The kingdom of Halruaa of The Forgotten Realms is a place of magic and mystery. It is also a kingdom that has kept its mysteries from becoming widespread knowledge across Toril. Upon visiting the city of Halarahh the party of adventurers witness a mugging and are asked to recover the stolen family heirloom.The Discarded Gemis the first of a series of adventures, The Brotherhood of Torment, written by Aaron M Lopez. This part of the adventure is designed for characters up to 4th level. And to be completed in one gaming session of three to four hours.
I was given a copy of The Discarded Gem by the author for review purposes.
General Statements For Players and Game Masters (GMs)
The Discarded Gemis eleven pages of text describing the adventure and five pages of maps, player handouts, and additional GM material. The size of the adventure makes for an easy read through. Since it is also in a city setting with the encounter locations well described and mapped, this is a good adventure for a newer GM. This doesn’t mean an experienced GM will be bored with the adventure.
There are plenty of opportunities for roleplaying on both sides of the GM’s screen. Players have several points of interaction where non-fighting skills are needed. There is also fighting for those who want to test their mettle.
The Adventure (Spoilers, Information for GMs)
The Discarded Gemis the introduction into what looks to be a larger mystery. The characters are asked to help recover a stolen item. And, for this adventure, that is where it basically ends. There is a scene placing the party into the midst of greater events, but those events are only hinted at.
With The Discarded Gembeing set in the city of Halarahh, the encounters are with bandits. There is no need for the GM to learn the abilities or tactics of any monstrous creatures or races (unless you want to add them in for your own flavoring).
The encounter areas are well described and maps are provided in the locations where combat is planned for with the bandits. Other combat locations may be introduced based on what the player characters choose to do, and how they react. But, for the needs of this adventure, enough information is provided with references to the core rule books.
Our largest portion of The Discarded Gem was the role-playing aspect. Of the five scenes two are combat locations. For players who are more combat oriented, consider adding the element of the sense of danger and being on the verge of combat. This can be played up where they see the need to talk their way out of the situation where they are overpowered (like in the tavern). They are newer characters and in a kingdom like Halruaa, where magic is common, there are some “commoners” who may have resources not available to their counterparts in other parts of Toril.
Overall (For Everyone)
The Discarded Gemis a hook for a greater adventure. You can use the setup for the continuation of The Brotherhood of Torment from Aaron M Lopez, or you can use the information to create a hook for a campaign of your own design.
It has everything needed to set up and run the adventure with a short amount of preparation on the part of the GM. Seriously, an experienced GM could read The Discarded Gem the night before the gaming session and be able to run it. I never recommend doing this, but it could be done.
There is a good mix of roleplaying and combat available to give action to all the players around the table. Combat can also be easily adjusted to meet the needs of your individual party.
The game time fits into one evening of play. It is designed for 3–4 hours of gaming. For us, that included the plenty of time to complete everything and have time for socializing.
About The Author
Aaron M Lopez lives in Sumter, SC with his wife and two extremely needy cats and a full-time job that takes up most of his time. He started playing roleplaying games in 1978 and has been a fan ever since. Through the years Aaron has dabbled in fantasy writing, poetry and music while his love has always been for RPGs of all types. In September of 2017, Aaron completed his first published adventure for Fearlight Games’ Baker Street RPG titled “Cyanide and Faded Petticoats.” Since then, he has contributed to the collaborations “A Vampire and Cleric Walk into a Tavern” By Alan Tucker, and also to a collaboration by Travis Legge titled “Xyrouth” for D&D 5e. Aaron has recently started a series of adventures for Dungeons and Dragons 5e called “The Brotherhood of Torment.” Part 1 was released in February, 2018 with part 2 coming soon. Aaron is also working on a card game and has his own Roleplaying Game in the works as well.
If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.
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