I played this with Stephen at a con then ran it for my family. Great story, easy to run.

Note: I received a PDF copy of this in exchange for my honest review.

"Children of the Fallen Sun" is an MCC adventure for 5-6 level 1 characters, but can be adjusted up or down. If you've been running DCC you could bring this into your campaign with the usual tweaking and some narrative finesse.

There were 5 things I was looking for in this module (and in DCC modules generally): clarity and in-module logic; play-ability; coolness factor; hackability (lends itself to being hacked & having bits pulled out for other purposes); and inclusive represenation.

The plotline was clear and the story consistent throughout; decisions made earlier in the module have later consequences; the NPCs had strong personalities and clear motivations. So high marks on clarity & in-module logic.

Not having yet run any of it, it reads as very playable. Narrative text meant to be shared with players is italicized and followed by GM notes. Stat blocs are DCC/MCC standard (which I hate & always re-write on sticky notes, but that's not the author's fault). Random tables are embedded in the module where they will be used and are preceded by notes on how to use them to keep the game moving. The author has anticipated likely GM challenges (PC dawdling, for example) and includes notes on handling them. There is a clear, easy-to-read gridded map keyed to the adventure sections and appropriate for the GM reference or to uncover for players as the PCs explore.

The coolness factor is high: nearly everything on the ship reflects the unique backstory, from the physiology of the crew to the no-nonsense nutrient dispenser to the AI personalities. There is OP stuff that can kill your PCs with little warning, harmless stuff, and stuff that buffs them. Artifacts included a vita-pen that might make a zombie out of the person you're trying to save & cool glasses that let you see via a remote synthetic eye. There's dripping green goo & stasis-type chambers that may explode if you try to open them & the very real possibility that one of the AIs will infect a PC's mind.

This leads directly to hackability: there is a lot here to steal and stick in your campaign. Artifacts; 2 AI patrons complete with "invoke patron" tables, taints, and 3 spells/programs each; 2 races (or monsters, depending) and a new zombie. I also think I'll end up borrowing some of the randomized tables for my campaign. Two of my favorites are a table for communicating across a language barrier & one for randomized treasure that gives a gp value for shiny wire :)

Finally, representation: the module does an excellent job of gender & skin-tone inclusion. The main text is gender-neutral (doesn't assume judge or players are "he") and there is great balance of gender across NPCs. The art is also gender-balanced (meaning that females are represented and they are given about as much clothing as the males) and includes notable images with both fair and darker skin. Yay!

For extra credit, I'd love to see the author move away from "men" to describe species of person, ie "Rustmen" -- there's an awkward bit describing a female "rustman". This isn't hard to do, and ought to be standard practice.

Very nice module, an expansive 1st-level adventure that's large enough that we didn't explore the whole thing in 5 hours. Interesting story and events, plenty to do and enjoy!

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This module clocks in at 30 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 26 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

Well, before we do: There are actually 4 pdfs included here: The regular pdf, one without watermarks, and a second version laid out in digest-size (6’’ by 9’’/A5), if you prefer smaller booklets. The fourth pdf provides the b/w-maps in two iterations – one with all numbers and labels, and a second one without the labels. While I very much appreciate the inclusion of player-friendly maps in this mini-booklet, one of them has one instance where a secret-door-S has not been properly redacted, representing a minor spoiler here. While equipped with grids, the maps do not note a scale, which some of my readers would consider to be a minor inconvenience.

Theme-wise, this is a homage of sorts to “Against the Giants”, as seen through the lens of DCC. We already had that? Well, in contrast to “Beyond the Black Gate”, this is not intended to be played as an infiltration; we have basically a “take-the-fortress”-scenario here, and thus, difficulty very much can vary. Dumb PCs will probably die horribly, but then again, this is a 5th-level module, and if the PCs haven’t learned by now to use their brains, they deserve what’s coming to them. This is very much a player-driven sandbox that presents a detailed situation, and then lets the players figure out how to deal with it. Occupation bonuses, just fyi, have been noted where applicable.

The pdf includes a total of 4 new magic items (not including weaponry with unique properties and the like that can be gained in the module – these 4 items have a somewhat more detailed rendition), and 4 new monsters: The leg-breaking, ape-like squatches, catfish trolls, the dangerous beaver-like gicastors initially introduced in “Attack of the Frawgs!” and the eponymous wood giants. The latter get the most information, with sample treasure and their own, rather nasty and visceral crit-table – kudos for that! Organization-wise, the module also presents a handy GM-cheat-sheet that makes tracking the population of wood giants easier (names for individual giants noted, even if they use rank-and-file giant stats!). Speaking of which: Wood giants use a d22 Action Die and have notes for how to use that provided. The respective areas come with read-aloud text for your convenience, and the module does come with various hooks that the judge can employ to reel PCs in.

A nice plus would be that the module establishes global rules for the stronghold, as well as notes on intelligent enemy reactions – the giants will not simply wait as the PCs take them down one by one. Motivations are explained as well, and a wandering monster table for outside of the compound is provided for your convenience. It should also be noted that one of the artworks herein stands out – a massive b/w-one-page artwork of one of the climactic scenes of the module, it not only looks cool, it makes for a neat handout. It is also, quality-wise, better than the cover, so that was a nice surprise.

All right, this is as far as I can go without diving into SPOILERS. Potential players should jump ahead to the conclusion.

… .. .

All right, only judges around? Great! So, the first thing you’ll note, is that the stronghold, a fort of sorts, makes sense – from the wolves (curiously led by a demonic canine entity) to the catfish troll used as a living garbage disposal to the squatch-slaves, makes sense; this very much attempts to create an illusion of a plausible fortress, and succeeds in doing so. The outhouse has a truly limitless supply of nasty prune flies, wood spider swarms lair within woodpiles – this is a dangerous place for mortals; after all, the squatches fear their giant masters’ whips more than puny hoomanz.

Anyhow, PCs just thinking they’ll be stopping Goothlik the wood giant shaman will be in for a surprise – you see, the wood giant shaman has blasphemed against Veedarkaleesh, a mighty shadow demon, who promptly took note. As a diversion from his existential ennui, the demon has taken the shaman, consuming his soul; his skin is now worn as a flesh-suit by the demon, the shaman’s essence kept as the largest of several blood golem-giant things, with vampiric slugs transferring Goothlik’s essence to the demon in disguise, all while guarded by a wizard who got a particularly sucky deal for his patron bond with the shadow demon. Well. It’s a demon. He should have known better.

But I digress. Beyond a demoness (in the guide of a cheetah woman) and aforementioned minor hints may clue to the PCs in that something’s afoul – and there is this one portal that leads to the plane of shadow, where shadow lampreys and ethereal piranhas may attempt to feast on delicious light-bearers. It is also here that curious PCs may, via visions etc., get some ideas as to what happened if they so far haven’t played their cards right. This trip remains short, though. Ultimately, once the PCs return from this place, they will find a massacre if they haven’t yet left one – only the demon and his cronies remain, making for a rather brutal final combat. Plus-side: If the PCs were fooled by the cheetah woman-demon, they have the silver chain that once bound here, which could be just the tool to mean the difference between death and survival. As far as the demonic angle is concerned, I’d have loved to see a bit more of weirdness like the vampire slugs here; the module feels very well like a classic old-school adventure – this is intentional, but I figured it’d be worth mentioning.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting re very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to Thick Skull Adventures’ two-column b/w-standard, with the b/w-artworks ranging from okay to awesome. The (mostly) player-friendly versions of the solid b/w-cartography represents a serious plus as far as I’m concerned. The pdf comes with proper, nested bookmarks in all versions.

Stephen Newton’s homage to the classics here is a nice, sandboxy adventure. Challenging and fun, it makes for a nice and well-wrought take-the-stronghold type of sandbox. The support provided regarding maps, the details and the general sense of plausibility enhance this module beyond what you’d expect from it. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel like this, with some minor modifications regarding the brief sojourn to another place and the final combat, could have become more epic/dire still. Then again, this is me nitpicking a well-crafted bow towards an all-time classic. Hence, my final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This module clocks in at 34 pages, 1 pages of front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page of SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 30 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

All right, so this is a module for first level characters, and the second adventure that was once intended to be a part of the Princes of Kaimai-storyline, which seems to have been discontinued. Fret not, though, for while the module’s aftermath is intended to provide an angle towards these mystical lands, it is really easy to disjoint the module from this angle.

This module comes with not one, but 6 different hand-outs that basically can be considered to be look-see artworks/game aids, and the module does feature some solid b/w-maps. Speaking of which, there is one component that this does better than 99% of DCC-modules: It is EXTREMELY VTT-friendly and judge-friendly. You see, the module comes with a massive encounter map-pack that sports full-color maps that come as 9 different player-friendly, unlabeled maps; additionally, there are individual pdf-versions of the maps, blown up for use as battlemaps – yep, you can just print these out. That is awesome. Beyond that, the encounter map pack has 4 different player handouts. As far as supplemental content is concerned, there are very few modules that sport this level of support. Huge plus!

Anyhow, as far as DCC-modules are concerned, this actually a relatively tame adventure – while it can be deadly, it is a very doable adventure. Genre-wise, this is one of the rarest modules out there – we have basically a straight-forward treasure-hunt on our hands here, with the island itself presented as what amounts to a point-crawl: There are several key-locales on the eponymous Larvik island that come with their own maps as the PCs explore the place. Another uncommon aspect: As far as DCC-modules are concerned, this module is actually pretty grounded in its aesthetics. The characteristic Appendix N-elements are present, but less in your face than usual for DCC, which, as far as I’m concerned, is a nice change of pace. It should be noted that, yes, this does come with read-aloud text, including lines provided for encounters while exploring the island.

All right, this is as far as I can go without diving into SPOILERS. Potential players should jump ahead to the conclusion.

… .. .

All right, only judges around? Great! So, Larvik Island, ostensibly the last resting place of the fabled explorer, is rather peculiar: Littered by flooded caverns, every 35 years, an oddity in the tidal currents drains the caverns of sea water. Known as Cybala’s Rest, the phenomenon lasts for 2 weeks, allowing the brave and foolhardy their chance to attempt to claim fabled Larvik’s legacy.

It’s this time once more, and thus the PCs venture forth to claim the fabled legacy of Larvik. On the island, we have a small population of island goblins and animals, and a nasty group of bandits makes for a cool “evil adventurers”-type of foil for groups; massive crabs and giant pestrels are some of the more creative weird animals here, and indeed, while there is a readily apparent cavern that is a prime candidate for the treasure’s location, it actually is a false cavern – requiring rappelling from the island’s vast cliffs, it houses the squidopedes (as seen on the cover – awesome, classic-style monster) as well as the rage incarnate of the spirit haunting the island.

You see, beyond the dangerous local inhabitants and fauna, the PCs will have the chance to find some interesting clues and encounter the living dead in the swampier regions of the island. At one point, an evil cleric named Mattor once tried to claim the treasure, but perished in the process – his rage incarnate is a particularly nasty spirit with deadly claws and sample curses to spew at the adventurers provided – and it can’t be put to final rest until the PCs found the vile cleric’s true body.

Very cool: There are strange idols and the like to be found, and obelisks – the PCs will need to piece together the names of Larvik’s offspring and bride (who hailed from Kaimai); said information can help them bypass some of the magical security mechanisms provided, and the true cavern’s locale actually has to be triangulated (no, the players don’t have to do the math…) by using the unearthed information in a clever way. The true cave contains the most deadly creatures in the adventure, the means to put vile Mattor to rest – and several helpful pieces of advice for depicting the rising tension: A slowly looming end to the phenomenon of receding water, earthquakes and the like amp up the tension in an admirable manner. Mattor’s remnant, once put to rest, has, alas, wrought damage to Larvik’s mythic device, which means that operating it may well be rather dangerous – there are a few different options to handle the machine.

The pdf concludes with a section of advice on continuing from there, a glossary of deities and NPCs, two magical diseases and 2 magic items – one of them being a magic flail infused with fear, the other a magic conch shell.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to a two-column b/w-standard, and the pdf comes with solid b/w-artworks. The cartography is b/w, and the map-pack provides full-color versions, player-friendly versions, etc. – huge plus! The inclusion of b/w-handouts is another plus. On the downside, the module does lack bookmarks, which constitutes a comfort-detriment.

Stephen Newton’s trip to Larvik island is a great treasure hunt – dangerous and wondrous, yet grounded in quasi-realistic aesthetics, this module proved to be a rather awesome surprise for me. There are few modules that attempt to be smart sandboxy and wholly player-driven explorations focused on finding a treasure. At least if you discount “Enter a dungeon, kill everything.” This module actually feels different in its neat execution of the treasure hunt-angle, and its blend of subdued and strange aesthetics hits a neat sweet spot for me. While the lack of bookmarks is a bit of a pity, this is still very much a module I’d recommend, and indeed one I’d consider worthy of conversion beyond DCC if you’re looking for something different, yet not too outré. My final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, and due to the excellent map/handout-support, I will round up and bestow my seal of approval on this module. Well done!

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This module clocks in at 26 pages, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of editorial, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 20 pages of content, laid out in 6’’ by 9’’ (A5), so let’s take a look!

Okay, formally, this is a funnel that is probably closest to what you’d consider to be a linear wilderness trek – you move from wilderness encounter to encounter towards the finale, so if that irks you, then, that’s something to be aware of. This is intended for 8 – 14 level 0 characters, and playtest of the module left between 3 to 4 survivors for parties that explored all locations. This mirrors my observations, though it should be noted that this being mostly an adventure that takes place in the wilderness, the PCs do have the choice to avoid some encounters. Judge’s discretion is advised there. While nominally tied to the “Princes of Kaimai”-series, that sequence of adventures and their rough metaplot seems to have been abandoned in the meantime. Thankfully, this does not negatively impact the module’s integrity or story in the slightest, with references being relegated to the judge’s side of things. The module sports well-written read-aloud text.

I do maintain that this represents an interesting way to kick off a new DCC campaign, particularly for players new to the system. Why? Well, in order to discuss that, I will need to go into SPOILERS. Potential players should jump ahead to the conclusion. … .. . The paltry 0-level characters grew up around Fulthon Mountains, and begin play in the tavern, when two veteran gicastor trappers burst in, saying that they have been attacked. Speculation quickly rises – have the mongrelmen returned? Was the Black Corruption to the South responsible? It’s time to grab your trusty peasant’s tools and check it out! The trail leads to a tree platform that PCs may scale to get some foreshadowing, and then brings the PCs to the local brewery, which is fully mapped (alas, no player-friendly version) and infested with beer rats (who cause disorientation and bad judgment with their bites); this place also includes a crazed man, obviously drugged with something worse than the beer rats’ bites, and if the PCs can subdue him, they will get some further, unpleasant foreshadowing. Most of the module from there on out has the PCs circle a massive lake; the module, unfortunately, remains silent regarding the approach of trying to cross the water and e.g. take a closer look at the shapes noted; this represents the most pronounced downside regarding the structure of this one.

The trail leads the PCs towards gicastor traps – and if you’re a smart judge, you haven’t spilled the beans on what a gicastor is when the PCs arrive at the lodge: Gicastors are pretty deadly and savage, massive beavers. Yep, death by beaver is very likely (and there is a pretty neat b/w-artwork!), and the PCs can free a gicastor from a trap, allowing the judge to save the skins of the players via that angle, should they choose to. Oh yeah, insert all Zombeaver-jokes you can remember. :) Moving onwards, the PCs will find a dead tracker and a strange totem of Truloq, a chaotic deity of the sea that may have the PCs become selected by the entity, for a patron – and indeed, if the PC refused, they may well die…only to be revived and recruited by the deity’s brother.

Anyhow, the trail, ultimately, leads to the base of a waterfall – and in the cave behind that, the eponymous frawgs attack – first the regular croakers (depicted on the cover, coming with a deafening croak), and then the hoppers and spawner. The latter is a massive, bloated monster in the process of deposing eggs from its skin into the water! This thing is also responsible for the hallucinogenic rage of the aforementioned crazed fellow in the brewery. The disgusting creature must be stopped, and fast! Oh, and it comes with a full-page b/w-artwork that makes for a cool handout! (As an aside: Merciful judges could rule that a gicastor freed takes care of some of the eggs that may slip past the PCs…)

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to a 1-column b/w-standard, and the interior b/w-illustrations by Reba Pyron deserve special mention: They are frantic, detailed and kickass b/w-pieces. There may only be 2, but both rock. The cartography does its job and offers squares, but, as a nitpick both mapped encounters don’t have a scale noted. More important for me would be lamentable absence of player-friendly maps. The pdf version comes fully bookmarked for your convenience. I can’t comment on the print version, since I do not own it.

Stephen Newton’s “Attack of the Frawgs” is a nice, if linear funnel. It is structurally nothing mind-blowing, but the finale does amp up the strangeness in a great manner. You see, I believe that there are two basic strategies to introduce DCC’s aesthetics to new players: The first would be exemplified for example by Purple Duck games’ excellent “Death Slaves of Eternity.” It is throwing in PCs at the deep end, have them meet gods, destroy artifacts, etc. – and then reach first level. I know, this is basically a catch-phrase for DCC I’ve seen on shirts. There is one downside to this, though, and that is that, if you throw all you’ve got, maximum weirdness, from the get-go, said strangeness can become stale fast. How do you one-up this?

You don’t. You do different stuff, but yeah. It’s one of the reasons why the contributions of the some authors after Roy Thomas left the “Chronicles of Conan”-series back in the day sucked so badly; they threw high fantasy weirdness at the barbarian, without grounding the proceedings in some sort of reality. DCC, in the hands of a careless judge, can go that route as well. This module, in contrast, allows the judge to start the campaign in a pretty down to earth way; one could say, it begins almost in a mundane manner. The gicastors are a first hint at what’s to come, but the finale amps up the WTF-factor and should have most folks realize that DCC is not your standard D&D-based RPG. It allows you to slowly build towards the aesthetic that’s so crucial for DCC, and particularly for folks that are mostly familiar with 5e or d20-based adventures, this can be a pretty eye-opening finale that ought to make them palpably excited for more, while leaving a LOT of wiggle room for the judge to amp up the strange. Following this with, for example, “People of the Pit”? That’ll have jaws drop. Trust me.

So yeah, this isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, but it does provide a nice start for a new campaign. My final verdict will clock in at 3.5 stars, upgraded to 4 due to the freshman bonus and in dubio pro reo.

Endzeitgeist out.

A fun different type of funnel adventure. I am using parts of it for a PBP game. Using it more as a tool-kit than straight up exact like it would work at a tabletop.

It appears like Joseph Goodman found his lightning in a bottle with the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. Not only is the core rulebook a tome of much awesomeness, but the adventures from both Goodman Games and the Third Part Publishers have been strong right out of the starting box. Attack of the Frawgs from Thick Skull Adventures is no exception.

Surprisingly, this is no dungeon crawl. It is man versus beasts in the Wilds around Dead Goblin Lake. Yep, Attack of the Frawgs is primarily an outdoor, or dare I say it, wilderness adventure. I had assumed both by nature of the name - Dungeon Crawl Classics - and the first few adventures from Goodman Games that dungeons were going to be the be all. Thankfully, they are not. There is a place for wilderness adventures in the DCC realm of adventures, but they are plotted out similarly to dungeon adventures in the DCC system. I suppose this makes sense, as experience is earned by "encounter", not by enemies felled or gold found.

The adventure itself looks to be a fun one. I like the idea of townsfolk rising up to protect their own against evil invading their lands and lively hood. I'm also pleasantly pleased with how well the wilderness adventure appears to plot out. I'm very tempted to run this in tomorrow night's game with my party of newly levels 1st level PCs. (edit - ran it and it was a blast)

The cover art is great, the interior art is fine and the maps are very serviceable. The maps aren't like those in the various DCC Adventures from Goodman Games, but they are easy on the eyes and following them is a breeze.

Attack of the Frawgs is an excellent addition to the DCC assortment of adventures.

Frawgs is a fun little adventure for a fun new RPG (the DCC RPG by Goodman Games). Frawgs isn't written by Goodman Games, but I think that it ranks up there with GG's modules in terms of writing quality and general fun factor. And it's a good price, too. :-)

I really enjoyed the fact that the author of this adventure spelled out the motivations of the major characters, yet allowed you to "flesh out" the characters too. He is very thorough in describing the plotline; this is a real plus for us busy GMers.

I can't wait for another adventure involving the main character.

The encounter maps are cool. and fun to use. They printed up very nicely. It makes playing more enjoyable and the combat easier to see. It also makes story telling flow with the maps already in place.

This is a solid adventure for first level characters that combines some fun new takes on classic monsters, a few new monsters and a pretty compelling big baddie for the climax. The free downloadable maps really bring the combats to life.

One of the groups I DM for really likes adventures that include role playing opportunities and areas to explore that present non-combat challenges and puzzles. I find it sometimes hard to find published adventures for low level that get creative with puzzles and interesting monsters and this adventure delivers both.

No messing, straight in to the Introduction, with an adventure summary for the DM and providing background to Larvik Island and what's really to be found there. Are the rumours about vast treasures left behind by Larvik the warlord and adventurer of old true? Or has someone got there first?

There are some nice touches about embedding Larvik into the local area as a figure of historical significance and renown, useful for flavour whether you are running this stand-alone or intend to embed it into an existing campaign. Maybe the characters see a statue in the town square or even hoist an ale in the Larvik Arms whilst you set them up to begin the adventure. Two different quests are provided for you to choose from based on the interests and motivations of your group, or they may have already heard rumours of treasure to be had and need no further prompting to go and investigate. As they prepare in the local township there is opportunity for some role-playing interaction to gather legends - some useful, some less so - about what they might find on the island. It's kept to a minimum unless you want to expand on it, so that eager characters can just get on with the adventure.

Next comes a description of the island as seen from an approaching boat, and information about what they'll find when they land. The location of the entrance they are supposed to find is detailed as well, which will require some thought and mapwork... actually, this reminds me of an early exercise I teach in my land navigation class! It doesn't get too cerebral, though, there's plenty of encounters with local wildlife and more to keep them on their toes, before they find any of the subterranean places provided for them to explore.

The entire adventure is a pleasant meld of an 'old-style' approach to adventure design coupled with the precise detail for each encounter that the D&D 4e mechanics provide. Several evocative player handouts are included, not just maps and notes but some of the 'you see this' style of illustrations reminiscent of early modules. Intended as the first part of a series of adventures, this will work fine as a stand-alone, or part of your own campaign (which could, of course, accommodate further adventures in the series if you see fit). It's a good example of what can be done to provide exciting low-level traditional adventures with this ruleset.

Not only is this a GREAT start for rookie 3PP Thick Skull Adventures, The Haunting of Larvik Island would make a great first adventure for new GM's and new Players alike. With an easy to follow layout, detailed history and strongly built encounters, this adventure is definitely worth a look. I anticipate good things to come from Thick Skull in the future!