Planescape review: Strange Bedfellows
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.
Strange Bedfellows
In which our Heroes seek errant cargo of a most delicate Nature, are caught like Flies in the web of scheming Fiends, and learn that even the forces of Good may occasionally walk in Shadow.
- Designers: Colin McComb and Monte Cook
- Source: Hellbound: The Blood War / War Games2
- Party: 4-6 characters of 6th-9th levels
- Play-time: 1 session
- Locations:
- Sigil
- Outlands / Hopeless
- Mount Celestia / Mercuria (L2)
Overview
The module includes two possible hooks, depending on if the party had played through the Field of Nettles before this one. Additionally, possible additional motivations are suggested depending on the faction affiliations of the player characters. This time, Spiral Hal'oight presents the party with the urgent task of recovering a lost shipment of goods. The reward promised is the same as before: up to 10,000 gp, a magical item, or a favor. The party must travel to Hopeless — the Gray Waste's gate-town where the shipment was seen last. If the characters prod a little, aasimar would hint at the nature of the "goods" — weapons for the Blood War. On additional inquiry, Spiral reluctantly admits that the buyers are baatezu. The job is a job, though, and equipped with a letter of introduction, a list of known portals, and a 1,000 gp pouch for expenses, the party departs to the Outlands.
📝 NOTE: As usual, you can get additional details about this gate-town in the Player's Primer to the Outlands3 book.
Spiral's agent in Hopeless is Mealle the Just, a local dark-haired tiefling girl. She awaits the characters at the office and, once they present the letter from Spiral, will provide them with further details regarding the missing caravan and its planned route. While exploring the area the shipment was lost in, the observant characters will notice an ambush lying ahead on the mountain path. The brigands are no match for the party and will most probably be quickly dealt with, in which case the party will follow their trail to a small mountain cave. If the party loses the battle, they are taken prisoners and dragged back to Hopeless. In either case, the following events will be quite similar.
Finally, the characters get some clues on what is actually going on as they are confronted by the ultroloth who is quite displeased with the celestial meddling in the Blood War business — a traditional yugoloth area of expertise. The fiend tasks the party with delivering the message of warning to "the archon". If asked further, the ultroloth hints that the aasimar the characters are currently working for is just a figurehead for the real mind behind this whole operation.
📝 NOTE: Naturally, the previously "defeated" brigands are actually mezzoloths in disguise, stationed there to lure the party to the ultroloth.
Sooner or later, the characters return to Sigil to report back to Spiral. Not certainly knowing what is actually going on either, the aasimar refers them to his own contact on Mount Celestia — Braus, the priest of Mitra. The graceful half-elf is surprisingly open about his employers and their unflattering opinion of Spiral, whom they see as a mere pawn in their grand plans. The celestials try to control the balance of power in the Blood War by strategic shipments of weapons to one of the sides so one side of evil can never totally overpower the other one. For example, the lost shipment was intended to weaken the baatezu since the whole batch was cursed. If the characters are equally open about their discoveries, Braus will escort them to his high-up — archon Zalatian XXIII.
Soon after arriving at the fields of Mercuria, the second layer of Mount Celestia, the characters meet the said archon and discover that he's not only the real organizer of the weapon-smuggling operation but also Spiral's father. When he hears the ultroloth's ultimatum, Zalatian ponders for a bit before presenting the party with three possible actions the archon might undertake: comply with the yugoloths' desires, cease shipments altogether, or ignore the threats, continuing the shipments as before. Being unsure which way of action is the most wise, the archon asks the characters for advice.
Whatever course of action the party proposes, Zalatian will follow with. Further down the line, this might greatly impact both the aasimar and his archon father. If the characters don't attempt to save Spiral's reputation as a trustworthy weapon-dealer, he could soon be found dead at the hands of assassins hired by his baatezu clients. If the word about Zalatian's involvement gets out, he will soon fall from grace and go into exile as a pitiful beggar in the streets of Sigil. If the archon's dealing remains undisclosed, Zalatian could became a powerful friend and later recognize the questionable nature of his plans. Either way, the yugoloths are pleased with the outcome, for their plans go far beyond the scope of this adventure, spreading through all battlefields of the Blood War.
Presentation
🖋️🖋️ useable
Two maps with a bare minimum of details are present in the module:
- The map of Hopeless — similar to that which is included in the Player's Primer to the Outlands3 book, but without any important sites marked on it for some reason;
- The mezzoloth ambush map — a bird's-eye view sketch of the area (scale included) and a rough outline of the mountain cave.
All needed statistics for the monsters and non-player characters are included, except those of yugoloths that the ultroloth might summon if the characters decide to draw swords on him. A list of additional XP story awards is given at the end of the module.
The trilogy is also accompanied by the Visions of War booklet containing a collection of full-color handouts and maps for the players.
Openness
☀️☀️ semi-linear
While, for the most part the characters are the pawns of the greater powers, not unlike their employer, they might influence the fates of two powerful figures in a very tangible way. This fact forbids me from giving the linear rating to the module, though it veers very close to it.
Quality
★★ good
A short and, for the most part uneventful module acts as a sort of prelude before the real star of the show — the final part of the trilogy. Nevertheless, it could be quite enjoyable in providing much needed view behind the scenes of the Blood War and the actual scope of celestial involvement in it.
Discuss this post on Reddit