[RPG]: U2: Danger At Dunwater, reviewed by Lev Lafayette (4/2)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12786.phtml

Lev Lafayette's Summary:

Stylistically good, this is an impoverished execution of a good idea. The theme does not much the substance. Surprisingly quite poor given the excellent work of the authors in the preceeding publication.


Go to the full review for more information.

[Walter S Ciechanowski]

My recollection is hazy, but I ran this as part of the Saltmarsh trilogy back in the day (I actually bought this first, borrowed someone else's copy of U1, and had to wait for U3 to come out before running it).

The first thing I remember is that they had the wrong monster painted on the cover (IIRC, interior illustrations were correct, but the cover depicted a locathah).

The next thing I remember was the tedious boredom of the players slogging through room after room of the same monster (lizard men) and, since the individual stats were in the back, I kept flipping back and forth through the book (in hindsight a copy machine would have been handy, but those were harder to come by pre-driver's licence in the early 80s).

Finally, I remember the meeting with the lizard chief (I don't remember if he was a lizard king) with the conversation going along the lines of "oh, this was all a misunderstanding...your true enemies are the [spoiler protected]." Then the PCs were free to leave, never mind that they had just massacred 75% of the tribe.

Walt C

P.S. I thought U1 was excellent at the time. I can't recall U3.

[Dan Davenport]

IIRC, the creature on the cover is a sahuagin (sp?).

[Walter S Ciechanowski]

Originally Posted by Dan Davenport

IIRC, the creature on the cover is a sahuagin (sp?).

There was a sahuagin on the cover of U3. This one was definitely a locathah, if you go by the illustrations in the AD&D 1E Monster Manual.

I don't have a problem with artistic license on what a lizard man is supposed to look like, but it is a bit jarring given that the interior illustrations of lizard men don't match. I also don't believe that there was a locathah anywhere in the module.

Walt C

[thurgon]

Originally Posted by Walter S Ciechanowski

There was a sahuagin on the cover of U3. This one was definitely a locathah, if you go by the illustrations in the AD&D 1E Monster Manual.

I don't have a problem with artistic license on what a lizard man is supposed to look like, but it is a bit jarring given that the interior illustrations of lizard men don't match. I also don't believe that there was a locathah anywhere in the module.

It's a long time since I've looked at my copy of U2, but isn't there a Locathah diplomat in there somewhere? And even some bodyguards in a vistor's area?

[Lev Lafayette]

Yes, it is a locathah on the cover and they do have an embassy of sorts in area 51.

[Walter S Ciechanowski]

Originally Posted by Lev Lafayette

Yes, it is a locathah on the cover and they do have an embassy of sorts in area 51.

Then I stand corrected It's been quite a while.

Walt C