Genius Adventures: There’s Yer Problem by Curtis Baum 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 four 2nd to 3rd level characters.
This is a 19 page PDF that is available from DriveThruRPG for $3.99 but was purchased at a greatly reduced price as part of a special bundle. One page is the front cover and two pages are the Credits and Open Game License.
The first page explains that a powerful merchant in the city of Crescent Bay has a problem that the characters will be hired to fix. This page also has a brief history of Crescent Bay, recent events and a synopsis of the three chapters.
This is followed by a full page colour map of Crescent Bay then another page with three suggested adventure hooks for getting the characters involved and write-up and stats for the city.
Act I: Looking for Work has the characters arrive in Crescent Bay. There are a couple of ways provided in which they can discover about the job; an ad in a tavern and a similar one on a bridge. This will lead them to the merchant’s manor. He’s having problems with the machinery below the mansion and needs some individuals to go beneath it. There may be combat, so the dwarf and gnome he’s hired are not going below. That’s where the characters come in. The merchant offers 10,000 gp for the job – or more if successfully negotiated with.
The map of the underground chambers takes up another page and is simple but functional.
Act II: Diagnosing the Problem has the characters go underground to fix the machinery and deal with the associated planar threats, which includes a couple of puzzles to solve – and they need solving.
Act III: The Littlest Complications finally involves dealing with the root of the problems, a devil – and it looks like a new one too, a liaison devil.
Wrap Up has experience rewards, stats for the merchant and some ideas for further adventures.
Genius Adventures: There’s Yer Problem in Review
The PDF is decently bookmarked and navigation is good. The text maintains a two column colour format and appeared to be free of errors. Illustrations are custom but are only the maps of the city and the dungeon, both of which are decent, and images for the puzzles. Presentation is decent.
Puzzles – actual puzzles that need solving – are rather rare. Most times puzzles are simply of the “roll to solve” variety, so a genuine puzzle is a bit of a change. That said, not every group enjoys genuine puzzles; playing with a group that doesn’t enjoy these will probably require coming up with suitable skill challenges – and will remove some of the difference of the adventure. The final enemy’s comment about how he will be avenged by his master is a tad trite though. There is also extensive read aloud text, which is decent but may need tinkering with – there are a couple of occasions when it goes into describing feelings and how much read aloud text is enough does vary. This does impart enough information to run things though. Genius Adventures: There’s Yer Problem is a decent little adventure with a difference and it can be found by clicking here.
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