Green Ronin?s latest Bleeding Edge Adventure, Dirge of the Damned, does the near impossible by not just making a bard a serious threat, but making a team of bard?s a serious threat.
This third chapter of Green Ronin?s daring adventure series pits your PCs vs. the revenge plot of an outcast bard named Orlen. The thing that separates the Bleeding Edge different is the series mission of providing adventures that are not dungeon crawl number 1 million. The first product introduced an intriguing mansion exploration, the second had the PCs exploring a relic filled ziggurat. This time around the adventure is a whodunit mystery with a half dozen suspects (not including the party this time). So far this proved to be the most satisfying adventure.
Orlen, the revenge filled bard, has managed to manipulate another group of bards to go to his former town and kill the man whom sent him on the road to eating rats in an old opera house. This is done by using magical means to make the man?s wife stab him. The PCs must find the real person behind the murder. The 33 pages of the bookmarked PDF contains 3 acts. Each well written chapter uses new obstacles, well outside of the bounds of combat, to challenge a party. The PCs will have to interview guests, investigate clues and pieces of evidence and do some integration to get to Orlen. In the end, there?s a nicely designed combat sequence in the Opera House.
For the DM
Each of the encounters and events in Dirge of the Damned is fairly creative. DMs may want to utilize the first part of Act One, where the PCs meet the bard party, a session or two before performing the adventure. If you have a flirtation PC in your game like I did, have a little fun with the Elf woman Phelian.
The Iron Word
A good mystery really breaks up the monotony of wall to wall combat sessions. Dirge of the Damned certainly delivers in this aspect. Dirge represents a refreshing approach to adventure writing and an evolved step in the Bleeding Edge Adventures. Very few people have done mystery adventures right, and this is one of the few.
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<b>LIKED</b>: - Nice open ended feel makes the PCs feel like they are in charge of their own destiny
- Good encounter ideas. Racing through a haunted forest to ensure the lives of the NPCs brings a new feel to the escort mission
- Maps were pretty easy to follow and the writing was tight
-tactical sessions gave advice on aspects of the game. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: - The website promises web enhancements online but I still haven't found any for this or the other Bleeding edge adventures
- I would have liked to have a couple of handouts <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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