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Wreck of the Slug


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STAREYE

 

This was the first true epic (Riddle was just not "epic" enough for me) in Blades of Exile, an impressive feat for anyone or anytwo people as the case may be. As neat as this was, my memory of the playing experience was boredom. The scenario failed to hold my attention for too long. I cannot remember if I finished or not, but overall I was not overly impressed.

 

My Score: Substandard

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TERROR'S MARTYR

 

Ugh...

 

This scenario is a rather large piece of mediocracy. The plot is horrible, I never enjoyed it. The combat is boring. The dungeons are worse. I finally found some something-or-another at the end that finally seemed to mean something and didn't, and there were random creatures all over the place. Wheras I try to force myself to finish most "solid" efforts, this scenario was way too weak in way too many areas to be any substantial ammount of good to any substantial ammount of people. Substandard

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ORGGG

 

This is a scenario with only a minimalist overall plot involving wiping out a bunch of unrelated monster problems. The shorter plots are nothing original, but are executed competently. This also gives a nice illusion of non-linearity.

 

Much of the fun lies in the discovery of various hidden specials, and conquering/exploring each of the sets of dungeons, most of which consist of a series of deeping/expanding levels. The scope is worth noting, with it only becoming a little more tedious as the game progresses.

 

Nodes/programming are very low-tech, but are used very effectively to give a good sense of place with called monster encounters and just text messages. One annoying special is randomly-distributed effects tials, like diseasing or cursing the entire party that can get triggered many times during combat. Also, dungeons have low total creature limits, which reduces the tedium of wandering monsters but could cause problems.

 

The treasure is over-plentiful, but not as bad as many scenarios. My first level party hit the High rating bump about four-fifths of the way through, doubling all the monster hit points.

 

Still, a fun if messy romp. Works well despite its primitive constraints.

 

Average

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CALIGULA

 

The Wreck of the Slug by Tony Wilsdon and Sue Harris (the_blex_page AT hotmail DOT com / this is their new e-mail address that Tony gave me recently; I don’t know if it works correctly) The Wreck of the Slug was probably the second big epic BoE scenario to be released, right after Riddle of the Spheres (Part I of the Spheres trilogy). It was rather well-received and Tony Wilsdon was one of the 12 winners of Spiderweb’s Blades scenario contest. I must say I totally agree with this reward. This is a huge scenario. About the plot, let me only say that you are, at the beginning, in a small coast-town, and your province has a lot of various problems; now, guess who’ll have to fix them all? Yes, you’re right! And there’s other bad news: you’re going to spend dozens of hours until your total triumph

 

I had some problems at the scenario’s beginning, and you could too; I will explain it shortly: the main weakness I found is the plot is really really loose. You have many quests to resolve, and they aren’t related together; more, you won’t find you really have to do this quest before you’re near the end of the scenario. Though, being good people, you’ll understand which town is an evil dungeon and which one is a friendly city. This loose plot can be disturbing, as you won’t know what to do at the beginning, and which dungeon to explore.

 

On the other hand, once I got a boat and could travel through the entire province, I realized how big the scenario was, and how much fun I would have to explore it all. That’s why I find it very like Exile I and some areas of Valorim in Exile III: you haven’t a main goal during most of the play, and you explore dungeons, towns and areas one after another; some dungeons really have nothing to do with either the plot or any tiny piece of the scenario.

 

I wrote this was a weak point at the beginning, but this was really entertaining and great once I could travel through all the outdoors. Very different dungeons, all well-made, are spaced through the seas. And this is another feature!

 

I liked in the scenario: many islands, and a lot of navigation. Speaking of great and fun features, I must absolutely mention the fact that all the town and area names are historical references to antic cities or regions (Ardea, Borsippa, Imbros, Patna, ...). Now I’ve began with the nice parts of TWOTS, I should tell you of the extensive use of special outdoor encounters: I doubt more than 2 outdoors don’t include the 4 outdoor encounters you can put in. This add to the non-linear and loose side of the scenario, but I liked it. In a so hostile world, you won’t have only one enemy, located in one spot, one dungeon. Many mean creatures wander, varying from island to island. Considering this, TWOTS seems to me to be the exact opposite of Truffle Days. You haven’t a strong plot, and the scenario is huge in a vast world. I like them both, at the same high level, as each featured one side of the great Exile series’ concept. So, if you like travel, unknown, tough nasties, cool fights, some good hack and-slash balanced by some good puzzles, play The Wreck Of The Slug. If you want to know every second where you are, where you go, what you’re going to do and why, pass your way and pick another scenario. Many players find Exile I is rather weak compared to Exile II; if you think it is a good game, though, you should try this scenario.

 

TWOTS is rated high-level, so the monsters won’t double their HPs before you have a really tough party; but you can begin with a level-1 party. Be only sure to save often and be careful where you go at the beginning, as you won’t survive long if you go far from the starting town with so a weak party. TWOTS is rated G.

 

My score: If I want to be objective, I will rate it 8.5,due to the loose plot, and the fact Tony felt obliged to put there every Exile important piece (even Demonslayer, that won’t be very useful). If I want to follow my inclination, I will rate TWOTS 9.0, as I like it as much as Islands of the Wheel and Truffle Days. Most players should follow my first judgment, though.

 

GOOD

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MISTBORN

 

This scenario annoyed me. I had this great idea, worked on it for several weeks (still working on it, in fact), and now someone else has already done it, and way better!

 

That said, this scenario is just about my favorite type, big huge outdoors to explore, all manner of little encounters and side-quests, what more could you need? I must admit, I have a tendency to ignore the main storyline for several 'days' and just explore the world. Most scenarios that doesn't work too well with, but this one it worked fine. Great, in fact.

 

I hadn't had as much fun as with a scenario since I played Bandits 2 a few months ago. I do have some complaints, though. The main quest makes sense. The thing with opening trade by clearing a tower is fine. But WHY do I need to gather crystals for some goddess in order to win the game? I finished the other quests, but with this one I finally just gave up and character-edited myself out of the scenario. Also, I didn't like accidentally selling my house with all my stored items.

 

Very fun, overall. I'd give it Good

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