Charles Crutchfield

Companion volume to the campaign module 'Havens of Gondor', Assassins offers three connected adventures associated with the port of Dol Amroth. Best suited to form a thread within a broader arc, the adventures deal with a criminal organisation known as The Shades.

In the first adventure, the characters must chase a lone assassin after he murders a well known hunter, famed for his efforts chasing down rogue Corsair forces in his youth. The assassin takes refuge in a warehouse beneath which lies a disused brigands lair - so, the characters have a skilled killer and a trap-laced hideout to deal with.

In the second adventure, the assassins seek revenge on the characters for the events of first adventure, or else simply pick on them as likely targets while they travel. Escaping pursuits by overwhelming numbers, the characters come across a seemingly mothballed manor house, actually the home to a mad hermit-type traveller returned to find his family in their ancestral home. Between vengeful assassins and a loopy hermit, the characters have a problem on their hands.

Finally, the third adventure leads the characters to a mist-shrouded hilltop, and the ruins of another noble manor. The Shades have a hideout in this forsaken place, and a Dark Power gathers strength in that hollow. The leader of The Shades has not told the other assassin of his true purpose and the cultish basis upon which he has formed the group; indeed, even the leader does not understand the true significance of his actions. The player characters can seek to put an end to the threat of The Shades and also uncover the lurking threat on the hill.

Over the course of 32 pages, you have three adventures, including 5 pages of maps and about 3 pages of 1/4 page-sized black-white illustrations. Given the lack of the background on the south-eastern Gondor area (covered in the campaign book) and the collectible value of this adventure module - which means a purchase might set you back between double to ten times the original $6 cover price - I can't recommend it to any but collectors and completists, though the adventures themselves are quite interesting.… (más)