So it begins…

Gradually the reviews have started to trinkle in. Initial feedback was overwhelmingly positive, which fills my blackened heart with joy, and criticism was helpful and useful. But how does Palace stand up when scrutinized by those more sage, more versed in the ways of D&D then even myself?

EOTB, steely-eyed veteran of ages of gaming and many a forum war dissects my adventure with expert, high-level awareness and a critics eye, offering many helpful tips on running it. The rating of ‘Danger Zone’ is more then adequately substantiated.

“The Palace of Unquiet Repose (POUR) is a top-tier adventure, meeting or exceeding all the promises made on its kickstarter – including projected schedule, something that separates those who can from those who wish. I’m not sure what the retail price is giong to be, as of this writing the module isn’t for sale on DTRPG. I’ve paid $20+ for modules that I feel have less value than this module – I plan on shamelessly stealing some aspects of its presentation/formatting that work in ways I’ve struggled with too much/too little. If you like intriguing NPCs, well-thought encounters, cool magic, monsters that will leave an impression, and ambitious scope – this module is for you. If your players can handle danger, risk, and likely some loss, there is a play experience here I’m confident they will remember long after the last session wraps.”

Read the whole thing here.

And Melan too, reviews it brilliantly but commits the mortal insult of withholding the monocled Bird of Prestigious Excellence, reserved for giants like Anomalous Subsurface environment, giving it a mere 5 stars out of 5 [*]. Melan’s judgement remains the soundest in the OSR (as a poet and a mathematician once said), thus his endorsement, however brutally harsh, comes highly regarded. His sole complaint does appear to be that POUR wins too much, rocks too hard and is too grimdark for mortal men.

The genre is high-magic sword & sorcery turned up to 11. It is not for everyone. It is macabre, loud, album cover art S&S, set to metal riffs. (Or so I think, since this is a musical genre that goes right over my head, and feels pretty much like random environmental noise to my ears.) It is a lot more baroque and grandiose than even most S&S fare, a bit in the manner of Diablo and a bit in the manner of the Final Fantasy series, and I have to confess that it feels rather over the top. Grimdark easily becomes its own parody, and The Palace of Unquiet Repose is on the borderline, because it has no “normal” to fall back on, no section that is just a modest “/11”, and no counterpoints to its sensory assault. Here is a grand grimdark dungeon-palace “dotted with all manner of hideous gargoyles”, and haunted by tattooed, cannibalistic, insane, deformed, gem-studded things. That eat souls. The writhing souls of the eternally damned. Here are the grimmest motherfuckers of a rival NPC party, one “a beautiful golden, hairless child, one of its eyes (…) an orb of absolute blackness”, another one “a monstrous silhouette etched in absolute blackness”, and he is called “An Unbearable Thing, Drawn From The End of Time, Given Hatred and Substance (Wolf of Final Night)”. The leader of the other guys wears “the gilded skulls of lords and generals (500 gp total)” on his plate mail. The leader of the third faction has “a single wild green eye staring out of a skull-like face”. Sometimes, you can’t catch a break. After a while, “Fred the Fighter” starts to look like an appealing concept.

The only truly justifiable score for Palace appears to be 11/10. Let the reviewers come forth. Try your hand at my Palace, I challenge you.

(and if you weren’t part of the kickstarter, wait a few days until it comes out on Drivethru).

[*] Future POUR print editions to sub-saharan Africa to include a detailed treatise on circumventing Hungarian Border security along with a treasure map to Melan’s House with the marking ‘Mazungu gold here’ in retribution.

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