Ruster's Blood is a 54 page pdf adventure for the Pathfinder RPG suitable for characters of 4th level. The adventure is entirely location-based, meaning it can easily slot into any specific campaign setting. The product is neatly presented and well organised, with some excellent and detailed maps. The product is strangely devoid of any art, and even the cover doesn't feature anything specific. Nevertheless, the overall impression is one of professionalism and dedication to delivering a good product.
In this adventure the characters are approached by a miner who enlists their aid in assisting him rescue his co-workers and recover his mine, after it was attacked by some unknown assailants. The adventure takes place in the mine itself and the region directly surrounding the mind, and will take the characters on a wild ride through the mine and into it's deepest and darkest depths. The characters will face multiple threats once they reach the mine, not only from the those involved in the initial attack, but also from new inhabitants that have since claimed the mine as their own. The characters will need all their wits about them if they're to break into the mine, vanquish the initial foes, and then plumb the depths of the mine to get to the bottom of the who the mysterious attackers are.
I found this to be a fun adventure, with plenty of opportunity for tactics, strategy and roleplaying. This isn't an adventure for the faint-hearted, as the combat encounters can be quite tough and often deadly. In a way that's one of my few complaints against this product - due to the difficulty of some of the foes, the party will experience a case of fighting one battle, retreating for the day, and then repeating the same thing the next day. I would've preferred to see a more dynamic approach, particularly on the deeper foes of the mine. I think the initial breaking into the mine should be a fun challenge, although I would imagine that some parties would find it frustrating. The adventure itself could've done better to cater for different eventualities, again more specifically with reference to the final foes of the adventure. Here it could've explored peaceful solutions, or alternative offerings as a way of concluding the adventure.
I thoroughly enjoyed the creatures and characters of this adventure, and I think they make an interesting and eclectic challenge. I would've liked to see more motivations and personality here and there, but by and large there's a lot to go on. This adventure has a lot of potential, and creative DMs can develop it further or expand the adventure with tie-ins to future adventures. The location of the mine is well detailed and interesting, and is realistically presented with some good attention to detail of mining terrain, activity and difficulties.
Overall, I think this is a strong adventure. Characters will have some fun, particularly if the DM can develop the action a little more dynamically than the adventure currently explores. It would've been nice to see more attention to roleplaying as a solution to certain scenarios, and perhaps negotiation as a means of solving problems. Still, it's a well presented product with good attention to detail, strong writing, challenging encounters and lots of interesting new creatures and magic. Good adventure.
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