Post by geoffrey on May 30, 2009 22:39:33 GMT -6
This review can be summarized in two sentences:
1) I would never have written OBREGON’S DISHONOR.
2) It is a wonderful module that I heartily endorse.
Huh?
The very thought of an “official” Carcosa gives me the shivers. There is no right or wrong way to use Supplement V: CARCOSA. My D&D campaign (set on the world of Carcosa) is simply and solely my campaign. That’s it. I am in no way an arbiter of what others should do with CARCOSA. While I am happy to answer questions, all my answers should be prefaced with “I do it this way in my campaign.” Just one DM to another.
And that’s why I am so delighted with OBREGON’S DISHONOR.
This is the first published module that makes use of CARCOSA (unless you count my little adventure in Fight On! #4). Cameron has taken Carcosa and has made it his own, which I am glad to see. He has written a module of vim and vigor that is a delight to read and undoubtedly a delight to play. (I’ve yet to use it with my group, but I’m going to. What higher praise can be given by a DM to a gaming product?)
Precisely because OBREGON’S DISHONOR has a different feel to it than is typical in my adventures, this module will be great for my campaign. I’m coming more and more to the conclusion that the single most valuable thing about modules is that they give the players a change of pace from the relative sameness that comes from a single DM’s mind. No matter how ingenious a DM is, he can never climb out of his own head. But with modules written by different DM’s, a wider and deeper variety is to be had in the campaign. (This is also perhaps the greatest benefit to random tables in D&D, but I digress…)
The module itself has the same dimensions as the 1974 D&D rulebooks and supplements. It fits perfectly in your little white box, which I much appreciate. It is 40 pages long, broken-down thusly:
p. 1: title page
p. 2: index
p. 3: author’s foreword
pp. 4-5: overview of the differences between Carcosa and vanilla fantasy
p. 5: synopsis of the adventure
pp. 6-13: the adventure in the Green village of Jaftgong
pp. 13-21: the adventure in the dungeon
pp. 21-25: the adventure in the wilderness
pp.26-33: seven appendices, which (among other things) include pregens, new high-tech equipment, the witch NPC class (eminently suitable for Carcosa), and new monsters
p. 34: blank page for notes
p. 35: acknowledgements and publisher’s page
p. 36: OGL license page (which is the only thing that puzzles me about this module: what is this for?)
Four unnumbered pages are included in the center of the module. It’s a simple matter to bend the staples to remove this single 8 ½” by 11” sheet from the module. On one side is a map of the village of Jaftgong, and on the other is a map of the dungeon. I appreciate having removable maps, as I hate paging back and forth between the map and the module’s text.
I’m purposely avoiding giving any but the most general specifics about OBREGON’S DISHONOR, because I know the ways of those sneaking players. No player is going to learn any secrets of this module from me! PCs are just going to have to deal with this adventure the old fashioned way.
One thing I will obliquely allude to is that OBREGON’S DISHONOR has a refreshing use of magic. There are no spell lists that are used as weapons arsenals to blow opponents to smithereens. Magic in Carcosa is dark, dangerous, rare, and a big deal. Like in the old stories told by the likes of Lovecraft, Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith, wizards aren’t running around casting handfuls of spells every day. Instead, blasphemous rituals of great power are notable rather than routine. OBREGON’S DISHONOR makes very good use of this feature of Carcosa.
All three pieces of art in the module are done by the talented Andy “Atom” Taylor. Both his interior pieces feel right at home with old-school D&D art. I especially like the drawing on p. 22. I have to say that I don’t care for the cover illustration, though. It looks computer-generated to me, which I generally don’t like. But that’s just me.
The module is intended for use with 6-8 characters of levels 4-6 on the world of Carcosa. Of course, any OD&D referee worth his salt can easily alter any of that. Lower levels, higher levels, more characters, fewer characters, etc. A ref could certainly use this module in his own campaign world. He needn’t place it in Carcosa. He doesn’t even need to own Supplement V: CARCOSA to use this module, though it would certainly be helpful and give the reader a deeper appreciation of the module.
You can buy OBREGON’S DISHONOR from Brave Halfling Publishing (here: bravehalflingpublishing.com/blog/products-page/print--pdf/obregons-dishonor-print--pdf/ ) for only $5. Run that through an inflation calculator. That’s only $1.16 in 1974 dollars. In other words, this is cheaper than ANYTHING published by TSR or Judges Guild back in their glory days. If you have any interest whatsoever in Carcosa and/or in emphasizing the sword & sorcery roots of D&D, just buy this module. It is well worth the price.
Let’s hope Cameron gives us more Carcosa adventures! ;D
1) I would never have written OBREGON’S DISHONOR.
2) It is a wonderful module that I heartily endorse.
Huh?
The very thought of an “official” Carcosa gives me the shivers. There is no right or wrong way to use Supplement V: CARCOSA. My D&D campaign (set on the world of Carcosa) is simply and solely my campaign. That’s it. I am in no way an arbiter of what others should do with CARCOSA. While I am happy to answer questions, all my answers should be prefaced with “I do it this way in my campaign.” Just one DM to another.
And that’s why I am so delighted with OBREGON’S DISHONOR.
This is the first published module that makes use of CARCOSA (unless you count my little adventure in Fight On! #4). Cameron has taken Carcosa and has made it his own, which I am glad to see. He has written a module of vim and vigor that is a delight to read and undoubtedly a delight to play. (I’ve yet to use it with my group, but I’m going to. What higher praise can be given by a DM to a gaming product?)
Precisely because OBREGON’S DISHONOR has a different feel to it than is typical in my adventures, this module will be great for my campaign. I’m coming more and more to the conclusion that the single most valuable thing about modules is that they give the players a change of pace from the relative sameness that comes from a single DM’s mind. No matter how ingenious a DM is, he can never climb out of his own head. But with modules written by different DM’s, a wider and deeper variety is to be had in the campaign. (This is also perhaps the greatest benefit to random tables in D&D, but I digress…)
The module itself has the same dimensions as the 1974 D&D rulebooks and supplements. It fits perfectly in your little white box, which I much appreciate. It is 40 pages long, broken-down thusly:
p. 1: title page
p. 2: index
p. 3: author’s foreword
pp. 4-5: overview of the differences between Carcosa and vanilla fantasy
p. 5: synopsis of the adventure
pp. 6-13: the adventure in the Green village of Jaftgong
pp. 13-21: the adventure in the dungeon
pp. 21-25: the adventure in the wilderness
pp.26-33: seven appendices, which (among other things) include pregens, new high-tech equipment, the witch NPC class (eminently suitable for Carcosa), and new monsters
p. 34: blank page for notes
p. 35: acknowledgements and publisher’s page
p. 36: OGL license page (which is the only thing that puzzles me about this module: what is this for?)
Four unnumbered pages are included in the center of the module. It’s a simple matter to bend the staples to remove this single 8 ½” by 11” sheet from the module. On one side is a map of the village of Jaftgong, and on the other is a map of the dungeon. I appreciate having removable maps, as I hate paging back and forth between the map and the module’s text.
I’m purposely avoiding giving any but the most general specifics about OBREGON’S DISHONOR, because I know the ways of those sneaking players. No player is going to learn any secrets of this module from me! PCs are just going to have to deal with this adventure the old fashioned way.
One thing I will obliquely allude to is that OBREGON’S DISHONOR has a refreshing use of magic. There are no spell lists that are used as weapons arsenals to blow opponents to smithereens. Magic in Carcosa is dark, dangerous, rare, and a big deal. Like in the old stories told by the likes of Lovecraft, Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith, wizards aren’t running around casting handfuls of spells every day. Instead, blasphemous rituals of great power are notable rather than routine. OBREGON’S DISHONOR makes very good use of this feature of Carcosa.
All three pieces of art in the module are done by the talented Andy “Atom” Taylor. Both his interior pieces feel right at home with old-school D&D art. I especially like the drawing on p. 22. I have to say that I don’t care for the cover illustration, though. It looks computer-generated to me, which I generally don’t like. But that’s just me.
The module is intended for use with 6-8 characters of levels 4-6 on the world of Carcosa. Of course, any OD&D referee worth his salt can easily alter any of that. Lower levels, higher levels, more characters, fewer characters, etc. A ref could certainly use this module in his own campaign world. He needn’t place it in Carcosa. He doesn’t even need to own Supplement V: CARCOSA to use this module, though it would certainly be helpful and give the reader a deeper appreciation of the module.
You can buy OBREGON’S DISHONOR from Brave Halfling Publishing (here: bravehalflingpublishing.com/blog/products-page/print--pdf/obregons-dishonor-print--pdf/ ) for only $5. Run that through an inflation calculator. That’s only $1.16 in 1974 dollars. In other words, this is cheaper than ANYTHING published by TSR or Judges Guild back in their glory days. If you have any interest whatsoever in Carcosa and/or in emphasizing the sword & sorcery roots of D&D, just buy this module. It is well worth the price.
Let’s hope Cameron gives us more Carcosa adventures! ;D
