In my quest to support the delusion that folks care what I think I've decided to start doing a series of quick and dirty reviews of all the Spelljammer products. I hope these will be useful to newcomers and those without all of the products.
Rating System:
| * | Mediocre, poorly written product with little usefulness. |
| ** | A bad product for several reasons with one or two useful aspects. |
| *** | An average product with some good and some bad points. |
| **** | An above average product with few bad points. |
| ***** | An excellent product with few if any bad points. An essential SJ product. |
This adventure is well plotted and interesting, and it really fleshes out beholder society in Spelljammer, which too often becomes a one-note genocidal cliché in other Spelljammer products. It's billed as a good way to shift a campaign into space, and it is, but the advertised levels of 6-8 are, IMO, too low to successfully complete the module. I believe 9-12 is more appropriate, but that leaves some issues with the adventure's start up. The plot is really rather epic, in many ways this module is an under-appreciated gem.
This is really an anthology of loosely linked encounters, and it works splendidly. As a companion to SJR5 The Rock of Bral it is especially interesting. The premise is excellent for getting groups together, and it highlights the variety of Spelljammer. It also contains several NPCs and concepts that would place a critical role in the Cloakmaster novel cycle. Highly recommended.
This module has some intriguing crystal spheres, a memorable villain, and some rather cool new Spelljammer ships. But the plot is clunky and overly dependent on an NPC. Greatspace, the primary crystal sphere of the adventure really needed a proper write up, and another sphere, Herospace, is virtually unworkable. But with some elbow grease, this module could provide the outline and foundations of a truly extraordinary campaign.
Like SJA3 and SJA1 this module has a massive, epic plot, in this case clearly derived from Star Wars. But the execution is particularly weak and the plot simplified to the point of idiocy. Buried underneath is the kernel of a good campaign, however. Along with sketches of 12 new crystal spheres there are three new Spelljammer ships and some basic NPCs. With a lot of work, this can be put to good use.
The plot is solid and workable, I've actually run this adventure in the past with good result. The Scro base should have had better detail, the maps especially were lame. And the Scro organization should have been better fleshed out. But the module does include the very cool Mantis ship, and a couple useful NPC outlines. The outcome of the adventure can be tweaked to provide the module with a longer useable life. If you like roleplaying humanoids, this ones for you.
The title is particularly misleading. Though ostensibly a sequel to SJS1 this module has little connection to that module, other than a thin connection to the goblin base. It does describe, in decent detail, a new crystal sphere, but its too odd to play a major role in Spelljammer society. Most likely best handled as a separate adventure.
