This supplement introduces Aram's Ravine, the only settlement on a planet called Jina which is by all accounts a bit of a hellhole that you only want to visit if you are after bauxite and other minerals... or adventure, with rival individuals constantly bickering and intriguing against one another.

Jina is barely habitable, with acid storms, temperature extremes, dried-up oceans and icy poles. You are recommended to check out the comments on this planet in the core rulebook to put this settlement into context. The colony is a hub for everyone exploiting the resources of the planet. It's perched on the edge of a ravine in a place with odd geology that has led to the formation of several 'towers' of rock between which softer rock has been eroded away - and the settlement itself is located on several of the towers, linked by rather precarious-looking bridges.

There is a plan of the settlement, atmospherically presented in a way that represents the rather misty atmosphere. This mist is acidic and slowly eats away at anything and everything (including people!) left out in it. Locations of interest include a palatial bath house or hammam, cantinas, a chapel of the Icons, Colonial Agency office, a small medical facility and a witch doctor's office. Outside the settlement there's a local population of fiercely tribal xenophobic 'kalites', acid-resistant humanites who are fairly primitive, although probably less so than most people give them credit for. There's some description of the surrounding area, which is where the mines can be found.

Then we get to meet some of the personalities in the settlement. The Colonial Agent. The (self-proclaimed) Mine Lord. The Salt Witch. These are the three rivals, and there are other subsiduary NPCs as well.

Then there are a series of events, beginning with a note that any new arrivals - like the party - will immediately be drawn into the scheming and plotting that's going on whether they like it or not. And that's before any set=piece events take place. Both of the ideas presented are ripe for development into full-blown adventures, and are open-ended enough that you can put your own spin on them.

Another fascinating location replete with opportunity for adventure!

Return to Aram's Ravine page.

Reviewed: 14 April 2018