Gold Strike!
By Mitch Hamilton
A d20 / OGL Adventure for 4th – 6th Level
Winner of the Autumn 2009 Adventure Writing Competition
In a long abandoned mine, some intrepid miners search for new sources of gold, unaware of the mine’s terrible history. Disaster strikes and the party is called on to delve deep underground to rescue the survivors. As they push further in to the mine they find something far more ancient, far more evil than a simple mining accident. Can the party save the survivors and themselves and stop an eon old evil breaking free?
Free Adventure Download
The full PDF can be downloaded using this link:
Gold Strike! (Open-Playtest Edition)
It is completely free, all we ask is that you give us feedback on the adventure via email or in the comments box below. On the back page of the PDF you will find some suggestion for the sort of information we are looking want but really, we just want to know what you think about it.
Everyone who takes part in the open-playtest will be sent a copy of the final PDF containing not only this adventure but also other winners of the Adventure Writing Competition.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Haven’t playtested it with my group yet, but I’ve looked it over and do think its a good adventure. I have only one complaint: The name evokes images of gunfighters and the old west, not D&D style fantasy. I’ll be calling it something else when I present it to my players.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Thanks for the feedback Charles.
You are probably right about the name. It was the original name for Mitch’s adventure and has stuck despite the adventure itself changing quite considerably.
December 16th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I’m in the process of running this adventure for my group and while I agree with Chris about the name.. The adventure plays out very smoothly and is well written and organized. This has made my job easier as a DM and also allowed room for me to personalize it a bit to bring out strengths and weeknesses in some of my groups characters. Well Done !
December 17th, 2009 at 10:19 am
@Larry – Thanks for the feedback and kind words. I will make sure Mitch (the Author) sees them.
The name is definitely going to change, I just need to think of a new one.
Chris
January 18th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
i am play testing this with my party and it works really well there is one point there aren’t enough creatures for my style of dungeon
January 19th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Thanks for the feedback Adam.
The focus of the dungeon is very much exploration and discovery than combat. The monsters were there to provide interesting challenges rather than mass combat.
Based on your feedback I will see if we can add a “Beefing Up The Adventure” section to offer GMs advice on how to make it more combat orientated.
Chris
January 27th, 2010 at 6:37 am
While my group and I haven’t quite finished playing this adventure, I have got to say that it has been one of the best ones yet. What I think I liked best about it was the ease of use. This was actually my first time DMing, and this adventure made my job that much easier. Another aspect was the emphasis on an actual adventure instead of simply slaying monsters and collecting loot. Possibly the most fun part yet was with the carts going down the mine shaft, which my group had a heck of a time with. Perhaps my only complaint would be that sometimes the extremely large caverns and tunnels made it difficult to map out as well as led to some tedium when it came to rock slides and such. We haven’t reached the ending, however reading ahead I’ve got to say that I’m more than a little excited.
January 27th, 2010 at 10:33 am
@Mike –
I’m glad you liked the layout of the adventure. I tried to design it to be easy to use so its great to have some feedback on this issue.
Large caverns do present problems with mapping on the table-top. This is unavoidable. However it is the price of having something different from the standard 5′ corridor and the 15′ square room.
Thanks for taking the time to give me feedback.
Chris