review Archives - Per Aspera Games

Gods of the Earth (a first-level module for Dungeon Crawl Classics by Julian Bernick) is a Norse-themed adventure in which the PCs must stand vigil for a dead jarl and protect his soul from powering a ritual intended to raise the forces of Chaos.

The adventure starts with the PCs stumbling upon a funeral celebration which leads to their conscription into the main plot. The funeral offers some fun opportunities for roleplaying, but clever PCs may also use the time to gather clues about what’s really going on. The main part of the adventure takes place in a subterranean liminal space between death and life where the PCs encounter strange creatures, puzzles, and a glimpse of what awaits the world should they fail. Bernick does a great job of making the encounters feel epic while still approachable for a band of first-level reavers.

I play-tested this adventure with the author and enjoyed the bizarre creatures and visions of the underworld setting. I also ran this module for my regular weekly group, but re-skinned it with an Egyptian theme to serve as a prelude to Goodman Game’s DCC version of Dark Tower. They enjoyed the modules challenges.

If I had one criticism, it would be that the Norse theme isn’t as prevalent in the middle of the adventure, making it feel somewhat disconnected from the introductory material. It’s also easy for the PCs to discover the identity of the villain attempting to bolster Chaos’ forces, but to miss their motivations and the finer points of their plan. My players don’t mind not encountering every facet of a module’s story, your mileage may vary.

While some judicious prep will help Judges run this module, Gods of the Earth is straight-forward enough to be played in 3-5 hours and is worth a look as a start to your next campaign.

I’m pretty picky about purchasing resources that purport to add to your game. I’ve been burned by more than a few that, when push comes to shove, I’ll never actually use at the table, either because they’re too cumbersome or because they do something I can just as easily do myself.

On the other end of that spectrum, C. Aaron Kreader’s 101 City Encounters is a book I can’t imagine running a city campaign without. Designed as a sort of mega random encounter table, the book offers a variety of interesting vignettes and situations a party might stumble across while traveling through a fantasy city. Some are relatively mundane (a funeral procession, a request for help unloading goods from a ship), while others offer tantalizing hooks that could lead to their own mini adventure (a carrier pigeon is killed and its note taken, a red devil appears and disappears leaving strange runes where it stood). Each entry includes suggestions for running the encounter and possible follow-ups.

101 City Encounters also includes a simple system for tracking a PC’s reputation in the city with a variety of groups: the Thieves’ Guild, nobles, the townsfolk, and religious temples. Higher ranks grant various benefits from each group, while lower ranks can cause problems when the party has to deal with the group in question. The system offers just enough detail to be helpful without becoming onerous to the Judge, especially with the inclusion of a custom reputation tracking sheet.

Although compatible with DCC RPG, the book is light on stats and can easily be adapted by a competent Judge to other fantasy systems.

101 City Encounters has already benefited my games and is highly recommended, especially if you’re running a DCC Lankhmar, Planescape, or similar campaign.

Module Review: Gods of the Earth

Resource Review: 101 City Encounters by C. Aaron Kreader