Crypt of the Science-Wizard S&W by Skeeter Green is a role playing game supplement published by Skeeter Green Productions for use with Swords & Wizardry. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result. The supplement is also available in versions for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition and Dungeon Crawl Classics. This is Book 1 of The Tales of the Black Tower.
The supplement is available as a 44-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $4.99 although it was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, one page is blank, one page is the Open Game License and one page is an ad.
The single page Introduction has some prose giving some history related to the crypt.
The Background gives an overview of how the adventure might play out, that the crypt uses ultra-science as a replacement for magic and that this is the entry level of a complex called The Black Tower. It also explains that this is a dangerous adventure and character death is likely. It’s aimed at 3rd level and over, though more seasoned players might manage with 1st level characters. It is also less focussed on combat prowess, requiring puzzle solving and strategy.
Starting the Adventure has the characters setting out from the starting city, either the one from the map or a suitable one from another setting, and travelling across the wasteland, with random encounter tables. They will arrive at an oasis and work out how to enter the crypt.
The crypt itself is a single dungeon level that is filled with traps, and a few monsters. Rooms have descriptions, then additional text which includes traps, monsters if applicable and treasure. There is quite a bit of treasure, though much of it is large, awkward and not obviously treasure. There are multiple sidebars throughout, including a lot giving GM advice.
Appendix A: New Monsters has three new techno-monsters.
Appendix B: New Items has two new techno-items.
There are 12 pages of maps and handouts followed by a final map of the dungeon on a bigger page.
Crypt of the Science-Wizard S&W in Review
The PDF is bookmarked with major and some minor sections linked. Navigation is decent. The text follows a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are many illustrations, most of them in black and white, and all custom. Most importantly, the majority of these illustrations are player handouts, depicting the rooms in question. Presentation is excellent.
This is intended to be the first part of a major dungeon; currently, it’s the only part. The final room can be used by the GM to add their own dungeon below, which would make this an interesting plug and play dungeon entrance. Alternatively, one can wait for the rest of the dungeon – which isn’t turning up very fast – or just have the dungeon terminate. It works perfectly well as a standalone adventure, and can easily be dropped into any setting with a desert.
The sheer number of illustrations available for players is highly unusual. This is at Tomb of Horrors levels of illustration; exceedingly uncommon. There are some similarities with Tomb of Horrors, in that this is a very dangerous dungeon filled with traps and little combat. The traps are pretty clever as well. Players will need to think their way past them, and those who don’t just run straight in without thinking will not blunder into traps. They can be detected, thought through and defeated. This is an old school adventure, and a good one at that. It is also one with a rather different, and interesting, feel to it. Crypt of the Science-Wizard S&W is definitely recommended and can be found by clicking here.
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