Review 46 - Welcome to the Ring
We are cycling through more introductory adventures! We go into the depths of space in the far, bleak future and review Welcome to the Ring for Death in Space by Christian Plogfors and Karl Niblaeus.
The general premise of this one is that the PCs have arrived at one of the numerous jury-rigged station in the Iron Ring, having just spent the last of their funds on a ship that needs a great deal of repairs as well as the payment of a hefty docking fee. Naturally, they need to find some work and assistance. On top of that, there is a tense situation with the factional powers in the station that seems to be about to bubble over. Just add players!
Getting it to the Table
This adventure was created by a lot of the minds involved with the creation of Mörk Borg, and while it has an entirely different feel and appearance, much of the smart design sensibility remains. It opens with a summary of the situation, with important details in bold text, and then it immediately moves into a description of the main factions with a listing of their Resources, Goals, Needs, and Turf. I absolutely love it when we get a nice consistent layout for this kind of information, and it sets the standard for just about everything else in the adventure, from NPCs to locations.
Right after setting the stage, we are given a very helpful paragraph titled "How to Use This Adventure" that makes it very clear that there is no fixed solution presented. The module merely gives the players a situation; how they approach it and overcome the obstacles is entirely up to them.
The rest of the module is devoted to describing the areas of the station. These are typically presented in two-page spreads, with the exception of the two factions' headquarters that have a little bit more development along with a detailed map. Each spread also includes a minimalist diagram of the station's layout, so you can see how each section relates to the others. You get a cast of characters for each section along with rumors and events, so there's plenty to do as the PCs look for solutions to their problems. Notable NPCs and foes have stat blocks included, so you can quickly reference just about anything you'd need while the spread is opened. It's convenient, clean, and slick.
There's just enough detail provided for the NPCs and the factions to spark quite a bit of interaction. There are numerous small but evocative snippets tying the major NPCs together, and my players certainly had a fun time playing the two groups against each other!
What Worked?
- Clean and modern layout. 'Nuff said, it's just top notch.
- Situation, not plot. This is such a great example of a powder keg that the PCs have walked into-- you barely have to do anything other than present the facts to the players, and things start bubbling almost immediately.
- Non-combat solutions. Because nothing is fixed, it's wide open for players to come up with creative ways to overcome the obstacles.
What Didn't Work?
- There is a countdown to when a big boss that is in charge of both of the faction leaders arrives at the station, but I honestly didn't think this was needed. It can certainly throw an additional flaming wrench into the oil-soaked gears, but honestly things got interesting without that. If anything, it would probably make things more likely to get resolved with combat, which is not the intended state in Death in Space-- it is very rare for PCs to start with a weapon at all.
Final Thoughts
This is a nice quiet little gloomy space adventure that does an excellent job presenting the intended tone of Death in Space. Everything is broken down, jury-rigged, repaired with duct tape, and repurposed seven times.
You can get Death in Space at their website. Thanks for reading!