In the Queen Alice star system, most people live on Beowulf... but this adventure, the first in a series of three, takes the party to the next planet out, Grendel. This is a largely unexplored planet, regarded as uninhabitable, but it is home to a university research station studying the violent weather and emergent life forms on Grendel. As well as the adventure, this work serves as a sourcebook for Grendel and the research station itself.

The adventure itself concerns the evacuation of the research station - normally scheduled for the cold season only the contractors who normally ship the staff home have gone out of business, and the local authorities are more concerned with an alert concering potential Kaefer raiders than in picking up a handful of academics. If the party has a suitable vessel, they are hired to do the job in that, if they do not they will get given a court order to take a ship belonging to the former contractor (whose employees are still waiting on back pay and are likely to object).

There are background notes on the staff at the research station and on the trip to get them... including some potential problems that might arise on the way. Once there, the party are welcomed - the station has already suffered storm damage and the staff are eager to leave... although there is another storm coming and they will have to stay overnight and leave in the morning.

The descriptions are highly-detailed and there's a wealth of information here (although at least one 'see page XX' that hasn't been picked up in proofreading!) on the station and on the planet Grendel, as well as an assortment of survival gear that may be of use.

It's a taut little adventure with plenty of opportunity for interaction, but short on opportunities for combat. In some ways, it is a scene-setter for things to come, and possibly should have been included with the next adventure (Salvage Rights) rather than as a stand-alone, but it could make an interesting side-adventure if you are using it on its own. There are some suggestions for follow-up adventures as well, and if you do intend to run Salvage Rights this is a well-nigh essential percursor.

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Reviewed: 22 March 2016