All the King's Men, Rightful Owner

All the King's Men is a murder mystery. Many times these types of modules are  written for lower level characters. This module is written for characters of  seventh to ninth level which opens up the material that can be included.

The premise is pretty straight forward. The acting troupe known as The King's  Men are accused of murdering the archbishop who is well known for his dislike of  actors. The setting is very much a fantasy London and the them of the module is  Shakespearean even to the point that the theater when the performances occur are  the Orb Theater.

The module is written so as to be very non linear even presenting the DM with  two different hooks that can be used to pull the characters into the story.  After these all of the other events (called episodes) can be run in whatever  order the players end up getting to them.

The module has enough combat to make it something that won't bore the players  who like to roll dice. The real charm of the module is the level of role playing  that will be required to make it work. The module is stocked with well written  NPCs that will test the ability of the DM to role play. The story itself is well  done with a plot rich in twists and turns that will make the detective portion  fun as well. The module is also ripe with puns that will be painful to those who  do not like a bad one.

I think the fact that the module is written for higher level characters and is  written in such a way that it is generic enough to let it drop into most any  campaign is a huger set of selling points for the module. By the time characters  reach the levels the module are for they will most likely be thinking about  settling down. What a great means on introduction for a possible kingdom for  them to become involved in.

Published: 2002
Pages: 48

From the back cover:

Alas,poor Yorrick!

Filled with bizarre characters, twisted plots, and a macabre sense of humor, All  the King's Men takes the PCs on a wild romp through the dark underbelly of  Hamdon, a fantasy version of renaissance London. When the archbishop turns up  dead at the production of the latest play, the acting troupe known as The King's  Men is accused of murder. It's up to the PCs to track down the killer and prove  the actors' innocence. But not everything is as it seems in the world of acts  and actors.



Spell:

Rightful Owner

Level: Fourth
Range: Touch
Duration: Special
Area of Effect: One Item
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 2 Rounds
Saving Throw: None

By means of this spell the magic user will cause any item to return to its  rightful owner. The spell will require that the item be accompanied to make this  possible though.

When the spell is cast the item that the spell is cast on will become invisible  and levitate. It will then begin to head in the direction of it's rightful  owner. The caster will need to follow the item once this begins. At no point in  time can the item be out of line of sight of the caster. Once the item is within  hte line of sight of its owner it will become visible again.

The item will continue to be invisible and levitate as long as it is in line of  sight and making some progress towards the owner. If there is ever a period of  time where caster falters in their attempt to return the item then it will  immediately return back to its point of origin and the spell is broken. For this  to occur then the caster will have had to have spent more than ten turns doing  something not related to or a result of trying to get the item to the owner.  Time spent resting overnight will not count as time not progressing.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last,  were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not  appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then  it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells  that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to  comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these  in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper  credit.

The Sword of Justice, d20, Comfort

The Sword of Justice published by Monkeygod Enterprises in 2002  is a D20 adventure designed for 1st and 2nd level characters. The  premise of the module is one that has not been used in the form  presented bt the underlying theme has been used before. The  module works better beig designed for lower level characters than  it would if it were being used for higher levels.

The premise is fairly straightforward. The party is accused of a  murder which they did not commit. They are given two days to  prove their innocence. In most cases a "Speak with Dead" spell or  any other spell along that line would solve the problem. The  problem is that in Om Amarna spell casting in prohibited in  public and a curse causes many spells to backfire does not allow  for this.

The adventure does not have an part that the players have to go  through in order. The module consists of a series of encounters  and location that the players could run into while trying to  prove their innocence. The city itself is fleshed out enough for  the adventure and could be used in the future though I don't  think I would use it as a base of operations. The module includes  a means of tracking travel time within the city so as to keep the  two days idea part of the adventure.

The module introduces a new race the Arocha along with what seems  to be the required d20 prestige class. The writing is done well  enough though I am never one to really judge on that. I want the  idea and some stat blocks and the rest I often find myself  winging. There are some serious plot holes and the GM will need  to work through or around these.

Overall it can work as provided as a one shot but even then would  need some tweaking. I am not sure it would fit well into an  existing campaign unless it was reworked by the GM some or he had  a section of the world this could just be thrown into without  disrupting the rest. When released the price was $13.95 so it was  on the higher end and that would have hurt it. The module can be  picked up fairly cheap so that helps it now. I think it can be  mined for ideas and even used as it so I would say pick it up on  a dare and give it shot.

From the back of the module:

Two Days to Live!

Welcome to Om Amarna, and the annual Horse Festival. It is a time  of celebration, drinking, haggling, and thanksgiving.

Celebrate while you can, because soon the peace will be  shattered. And in its wake will come danger, suspicion, and  tragedy.

In this first adventure in the cursed land of Tieros, beginning  characters will be forced to work together in a race against time  to find critical answers in a crowded, diverse, and paranoid  city. Answers that will satisfy the Dark Guard and the Cult of  Justice. Answers that will save their own necks from the gallows.

The Sword of Justice introduces Tieros, a land cursed by the acts  of an ancient hero, bound by common fate, and diverse in culture  and belief.

In this adventure characters will become familiar with an exotic  new PC race, the dangers of practicing magic in Tieros, the  fanatical Cult of Justice who worships Law itself, and the  ubiquitous Dark Guard, the military power that protects and  enforces peace.

Will you survive your first adventure in Tieros, or will it claim  your life?



Spell:

Comfort

Level: Zero (Cantrip)
Range: None
Duration: One Day
Area of Effect: Caster
Components: V,S
Casting Time: One Round
Saving Throw: None

This spell will allow the magic user to be comfortable in any  normal level environment that they might find themselves in. The  spell is limited in the range of extremes and the nature of the  environment that it will protect the cast from though.

The caster will find that they will be comfortable in what would  be standard ranges of temperatures they might encounter. They can  operate and be comfortable in a range of 0 to 120 degrees. The  spell does not provide any special benefits other than being comfortable though. The caster will not be protected from any other hazards in  the environment other than the temperature. Toxins or poisons in  the atmosphere will still affect them as will spells of a magical  nature involving temperatures.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the  write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the  80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other  than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be  slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of  spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :)  Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on  me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please  let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.