Genius Adventures: Spring of Disorder by Mike Myler is a role playing game supplement published by Rogue Genius Games for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result. This is an adventure for three to four 3rd-4th level characters.
The supplement is available as a 27-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $4.99 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. One page is the front cover and two the Credits and Open Game License.
Adventure Background explains how a spring near the village of Feiknstafir was where an adherer was killed and since lurked as a ghost. Its essence has polluted the spring and the events leading up to the adventure started when a horse drank from the spring, became a lot more intelligent and a lot nastier and killed its owner. The horse has since taken leadership of other animals that have been changed by the spring and is working against the various settlements in the region around the village. A map of the area is provided.
Starting the Adventure has some adventure hooks for the characters, followed by a stat block for Feiknstafir and overviews of the other locations. There is also a map of the village.
Act I: Odd Occurrences starts with the characters arriving at the village as some wolves are attacking the village’s horses. Once they are driven off, the mayor asks for their help, offering a reward, and explains what is going on, which includes the local goblins becoming aggressive, the gnome village dropping out of contact and the elves not being seen. Whilst in the village, racoons will attempt to steal things.
Act II: Tepid Treedwellers has the characters visiting the goblin settlement. This isn’t supposed to be a combat encounter, but details are provided should the characters turn it into one.
Act III: Anxious Elves has the characters visit the elven outposts where they can gain information, though likely not directly from the elves.
Act IV: The Dungeon of Smaparmar has the characters visit the underground gnome village where a massacre has clearly taken place, but where no bodies can be found.
Act V: Animal Allies has an attack on the characters by the animals.
Act VI: Kreller’s Spring It Was The Horse All Along? (EL7) is the final attack on the animals at the spring, along with the epilogue and suggestions for playing as an affected animal or trying to reform them.
The Appendix contains the stat blocks.
Genius Adventures: Spring of Disorder in Review
The PDF is well bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. Navigation is decent. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a number of colour illustrations, including maps. Presentation is decent.
The mood of this adventure can swing wildly, from the nuisance thefts of the racoons to the evidence of a massacre with no bodies of the gnome village. If anything, this makes the material that’s potentially creepy even more so; these animals are smart, able to hide in plain sight and utterly lethal. And like taking away the dead. Genius Adventures: Spring of Disorder is a nice, or perhaps nasty, little adventure and it can be found by clicking here.
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