| An Apology | |
| by Ian Klinkhamer (alcritas@att.net) | |
| Drakefyre’s Review | |
An Apology is, by far, one of Alcritas’s better scenarios. It demonstrates an excellent mastery of special nodes, an intriguing plot, and offers challenging combat for experienced players. As we first glance at this astonishing work, we must take into consideration Alcritas’s other scenarios, most of which were excellent. An Apology is a fitting continuation of the series, although it goes about it in an unconventional manner.
First off, there is no outdoors whatsoever, unless you uncover the bug in the Syracuse. All traveling between towns is taken care of by forced stairways. This may have reduced the time necessary for completion, but it has not affected the novelty of the scenario in any way.
In addition to this, the plot is extremely linear, as you are forced by the stairways to do whatever Xenophon bids of you. However, I feel that this does not detract from the scenario at all, but adds a sense of importance and urgency, which is further developed by the dialogue of Xenophon, Alcritas, Kaleb, Kriken, and more. Alcritas has set new standards in this scenario with several scenes, which I will go into in detail.
One of the first innovative sequences is Dreams of Forever, a black and white dream town. Eventually Sage can be found here, but the slow deterioration of the walls, ground, and people is wonderfully executed. Another such scene is the Road to Corinth, a town in which the party is set upon by a group of raiding sliths, which change as the storyteller remembers different accounts of the battle. Imagine my consternation when, without notice, the lone Slith Warrior turns into a band of Troglodytes!
This brings up another point about the scenario, the challenging combat. In the normal, difficult version, my two-PC party barely survived each encounter, and kept me on the edge of my seat. My six-PC party was better equipped for the situations, but they still lost two PCs during the course of the scenario. Though not nearly as hard as some scenarios I’ve played, this was the most challenging for the low-level party, and my score reflects that.
The multi-faceted story is improved upon by Socrates (er ... Alcritas). who gives you chores to do before he’ll help you and your mentor, Xenophon. Feeding the Morgles and watering the glowing plants are among the innovative chores and really show node mastery beyond what Jeff Vogel intended.
The last dungeon, the Syracuse, is remarkable. A large ship, the Syracuse comes complete with explosives, a chase scene, and a tough combat at the end. One of my few quibbles is that the Syracuse can be left, leading the party into an empty outdoors, with no possibility for re-entry.
Overall, I have few gripes with this marvelous scenario. However, I have one last quibble. When I played the scenario with a level five singleton, the monster levels doubled, making the game nearly impossible, and it was sheer luck that I managed to win.
My score: 9.6
— Drakefyre