The last adventure (Smoke on the Horizon) ended with the party viewing Bray's Bay from a hilltop, and finding that it is being beseiged. Now they have to do something about it! The Preface talks about the growing realisation of just how bad the state of affairs is, something that is not going to improve. It also touches on other events that will transpire and how this influences the campaign as a whole, putting everything into context for the DM. The party will learn more about the Kan Demons and their capabilities.

The Introduction explains how the Kan Demons have invested the settlement in quite some detail, most of which the party ought to be able to figure out with careful observation. A detailed map is provided to aid you in describing the situation. It is rather assmued that they'll try to enter Bray's Bay even though it is under siege, this can be done with a modicum of stealth although there are some delightful notes should it come to combat - 'remind your players that combat is loud' being a prime example. In a startling note (remember, even though player-characters can be spell-casters, magic use is virtually unknown here) the Kan Demons are conducting a massive magic ritual involving rune stones which they've brought with them prior to mounting an assault on the town's defences. Should your party decide to go for help rather than join in the brawling, that's been catered for as well... which provision neatly lands them back in town anyway!

Once they have sneaked or fought their way in through the pallisades (and several options are provided for doing this), the people they encounter there are well-detailed, and this makes the growing realisation that the settlement will not survive all the harder... although the party will be urged to take ship to spread a warning of the Kan Demon incursion - far more than last year's raids already. Whilst there are other options, various NPCs have convincing arguments against taking them. As they go, this is a suitable point to run the side adventure The Ghost of Jarvis Island.

Overall this is a good action-packed adventure, bringing elements of warfare in without completely swamping character autonomy... although the party is somewhat railroaded into first entering the besieged town and then fleeing it. Resources are provided to help you make it feel like these are their own decisions, with many good and valid arguments put into the mouths of the NPCs. Additionally, an appendix details some of the more common things that players might do and how to cope with them without breaking the plot. Still, it's exciting and lays the groundwork for what is to come.

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Reviewed: 18 May 2017