UK5 - EYE OF THE SERPENT
(TSR - 1984)
Now I like the UK series, maybe I’m biased because I’m
British, but at least I’m honest. Each
adventure tried to offer something a little different to the norm, whether it
be in the design, the feel or the depth of the plot. They also, for the most part, had their own
quirky style of presentation.
So what did Eye of the Serpent try to do that was different?
Well, when I was DMing for my school friends in the mid 1980s there was one big
problem, a major stumbling block.
D&D was a niche hobby, it was hard to get more than a few friends
together at the same time, in the same place for a game, and the published
modules were for large parties – 6, 7, 8, or more characters. Of course, we could have played with 3-4 PCs
plus henchmen, but my friends were kids.
And kids like to hit things. So
my friends liked playing martial classes.
They couldn’t cope with the bookkeeping required to play multiple PCs
each either. This all meant that either we had parties of 3-4
Fighter/Paladins/Rangers plus more Fighter henchmen, or the henchmen had to be
the ‘brains’ classes, which detracts somewhat from the overall feel of the
game! Eye of the Serpent was designed
for a party of 4 characters of level 1. In that sense it was a breath of fresh
air.
But is it any good?
Certain aspects of it are. It’s not just a 1st
level adventure for a small party, it’s a wilderness
adventure for a 1st level party, and the wilderness is very well
realised. They start at the top of a
mountain, having been dropped in a nest by a Roc and intended to be on the
bird’s menu for later. The basic premise is that they first need to escape the
nest itself, then survive the trip down the mountain to freedom. The upper sections of the mountain are
frigid, ice-covered and bleak, and gradually the environment warms as they
descend, through woodland and eventually into a thick, sticky swamp, before
emerging into the rolling plains which signify freedom.
So, UK5 does the environment well, the writing is spot on, and it slips nicely into a difficult niche which at that time was neglected by other published modules, what could go wrong?
Plenty as it turned out – unfortunately.
Somehow it feels like it lacks ‘soul’ – there is no plot to
speak of beyond “Escape the mountain and trudge 10 miles across the plain at
the bottom to investigate a tempting glint.” Quite a few of the encounters are
with very small groups of creatures, or single monsters – obviously this was
necessitated somewhat by the intended party size and level range – but many of
them feel very much like ‘staged’ random encounters. Most creatures are
immediately aggressive too, giving the party no option but to get stuck
straight into melee. My schoolmates
enjoyed that, and as a teenage DM I enjoyed it too, but 30 years on I found it
a little restricting. The monsters
themselves are also a widely varying menagerie, the depths of the Fiend Folio
and Monster Manual 2 were well and truly plundered in order to provide them,
and with so many different encounters crammed into the adventure, it meant a
fair bit of pre-adventure swotting on my part to re-familiarise myself with
them all.
There are however some interesting sections, especially
those using Mephits and the Duergar, plus some welcome light roleplaying relief
in the form of an artistic Lizardman, who is a potential ally for the party.
Treasure is pleasantly quirky – most of it is described in the form of
interesting trinkets rather than the typical coinage and gems.
And then we come to the ‘paths’. An intention of the
adventure was to provide outdoor classes with an environment in which they
could shine, and specific paths down the mountain are aimed at parties
containing those classes. The module handles this by suggesting certain routes
are blocked, thereby forcing parties with a Ranger to go one way, and those
with a Druid to go another for example. In practice, this not only railroads
the party in their descent, but it also proves to be a bit of a time wasting
exercise – go 5 miles one way, find landslide blocking path, turn around and go
back, etc etc etc. My suggestion –
ignore the paths entirely, assume all are open, and give the party freedom to
explore.
Something most of the UK series did well was to provide the
DM with as much information as possible with regards to running the encounters
in the text itself – modules coming out of the USA at that time were woefully
lacking in that respect. This is a
typical example from UK5 below – the stats for the creatures are very complete,
meaning the laborious task of flicking through books during play is kept to an
absolute minimum.
The maps are also clear and easy to use, again this is
typical of the UK series. The writing is consistent and is neatly broken up
into sensibly sized paragraphs – the module does its very best to be helpful.
Internal artwork is of a good standard and evocative. The cover art (below) however was dire, and did
nothing to sell the product.
UK5 is competent without ever being exciting. It’s
ambitious, but at the same time lacking. It could have been great. Instead, it
was merely average. There is the basis
here for a really good adventure if the DM is willing to lift out the really
good bits and breathe a plot into them.
Presentation: 7/10 – well laid out and helpful, but spoiled
by weak cover art
Brawn: 6/10 – a
multitude of small encounters designed to slowly grind down a low level party
Brains: 4/10 –
well-presented environment, lacks RPing
opportunities, too many creatures attack immediately
Overall: 6/10 – its heart was in the right place
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