This adventure is intended as a bit of a sidetrek, or something to happen whilst travelling from one place to another, yet has plenty to keep the party interested and occupied. Starting with the customary Raging Swan masterclass in reading stat blocks and the anatomy of an encounter, we soon get to the meat of the adventure, with a background that - without giving too much away - tells of a tribe of orcs advanced enough to actually bury their dead and what happened to the tombs once the tribe was driven off.

If you want a reason for the party to get involved (rather than stumbling into the situation apparently by chance) a local lordling is provided to hire them to deal with a couple of dragons that have been seen flying around some hills a few days' travel away. There's some information to ferret out and a neat additional twist in the shape of a dream/vision for any half-orcs in the party.

Next, we get to find out about the local village, which has been raided by those flying varmints. It's sent on the edge of the Tuskwood and has a shrine to an historic hero that they are trying to build up into a pilgrimage destination. Most inhabitants are either farmers or loggers, and are a mix of halflings and humans for the most part. There's a map of the village and quite a lot of background information to make the place come to life.

The next section deals with the Tuskwood. If nothing else, the party will have to traverse it in order to reach their destination. It's pretty wild and dangerous with boars, wolves and worse to be found there. The party will have to travel through it for 3-4 days to reach their destination, and so plenty of material is provided to make that trip a little bit interesting...

When they reach their destination, they find a small network of caves in a small cliff within the forest. From then on in it is more or less a dungeon-delve, although even here there are opportunities to speak with at least some of the denizens rather than fight with them. Just to make things a little more exciting, part of it has been flooded by an overflowing pool. Rules for moving and fighting underwater are provided at the end of the book for those risking these passageways.

This makes for an excellent interlude, exciting and potentially lucrative, for any party travelling in the area. The whole thing hangs together well, with enough twists in the plot to lift it out of the ordinary.

Return to Dwellers Amid Bones Collector's Edition page.

Reviewed: 10 April 2016