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well crafted monster fight. There is a lot of good stuff, put together with the right ammount of thought. Masterwork use of clacks. Randomnes is not my cup of tea, but in this adventure play a relevant role, as assures replayablity. In the end it looks like a fun size Castle Ravenloft. Very good indeed.
Thanks for the feedback, the page limit is intense but I tried to pack as much as possible within.
The overall concept of this is a lot of fun and I really like that you can consume the beads (if you must). All the enemies are really good, especially the Bell-Sworn.
My only critique is very much personal preference - but I'd like to see less random generation and more specific choices made about where beads, enemies, traps et c. are - so that they make sense in their locations. This goes more for the traps than the enemies, it's harder to see why e.g. a bureau would be in a staircase, whereas it makes sense that the enemies are moving about.
lots of good points for an extended edition. I still think tables are better if you have intense page constraints (like this jam), but if I can carefully craft, the result is much more defined.
Densely packed with fun & useful stuff- I particularly enjoyed the various tables. Great mechanic to build the adventure around, and making it system-neutral is a big bonus, because this seems like a fun mini-boss to add to any hexcrawl!
It probably could’ve used a bit more editing, but nothing major, and the lack of art is totally understandable given the constraints. Good job!
Thanks, I mostly write and often struggle between art and legibility.
Really packed and cool adventure that can provide a lot of play for the size!
What I thought worked well
What I think could be improved
Overall I really like it and it's definitely packed with gems!
Thanks for the keen words, my jam-friend!
As for the design critique, you’re kicking an already wide-open door: if nothing else, this jam has been fantastic for opening my eyes to my own limitations. I will probably need to ditch latex for a more professional tool in the future. Ideally, most of this issues could be solved with a bit more pages, like having space for a full, properly scaled tower map (but I have to apologize in advance: I refuse to render a map upside-down. That goes against every core TTRPG belief I hold dear 😆).
Regarding the quill: I added that specifically as a small, clever tool for parties who want to go full stealth mode, since it transcribes nearby whispers on command.
Thanks again for taking the time to read and review it!
yeah i love the quill as an item
the gilded chalice (flagon? cup? don't remember) was also great
I mean having to much stuff and needing more space is a good problem to have
and you're right, not an easy problem to solve with the tower, not really an issue
Looking forward to the expanded version or you're next work!
Thanks, I honestly don't know what to do. For sure i'll wait the end of the jam, then I'll gather some feedbacks from people who tried it as written, then I may work on an expanded edition. Right now I feel pretty exhausted by this work!. Hope you'll work on your wormy enter.
Really packed and cool adventure that can provide a lot of play for the size!
What I thought worked well
What I think could be improved
Overall I really like it and it's definitely packed with gems!
This is a really potent one! Leans into the Sword and Sorcery elements of Appendix N, with a cruel evil spellcaster, who has subjugated the populace. I love the central mechanic of this, it is really clever and a great way to create a challenge for the players. Layout is clean and well presented, I like how the mechanics of the procedural stuff flow together nicely.
The thirteen protections are really cool, though It is a shame that some might never be seen or experienced by the players. The System agnostic aspects are pretty solid, with some vagueness that might make things tricky, but others have explained that better than I.
My only real questions come from the scope, it feels simultaneously too large in scale and too small: Voss Kerrigal is supremely powerful, it seems strange that he only rules in this one valley, so either his power is limited by location, or he is kept in check somehow, if not he is powerful enough to likely be a large-scale threat, which means that a GM might have to do a bit of work to foreshadow or hint at his presence, before this module is ran. a bit of legwork would be required to gel this in smoothly into a game, but it presents some cool opportunities!
Those questions are more things that stood out to me, and are separate to the quality of the module itself, Great stuff all-in-all!
Ah, those are some good questions... perfect for the Extended Edition (TM).
To touch on the procedural elimination of certain powers: that's a deliberate design choice born from my 'Forever GM' experience. It happens to run the same adventure for different groups or with some players who've seen it before, but since I love being surprised as much as they do, swapping out the powers lets me keep everyone (including myself) on their toes with a fresh twist every time.
As for the scope... ooof, there’s so much things I wanted to write, but the page constraints hit hard (fitting 13 different things into a jam entry felt like a legendary feat itself). There are reasons why he’s confined in a valley, his half-lich, half-undead, half-something else nature is a small clue. Once I get the space to drop in a full area layout for the Extended Edition, I’ll definitely expand on it!
And, of course, thanks for the feedback.
I absolutely love the introduction. I was captivated by the premise and when I was guided to table D I thought “That’s one mean stat block this guy has.” The hook and the rumors are very good and even my players will go for it (they are little contrarians at times ;)
The bead mechanics with all their tables look fun and random.
I just think the tower needs to be much bigger. I’d prefer a lot more rooms, perhaps even a castle structure around it for utility buildings/rooms, and - for my taste - would even de-randomize the bead locations for about half of them to trace the flight of the rebel through the structure.
The submission is a brilliant 4 page setting plus mechanic plus story, that hopes to see another 8 pages in the future :)
The page limit hit hard, but I can expand the scope in the extended version. I also prefer giving players more freedom when it comes to exploration and locations.
Solid work filled with useful tables and aptly capturing the jam's theme. Liked a lot the procedural structure. A suggestion: remove the hp indication since it's a systemless scenario (10 hp is high or low? just tell the DM if it's a tough enemy or not).
Good point! It's worth revising for the extended version, as the box isn't very clear.
I really like the general concept and how it's supported by the various bespoke mechanics. A cool bit of design. I do wonder why these all-important beads are just laying about, but a little suspension of disbelief never goes amiss.
Yeah, the explanation is a bit hidden and condensed... the extended version is that they have a magical fail-safe that lets them merge with a nearby object for protection. That's why you can find them embedded inside treasure or traps.
A nice treasure hunt while being hunted down by an horrible monster of a sorcerer. I like the concept and the execution, although the premise feels a little too weak (why, if the Resistance was able to shatter the Charm at the peak of its power it’s up to a bunch of randos to destroy the rest of the beads? Why should they accept?) but it’s something easily fixable (maybe they’re all part of the Resistance and this was their role from the start?). The real critique is on the system agnosticism: some parts are too generic (“your system’s most powerful magic”) while others are too specifc (the attack dice for the servants), making conversion complex.
Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to write a detailed feedback.
On the motivation, I like leaving it fairly open. Space was extra tight, so I tried to imply that the characters could have any reason to enter the tower, as treasure hunters, desperate adventurers, or simply thieves hoping to loot the place. That said, if that didn't come across clearly, that's on me, and it's something I can work on.
I agree about the different system mechanics, I went back and forth in the text so many times in the last month that I may ended up in an awkward middle ground, sometimes too specific and too vague in others. Thanks for calling that out, thjat's the kind of feedback that helps me improve, i think i may have some ideas on how to fix it in the expanded version.
I have never met an unbeatable boss…with such a smart way to dealing with. That’s really a clever way to work around a complex title.
Thanks! I have to admit, my first reaction when I saw my title was to ragequit and not participate. But I guess that taking whatever constraints you're given and trying to turn them into something playable is part of the fun.
Great work, very tightly designed package.
My one critique is that I'd like to see more avenues for player agency. Things like the possibility of mastering the space with shortcuts, the chance to pick which charms are broken (at least some of the time), the ability to accrue other advantages or pick a beneficial battlefield.
Still and all, I found this kind of thing challenging too in the space constraints. I love the mutually-reinforcing procedures. A+
Thanks for the feedback, those are great points for the extended version I may work on after the jam.
Love this approach to procedural generation; this is a really tight and well-considered design.
Thanks! It was quite a challenge to fit everything within the jam's theme and constraints while still making it fun and playable. I'm really glad it resonated with you.
Amazing! This adventure is not only solid, it has all the tables you need. Not only that, the procedural exploration is genius, and I love the patrol clock. But, my favorite highlight is the boss's special gimmick. That 13 protections seems so much fun. Splendid job, truly!
Thank you, truly, your words really made my day. As a tiny indie designer, it's common to spend a lot of time creating things in that goes unseen or ignored. Knowing that something I made reached you means more than I can put into words. Thank you for taking the time to say it in such a splendid way.