Play game
Black Mask of the Shadow Serpent's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Usability: Practicality and playability at the game table. | #5 | 4.091 | 4.273 |
| Overall | #21 | 3.859 | 4.030 |
| Inspiration: Effective use of assigned "Weird Tales" cover elements. | #26 | 3.830 | 4.000 |
| Vibes: Overall atmosphere and feel of the supplement. | #36 | 3.656 | 3.818 |
Ranked from 11 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
I have no idea how this rated so low on vibes, I thought it conveyed snakes and oozing darkness the whole way through. The title for Room 9 seemed to disappear, but otherwise I love the font and the way you laid things out, though perhaps indented bullets might have made the subjects of each room stick out more?
I worry that having to make a Viperian Countdown check every 3 rounds in addition to normal encounter rolls might be a bit too much busywork for the GM.
But overall a nice classic adventure that I felt was laid out well and fit the intended themes. Good job!
Thanks for the kind words! Yeah, I noticed the missing room 9 thing the day after final submissions. I'm still figuring Affinity Publisher out and apparently bullet points aren't a basic level skill as I couldn't get them to work. Next time. I do like a good bulleted list. I'll have to playtest a bunch to fine tune the Viperian Countdown, and I had the same worry, but I wanted to err on the side of to much pressure rather than too little.
I like the Viperian countdown in timing and tone.
Dang that header font is something else. I like how you use font for vibes.
I was so happy with that font. I wanted something half way between Indiana Jones and Shadowdark. Which is apparently the Venture Bros, or at least that was what I thought the font was channeling.
I like the building tension, and how much of it tracks throughout. Great looking map
Super smooth and useable, great maps and I love the different pressure countdowns. Awesome work.
Great work on this! It reads so clearly front to back and the first page narrative does an amazing job setting the scene.
IMHO This is my favorite that I've reviewed so far. Really well put together. My only criticism would be I don't know if this would hold up against a four person party of level 5 or higher. I'd have to playtest it to really see, but it feels a little under-tuned, which is understandable given the timeframe we had to prepare this. Still though, beautifully laid out, love the pressure cooker setup, the maps are simple and elegant. Very well done :)
Thanks! Yeah, the design is supposed to apply escalating pressure from the Viperian Countdown but I didn't have a lot of time to tune that mechanic. The 5=7 levelling comes from a ballparking of the various monster levels but that doesn't take into account the number of monsters. I plan to playtest it a bunch and tune the various loops. Plus give it a cover.
The whole vibe of snakes getting worse and worse as you go deeper and deeper is a delight. I loved the use of so many senses in your descriptions to evoke the feel of the areas extremely clearly. The layout was super clean to read through and felt like it would be a breeze to run.