| The Wreck of the Slug | |
| by Tony Wilsdon & Sue Harris | |
| Caligula’s Review | |
The Wreck of the Slug by Tony Wilsdon and Sue Harris (the_blex_page@hotmail.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 Speaking of great and fun features, I must absolutely mention the fact that all the town and area names are historical references to antic cities or regions (Ardea, Borsippa, Imbros, Patna, ...).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.
— Caligula