Fluxfall Horizon is live on Kickstarter now!: bit.ly/FluxfallHorizon Witchburner in PDF: bit.ly/WitchburnerPDF Witchburner in Print: bit.ly/WitchburnerPrint

I'm not saying I'm going to use it in Mork Borg....but I'm gonna use it in Mork Borg.

We ran this game in our group - our GM was extremely excited about the setting and theme of this book. Over the course of about ten sessions, this game sucked all of the joy out of that initial burst of creative energy and made her doubt her ability to run a game. after reading through the book myself, I had to come to the conclusion that I don't think this would be an easy or fun game to run straight for a GM of any experience. SPOILERS The setting of this game is well written and evocative, and the characters are nicely presented. The place this game falls down is in having a thousand clues but never any explanation. Each day there will be a new calamity: evil crimson snails, pumpkins full of teeth, fish with curious handprints dead in the river - clear signs of witchcraft! But the GM is given no explanation behind any of these curses, it simply says "there is no witch," as if that twist is interesting enough to carry the adventure. Why are these things happening, and how are players expected to actually investigate? When players find a skull in the mayor's fireplace, what should she say about it? Or the blacksmith's occult paraphenalia hidden in his attic? The GM is forced to come up with explanations on the spot because before it was rolled on a table it didn't exist. This does not create a narrative, this creates a series of oddities that all speak to witchcraft, but never have an alternate explanation. All in all it is an adventure that has some cool ideas but is far more interested in being smug than it is creating a coherent narrative. If you plan on running this adventure, I would advise that you be prepared to actually write an adventure to fill in the gaps that this evocative but empty book gives you.

@QuestingBeast

2 жыл бұрын

I appreciate the play report!

@DocEonChannel

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like most books for LotFP, and a lot of other OSR...

@NickCarenza

2 жыл бұрын

That’s a shame. I assumed based on the review that there were explanations for everything.

@primusinterpares5767

2 жыл бұрын

Huh. Could you just replace the magic events with mundane/seemingly magical events? Or are The magic events essential?

@LukaRejec

2 жыл бұрын

I’m sorry to hear it turned out that way for your group. It’s definitely not an adventure I would recommend for a novice game master. I would also not recommend running it for 10 sessions without using player feedback to adapt and shape the narrative - it could certainly become grim! The core of the adventure plays with issues of superstition and belief. The reason the happenings are not explained is because many of them are not explainable within the worldview and knowledge of the characters in the setting - except as the product of magic or other effects. Some will seem reasonable to a general modern reader, some to a knowledgeable reader, and some don’t make sense. Examples: The crimson slugs are an invasive species currently present in parts of Europe. They are devastating gardens. The handprints on the fish are a result of fungal infection from the fish being handled by dry human hands. A fish, such as a trout, has a mucal layer on its body to protect its skin. Handling it with dry hands rubs off the mucal layer. Such a fish, if it slips the line or net, may then develop a handprint-shaped fungal infection. It will also become lethargic and possibly simply bump onto shore by itself as it was dying. The pumpkin full of teeth … well … by the time you’re dealing with mass hysteria, who’s to say. Also, a pumpkin full of teeth … by the time it’s presented as evidence, it’s been cut open. My suspicion is that whoever “found” that omen may have planted those teeth. … to the characters within the setting, these are all dark omens of something bad coming. But they don’t know. Neither do the heroes. An explanation would be … a false security to a game master, giving the impression that the world is ultimately knowable. It is not. It is grim, scary, and larger than the small town … and a harsh winter is coming. I hope you find many great games to fit the mood your table prefers. Happy gaming!

A good double twist, would be that none of the villagers are witches but there is something supernatural causing all the calamities, maybe something the players could kill if playing D&D like games.

@LordVader1094

2 жыл бұрын

@@richmcgee434 Yeah this adventure seems really half-assed in many ways, thinking "there is no witch" is enough to sell it when it's really not that unique of a concept, and is blatantly contradicted by the book itself. If there is no witch, there has to be something causing it. But the adventure gives you nothing to use as the real source as a GM.

@swirvinbirds1971

2 жыл бұрын

@@LordVader1094 and 4 in game weeks of nothing but being played by the GM. Neat idea but in execution it could be frustrating for the players for the wrong reasons.

@miya1285

Жыл бұрын

i think this i what i’m going to do in symbaroum, making it so the village is expanding and chopping down a lot of the forests and it’s making the spirits angry

The maelium malificarum ( I think I'm spelling the right) did indeed get suppressed by the inquisition. It was written by a mysogonistic monk who really didn't get along with a certain woman in his town. The inquisition effectively recognised that it went way too far, and worked to suppress the work.

@LordVader1094

2 жыл бұрын

@@richmcgee434 I always find it funny that people will blame the Church for witch burning when the Church expressly tried to stop it, lol. The Inquisition made clear their beliefs that they didn't think claims of witches had merit.

@fearjunkie

2 жыл бұрын

You know you're an asshole when even the Inquisition's telling you "not cool, man"

17 th century minimalist’s mini adventure folder had a similar witchhunt with no real witch. I’ts a cool idea!

@MrDaydream0

2 жыл бұрын

There is actually a footnote on the physical copy of that folder which reads: "Wild Witch Chase is heavily inspired by Luka Rejec's Witchburner. Luka kindly gave his authorisation to reproduce his idea here."

@aloneinthelabyrinth

2 жыл бұрын

SPOILER ALERT

Part of the tension of the town is potentially-witch-induced poor crop yield and a fear of a harsh Winter. I bet you could seque this module right into Do Not Let Us Die In The Dark Night Of This Cold Winter.

@Draykidsbuthol

2 жыл бұрын

There's actually another module by Luka, Longwinter, which like Do Not Let Us Die is a great winter survival type thing. You could use one or both, and it would segue insanely well.

My favorite part of this book is the fiction written between the NPCs. I’ve always thought this would make roleplaying them as the GM a lot easier.

I mentioned in a comment below that I've run this module (and am about to run this module), and used this module for a Deadlands: Hell on Earth game. This is one of my favorite modules ever written.

More a comment about the sponsor, Fluxfall Horizon sounds a lot like a comic I used to read called _Black Science._ A story about a group of renegade researchers and their children venturing off into parallel worlds using forbidden technology. And naturally getting terribly lost along the way.

sounds like a great adventure for a Witcher, Warhammer, or other grim dark style adventure.

Sounds like a book for me. I'll probably use it for Zweihänder though.

Definitely interested in getting this

Oh boy, that seems like a great mystery to slot in.

What is the book size?

This seems really fun, I don't think I have quite enough experience dming osr stuff (ive only really dm'ed blades in the dark and a few one shot type adventures in other systems) but definitely something to do at some point in the future once I've gotten more comfortable dming. i do think i would tone back the amount of disasters cause i think the suspicion of there not even being a witch is hard for players to entertain when so much shit is happening. still, i think it would be fun to do this in a more sort horror-y campaign or something like that.

This might work well in the Grand Dutchy of Karameikos in Mystara, the setting for B/X and BECMI D&D. There are two main religions. In the Church of Karameikos, which is the religion of the conquering culture, magic may only be done in the presence of a cleric. In the indigenous Church of Traldar has no such rule. OSE or Basic Fantasy can work perfectly with that setting. Definitely don’t make there be a real witch. That’s even more messed up. Not having a witch is great. Let the players figure that out! Witch hunting was real and innocent people were really hurt by them. I think this works so much better with the villagers being the horror monsters (humans are always the best monsters… we really are a scary species 😄)

What’s the difference between this version and the “Burner” version that’s free on DTRPG?

@QuestingBeast

2 жыл бұрын

I believe that one is only a sample.

Thanks for the review. This is one that I had read about prior to seeing it on the channel. One important point is that there are no explanations supplied for all the weird / evil mini-events that are supposed to egg you on and convince you that there's a witch. Ultimately, I would classify this as a "bait and switch" adventure, and I believe that's *usually* a really crummy thing to do to your players. In general players don't want to be part of a social engineering philosophy experiment; they want a game. "It's World War 2 but look zombies!" is fine. "I wanted to prove that you're all secretly Nazis" is not.

@andrewanderson1988

2 жыл бұрын

Oh, I love playing in games where we have to question our assumptions and realize maybe we're on the wrong side.

This adventure is great, it puts the player into the medieval nightmare of fanatic persecution. It forces the players, in the end, to think about fanaticism, religion and critical thinking. It is a homage to reason. Need to buy it!

Hmm, there's a tension here, because players want concrete answers, and evidence both pointing toward a witch and away from a witch is going to leave them feeling like maybe they've missed something. I hope the game as written makes it definitive. Then players get to act heroically given that information.

why cant all be witches and there forsed to burn the town except yhe one npc that isnt a witch?

@miya1285

Жыл бұрын

because that isn’t what the book is. along with being a fairly lame twist “oh they were all evil witches so whatever we did to them was justified!” it doesn’t create the paranoid horror of knowing the person you sent to the gallows was innocent, it doesn’t make you ask questions.

What a strange d&d setting where a town doesn't have at least one witch to act as the community's midwife, soothsayer, wisewoman, and pharmacist (or "doctors" for the more conceited witches).

@tuomastall5836

2 жыл бұрын

True. And even if this was played in historical rpg, there should be statistically one wisewoman there. There are always problems that you dont want doctor or priest know about

.....Errrr Spoilers

@emarsk77

2 жыл бұрын

In a flip-through review? Who would have thought!

@chromeego7903

2 жыл бұрын

@@emarsk77 Questing Beast is a fantastic reviewer, and very considerate to his gamer audience. I often make purchases from his recommendations or refer my GM friends if it is a game they would like. Though he goes deep into the subject matter and really gives you a taste of what the game might be like the information discussed is seldom game breaking. What makes this different is that piece of information is the whole crux of the game, and the uncertainty of having burnt the 'right witch' is the feeling the GM wants to impart to the player. It's also one of those pieces of information that sticks in the mind (like being told "Bruce Willis was a ghost all along" before you go into the movie). Now, you might retort that the GM might be playing the variant with a witch and two accomplices, but having given that piece of information away too I can now surmise which game I am playing and rest easy in that there is a witch and I can righteously send her to hell. The spoiler alert that QB does give is quicker then a viewer could react to and follows directly on the heals of the game breaking information - making it frankly useless lip service to the concept of spoiler warnings. A simple title on the screen saying "spoiler in .... seconds, skip to [time code]" would have been helpful.

@emarsk77

2 жыл бұрын

@@chromeego7903 I think that no one should watch or read any review of an adventure if they want to play it as a player (as opposed to as a GM), especially a flip-trough, where you're bound to see all the maps and whatnot. One thing baffles me, though: in the book, the major spoiler is written in bold. There's very little chance that any one having even an involuntary glance at that page would fail to read those word. It seems like a dumb - and unnecessary - decision to me.

@chromeego7903

2 жыл бұрын

@@emarsk77 Ha! You are totally right about the bold print, good point. But notice that the writer got it half right: the spoiler is halfway down the page to give you a chance to 'look away'. If you don't watch a review how would you know if you want to play it? I often watch things then tell my GM friends who would be a better fit for. Take the Thousand Thousand Island reviews - QB gives us loads of information but I knew my friend would love to GM it. I can't remember anything about it other then it was written in beautiful haiku & there was a giant white crocodile- so I could be a player in that game no problem. Saying "spoiler" just before giving away the ending of a film used to be a joke - now its become a legal out for ruining a product which could have been presented more intriguingly without giving away the ending. It doesn't feel right to criticise QB as his reviews are always excellent.

This might work well in the Grand Dutchy of Karameikos in Mystara, the setting for B/X and BECMI D&D. There are two main religions. In the Church of Karameikos, which is the religion of the conquering culture, magic may only be done in the presence of a cleric. In the indigenous Church of Traldar has no such rule. OSE or Basic Fantasy can work perfectly with that setting. Definitely don’t make there be a real witch. That’s even more messed up. Not having a witch is great. Let the players figure that out! Witch hunting was real and innocent people were really hurt by them. I think this works so much better with the villagers being the horror monsters (humans are always the best monsters… we really are a scary species 😄)