Planescape review: In the Abyss
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.
In the Abyss
A simple errand to salvage the lost ship of chaos allows the player characters their first opportunity to explore the most notorious plane of them all. Of course, complications are as inevitable as the tanar'ri!
- Designer: Skip Williams
- Source: In the Abyss2
- Party: 4-6 characters of 8th-10th levels
- Play-time: 2 sessions
- Locations:
- Sigil
- Abyss / Plane of Infinite Portals (L1)
Overview
This relatively short (32 pages plus maps) standalone module tasks the party with locating and recovering (or destroying) a certain flying ship lost in the Abyss. The payment, in addition to monetary compensation, consists of spell keys, magical items, priest spell scrolls, and power keys — an appropriate reward for a high-level party. Willum, the client, poses as an agent of the General Assurance Company, but as usual, not everything is as it seems in Sigil.
Extra-cautious characters might want to get some additional info from their factions, or even receive additional instructions from their high-ups, depending on the faction in question. Six factions are interested in the fate of the ship (which is actually a ship of chaos, a powerful entropy weapon) themselves:
- The Doomguard want the ship returned to them — the rightful owners, and will go as far as matching the offer that the party was promised by Willum;
- The Anarchists and Xaositects wouldn't mind getting it themselves, but will settle on it being returned to the Doomguard;
- The Fraterity of Order, the Harmonium, and the Mercykillers would like to see this dangerous weapon destroyed.
After receiving their advance of magical items and scrolls (and maybe having one or two suggested optional encounters), the party passes the portal directly to the Abyss's first layer. This section of the module is a full-fledged hexcrawl — a rare sight for a Planescape adventure. The map of 3-mile hexes (about 35×52 hexes) covers the area the characters must explore in search of the ship and has but one "preset" encounter at the start of the travel. The bulk of the content is an 8-page-long collection of random encounters grouped by the terrain type.
Speaking of the encounters, I don't understand the apparent aversion to random encounter tables in Planescape modules, and begin to suspect it to be some kind of explicit editorial decision. So, once again, here's the random table of all encounters listed here:
| Page | Terrain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Plains | Tanar'ri Horde | Chasme Scouts | Rampaging Armanites | Giant Ants |
| 14-15 | Ruins | Manes | Armanites | Cranium Rats | Adventurers |
| 17 | Cities | Bully | Snake Oil | Succubus | Press Gang |
| 16-17 | Conduits | Army | Molydeus | Press Gang | Hole in the Ground |
| 18 | Lakes | Iron Carriers | Bodak | Averil's Caravan | |
| 20 | Raazorforge | Mephits | Manes | Dretches | |
| 20-21 | Badlands | Viper Tree | Varrangoin | Bodak | Hunter |
Other terrains have only one suggested encounter each:
- Viper Tree Forests (p.14): Viper Tree ambush;
- Citadels (p.15): Security patrol;
- Caravan Routes (p.17): Averil's Caravan;
- Mountains (p.18): none, but serve as good observation points;
- Volcanoes (pp.18-20): an efreeti chased by a swarm of varrangoin.
Once the characters locate the ship, they must devise a way to board this flying monstrosity, but that shouldn't be too difficult for a party of this level range. The nature and properties of the ship are described in great detail, as well as eight named locations on its decks. Inside, the characters must either sneak or fight their way through the demonic crew, discover some interesting prisoners that might help or hinder the party, and finally, take control of the sentient construct or manage to destroy it. All possible outcomes and escape routes are meticulously described, alongside the consequences of some important decisions that characters had made along the way.
Presentation
🖋️🖋️🖋️ superb
Besides the already mentioned hex map, there is a detailed 5-foot grid map of the ship's decks and a couple of colorful illustrations. My only complaint is the absence of the random encounter tables.
📝 NOTE: Magic effects in the Abyss are briefly described in the module, but having the Planes of Chaos boxed set3 is recommended.
Openness
☀️☀️☀️ open
As open as one could reasonably request of a module of such length. Still, some additional random encounters during the exploration phase won't be unwelcome.
Quality
★★★ outstanding
One of the most memorable and fun modules, especially such short ones. It could be incorporated in any high-level campaign or run as a one-off affair. The hex map and its encounters could be easily reused for another adventure taking place on the Plane of Infinite Portals.
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