The Upside:

Operation Jedburgh is a stand alone adventure set during World War II. It's default system is D20 Modern.

Part One - History And Mission. The introduction to the adventure really goes into the history of Operation Jedburgh. They are specially trained commandos who were parachuted behind enemy lines with the intent to cause disruption. And the outline of this particular adventures mission in achieving the stated goals. The characters are to meet with the French Resistance in a small town that helps supply the front - which is the beaches that will be D-Day in this case.

Part Two - Bierville en Bessin. Here we are introduced to the town and its major buildings and gathering spots. It never tells you just how big the town is, but you get the impression it's a few thousand people at most, perhaps a bit less. Large enough to be on the map, in the right place to be a supply line, not big enough to be heavily fortified by the invading German Army.

Part Three - Day One. This contains four major encounters, and a number of smaller events that take place between or because of the results of the encounters, or as important plot points. They range, in D20 terms, from EL3 to EL5. They include an encounter with a lost German Patrol just after the PCs arrival; Finding a wounded G.I. from another commando group and getting a doctor to help him; intercepting a truck with trained attack dogs; and taking out anti-aircraft artillery.

Part Four - Day Two. Day two starts off with a retaliation by the German Army on the populace for the previous days activities. Then the actual encounters start. First up is the revelation that there is a traitor amongst the ranks of the French Resistance the PCs are working with. Next is a fairly tough encounter with a German Patrol moving in on the PCs location to kill them. After they relocate the PCs have to find a way to stop a Panzer Division from joining the forces at Normandy where D-Day has started. The next encounter involves a bit of infiltration to a party the German's are throwing that evening. It's at the party that the identity of the traitor is revealed, and then of course there's the escape attempt and regrouping at their new hiding hole.

Part Five - Day Three. This is divided into three distinct encounters. First is stopping the train transporting tanks and troops to the front. Second is the climactic battle with the leader of the local occupation group. And finally is the guerilla war that involves the liberation of the town from the Germans. This last encounter is really many smaller encounters that could be skipped over as wrap up for the mission.

Part Six - Random Encounters. If the adventure above wasn't fast paced enough, or full of enough encounters this section provides a number of random encounters you can throw at the PCs at any point. Some of the encounters are also simply flavor text the GM could insert at any point to create the atmosphere that the PCs are in fact at war, such as dead patrols, fire fights in the distance and supplies that missed their mark.

Appendix. This contains much of the game information. It has character write-ups for important townsfolk, German troops and Gestapo, Resistance members, and SAS troops that come in at the end of the adventure.

Appendix II. This appendix contains D20 Modern write-ups for WWII era weapons and vehicles. Maps of the area and various battlegrounds for the encounters. The Players Handout and the Character Sheets for the PCs. Ten PCs are included, some are soldiers for the Allies that are parachuted in, some Resistance members and there are a few others such as a RAF Pilot that was shot down before the adventure begins and a Czech soldier who has defected from the German army.

The Downside:

The biggest downfall this adventure has is the need for random die rolls in almost every aspect. Having to roll randomly for patrol sizes and number of men at a post throughout everything breaks continuity. The information provides the total number of Germans on site, a little research and some planning could have broken that down into patrol groups, number of officers on site, and other factors to keep things more believable. I'm extremely opposed to the idea of Roll XD to determine the number of opponents in an encounter - either tailor it to the party or in the case of a pre-written adventure tailor it to the desired level of play.

The adventure could have been more universal were the System removed from the adventure descriptions, and time lines. Creating a universal adventure with D20 Modern stats at the end would make this more accessible to a wider audience.

The Otherside:

The adventure itself could be fairly easily adapted to any system, all you need are some write-ups for generic soldiers and WWII era weapons and you're good to go.

The adventure is probably a little long for a single session as a convention game, but many encounters can be removed or shortened to have it fit the typical four hour time frame. As is the adventure could be stretched to at least three sessions, one for each day. Four or more if you play out the liberation of the town. It can be played as a one-off or as part of an ongoing campaign, quite easily the start of a WWII campaign focusing on the liberation of France.

As a whole the adventure is well done, but it could focus a little more on presenting choices to the PCs, it feels a bit railroaded at times. The encounters could be done as a list of missions the Resistance feels are important but leave the order up to the PCs. Or perhaps they have a list of targets provided by Ally Intelligence and the Resistance has a list they feel best represents their interests and let the PCs decide what takes precedence. For a quick adventure, it's good and it's very easy to set up and get going. One of the better aspects of this product is two versions are in the package, a standard PDF and one intended for print which removes the artwork to save your printer some ink.

Good review.

I agree on the fact that it might have been better to dump all the states in the back.

The thing about all the die rolls, though is a bit picky. If you don't like that, it's an easy fix, just pick a number in between.

It just sounded like your review was a lot more possitive than a rating of 4, to me it sounded more like a 6.

Dumping the stats in the back might have looked cleaner when reading, but when actually playing it's a lot easier for the GM to have them placed at that particular encounter, especially because the tactics change depending on the situation---no page flipping during the fight that way.  

The randomness is easily fixed.  It usually comes into play with patrols of 2d4 soldiers and things like that, so if you wanted to, you could just split the difference and have every patrol number 4 soldiers.

The game is intended for one-shot or tournament play which does lend itself to being somewhat linear/railroady, but I included a lot of extra info (like the locations in the town) in case people wanted to branch off of the storyline or insert it into an existing campaign.  I had originally put a paragraph in there explaining that, but I think I took it out to rearrange a few things and forgot to put it back in.  I'm going to make sure and include something to that effect with the next one, the 1980s Miami QPA.

Thanks again for the review, both of you.

Pete

It's possible I'm a bit harsh on the random die roll thing - but in all honesty, it's one of the reasons I almost quite Roleplaying completely. It's a hold over D&Dism that truly bugs me to no end.

If it's a Quick Play, intended for pick up and go, remove steps like rolling for encounters. If I'm buying an adventure I want as many elements as absolutely possible taken care of - the number of Germans in a patrol. The number of Germans manning an anti-aircraft gun (hint: the absolute lowest number needed to make it a functioning post, not a random number from 2-6. and "1D2 are awake at night?" So much for highly trained and alert Germans who have suddenly come under commando attack by allied forces).

If the GM has to vet the game by changing elements it ceases to be Quick Play and becomes Another Published Adventure I Have To Fix.

Sure, it might be a sticking point, and it is definitely my opinion - but it took the adventure down several notches in my eyes for a Pre-Planned Quick Pickup Adventure with minimal effort done on the part of me, the GM.

As for the stats in the middle vs the end, that's purely opinion. I like them all at the end where I can have them in one spot.

Quote from: ghost-angelThe number of Germans manning an anti-aircraft gun (hint: the absolute lowest number needed to make it a functioning post, not a random number from 2-6. and "1D2 are awake at night?" So much for highly trained and alert Germans who have suddenly come under commando attack by allied forces).

Well, they hadn't actually come under attack by Allied commandos at that point, but everyone has their own preference.  I guess I just wouldn't think twice about seeing "there are 2d4+1 German soldiers in the trenches" as I would probably scale the encounter anyway, depending on how the adventure was progressing.  If the characters were on their last legs, I'd hit them with 2--if they PCs were itching for a fight they'd get 5.

As to stats, I personally like all the NPCs in the front of the adventure.  That way I can see who they are and what they're trying to accomplish before I start seeing their names out of context in the scenario, but it just looks strange to have them all up front.  I actually did a poll here and on rpg.net as to whether people preferred NPC stats at the beginning, as they appeared in the scenario, or at the end, and the last time I checked it was pretty much a dead heat between all three options.  Go figure.  

Pete

My serious dislike for the Random Encounter Roll is being demonstrated nicely...

Most GMs I know state they would adjust the number to the PCs strength (if battered, throw less, if strong throw more) or how tough they want an encounter to be.

Good so far.

So why place a number at all? Especially a random die roll number? 2D4, 2D6, 1D2, whatever it is, if you expect it to be ignored, and you yourself would ignore it, it becomes not only an extraneous part of the adventure. Did you write it in with the intent it be ignored? Or is it a part of the adventure? Mixed signals.

It should simply say (as an example) "A typical German patrol will be 2-6 men, depending on the time of day and alert level of the German forces" Now you've provided clear guidelines, but no expectations for actual encounters.

There's an almost pathological need for dice rolling in many D20 products. from randomization tables to encounter levels, all over the place. It seems so very haphazard. It is a major reason I really don't like D20-anything, and will only play in a D20 game under protest, with a GM I trust completely and players I trust completely. Most other systems I'll play with less hesitation.

Quote from: ghost-angelDid you write it in with the intent it be ignored?

It's written to give the GM a guide as to (in this case) how many soldiers are in a given area or in a typical patrol.  GMs who don't want to roll can take the low end, the high end, or the middle ground of what the die roll might be.  Otherwise, the randomness helps break up the monotony and adds a little drama to the encounter, more so than if every single patrol numbered 6 Germans.  It gives the PCs a chance to explore other options in dealing with their enemies.  They might get a break and run into a patrol of 2 soldiers that they can ambush and kill/subdue without making any noise, or they might find themselves having to hide from a full patrol of 12 Germans.  

QuoteIt should simply say (as an example) "A typical German patrol will be 2-6 men, depending on the time of day and alert level of the German forces" Now you've provided clear guidelines, but no expectations for actual encounters.

I just don't see the difference between saying "a typical German patrol will be 2-6 men" and saying "a typical German patrol will number 2d3 men."  In any case, if that's the biggest problem people have with the adventure, I can live with that.  

Pete

Quote from: pspahnI just don't see the difference between saying "a typical German patrol will be 2-6 men" and saying "a typical German patrol will number 2d3 men."  In any case, if that's the biggest problem people have with the adventure, I can live with that.  

Pete

The difference is subtle, but very important.

The first is saying, You have to pick a number you feel is right, here's a range.

The second is saying, Don't pick a number - roll some dice and that's what's there.

I have gamed with far too many poor GMs where entire sessions and games were ruined because they would not deviate when they saw dice needed to be rolled. Too many D&D (and subsequent offshoot D20) games reply on random dice rolls.

I will fully admit, it may just be me - but I hate them. Of course - that's why you got more than one person to review it

If the GM has to vet the game by changing elements it ceases to be Quick Play and becomes Another Published Adventure I Have To Fix.
Sure, it might be a sticking point, and it is definitely my opinion - but it took the adventure down several notches in my eyes for a Pre-Planned Quick Pickup Adventure with minimal effort done on the part of me, the GM.

Well, in my opinion that's nonsense.
Botching a product because of this is really unfair, by me.
Can't really see how you could not fix the numbers on the fly while actually reading the scenario for the first or second time before running it.
Or maybe, you don't even read it, and with Quick Play you mean an adventure that plays by itself with your players while you're watching... bah.

Yeah, I don't get how random die rolls ruin and otherwise great product. In fact, I think that 99% of all gamers in the world would not think anything of it or bother to even mention it. :confused: