[review] Bad Moon Rising - An Iron Kingdoms RPG adventure

Bad Moon Rising is the latest pre-written adventure for Iron Kingdoms RPG from Privateer Press.

The adventure, like many of those produced by Privateer Press, consist of a number of scenes, mixing social and combat encounters. And while many think IKRPG is a combat heavy game, Bad Moon Rising has a lot of roleplaying chances as the player characters get to interact with many NPCs.

Bad Moon Rising takes the form of a horror murder mystery. So expect some spoilers coming up and if you are players in a campaign, perhaps totally stop reading this review now.

The adventure centres around the attacks in a Khadoran outpost by the Circle of Orboros, and in particular the increasing number of vicious attacks by a monster - a Warpwolf. Over a number of nights, the convergence of the 3 moons of Caen progresses, and the ferocity of the Warpwolf attacks increase. The Circle mount more and more attacks from outside of the fort, and all the while a harsh snow storm blows.

The characters are of course suspects, and are expected to take it upon themselves to investigate the attacks, to determine the nature of the creature and put a stop to them. As the story continues it will become apparent that there is a dark history to the fort that relates to the current events. Furthermore, a conspiracy will make itself known and lead to a final, bloody combat.

As a murder mystery and investigative story, the main third of the adventure is fairly non-linear, with many small side scenes and chances for the players to learn more about the events surrounding the scenario. So while on the face of it the story may seem a bit of a rail road, there are plenty of optional scenes and potential plot shortcuts or even derailments, that would lead the story toward roughly the same conclusion.

As a story, it is overall fairly obvious, more so, because it mirrors the adventure I ran for my first game way back when IKRPG was first released. A warpwolf attacking, a mystery surrounding the targets of the attacks, the warpwolf being in fact someone important within the settlement being attacked. This means that with a little work, and the adventure does have suggestions, the location and many of the details of the adventure, can be altered to fit the needs of your own campaign.

Finally, as a adventure for IKRPG, it is a nice window into the creatures and people that feature in IKRPG: Unleashed, perhaps presenting the opportunity to even include characters from that book too.