environment as well as more conventional monsters to provide opposition. It has a vaguely South American feel, as if it were taking place in a fantastical version of the Andes, and a few interesting new monsters. A thorough read-through of the whole adventure is essential before running it, as things are sometimes a bit jumbled.

(Actually deserves three and a half stars, but the system doesn't work that way!)



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for the review, Megan. I just wanted to confirm that this is indeed the first of a two part adventure.
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