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(1 edit) (+1)

I wish "Polish" was separated into content and presentation because obviously one is a lot better than the other here. The writing is extremely solid, while the design is plain but mostly functional. The map is kinda charming in its sketchy simplicity.

I was initially disinclined to like this one because the title and setup feel like a direct copy of Another Bug Hunt. However, the setting and specifics are different enough that maybe you haven't played ABH and just landed on the same concept independently. Still, I would suggest changing the title and picking something other than a crab for the monster, as otherwise it might be hard to run this for a group that has played ABH without them feeling like you're recycling material. (Unless, I guess, the Warden decided to roll with it, and make "one way or another, everything turns into crabs" the theme of the campaign.)

Full marks for usability. Writing and environmental design are paramount there and you've done an excellent job on those fronts. If my players weren't already in the midst of ABH, I could just grab this and make it their next stop without much tweaking. One small complaint is that I'd like to see the stat boxes visually distinguished from the rest of the text in some way... if you don't want to do much design work, just a 10% tint gray box for each character would suffice.

The theme obviously fits the jam, but I took off one star for a combination of things. Firstly, the fact that the premise collides so directly with the one Mothership module almost everyone will have played, and secondly, that the setting really feels to me like it wants to be a Call of Cthulhu adventure, not Mothership. You've tossed in an Exo Loader and such, but looking at the map and the descriptions, I keep visualizing smoky 1920s industry, not dystopian sci-fi. I think it could work but you might have to lean into it and emphasize the incongruity of e.g. the high-tech lab amid a fishing setup that feels plucked from another century.

Finally, the tiniest nitpick that I include only because I just recently learned the etymology myself and found it interesting. It's "hoisted with (or by) his own petard," not "on," because a petard isn't a hook or rope, it's a kind of bomb—specifically, an early breaching charge. So you're being thrown into the air by your own bomb, not hauled up as "hoisted" would imply in contemporary usage.

(+1)

Thank you for the in depth feedback and the positive words! I actually haven't played ABH yet so I didn't realize the similarity. You absolutely have my blessing to reskin the monster to a nautilus or something. And yea, I was feeling a bit of a time crunch so I know that the design is not great but I appreciate you specifically calling out the writing despite the bare bones layout.

Okay, yeah, if you haven't read or played ABH it's just an unfortunate decision on your part, but the monsters in that are literally called "Carcinids," so when I saw your title I was hoping that it would either be building off that in some way or taking the crab angle in a different direction than "giant crab monster."