The background to this adventure is quite simple: the ruler of Korvosa wants to reopen a trade route to the south through a long-deserted valley. He's sent his own troops, of course, but they are struggling a bit so he's prepared to offer gold, titles and land to anyone willing to help.

Assuming the characters take the bait (a few options are presented to entice them in), when they arrive a fort has been established and the long slog of making Bloodsworn Vale safe has begun. The action consists of a series of tasks and missions, with a neat system whereby the characters accumulate 'accomplishment points' for everything that they do, these being used to calculate the level of reward they have earned once the trade route is open.

The tasks are varied: finding out what happened to a missing party of road-builders, dealing with other sentient races already in residence and the like, as well as plenty of random encounters for you to drop in as you see fit. A lot of the work can be undertaken at the characters' own pace and in an order of their choice, but there is an underlying timeline which both keeps things moving and melds the adventures into a coherent whole - a neat way of letting the players think they have complete freedom of action while ensuring that the overall game proceeds as planned!

Overall it is a well-organised mini-campaign, which can give the characters a feeling of accomplishment and knowledge that they have contributed to the development of the area. This may be continued as you wish, or they can take their rewards and move on.

Return to Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale page.

Reviewed: 14 August 2008