Planescape review: Circean Embers, Crux, Masks
For the last three years, I've run a Planescape1 campaign through almost all of its modules. Now, after successfully finishing it, I want to look back and review these adventures, highlighting the pros and cons of each one.
Each module will be rated in three categories, up to 3 points in each:
- Presentation: how easy it is to understand and run the adventure.
- Openness: how open the adventure's scope is, regarding the freedom of choice.
- Quality: Overall quality of the adventure, including the originality and richness of its content, and players' enjoyment.
The full list of currently published reviews is available under the planescape tag.
📝 NOTE: Since the first three chapters constitute a complete adventure, they are reviewed and rated together.
Circean Embers, Crux, Masks
- Designer: Monte Cook
- Source: Dead Gods:2 Out of the Darkness, Chapters I–III
- Party: 4-6 characters of 6th-9th levels
- Play-time: 3-4 sessions
- Locations:
- Sigil
- Outlands
- Naphraks, the half-world (demiplane)
- Ysgard (L1) / Yggdrasil / Crux, the Tree-town
- Baator / Avernus (L1) / Ankhwugaht, the Set's realm
Circean Embers
In which the Heroes learn of reptilian Thieves that steal more than mere Wealth, and chase them across the Outlands and to the leafy branches of Yggdrasil itself to recover their strange Plunder.
A band of khaasta,3 wielding a magical device that steals beauty, terrorizes the night streets of Sigil. Following their trail through the Sigil's Lower Ward, the party passes a portal to Chariamur — an abandoned mine on the Outlands, encountering two dying mind flayers4 — proxies of the recently killed Maanzecorian5, the illithid god of knowledge. While the characters have no way of knowing it yet, this is one of the first portents of the rise of Tenebrous — the reborn form of the dead god Orcus.
Tracking the khaasta through the Outlands, the characters pass through the burg of Ironridge, encounter the walking castle of an eccentric wizard Tiac Rami No, and enter the realm of the Norns, following the thieves to a branch of Yggdrasil. From here, the party can explore this region of the World Ash with relative freedom, since the map of the branches is provided for the DM.
The rest of the chapter describes the hiding place of the khaasta — a demiplane of Naphraks. The characters are free in their strategic choices of dealing with these reptilian bandits and retrieving the stolen beauty, though their vast numbers might discourage open confrontation. Nine locations in the rakasta's base are described here, accompanied by a schematic map of the compound.
Crux
In which the Heroes visit a Tree-town troubled by barmy ratatosk, discover a dark Corruption of the World Ash, and see with their own eyes the Violent effects of Evil's taint.
The second chapter describes Crux, a small town nestled between two wide branches of the World Ash, its important locations, and inhabitants. The town not only will serve as a suitable base of operations for the party, but also takes the important role in the upcoming events.
📝 NOTE: Additional information about Yggdrasil can be found in the Planewalker's Handbook6 and the Planes of Chaos7 boxed set.
Investigating the mysterious wicked presence haunting this town and nearby branches, the characters have a chance to befriend the local ratatosk8 population, encounter a lone modron left here from the last march, and explore Warpwood — the branch region most severely corrupted by Tenebrous. Returning to Crux, they witness another manifestation of the madness that infested the World Ash, fire started by a crazed druid.
Masks
In which the Heroes find the citizens of Crux not what they used to be, follow a Fiend to Baator to discover what it seeks there, and learn that the Faces of friends might be nothing but Masks.
The third part gives the characters a chance of finally getting some answers to the mysteries of the previous two chapters. Starting with a murder investigation in Crux, it leads the party through a portal to the Ankhwugaht, the realm of Set, where the visages, shape-shifting servants of Tenebrous, search for the desert's night — the flower capable of restoring memories taken by the River Styx. (The Abyssal lord needs it to discern the location of the lost Wand of Orcus.)
By this point, the visages are also impersonating some denizens of Crux whom they had secretly killed. Back in tree-burg, the party becomes their target and must survive a sudden ambush, overcoming the mind-altering effects of the undead fiends. Overcoming this threat concludes the first segment of the overarching adventure and gives the characters some clues for the upcoming events.
Presentation
🖋️🖋️ useable
The maps are a mixed bunch — most are fairly schematic, all are gridless (except the color map of the Crux), and some even miss the scale. Some encounters are left entirely map-less, and the DM should keep this in mind while preparing the game.
The book is filled with excellent illustrations (by Randy Post9), and even provides a collection of full-color handouts for the players (by Adam Rex10).
Openness
☀️☀️ semi-linear
Except for the starting chase sequence, the adventure is fairly open once the party gets to Yggdrasil, but it is not a full-fledged sandbox experience by any means.
Quality
★★★ outstanding
The introduction to Out of the Darkness provides a fun and multifaceted experience, never being stuck in one location too much to keep its freshness. New monster type, the visage, provides a worthy challenge for the characters and supports the overall atmosphere of hidden menace.
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