This is a strange adventure in many ways. It's for char levels 5-8, and the goal is to rescue a young woodsman who has disappeared in a mysterious forest. The writing is good and the plot is well thought out.

The weird thing is the format. The module basically takes the form of a map of the forest with encounter areas labelled, and then a description of the monsters at each encounter area. And that's about it! Each monster is given a good write-up of how it affects the overall plot and fits into the forest, so it's not just a bunch of random enounters, but it still strikes me as an odd way to write an adventure.

Also, it requires a curious mix of combat skill and diplomacy. As I noted above, there are lots of enemies to fight....but the introduction actually advises the DM not to award experience if the players go out of their way to attack creatures not directly related to the plot! Rather, different possible XP awards for the module are suggested, depending on a variety of diplomatic outcomes based on the players' actions.

I really liked the idea behind this module and the clever construction, but unfortunately, I just don't see it working (though I've only read it, not playtested it yet, I hasten to add). It's too freeform to appeal to dungeon crawlers, but too restrictive for wandering gamers. Interesting concept though.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Original plot ideas and module concept, good standard of writing. Illustrations not bad.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Neither one thing (straightforward adventure) nor the other (description of forest locales).<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>