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 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.

To Baator and Back

Wherein the Heroes step through a Portal to find themselves in a Location Most Foul, from which they make their Entrance into the infinite Planes of Adventure.

• Designer: Colin McComb
• Source: The Well of Worlds², Chapter I
• Party: 4-6 characters totaling 4 or more levels
• Play-time: 1 session
• Locations:
  • Prime
  • Baator / Avernus (L1)

Overview

This is one of the adventures suitable for introducing players' characters to the setting. There are a couple of other campaign quick-starts available in the boxed set,³ but this one is way more detailed, obviously.

While exploring a wizard's abandoned home, the characters stumble into the active portal, which throws them directly to Avernus. Now they must navigate the hellish landscape, interact with its strange inhabitants, try to keep their lives, and search for a way to get out.

The expected environmental dangers are present, but toned down to give first-level characters a better chance of survival. For example, the usual fireballs of Avernus will never fall close enough to the party to cause damage. Considering their usual output of 5d6 (save vs. spell for half), this design choice is understandable.

The characters will also encounter some iconic locations, such as River of Blood, the Pillar of Skulls, and even Bel's Fortress (at a respectful distance, if they are wise enough).

The adventure ends with the discovery of a portal that leads to Sigil, opening a multitude of possibilities for the future campaign.

Presentation

🖋️🖋️🖋️ superb

All required components are here, including maps, detailed location descriptions, read-aloud texts, monster stats, and even prepared answers for the general questions when dealing with locals.

Openness

☀️ linear

Avernus is no place for the first level characters and it shows. While the map of the region is present, it is far from an open hexcrawl, containing just a couple of locations the characters can (and often must) visit. Stupid choices of the characters (like trying to infiltrate a fiendish citadel) are punishable by death.

Quality

★★ good

Despite its flaws, the adventure is pretty good at what it is — introducing newbie Prime characters to the Planescape campaign setting in a fun and thrilling way. It also doesn't overstay its welcome, being possible to finish in a single session.

Notes

I would recommend keeping notes on Ar'kle-mens, to introduce his plots and schemes again at a later time.

The region map could be potentially modified to a mini-hexcrawl by adding random encounters and extra locations, but this will also require to raise the party level requirement.

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1. https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17267/Planescape-Campaign-Setting-2e?affiliate_id=850783↩

2. https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17269/Well-of-Worlds-Planescape-2e?affiliate_id=850783↩

3. https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17267/Planescape-Campaign-Setting-2e?affiliate_id=850783↩