|
Battle on the Bay Bridge is a mini-adventure consisting of a single encounter: the heroes against the meglomaniacal Dr. Null and his army of robot bugs. It's designed to serve as a prequel of sorts to the full length adventure Day of Dr. Null, but it would also work as a self-contained one shot adventure.
The premise of the adventure is pretty straightforward. The mad scientist Dr. Null has unleashed his hoard of destructive robots into the city, and the attack begins on a large suspension bridge. While this is a simple scenario, there are plenty of things to make it interesting. First of all, the bridge itself adds a level of danger: characters who can't fly could fall off, and suspension cables could potentially snap in the ensuing battle and do damage to anyone standing nearby. Dr. Null's robots have a couple of surprises up their sleeves as well. They have an interesting means of replicating, plus a potentially explosive ability that becomes important near the end of the adventure.
In addition, there are a number of what the designers call ?action schticks.? An action schtick is a kind of mini-encounter within the adventure proper. They are dramatic events that can add to the tension regardless of the specific plot. They include citizens in peril, the aforementioned snapping cables, quickdrying cement, and other hazards.
I really like the way Battle on the Bay Bridge is designed. The adventure is done in something resembling an outline format with a general sequence of events, a single set encounter, and a lot of extras that the GM can use as he sees fit to jazz things up. This gives the GM a lot of freedom to let the players move the action along, while still giving him enough guidelines to keep things moving.
As a bonus, elements of Battle on the Bay Bridge can easily be mined for use in other adventures. Dr. Null, the main villain, is a mad scientist with a great origin. He's a power-mad sociopath with literally no emotional attachment to the human race. Even if you don't have any intention of running this adventure or its sequel, Dr. Null is worth stealing for your own purposes. Besides the evil doctor, there are stats for the bugbots and a tripod walker. Finally, the bridge itself is an exciting encounter location that can be used for a different battle if you so choose.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: Battle on the Bay Bridge is an excellent mini-adventure that can stand alone, serve as a prequel to Day of Dr. Null, or simply be mined for useful bits. I appreciate the innovations that the authors have worked into the adventure design. From the adventure's structure to the annotated maps, there are some neat ideas that went in this product.
Since it is free, there's no reason not to download it and use it in whatever way you see fit.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: A mad scientist and his army of robot bugs is pretty four color and might not port well into every campaign, especially if you're running something grim and gritty. Other than that, its a solid little effort and worth 4 ? stars for what it is.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
|
Log In 
