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| An impressive first release. |
Elder Oak is an adventure module released by Tuomas Vauhkonen. It's an impressive first release and you can get an A5 zine version from Exalted Funeral or the PDF off Itch.io. The module is 26-pages long and full colour throughout (although it's a pallet of browns and grey/greens). The layout is clear and well constructed. It uses bold to draw out key points, there's no read-aloud text and it is typo-free. The artwork and layout are all by the author and are excellent. There are a few public domain images.
TL;DR: Elder Oak is a fun investigative scenario dealing with the past sins of a community, where a wrong step could result in the village starting to tear itself apart even without the threat of the mysterious attackers. The characters are likely to be left with some dilemmas, and perhaps fending off offers of marriage and support if they want to stay.
The set-up for the scenario, which is aimed at low-level characters is that they arrive at a remote village that is in trouble, having been raided several times by small strange folk. The characters will be asked to help, and thus they are drawn into the events set entrain by the local Preacher when he arrived some forty years previously with his firebrand faith and anger. Everyone in the village has a secret they are ashamed of, secrets that could tear their lives and the village apart.
The players will have to have their characters interact with the inhabitants, explore and discover what is really going on. Smart play will be needed for some elements, and there are dangerous threats that could easily kill characters if they aren't smart.
spoiler break
The heart of the problems the village have come from the Preacher inciting the villagers to brutally murder three local witches (local wise women rather than evil hags). After a failed attempt to burn them at the stake, they were hung from the large oak tree in the centre of the town. Unbeknownst to the Preacher, the Elder Oak was there for a reason, and the spirits of the witches survived as a result. They want vengeance against the Preacher.
The Oak was placed there by the fae to guard and cleanse the land from an evil temple that had been overthrown, a temple that is now inhabited by goblins. The book is careful not to use the word goblin in the descriptions that the characters may stumble upon, and they should be intelligent and dangerous opponents. Finding the temple will be a challenge in itself.
end spoilers
Overall, this is a fun investigative scenario where a wrong step could result in the village starting to tear itself apart even without the threat of the mysterious attackers. The characters are likely to be left with some dilemmas, and perhaps fending off offers of marriage and support if they want to stay.
Recommended
3 January 2022
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