Narrator Resources:
Two new hero bands are provided 'as is' without commentary - I couldn't
really see the point of these. Ernathora's Destiny gets more of a
description, and is a cool concept with a great character as leader. I'd
have preferred it if the rest of the band looked a bit more like an
adventuring party, though, given the stated narrative purpose of it. The
other detailed hero band, the Black-and-Ivory Hunt, are very neat.
There's a rather nice Orlanth subcult, and the material about getting a
Band Guardian is both atmospheric and useful.
The New Breathers:
More of a description of the aftermath of the Battle of Iceland than a
scenario, but it provides a lot of good ideas for gaming in this period.
There is a short adventuring bit in there, which presents an interesting
challenge.
Sheep, Clouds, Thunder:
This feels too linear for me to really like it; I'd have preferred to
see some alternative options for achieving the objective, rather than
force one particular approach on the players. It also simply doesn't
feel like it belongs at this stage of the story - it would have made far
more sense in Barbarian Adventures. One of the stated benefits of a
succesful outcome is that 'now the Rebellion will take them seriously'.
Pshaw! Fighting at a climactic battle against hoards of Lunar soldiers,
when the heroes didn't even have all of their magic available, and the
survival of all their kin was at stake (OiD p57) just wasn't enough for
these people, apparently. No, they've got to nick some sheep from their
neighbours before they'll be taken seriously. Gosh, some people are hard
to please. And why do they need to send a 'real hero' along with the PCs
just in case they muck up? If the heroes have survived Iceland, one
would have thought they'd be pretty capable on their own by now...
The Other Side of the Dragon:
This is a good scenario, with plenty of opportunity to do other things
in between scenes (although it's a pity that some of those things aren't
described). The ending seems a little contrived, and rather anticlimatic
to boot, but that can probably be fixed, and adapted for the tastes of
your own group. The scenario nicely foreshadows the Sky Ship, too.
Final Days at Skullpoint:
For my money, this is the best scenario in the book. It's psychological
horror, rather than the more uplifting sort of of stuff one has come to
expect so far, but the change of pace is welcome. While events do follow
a timetable, the scenario doesn't feel at all linear, with lots of
different things going on at once, all rushing towards the denouement.
Although there are plenty of fights in it, it's also the scenario that
gives non-warrior characters the most to do, and thereby takes best
advantage of HeroQuest's flexiblity.
Orane's Spindle:
Another good one. Nice use of a heroquest, and an interesting story
behind what's going on. A little combat-heavy for my tastes, perhaps,
but not enough to be a major problem. What does seem odd, though, is
that all the Orlanthi and Ernaldans in it seem to have their magic
working normally, yet it seems unlikely they were all present at
Iceland. The end of OiD, and information in the 'New Breathers', both
seem to imply that only those at the battle (NB actually says 'fought',
but I assume it means 'participated', or PC healers are in trouble) get
their magic back, and they can only give it to others 'briefly'. Either
I've misunderstood, or this scenario has been published out of order,
and nobody noticed that amendments needed to be made to fit it here.
Either of those is possible, I suppose.
The Sky Ship:
The imagery in this scenario is truly fantastic, let me make that clear.
Very cool. Unfortunately, it seems that, for most of the scenario, all
the PCs have to do is ooh and ah at the pretty scenery and follow the
pre-ordained script. True, there are some fights, and a few more
interesting problems to be dealt with that make this an improvement over
Iceland. But, on the whole, although succesful PCs will supposedly have
achieved great things by participating in this scenario, it doesn't
*feel* that way. It's more as if they were along for the ride, and their
presence of absence really didn't make any difference to the outcome
(indeed, this is actually more true than it was in 'Iceland').
So, three good scenarios and two-and-a-half acceptable ones ('New Breathers' is the half, since the meat of it is only one page long). Which, overall, is a thumbs-up to Issaries from me.
-- Trotsky Gamer and Skeptic ------------------------------------------------------ Trotsky's RPG website: http://www.ttrotsky.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
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