Re: [HoE] The Boise Horror -- my review (LONG)

["B.D. Flory" <bflory@frontiernet.net>]

<snip preface>

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<snip bias warning>

Fair's fair: I like pre-published "meta-plot" adventures.  I'm neutral on
the subject of adventures in general, but I'm a goober for adventures that
advance the plot of the Deadlands Universe.

<snip rant on pre-packaged adventures>

| Let's start with this: The Boise Horror is Baphomet. Yup, the damn demon
in
| Simon's head. (See _The Last Crusaders_. If you don't have the Templar
book,
| there's no point in running this adventure anyway, IMHO.) I have only one
| thing to say about this:
| 
| LAME. LAME. LAME. And one more time for emphasis: LAME.

Disagree.  The Boise Horror as Baphomet is pretty cool; I can't claim it
came as a surprise, but I liked it.  Here's why: it fits the them of the
HoE universe.  It falls nicely into the whole "good gone bad" thread we've
got running through most of the Hell on Earth meta-plots.

| I trusted Pinnacle on this point. I said to myself: "The Horror being
Baphomet
| is so bloody obvious that they wouldn't do that to me." In fact, at one
point
| I had convinced myself that it said in the text that the Horror wasn't
| Baphomet, tho I went back and re-read the relevant passages long before
_The
| Boise Horror_ came out and realized it wasn't true. But I still thought
it
| wasn't Baphomet, because that would be too easy. It would just lead to
the PCs
| killing Simon, not every epic at all, really -- we knew as of _The Last
| Crusaders_ he was doomed. In short, I had faith.

I'm kind of split on this.  I don't like super-easy mysteries either.  I
like to have to think, and puzzle, and wonder, and *maybe* finally figure
it out.  The Boise Horror fell a little short in that regard.  That said, a
good mystery creates a curve: some people figure it out, some are close,
and some are completely in the dark- this one was just a bit *too* easy.

<snip kudos for past secrets, complaints for this one>
 
| There were absolutely no surprises in the Boise Horror. It was obvious
that if
| Baphomet was the Horror, he was possessing people to kill with, and that
was
| why he was never caught. The whole thing where the possessed victim tears
| himself to shreds is a nice twist, but it's only a twist, and not even
that
| devious a one. Not worth the whole mysterious act.

My impression was that (for the Marshal, at least), there weren't supposed
to be any surprises.  The adventure proceeds rather like a slow-motion car
accident: there's really nothing you can do to stop Simon's death, it's
just a matter of how many people you can pull from the wreckage and save. 
In this case, can the heroes save the Iron Alliance, and put down Baphomet
before the world knows Simon's secret?
 
<snip rant on coolness and lack thereof>

Matter of opinion, as discussed above. 

<snip comments on the Setup>
 
<snip comments on NPCs dying too quickly>

Ennh... I'm ambivalent on this one.  If the Marshal is willing and able to
create "downtime" scenes the adventure glosses over, there's plenty of time
to get to know them.  For example, almost a week passes between the time
the posse is introduced to Winnie and Denis, and the time the Horror first
strikes.  That should be plenty of time right there for character
development.  On top of that, there should be about three hours aboard the
airship before the attack.
This is something that the Marshal really needs to take the initiative on. 
PEG can't add the clause "Insert NPC character development here," every
time the adventure hits downtime.

| themselves to shreds. There is some interesting and well-written
| cloak-and-dagger with Biletnikoff (the pet Librarian of the Templars),
who
| suspects Baphomet might be the Horror. Regardless, Simon tells them to
knock
| off investigation as there's a summit to go to, and marches with them to
a
| remote location with little time for them to prepare.

Simon is prioritizing.  Simon orders the PC's to accompany him.  Some might
call this railroading- I call it realistic.  After all, if you're in the
military, for example, and your CO gives you an order, do you accuse him of
"railroading" you, or do you follow orders?

| he does. This quality holds throughout the text, though it's sort of
annoying
| that we finally get inside Simon's head most thoroughly when he's fated
to die
| in the same adventure. Actually, I take that back, it's *very* annoying.

To me, Simon's behavior seems to be a logical extension of everything we
know about him.  It makes sense that he holds the ideals of the Templars
sacred, and he's only demonstrating what we should have already deduced.
 
<snip kudos on boarding the blimp>
 
<snip minor nitpick on Cyborg's Manitou strength>

Agreed here.  It doesn't ruin it for me, but it was a slight annoyance.

| What the PCs are expected to do is run. This is where the adventure
breaks
| down for me. They're supposed to take Simon and flee, rappelling down
ropes,
| leaving Carlton behind to hold off the automatons in a noble sacrifice of
his
| life. While the text does admit a PCs might take his place or go with
him, it
| seems the author doesn't seem to think this is likely.

I agree the author doesn't seem to think this is likely, however, he does
make sufficient allowances for the possibility: he delineates a fate chip
reward, and lays out the opposition.  You can't ask for much more than
that.

| I have two problems with this. The first is that this is a cool dramatic
| moment that many players would give their eyeteeth for, and they're
expected
| to hand the hero role over to an NPC they only met a short while ago.

Not my impression: my understanding was that Denis was going to stay
regardless of the Posse's actions.  That doesn't disallow a Posse member
from staying behind with him.  There's nothing quite like a little heroic
banter before the end.

<snip NPC death complaints, already addressed>
 
<snip fair to middling comments on the Walk to Junkyard>

Agreed.

<snip more "solid, but uninspiring" comments>

They can't all be gems.  I've never seen any piece of writing, within the
game industry or without, be sheer genius from cover to cover.
 
| The Summit info is interesting and well-written. Simon walks out on it
because
| Junkyard works with road gangs, and the PCs are expected to talk him back
to
| the table. The author bends over backwards to encourage the PCs to have
an
| in-character chat; they can't just make a Persuasion roll. I approve of
this.

Agreed.  I *never* let my posse get away with "I want to make a roll." 
They have to at least *attempt* to convince NPC's.  On the other hand, it
can be the worst attempt ever, but they still get a roll- as long as they
made the attempt, I'm happy.  But I'm straying into another thread...

<snip further comments on role-playing opportunities>

| The the Combine cell in Junkyard attacks the building. Yes, attacks. They
have
| two automatons, a Heavy cyborg (wearing Dreadnought armor, no less), and
40
| men! The PCs are expected to deal with all this, and tear gas as well.

The PCs really aren't expected to deal with this.  They're expected to do
their best for a couple of rounds, until Simon is captured.  At that point,
the Black Hats disengage, and the Junkyard Militia moves in.

| (Another nitpick: The text doesn't say what happens if someone fails the
Vigor
| check against the gas. I suppose it's in one of the rulebooks, but it's
still
| annoying.)

Agreed.

 At this point, they're expect to take a stand, and they're also
| expected to be capable of taking 6d20 massive damage when Simon hews
through
| an automaton and it explodes.

As far as this goes, I suspect this adventure was written using the old
massive damage rules (indeed, the Automaton rules were written under the
same circumstances).  Under those rules, and with a buff posse (which the
adventure points out you should have), this is eminently survivable.

| This scene points out my second problem with the blimp scene. If the PCs
can
| handle this scene, they can handle the blimp attack! If they grabbed
Simon and
| ran on the blimp, why shouldn't they do that now? The Summit is pretty
ruined
| anyway -- the first thing the Combine does is hose down the Doomsayer and
| Chamber representatives.

My impression was that the Black Hats had secured the floor immediately
below the Summit.  As such, the Posse really has nowhere to run *to*.  Even
taking that aside, Simon was in such bad shape on the blimb he was a
liability.  He was exhausted, weak, and not in any shape to fight.  One
wrong move and he could get whacked, which throws the formation of the Iron
Alliance into jeopardy.

| The combat is very confusing, made even more so by the fact THERE IS NO
MAP of
| the building the PCs are in! Perhaps if there was actually a map I might
be
| able to grasp why the PCs can't run. This error is especially glaring
given
| the blimp, where the PCs are supposed to run, *does* have a map. What the
| hell?

Agreed.  Any set piece combats like this should include a map.  It took me
a couple of reads to get it clear in my head what was going on, exactly.

| Yay, we get to kill Simon now. Simon takes over briefly, and tells the PC
his
| soul is linked to Baphomet, so if they kill him, they both die for good.
| Baphomet gets upset and tries to run. The PCs have to cap him with
Simon's
| sword. And he isn't an easy opponent -- he heals one wound level per hit
| location per *action* unless hit by Simon's sword, and has a variety of
other
| nasty powers to boot.

There is no doubt in my mind that Baphomet *should* be an incredible
beating.  Again, we get back to that experienced Posse issue.  IOW, make
sure yours is.  Not a problem, ASAIC, if they state this upfront, which
they did.

| The PCs are supposed to be "true heroes" and kill Baphomet now. Now, if
| they're that cool, I have no idea why they can't handle the automatons in
the
| blimp scene, and why they can't be "true heroes" then. 

Again, because this time, they don't have to worry about Simon catching a
stray bullet.

| The author doesn't even
| consider the possibility that the PCs won't be able to kill Baphomet,
wounded
| (or chip-low) as they are from the Combine assault.

That's why they call 'em heroes. ;)  Seriously, I agree.  The possibility
should have at least been addressed, even if only in the style of Fortress
o' Fear.  That is to say: "If Baphomet gets away, you're on your own
Marshal.  In the official Deadlands storyline, he's wasted here and now." 
Of course, if the heroes are killed, they won't know the difference,
anyways.

| Anyway, assuming they win, Biletinkoff encourages the PCs to keep the
Baphomet
| thing quiet. (No tale tellin' for these PCs, apparently. Heaven forbid
the PCs
| actually get a Legend Chip for killing the Boise Horror.)

Actually, the PC who delivers the killing blow gets a Legend chip.  So it
evens out in the end- a legend chip is a legend chip, after all.
Besides, they gain a point of renown, as well.

<snip summary>
 
| Oh. I almost forgot. The art is terrible, the worst I've seen in an RPG
| supplement in a long time. I normally don't care about this -- if the
text is
| good, the art can be crayon drawings for all I care. At least if the art
was
| any good, I could treat the adventure as a neat prop book for HoE by
ignoring
| the text. But I don't even get that much.

Agreed.  I didn't mind the front cover (though the same artist did a better
job on most of the Iron Oasis interiors), but the interior and back cover
art was pretty poor.  The map on page nine was the best piece in the book!

A couple of points you didn't mention: 1) The adventure relies on the
Marshal having access to at least one other book, preferably two.  While
the adventure recommends you have access to Iron Oasis, Cyborgs, and Last
Crusaders, I'd say Cyborgs is the only book that's really necessary to
have- barring a major overhaul to the adventure.  I don't approve- we
should have been presented with an alternative or two, even if only in a
sidebar.
2) Shrink-wrap.  GRRRR!!! ;P.  I don't like it, but I guess it's necessary
if we're going to get the Cardstock Cowboys.

Stuff I liked:
1) Cardstock Cowboys: These are cool on their own.  They're even cooler
when packed in with an adventure at no extra cost.
2) The chapter summaries: definitely keep these.  I imagine they come in
handy while running the adventure, and it's nice to have an overview of
each chapter.
3) Everything I didn't mention...unless I forgot something. ;P

| To summarize the summary: Don't waste your money. I'm sorry I did.

While I can't argue the adventure doesn't have a few problems (as stated at
the appropriate points above), it was a decent.  Quite honestly, I think it
was somewhat better than "Hell or High Water", the first Hell on Earth
full-length module.  Whereas Hell or High Water had a couple of moments
that didn't seem to belong in the context of the adventure- moments I
suspect were added when John Goff expanded the adventure from a con
adventure to a full-length- The Boise Horror was pretty focused on the
adventure at hand.

B.D. Flory