XcomSquaddie
Mongoose
Okay, here's my review of Mongoose's latest effort.
Story/Plot
I've been told in the past that I give too much away, so I'll try to be careful. Here's the blurb from the website:
This exciting new adventure for Conan the Roleplaying Game ses the players thrust into the turmoil of desert warfare in eastern Shem. The party are fighting alongside Turanian troopers rounding up rebel Zuagirs but is there something more sinister and supernatural going on? And just how far can you trust a Turanian anway? Full of rip-roaring adventure, The Coming of Hanuman is full of genuine Hyborian flavour!
Basically, the characters are chosen to scout out a nomad camp ahead of the Turanian army. Complications ensue, as does amusement for the GM.
This is a very well written module. The characters are involved in a situation that they cannot change. They cannot stop the Turnanian/Shemitish fighting and events will happen in the story no matter what the characters do. However the characters have the ability to decide how they will react to the situations and events and their actions will have a dramatic affect on the future.
This all gives the sense the sense that the characters are involved in a series of real world events. They cannot stop them from happening, but they can still affect the outcome.
The writing style is very Howard-ish. Women aren't pretty, they're angelic. Monsters aren't ugly, they're sanity wrenching and foul, but still mortal and thus vulnerable.
Best Quote:
"I have chosen you as volunteers for this job..."
Also, there is play to allow for different gaming styles. There are mass combat scenes, desert travel scenes, explorations, tension filled negotiations, etc. Individual Gm's can tilt it to fit the players personal tastes.
Characters
There are a few characters, a beautfiul maiden, a Turanian general, a shemitish leader, etc. They are believable and all Howard-ish. Their motivations and actions and possible actions are detailed along with possible responses to likely character actions.
Appearance/Artwork
There's not many actual illustrations in the product. The cover picture shows a horseman and is done in a comic book style. Nice colors and lines. Inside, there are illustrations of shields and either bucklers or coins. In any case, the inside illo's are ok. Nothing overly cool, but nothing poorly done.
Maps/Cartography
There are two maps included. The first is supposed to be a hastily drawn map created from verbal descriptions of prisoners. The actual map itself is drawn in the comic book style. The lines and color are good. The map is simple, but with enough detail to make it pretty.
My only beef with the first map is that there are Two large x's with no labels. In the story, one X represents the party start point, and the other represents a nomad camp which is their goal. It's pretty easy to figure out which is which, but they are not labeled. If I was a military leader and my scouts were drawing me maps I'd make them label the X's damnit! But I digress...
The second map is also done in the line-art/comic book style. I'm going to be vague about some details so I don't spoil any surprises. Suffice to say the map shows a camp near the mountains. I liked this one alot. The lines and colors are typically good and the picture itself looks like something I'd want to explore.
There is a single unlabeled X on this one, outside the camp. However if you read the text, it is quite plainly the location of an encounter the party will have. But again, label the X's please. It just looks wierd having lone x's scattered about.
Adaptability
Okay. As far as adaptability, the module takes place along the Shemitish and Turanian border and a certain city is mentioned as being important to the villain. Also it involves Turanian soldiers and rebel nomads.
It pretty much has to occur in the locations given. The text gives some ideas for moving it a bit, but essentially, this module relies heavily on location. This is not a bad thing however, and I would definitely shift my campaign to accomodate it.
It also relies on the fact that the characters will be working for the Turanians and the text does detail a number of ways to make this happen.
However, this is Conan. Tell the players that in the weeks since the last adventure, money got tight and working for Turan sounded like a good idea. If they bitch, have them be mauled by jackals.
Length
Length could have been a little longer. Granted, it's easy enough to throw in your own encounters or twists, but more is most usually better. I'd say throw in two more encounters of some type.
Cover page, plus thirteen meaty pages, plus the OGL/D20 crap page. Fifteen total pages.
Party Composition
The adventure texts states that it is suitable for any number of 1st to 3rd level characters.
Overall
On a scale of 1-10 (1 bad, 10 good) I'd give it an 9. If you're a GM, buy it, play it and use it to abuse your players.
It looks like something I would enjoy running or playing in.
Story/Plot
I've been told in the past that I give too much away, so I'll try to be careful. Here's the blurb from the website:
This exciting new adventure for Conan the Roleplaying Game ses the players thrust into the turmoil of desert warfare in eastern Shem. The party are fighting alongside Turanian troopers rounding up rebel Zuagirs but is there something more sinister and supernatural going on? And just how far can you trust a Turanian anway? Full of rip-roaring adventure, The Coming of Hanuman is full of genuine Hyborian flavour!
Basically, the characters are chosen to scout out a nomad camp ahead of the Turanian army. Complications ensue, as does amusement for the GM.
This is a very well written module. The characters are involved in a situation that they cannot change. They cannot stop the Turnanian/Shemitish fighting and events will happen in the story no matter what the characters do. However the characters have the ability to decide how they will react to the situations and events and their actions will have a dramatic affect on the future.
This all gives the sense the sense that the characters are involved in a series of real world events. They cannot stop them from happening, but they can still affect the outcome.
The writing style is very Howard-ish. Women aren't pretty, they're angelic. Monsters aren't ugly, they're sanity wrenching and foul, but still mortal and thus vulnerable.
Best Quote:
"I have chosen you as volunteers for this job..."
Also, there is play to allow for different gaming styles. There are mass combat scenes, desert travel scenes, explorations, tension filled negotiations, etc. Individual Gm's can tilt it to fit the players personal tastes.
Characters
There are a few characters, a beautfiul maiden, a Turanian general, a shemitish leader, etc. They are believable and all Howard-ish. Their motivations and actions and possible actions are detailed along with possible responses to likely character actions.
Appearance/Artwork
There's not many actual illustrations in the product. The cover picture shows a horseman and is done in a comic book style. Nice colors and lines. Inside, there are illustrations of shields and either bucklers or coins. In any case, the inside illo's are ok. Nothing overly cool, but nothing poorly done.
Maps/Cartography
There are two maps included. The first is supposed to be a hastily drawn map created from verbal descriptions of prisoners. The actual map itself is drawn in the comic book style. The lines and color are good. The map is simple, but with enough detail to make it pretty.
My only beef with the first map is that there are Two large x's with no labels. In the story, one X represents the party start point, and the other represents a nomad camp which is their goal. It's pretty easy to figure out which is which, but they are not labeled. If I was a military leader and my scouts were drawing me maps I'd make them label the X's damnit! But I digress...
The second map is also done in the line-art/comic book style. I'm going to be vague about some details so I don't spoil any surprises. Suffice to say the map shows a camp near the mountains. I liked this one alot. The lines and colors are typically good and the picture itself looks like something I'd want to explore.
There is a single unlabeled X on this one, outside the camp. However if you read the text, it is quite plainly the location of an encounter the party will have. But again, label the X's please. It just looks wierd having lone x's scattered about.
Adaptability
Okay. As far as adaptability, the module takes place along the Shemitish and Turanian border and a certain city is mentioned as being important to the villain. Also it involves Turanian soldiers and rebel nomads.
It pretty much has to occur in the locations given. The text gives some ideas for moving it a bit, but essentially, this module relies heavily on location. This is not a bad thing however, and I would definitely shift my campaign to accomodate it.
It also relies on the fact that the characters will be working for the Turanians and the text does detail a number of ways to make this happen.
However, this is Conan. Tell the players that in the weeks since the last adventure, money got tight and working for Turan sounded like a good idea. If they bitch, have them be mauled by jackals.
Length
Length could have been a little longer. Granted, it's easy enough to throw in your own encounters or twists, but more is most usually better. I'd say throw in two more encounters of some type.
Cover page, plus thirteen meaty pages, plus the OGL/D20 crap page. Fifteen total pages.
Party Composition
The adventure texts states that it is suitable for any number of 1st to 3rd level characters.
Overall
On a scale of 1-10 (1 bad, 10 good) I'd give it an 9. If you're a GM, buy it, play it and use it to abuse your players.
It looks like something I would enjoy running or playing in.
