"What's That Smell?" is a module Published by Wicked Press, authored by John Wick. It is not just a module, but a multi-module. What Wicked Press offers us with this product is a module that can pretty much be played with very little preparation because it is so easy to use. A lot of what happens can be randomised.

The story is a simple one. A Halfling village is under attack by creatures from another dimension who have taken residence in tunnels under the village. All the Halflings have been captured and taken underground by the monsters who feed on the smell of the Halflings' fear. The characters can go and save the village by going down those tunnels and closing the unstable dimension door through which the creatures arrive. A simple evening's work for any adventuring party.

The DM decides whether he wants the creatures to be good, neutral or evil. Guidelines as to their reactions depending on the alignment chosen are provided. Then the DM takes the characters through the Halfling village, randomly generating Halfling houses and their contents from included tables, until he or she has had enough or senses that the players are getting bored. Then one of the two important locations is pulled out; the first has important clues, the other holds the entrance to the underground lair of the enemy.

The underground tunnels can be generated by photocopying the tiles provided with the module and choosing one randomly when the players leave a location. Because of the strange dimension door, the tunnels shift continuously and it is impossible to find one's way through them. The only way to stop the madness is to close the dimension door. If the tiles are enlarged 200%, they can serve as combat maps for miniatures. A map of the location is ghosted behind the descriptive text, making it that much easier to keep track of areas when shuffling them randomly.

If you don't feel like using the random elements in this module, a straightforward map combining all the individual tiles is included. Eleven underground locations are provided with a brief list of who and what is found there as well as descriptive text to be read to players, a summary of the action, and a follow up section.

An amusing cast of NPCs is provided; an old Halfling rogue taking every opportunity to relate his old adventuring stories (included in the module for an impromptu telling), the old rogue's niece, an intelligent cat familiar, an insane dark elf, and of course, the enemy. The enemy is a race of ugly beasts that communicate only through smells, and awful smells at that. The PCs will be making constant fortitude saves to overcome the effects of those smells. A random table to generate disgusting smells is also provided. Really.

This module will provide a fun evening or two with little work and a lot of amusement for the DM. Many ways to surprise the players are provided. The approach will be stimulating and rewarding to most DMs.