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ScenarioReview

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Everything posted by ScenarioReview

  1. TERROR'S MARTYR I like the part where the scenario is horrible; that is, I don't like it a whole lot. Poor
  2. BRUCE MITCHELL Too Monty Haul. Combat is way too easy after the free gifts, even before, as in the critical combat you can sit back and let Commander Joel kill them. Final reward includes infinite gold. Meant to be for very high party but a beginner party can complete it. Substandard
  3. THE ALMIGHTY DOER OF STUFF Buggy. The scenario was full of bugs. You don't have to do anything besides walk to Concord, talk to Commander Joel, walk to the Dragon's Den, talk to him again (you don't even have to kill the dragons, or the drakes guarding the den.), then raid the dragons' treasure room and get the supplies from all the cities. It was a serious Monty Haul, and it wasn't very fun. The mountains in the outdoors were also left in their default square formation, and Warrior's Grove was used. Not worth the time it takes to play, but better than some other really bad scenarios. Poor
  4. CORWIN This was my first scenario in BOE (other than the Vogel ones anyone remember bandit busywork?) and I'm sorry to say, it almost scared me off BOE. The plot makes little sense, there is no real explanation as to why your personal house (manor) is so extensive. Honestly if it's that well stocked, the PCs are probably major nobility. There is no explanation as to why exotic items are found in almost every locale, and the main plot of super tough goblins is in the end defeated by killing their king. No explanation given to why they got so tough or anything else. Lame. Poor
  5. MILU K I couldn't find any person who could buy my items (other than weapons) in the scenario. If there is one, I'd be glad to know about it... The town design is nice and I considered that one of the strengths of the scenario. However, there are some things that would require polishing and/or fixing. There is a lot of stuff with no or little explanation or purpose. For example, in the house of the party, there are many empty rooms with no items or other interesting things (e.g. special nodes) in them. It's not explained, what the background of the party is - for example, why they have got such a big house and a lot of employees. I would have been interested to see more story, more background, more personalities and other things like that in the scenario. Another thing is balance. In my opinion, the treasures are not distributed in a very balanced way. There's a bit too much of them. (A problem present in many scenarios and called "monty haul".) Maybe a balance-related thing is the distribution of shopkeepers. For example, there's a lack of buying shopkeepers. Thirdly, there are some minor spelling and other (?) errors in text, for example "alot" should be "a lot". I tend to pay attention to this because it affects the atmosphere and other things. I think that this scenario could be improved a lot and might get much better ratings (at least from me) by improving these things. Substandard
  6. DRAKEFYRE Completely agree with the above For the newer version of the scenario, it shows a lot that we couldn't see before. A lot of better stuff that was cut off from us. Substandard
  7. BRUCE MITCHELL Unpolished Unwinnable. The mayor doesn't recognise you have done the main mission. Unusual town design. Generally poor. Poor
  8. TERROR'S MARTYR I've submitted a review to Alcritas. 3 for most of the scenario, and an additional .5 points for the first sewer not filled to the brim with rats, fungi, roaches and other nasties. Substandard
  9. BRUCE MITCHELL Using version 1.0.7. Much harder to do things out of order than earlier versions. A diverting adventure. Substandard
  10. BOOTS Substandard A strange and paradoxical corner of the Empire is the Province of Denmark: quests are completed before you've begun them, yet left unfinished after you've brought them to their conclusion. Perhaps there is a new Stuff May Or May Not Be Done Flag in Blades? In any case, it is difficult to see past the many distracting flaws in the scenario's programming architecture and judge the underlying story. Characters and town design are gestural; combat has the variety and interest of ordering a la carte in Hoxha's Albania; the plot is a sturdy, if anonymous, treasure hunt: a decent preliminary exercise in scenario design, but not much point to play. Indeed, it seems so rushed and unfinished that assigning a ranking is a bit unfair. With more thorough development, it might have made for a reasonably diverting small scenario. (Refers to version 1.03.)
  11. TERROR'S MARTYR EDIT: You're right, SM. Spiderweb, in all of its punctually prompt glory, has delayed uploading v. 1.0.2. The newest version is a must, seeing how v. 1.0.1 allows the party to travel in the reverse order of time. With the bug fixes, however, this scenario moves up from "poor" to "mediocre". Nothing special, the plot is obviously one by someone who needs much more experience, but it's also a noticable improvement from Goblin Attacks. Maybe it's not worth playing, but at least the designer is moving steadily in the right direction. I'm hopeful SM will make at least one good scenario before he's through in the community. Substandard
  12. ARACHNID Substandard A mediocre scenario. A few interesting ideas, but it isn't excecuted very well.
  13. WILD KARRDE SMUGGLER Mildly interesting concept. Mildy bad execution. A bit disjointed. Substandard
  14. JEWELS An ok idea but not that well thought out. There were many bugs where the details were not paid attention to. It's been updated since, but I don't really have any desire to replay it and see if it's better for it or not. Not horrible, but not that good either. Substandard
  15. BRUCE MITCHELL General impression was that the scenario is somewhat crudely made. Special spell in ice palace worked mainly after caster was slain. Designer has potential if improves plot and use of scenario creator. More suitable for medium than suggested high party whilst a low level party could also complete it. Substandard
  16. THE GREAT MISTER I was one of the beta-testers, so I know what the scenario was like before being published to the audience. Then, it was somewhat bad. Now, it's decent. A bit rough around the edges, is what I say in most of my ratings, and this is not an exception. It's playable and would be quite enjoyable if it didn't have some things, and if it had some things. As an example for the first, the stalagmite forest TM already mentioned. And, as an example for the latter, good dialogue. A mediocre scenario. Playing through it won't make you dance happily, but it won't kill you either. Substandard
  17. BOOTS Substandard All true. The old standards, slightly rearranged. You won't lose track of time in conversation with the NPCs, nor will you strain the old brain box much, unless you're interested in trying to remember how many times in a Spiderweb product you've fallen through the first floor of a lair of badness and had to fight your way out of the basement. But (with the exception of a minor bug or two), it is put together well.
  18. TERROR'S MARTYR Exile 1/2 The plot? Some area of Exile is cold. The mechanisms for the game are Keys and other assorted special items being placed in the right time so you can beat up more monsters to get more keys to repeat the process. A few assorted oddities (why would the first set of "shocking runes" kill you, but not the rest?, also the "stalagmite forest" was an exercise in stupidity), and towards the end it's difficult to find the exploding crystal. It's an extension of Exile with roughed-up edges and a few inconsistencies, but if you take it as such, it's not one of the worst scenarios you'll ever play Average
  19. BRUCE MITCHELL Enjoyable Exile-themed adventure. Some surprises. Hope designer makes another! Befriended undead was not there when returned to get info, but this does not affect the plot. Average
  20. AKHRONATH Sickening. That’s all I have to say about Johnny Favourite. Well, no. That’s not all I have to say. It’s a scenario worthy of review. With a solitary point to make, the scenario makes it extremely well. All it manages to do, however, is to make that point. Where it might have been developed into something more, it simply skimmed by. Its solitary point is to be intensely violent while not plunging the party into any active combat. In this, it succeeds. Following a cohesive (if somewhat artificial) storyline, it tells a chilling story. The story’s unwinding and the climax are smooth and powerful, presented clearly and concisely. Despite its limited length, the scenario is also highly replayable. I found myself incapable of, after enduring half an hour of loathing, resisting from playing the scenario one more time to find a better ending. There are several possible endings for the scenario, some of them more satisfying than others. Endings so different within the scope of the short adventure are to be applauded. On the other hand, Johnny Favourite presents a total lack of interesting characters. What few personalities there are seem to be taken straight out of stock modules. Almost every NPC is totally one-dimensional. This might have been excused were the scenario not based entirely on plot, but in this case it is difficult to tolerate. In a sense, none of the people in the scenario were alive for more than an instant. Their snapshots were taken, each one taking on a single meaning. All possible sympathy for victims of a disaster is lost in grotesque, gratuitous violence. Terrain loses purpose in the scenario. The atmosphere of the swamp, which could have enhanced the emotions of the plotline, is never fleshed out. Much of the world is blank, but not desolate either: simply very empty. The custom graphics do not serve too much purpose, and seem to have been thrown into the mix for the sake of having something new to look at, not for any impact. Again, this scenario’s purpose is expertly accomplished. If the player is interested in sampling this purpose, or if the designer wishes to see how real violence can be, Johnny Favourite is a must-have. Otherwise, the entire scenario is meaningless, or worse. And that, really, is all I have to say. Score: Substandard
  21. GINY It's actually one of my favourite boe scenarios. It's not quite the plot that got me into it, but much more the "adventure-type" gameplay. It is so not your average "let's make a scenario about fighting demons and then let's try to stick it to an awful and badly written plot", it's more like looking for clues and then discovering the truth- and I kinda loved the movie references, cause I've had already seen it. Well, it was rather short, and that makes a bad point. I'll give it Good
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