Review: "Cave of the Spiders" by Skip Williams

Time for another review of Wizards of the Coast's Original Adventures.  For a while it seemed like Owen K. C. Stephens had been holding the series up single-handed, but now Skip Williams (one of the D&D 3e designers) takes the reigns with Cave of the Spiders for 9th level characters.  Originally designed for D&D 3.5, the Cave could be played under the Pathfinder rules or another D20 system without too much trouble.  The window of opportunity to pick this adventure up free has closed, but $0.99 will get you a copy of Cave of the Spiders.

Review: "Lest Darkness Rise" by Owen K. C. Stephens

This is another installment of the Original Adventures series reviews.  Once again, the author is Owen K. C. Stephens, but this time I'm reviewing his Halloween special for October 2004, Lest Darkness Rise.  The module was designed with a party of 7th level characters and D&D 3.5 in mind.  As the module doesn't make use of exotic sourcebooks, conversion to other D20 games (especially the Pathfinder RPG) is possible.  Although no longer available for free on Wizards' website, DriveThruRPG has $0.99 copies of Lest Darkness Rise.

WotC's "Original Adventures" series available on DriveThruRPG

It's come to my attention that Wizards of the Coast have released some of the Original Adventures series through DriveThruRPG.  That explains why the old giveaway series isn't on the archive versions of WotC's website.  It also means that complaining about Owen K. C. Stephens' module design will resume in short order.

Unfortunately, WotC have decided to slap a charge on the old giveaways (less than $1), so I can't really say these things are free any more.  I've gone back and fixed up my links to direct readers to the relevant pages and advise them of the cost, but haven't fixed up the index yet.  Perhaps I should add an index of reviewed cheap adventures?

Review: "Primrose Path" by Owen K.C. Stephens

Welcome back to the Original Adventures series reviews.  This time I'm reviewing another Owen K.C. Stephens adventure, Primrose Path.  The module was distributed by Wizards of the Coast for the D&D 3.5 line, but it should be useful with Pathfinder and other D20 games with some conversion.  As the image says, Stephens is aiming to challenge four 6th-level characters.

Review: "March of the Sane" by Owen K. C. Stephens

Welcome back to the Original Adventures review series.  The Original Adventures were free monthly adventures released by Wizards of the Coast to support their D&D 3.0 and 3.5 line (though they should be playable under Pathfinder with minimal conversion).  Owen K. C. Stephens' March of the Sane, released in August 2004, was the 14th of the series.  It's an event-based adventure for a party of four 5th-level adventurers. 

Blog status update

The last review was one that I'd started work on months ago, before boring real life stuff that has no business on my blog happened.  Unfortunately, since I started reviewing Bad Light, Wizards of the Coast changes their robots.txt.  For reasons I don't completely understand, this has annihilated archived .zip files for the Original Adventures series (and many other free resources besides) on the Internet Archive.

This is a rather sad development for frugal roleplayers and spells the end of my review series for the Original Adventures, at least until such time as Wizards decides to make the material available again.  (Perhaps through D&D Classics?)  As a temporary solution, I've put up links to a (probably) reliable mirror.

Thankfully, there are many other free adventures out there on the internet and I will be giving them a look over in due course.  I'm particularly interested in the lesser-known material being circulated for OSR games.

Review: “Bad Light” by Owen K. C. Stephens

Welcome back to the Original Adventures series reviews. Wizards of the Coast produced these free modules to support their Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 line, but they mostly use the core books and are easily played under D&D 3.0 or Pathfinder RPG rules. Owen K. C. Stephens' Bad Light continues a run of very brief modules, this time 8 pages aimed at four 4th-level adventurers.  Although it's no longer available for free on Wizards' website, the new price is just $0.99 for a copy of Bad Light.

Review: “Dry Spell” by Darrin Drader

Darrin Drader's last offering in the “Original Adventures” series of D&D 3.5 modules was the forgettable Matters of Vengeance. I presume that Wizards of the Coast also found it forgiveable or had already made an agreement to receive further work from Mr. Drader. Dry Spell is aimed at four 3rd-level adventurers and is strictly core material, so it can easily be run using the Pathfinder RPG.  Although it's no longer a freebie, $0.99 is all you'll pay for Dry Spell.

Review: “Frozen Whispers” by James Jacobs

James Jacobs was already associate editor on Paizo's run of Dragon Magazine when he contributed to Wizards' free “Original Adventures” series for D&D 3.5. I understand that he's gone on to play a more prominent role in Paizo's “Adventure Path” development, so it was with no small amount of interest that I cracked open Frozen Whispers. Although this module showcases material from outside of the core books, the module does not require anything more than the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual to run. Although here is a rules clash between what is presented in Frozen Whispers and the Pathfinder game, I don't think it poses a serious conversion problem.  Frozen Whispers is not currently available for purchase.

Review: “War of Dragons” by Robert Wiese

It's another module from the “Original Adventures” series, put out by Wizards of the Coast to support D&D 3.5. This is War of Dragons, for 18th-level adventurers, written by Robert Wiese. No books outside the core three are required, although Wiese does recommend turning to the Draconomicon for advice on dragon tactics. This module can be run using Pathfinder but will require a small amount of conversion.  Although the module isn't free any more, the charge is $0.99 for a copy of War of Dragons.

Review: “Lochfell's Secret” by Eric Haddock

Wizards of the Coast put out free monthly “Original Adventures” to support D&D 3.5. This review covers the seventh of that series, Eric Haddock's Lochfell's Secret, recommended for 15th-level adventurers. Like the Original Adventures that I've reviewed so far, this module only requires the core rules (PHB, DMG, and MM) and is compatible with Pathfinder (using the Core Rules and Bestiary). Lochfell's Secret also showcases some non-core WotC content, providing the full mechanics but only short descriptions. The missing details shouldn't substantially affect the enjoyment of the adventure and it's actually a good opportunity for the DM to improvise.  The work is no longer available for free, but for $0.99 you can get a copy of Lochfell's Secret.

Review: “Matters of Vengeance” by Darrin Drader

Darrin Drader's Matters of Vengeance was the sixth in Wizards of the Coast's Original Adventures series, and aims to entertain a party of four 15th-level adventurers. The module makes use of some material outside of the core books, but all of the relevant information is reprinted so the DM doesn't need more than the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual for D&D 3.0, or the Core Rules and Bestiary for Pathfinder.  While once available for free, you'll have to shell out $0.99 to get a copy of Matters of Vengeance.

Review: “Sheep's Clothing” by Robert Wiese

I was very pleased to see Robert Wiese's name on this module. Reviewing his Wreck Ashore was a pleasure. This time out, Wiese aims to challenge a party of four 11th-level characters but he includes scaling notes for higher- and lower-level adventurers. Sheep's Clothing is intended for D&D 3.5, which means that it's compatible with Pathfinder. No more than the core rules (PHB, DMG, & MM, or, CR & Bestiary) are required.  It's no longer possible to get this module for free, but there is a $0.99 re-release of Sheep's Clothing.

Review: "Hasken's Manor" by Scott Brocius and Mark A. Jindra

Hasken's Manor is a short adventure for D&D 3.5 and is fairly compatible with Pathfinder. The module is recommended for a party of four 7th-level characters and has notes for scaling its difficulty for higher- or lower-level parties. It requires the core rules (PHB, DMG and MM, or Core Rules and Bestiary).  Those who recall Scott Brocius' role in the old wizards.com feature, The Mind's Eye, will be unsurprised to hear that psionics make an appearance in Hasken's Manor. For 3.5, the Expanded Psionics Handbook would an obvious choice (especially as most of its content is in the D20 SRD), but Pathfinder players may not feel comfortable using the equivalent material because it was published by Dreamscarred Press rather than Paizo. Thankfully, core-only equivalents are provided for those who want them.  While this module no longer available as a free download, there's a $0.99 re-release of Hasken's Manor.

Review: "Bad Moon Waning" by Stan!

If I could have "fair use"d the maps, I would have.

Now that I have a better handle on the order of the Original Adventures series, it's time to move on to Bad Moon Waning by Stan!. This module was designed for a party of four 10th-level characters, but has some notes on altering the difficulty for use with 8th or 11th level groups. For a short module, this sort of customisation is probably more for the benefit of the DM than an expression of “change the world to fit the PCs” mentality. Bad Moon Waning requires just the core rules for D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder.  Although no longer available as a free release, if you're prepared to pay $0.99 you can still get a copy of Bad Moon Waning.

Review: “The Eye of the Sun” by Eric Cagle

The Eye of the Sun was the second of the free “Original Adventures” series that was released by Wizards of the Coast in support of D&D 3.5, not the fourth as you might have inferred from prior reviews on this blog. The module was designed for a party of four 4th-level characters and requires just the core rules for D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder.  Although this module is no longer available for free, you can pick up The Eye of the Sun for $0.99.

Review: "Wreck Ashore" by Robert Wiese

This review covers the third of the free “Original Adventures” series that Wizards of the Coast distributed to support D&D 3.5. Robert Wiese's Wreck Ashore is designed for four 1st-level characters and requires the three core D&D 3.5 rulebooks or their equivalent in the Pathfinder RPG (Core Rulebook and Bestiary).  WotC have issued a re-release through DriveThruRPG, for $0.99.

Review: "Force of Nature” by Mark A. Jindra

This review covers the second of the free “Original Adventures” series that Wizards of the Coast distributed to support D&D 3.5. Mark A. Jindra's Force of Nature is intended for four 18th-level characters, and requires the three D&D core rulebooks (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Monster Manual) or the Pathfinder Core Rules and Bestiary. Jindra also recommends having four additional supplements on hand.  Although this module was originally free, the re-release on DriveThruRPG costs $0.99.

Review: “The Burning Plague” by Miguel Duran

To support D&D 3.5, Wizards of the Coast released a free series of short “Original Adventures” through their website.  The series was launched in early 2004 with Miguel Duran's The Burning Plague, designed to be playable with just the Player's Handbook and suitable for four to six 1st-level adventurers.  It's since been re-released through DriveThruRPG and can be purchased for $0.99.