The review of this module contains spoilers. Don't read any further if you don't want to know what happens next...
This adventure for 6th to 8th level adventurers takes place in a swamp. The characters will be mucking around and trying to find the vanished bride-to-be of the local ruler.
The bride to be escaped the ruler of the land and was found unconscious by a cleric living in the nearby swamp. He brought her home and is caring for her until she recovers from poison. The ruler is offering 50,000 gp for her recovery, which should be enough to motivate most characters and might give them a hint that something is wrong. The wording of the wanted poster will also work in that direction.
The swamp is a pretty big and inhospitable place to explore. The PCs will be wandering in a hostile environment where opportunities abound to drown in the muck, slide away into the sea and get battered by the waves or at least sprain an ankle. An illustrated table describes the effects of the depth of the water and muck on different activities, including combat. The magic dump, where the cleric and his father live, is situated near the centre of the swamp.
The swamp is an evocatively detailed environment and each location is described in a panoramic way that gives a good image of the place.
The swamp is permeated by magic and inhabited by many weird and dangerous creatures. The PCs will face numerous challenging foes and encounter some strange characters and creatures. A village of pixies will try to trick them into giving up a magic item in exchange for help that the PCs don't need (they'll pretend that the area where they live is full of quicksand). If given a chance, an undead drunken skeleton lying facedown in a river of beer will tell his story and ask to be put out of his misery. Necro-woodpeckers will try to peck holes in the PCs armor and might knock their rotten heads off with the effort. The vegetation also is perilous and will flay the characters or pelt them with rock-hard, exploding fruits. A few of the more dangerous encounters are hordes of low CR creatures.
Strewn about the swamp and in the dump proper the characters can find many strange magic items, such as talking furniture. The module includes the description of forty-two new magic items of dubious use (that's why they found their way into the magic dump).
Once the bride-to-be is found, her fate has to be decided. She is a powerful fighter and will not be manipulated so easily and is likely to escape before being taken back. The characters can also decide to help her escape from the local ruler. Some suggestions for further adventures involving the escaped bride-to-be are outlined.
This is a very original adventure and should be a lot of fun for everyone involved. Its story content deserves at least four hearts on my part, but the d20 stat blocks are somewhat garbled and contain enough mistakes to limit my enthusiasm. Visit Visit MonkeyGod Enterprises.
