Module Review: "Jerimond's Orb"

"Jerimond's Orb": a review 

considering compatibility with D.R.E.A.D.

Continuing to review the modules collected in Adventure I by AEG, we have a look today at "Jerimond's Orb - Lvl 2-4 - by Ree Soesbee"

The cover of the original module is so hideous that I prefer to include this Orb instead. I think the original art harmed this acutally quite nice module...

As with "Against the barrow king", I recommend buying the modules collected in Adventure I, since they have been improved. In this case, the original module did not include any map of the village or the tower/dungeon at the end of the adventure, which have been added to the collected version.

Spoilers:

You might get severely spoiled by this review. Consider yourself warned!
“Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process.” ― E.B. White.
The same happens with playability and sense of wonder when you dissect a module for a review.

What is it and where is it to be found:

"Jerimond's Orb - Lvl 2-4 - by Ree Soesbee" is a module first published by AEG in 2000 for D&D3 in their "booster" format (narrow and cheap modules under 3$). It was reworked for D&D3.5 and integrated in the book "Adventure I".
Since the modules were reworked, and I own a print version of "Adventure I", this is the version I review here.
The module is also to be found on drivethrurpg.com for less than a dollar (original Jerimond's Orb module as a pdf on drivethru), but it's the original version, without the maps.
There are some other reviews of the module there, which are interesting reads (some reproaches do not apply to the "Adventure I"-version, though).

Difficulty:

The module is basically a social challenge to understand what's going on, and a dungeon/fight to resolve the problem. The fight doesn't seem deadly, but I have not run the module (which means i'd need to convert it to 5E first).
Proactive and role-playing players should not have too much troubles to resolve the social part of the module, which is not too convoluted, but the clues are scattered all over the village inhabitants. There is also one red herring, not too obvious but still recognizable as such (hopefully before your players decide to strike up (or down) the herring).
I think it's not hard to run either, without even having to "fluff it out" - the module might not describe the irrelevant villagers, but they are not relevant, so grab up a random table and feel safe (p. 89 to 91 of your DMG, for example).

Type of module:

Mostly social module. The fight at the end could be resolved peacefully, too, if the players have gathered all infos and are not feeling bloodthirsty (I sometimes dream of having such players at my gaming table...)

Motivation for the PCs to resolve the module:

The motivation presented in the module is a small mystery: the characters were attacked while resting by a mathorn (a new monster form this module, akin to a watered-down but incontrolable werebeast).
Still, it's easy to find another motivation for the PCs: the village in the module was rich, but is not anymore - what would the liege or the tax collector of such a village do? Send the PCs to investigate, exactly!
I find it easy to introduce this module and implicate the PCs

Cartography:

I like the maps of the module. They are clear and easily readable. Neither charming nor lovely, but highly functional (computer generated but with a lot of effort and attention to detail).
My main critic is that the buildings in the village map are mostly aligned and not chaotically organised enough (as if the villages had settled a perfectly flat space and agreed on an urban development plan before building their homes).
I would have wished for a slightly bigger tower for Jerimond's home, too.
But these are really negligible details, I really like the cartography.

Art:

Apart from the maps and the cover, there is not a lot of art. Only an uglily drawn mathorn and an unnecessary bandit (maybe it's supposed to be be Cole or one of his acolytes? - there are not a lot of bandits in this module). The art is not amazing, but since the maps are good, not necessary either (text descriptions are good and vivid, on the other hand)
Considering the price of the module, I don't think it should penalize it more than the damage done by the original cover.

Twists:

There are more than one twist in this module, not only a red herring, and one I didn't see coming, which is nice.
All twists and secrets are explained and justified in the story. They can all be discovered by the players.
In all, a nicely mastered aspect of this module.

My impressions:

I liked this module. There are certainly a lot of typical elements bordering on cliché here, but always with a pinch of salt that gives them a new savory flavor.

• It is easy enough to introduce and integrate into an existing campaign (and into the world of D.R.E.A.D.) It's kind of plug'n'play
• It is neither too directive nor too sandboxy. The reflection/action ratio is adequately balanced (to my taste)
• It contains surprising elements which will probably gratifyingly entertain your group of players
• The "bardic lore"-table can be used as a rumor mill to sow clues (and I think it ought to be one column earlier in the layout... details, details)
• The module is very "roleplay"-oriented which is something I like

What would I change before running the module:

Apart from a few changes to fit D.R.E.A.D.'s setting (which are adaptations and not modifications, in my book), I would:

• Modify the mathorns to be more like werewolves. They already have a likeness to them, so why not modify the stat blocks of werewolves, instead of creating mathorns?
• I would make Jerimond's Orb an elvish or sylvan relic modified by the crazy old Jerimond, back in the days
• I would develop a few other families (like a baker and a smith, and maybe a mayor) to fluff out the village
• I would add a few stories to Jerimond's "tower" - I don't think a 1 story tall building deserves the name "tower" :)

What adaptations would I make to run this module in Perfu:

As said before, this module is very generic, and therefore highly adaptable to any rural setting. Still I would:

• Exchange the church of St Cutallin to a pantheon temple dedicated to Aesculapius or Ceres (and make DuVall a priest of the chosen deity)
• Create a connection between Cole Jenkins and an enemy factions of the PCs (or a criminal organisation like a thieve's guild)
• Add long pointy ears to the statue of the deity on the common square - a mix of the tutelar deity of the village and an elf
• Make the village's curse a peculiar form of lycanthropy - as werebeast can be an interesting source of alchemical ingredients
• Change the monetary rewards or award "story XP" for the peaceful resolution of certain objectives of the module - maybe add an alchemical recipe to the treasures to be found at the end of the module.

How would I rate the module?

I'd give it 4.5 stars out of five (the low price tag is taken into consideration in this rating).
It would need a bit more art (like portraits of the main protagonists), a 5E conversion (Yes, i'm lazy) and an even better cartography to reach the 5 Stars.

Would you recommend it?

Yes, I would and I actually intend to run this module, once I start my campaign. And since I know this already, I could introduce some rumors and characters very early in the game.
I recommend buying "Adventure I" instead of the stand-alone, older, booster version.
I might be spoiling future blog posts here, but "Jerimond's Orb" is not the only good module in the "booster-omnibus", so it's definitely worth its 4$, as a pdf.

Disclaimer:

The drivethru-links included in this article are affiliate-links