Review of Key of the Fey by Emerald Press
“I only hurt people ’cause they keep gettin’ in the way of me…” ~ Early (Objects in Space, Firefly)
One of my favorite bad guys from the short-lived sci-fi series, Firefly, was the mercenary bounty hunter, Jubal Early. Even if you’re not a fan of the series, the episode entitled Objects in Space is really worth watching. It features a fascinating character study of a completely ruthless and psychotic villain, who strangely fancies himself as a philosophical, and even reasonable, entrepreneur.
In most D&D campaigns, an NPC like Early might be likely to oppose the Characters, or even dog their steps as they go off on some vital quest. He might try to thwart the Heroes at every turn, possibly seeking to obtain the same goal, but for much more nefarious and profitable reasons.
But now Emerald Press offers Players and Dungeon Masters the chance at a bit of role-reversal. In their new release, Key of the Fey, it is the Players who portray cutthroats-for-hire, out to make a name for themselves in the mercenary trade.
Key of the Fey
- Author: Todd Crapper
- Illustrators: Empty Room Studios (cover); Kieron O’Gorman, Dan Houser, Pawet Dobosz (interior)
- Publisher: Emerald Press
- Year: 2010
- Media: PDF (96 pages)
- Cost: $5.00
Key of the Fey is a D&D 4E adventure module for 4-6 Characters of 1st to 3rd Level, and is designed for Players to experience the darker side of fantasy role-playing as mercenaries and swords-for-hire. The adventure can be used in almost any D&D 4E campaign setting, and is written generically to make fitting it into a campaign world fairly elementary. This module contains more than 20 combat and skill challenge encounters, over a dozen new monsters, and five new magic items over the course of the adventure. Each of the encounters is plotted out on full color maps, with tactics and terrain effects included to create challenging fights.
The production quality of Key of the Fey is excellent, which is not surprising as the Author and designer of this adventure is the editor of the Combat Advantage webzine. The writing in this adventure solid and engaging, and the encounters, skill challenges, monster stat blocks, and magic items are all presented in “standard” formats, readily usable by D&D 4E Dungeon Masters. The plethora of maps in this adventure are nicely designed using the Dundjinni Mapping Software, and most of these look like they can be recreated using various “official” tilesets. There is considerably less interior art than I would expect in a book of this size, but the style is fresh and reminiscent of comic book art, and it definitely enhances the reading experience.
The PDF comes with a table of contents for easy navigation, and the encounters are not separated into an appendix, but are mixed in with the adventure text on their own separate pages. In my opinion, this makes the Key of the Fey, despite its size, flow quite nicely for the reader.
Another nice feature is the detailed introduction, which encapsulates many of the variant rules which were developed by Emerald Press for creating and supporting Mercenary Characters. These rules originally appeared in Combat Advantage #14, and the webzine is free to download if DMs want additional mercenary content to add to their campaigns. The Author also includes six Background cards which can be handed out to the Players to help them get into the mood, and provide them with their “motivation” for being involved in the shady dealings of the mercenary life. While veteran Players will almost certainly come up with their own backgrounds, these cards can provide beginning Players with some well-needed assistance defining their roles. Also, for DMs, the cards offer reasons for bringing the party together in one place, and “hooks” like that are always handy regardless of your DM experience.
The adventure is divided up into four Chapters, and the Author’s introduction leaves no doubt that the action will be as gritty and real as it gets:
All things must have a beginning and all mercs need that first job. Your name means nothin’ without it and you can talk all you want, but it’s a body count you need to make your mark. Fresh blood has to start somewhere and you can’t be picky about the work, but if you’re lucky, you get to have a sweet one for your first time out.
You’ll find your way to Bloomten, an old village that’s been taken over by a tribe of orcs. Fair ‘nuff that it’s been run to the ground and nowhere near what it used to be, but there’s a bloke named Stump who’s set up shop there and he’s looking for some hoods to wink a portal key. Get out in the open and introduce yourself to the crowd, because you’re going to meet some interesting faces and there’s nothing like a brawl or two to get the blood pumpin’.
Editor’s Note: SPOILERS!!! Reading beyond this point will reveal some important facts about the adventure. If you are a Player, please skip down to the conclusion and grade card. You have been warned…
The story begins by getting Characters started in mercenary life, following a lead to take a job from an orc merchant – yes, that’s how seedy the Characters are – in a dive called “The Hungry Orc”. This orc bar is in the middle of a village that was overrun by an orc tribe, and populated by violent thugs, orc whores, and other exciting riff-raff, and the Characters are expected to blend right in. Obviously, good-aligned Heroes need not apply! This adventure expects that the Players role-play some fairly tough customers, and the Author goes to great pains to make sure that the mood is set for a dark and brutal adventure experience – including having to prove themselves to their orc patron by committing a cold blooded murder right in the bar!
However, not all of the encounters are so blood-thirsty. In fact, many encounters can be handled by multiple means – stealth, deception and guile, or outright combat – and the Author makes sure to describe all three possible methods, and how adventurers might use them to complete the encounter. I really liked that the Author took the time to develop several encounters this way, offering methods and Skill DCs for solving the problem without sticking something pointy into someone else. Although, senseless brutality is always an acceptable option, and would certainly not be unexpected from Mercenary Characters.
One other noteworthy feature was the inclusion of very detailed rules governing a gambling game called Halfling coins, which is supposed to be quite popular among nastier folks, as winning almost inevitably requires cheating the other players! The Author offers detailed information on handling the games, cheating in the game, and it certainly provides an interesting role-play opportunity, that can be used over again in future adventures.
The general synopsis of the adventure runs like this:
- Chapter 1 – Characters get job to steal a key to a portal to the Feyrealm.
- Chapter 2 – Characters steal key from good-aligned Eladrin religious zealots. Although here there is the possibility of a plot twist, as they might not get the key, because the key is not what they think it is.
- Chapter 3 – Eladrin, understandably upset, storm the orc town and take the key back, fleeing to the Feyrealm.
- Chapter 4 – Characters pursue the Eladrin to their temple in the Feyrealm, and have a chance to screw over their employer and side with the Eladrin, or the Eladrin and get paid by the orc, or screw over all sides for maximum profit.
The Author provides ample misdirection and chances for adding a double-cross, which goes a long way to give Key of the Fey the right grim and gritty “feel”.
I was particularly taken with the battle presented in Chapter 3, which is a massive combat which rages over an entire village! The Author even provides a timeline for the siege and overrun of the town, so that the choreography of the combat is both dramatic and bloody. There are several possible encounters that can be used on the PCs during the Eladrin siege, with some great details, such as using filled chamber pots in the orc bar as improvised weapons – repulsive and brutal at the same time!
The combat encounters in Key of the Fey are well written, and have plenty of details on tactics, hazards, and lighting, and should prove a lot of fun to play. There are plenty of new monsters to utilize against the Characters, and some interesting power combinations – including a surprising one, the were-bullette! However, I was rather disappointed that many of these new fey creatures – centries, barlaks, faceless – while nicely designed, have little or no description as to what they actually look like. I would have thought that introducing so many new beasties would necessitate a “mini-monster-manual” in the appendix, but sadly, there was no information there.
Overall Grade: A
Frankly, Key of the Fey is a must-have ebook adventure for any 4E gaming group out there. The content is well written, with an engaging storyline, and a gargantuan number of encounters, monsters, maps, and magic items to be had. Given the amount of material you get in Key to the Fey, the price is almost a steal at only $5.00, and it is well worth a place on any Dungeon Masters vitual bookshelf.
So until next blog… I wish you Happy Gaming!
Editor’s Note: This Blog’s Author received a complimentary copy of the product in PDF format from which the review was written.
On a personal note, I would like to congratulate Emerald Press for an excellent first release into the GSL marketplace, and I wish them all the best with this adventure!
Grade Card
- Presentation: A-
- - Design: A
- - Illustrations: B+
- Content: A
- - Crunch: A-
- - Fluff: A+
- Value: A+
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