This adventure opens in weather somewhat like we're getting right now - blustry and wintry - but the party comes across a welcoming community in a sheltered valley. What more could you want when travelling on the very edge of civilisation?

The DM's Background lifts the lid on the friendly community and what is going on around them, things that will become apparent to the party as events unfold. They'll have to take sides - or walk away - and what they do will change the shape of that part of the world. This adventure can be set anywhere on the northern fringes of your campaign world, somewhere barely inhabited and little-known by the outside world, but if you use the default Mennara setting there's more information to put it into context. Major NPCs and the settlement itself are described.

You will, however, have to find a reason for the party to be in the area in the first place, but once you have got them up into the trackness wastes in winter, and thrown a storm at them for good measure, they will no doubt be delighted to find a place where they can find shelter, a warm welcome and even a feast or two... for the storm lasts several days, and the locals are happy for them to stay. Only then does the village come under attack...

While it's up to the party what they do, most will pitch in to help their hosts. If they don't, this is accommodated and the adventure proceeds nonetheless, a neat touch. The party will then be asked to serve as emissaries, to find out what was behind the attack, as the locals feel it was unfounded. Off to what passes for a large town in the area in search of answers, a search which will involve interaction with the townspeople but things are arranged so that they will find the answers that they seek (or the answers will find them), so not to worry if your party are not the best investigators around. There's a good climatic brawl, and the adventure winds up quite neatly.

Plenty of atmosphere in the descriptive notes, maps of everywhere involved and quite an intriguing tale. For relatively low-level characters, it's a good way to establish their names in the area as problem-solvers too.

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Reviewed: 24 February 2018