Compactly presented in a 28-page, digest-size booklet, with a separate card cover containing the main map, the adventure is targeted at characters of levels one through six.Set on an isolated mountain, in a decrepit building next to a snow-covered graveyard, Death Frost Doom is, without a doubt, the most atmospheric and frightening adventure I have yet read in 30 plus years of gaming.
It is certainly unlike any other adventure I have encountered and has the potential to be the stuff of nightmares... for both the characters and their players.
Strange music in the air, rumours of a vanished cult who committed nameless atrocities, tales of forgotten treasure... and the all pervading cold.
Possibly more Call Of Cthulhu than traditional Dungeons & Dragons, it is quite possible that the players could run through the whole thing and meet no - or very few - monsters but on the other hand there are many encounters that scream "potential TPK" for the rash and foolhardy (ie. hack 'n' slashers).
Raggi's work is more about the crafty trap and the occasional, strange, unidentifiable creature than hordes of orcs and goblin guarding piles of gold and magic.
An enjoyable run-through of Death Frost Doom relies on serious mental investment from both the players and games master, as much of its brilliance hinges on atmosphere and the players buying in to the unnerving descriptions and 'suggestions' of what has gone on before their arrival - so if they are texting their girlfriends, surfing the web on their laptops or shooting the breeze about last night's football match, then the gamsmaster is on a hiding to nothing.
The players need to have their wits about them and understand Raggi's approach to the verisimilitude of dungeoneering; that is, that the characters are sticking their noses in where they don't belong. And they often have to pay the price for doing so.
However, on the other hand, if they're really smart - and a bit lucky - they could walk away from this adventure quite minted.
James Raggi has done a spot-on job of explaining to the games master that this is a genuinely evil place the characters are entering and it's now up to him to sell it to the players.
Even the build-up to the 'dungeon' itself is terrifyingly written; Raggi has clearly studied the writings of Lovecraft, Poe Machen and the others he lists in the "author's notes". Not a word is wasted and if everyone around the table is in the right frame of mind Death Frost Doom has the potential to be an adventure they talk about for the rest of their gaming lives.
This isn't one of those modern era "balanced" encounters where survival is almost guaranteed, this is a well written, intelligent dungeon that demands intelligent, considered play. It is real life-and-death stuff with plenty of 'save or die' poison traps and the potential to unleash a major game-changing, tidal-wave of death on the campaign world if they do the wrong thing.
I realise that the surfeit of "save or die" tests is an old school trait, but it's probably the one thing I'd change about Death Frost Doom if I get the chance to run The Tuesday Knights through it. Of course, I'd need to concoct some other fiendish penalty for a failed save that would hamper the unlucky character - but just not kill him outright.
Although I have no qualms about freaking my players out every now and then, I can still be a bit of a softie when it comes to killing off their characters too frequently.
What particularly appealed to me about the adventure was that, although the players may never fully grasp it (which might be for the best), there is an overriding logic to the dungeon that itself suggests a massive campaign environment without directly describing it.
The adventure is isolated enough that it can slot into most old school campaigns - as long as there is a suitable mountain range somewhere - although the tone of the piece and its general weirdness certainly suggests it would work best with Raggi's own interpretation of the Original Game.
That said, the creature statistics listed in the book are generic enough (e.g. armour class is listed as "like chain" or "as leather", rather than numeric, followed by hit dice, hit points, attacks and damage and special abilities) that it would easily work with all the retro-clones (ascending armour class or descending armour class).
A masterpiece of minimalist writing - with maximum impact (unlike the majority of bloated modules larger games companies put out), Death Frost Doom even has room for a bonus adventure, The Tower; a revised version of an adventure from Fight On! issue four.
A dark, twisted, Raggian take on a familiar fairy tale trope, this little gem could also be dropped into any campaign world - with the same advice to players: think about what you are doing!
The recent Hammers of the God has a similar catastrophic feel, although it's less physical and more, er, informational. It's difficult to describe without spoiling it, but the scenario contains a secret which, if it were to get out, would have widespread effects on your campaign world. I like it a lot.
ReplyDeleteI ran DFD as part of my Rogue Trader game earlier in the year, and when we return to it in the winter, the players will have to deal with what they unleashed.
Regarding an alternative to instant deaths, perhaps something like a random mutation might have a similar effect, without taking the players out of the game? Or perhaps some kind of curse which will follow them around, rather than killing them outright?
One of the many universal tropes of Raggi's scenarios I've discovered (having read a number in quick succession this week) is that they can quite easily be run in multiple genres.
ReplyDeleteI've ordered Hammers Of The Gods and will hopefully be getting that later in the week - you've now piqued my interest even more for that module.
Thank you for the great suggestions for "save or die" alternatives.