Mini Quest: Sword of the Archon by David Dudka is a role playing game supplement published by Survive RPG for use with Dungeons & Dragons based systems, although no particular version is specified. This is an adventure that is part of the Mini Quest series and the sequel to Trail of the Giant.
This is a four page PDF that is available from RPGNow as a Pay What You Want supplement.
The adventure starts with a brief introduction about how, in the prior adventure, the characters recovered a sword, the Sword of Eremial, a sword that belonged to an archon of that name. Inside the sword’s sheath is a note asking that the sword be taken to a Brother Percy.
Brother Percy tells the story behind the sword, and how Eremial was exiled to the Shadow Realm after she was betrayed by a mortal, the exile being largely due to Eremial asking to be cursed for that betrayal. Percy offers to buy the sword, but says he thinks that Eremial can be freed, and he knows how, if the characters accompany him.
The adventure itself takes place in the Shadow Realm, which could be considered to be the Plane of Shadow. There are a number of encounters, puzzles and challenges in the realm before Eremial is found, but she may not be freed; it depends on how the characters behave. The final confrontation would destroy the characters if it wasn’t for outside intervention.
Mini Quest: Sword of the Archon in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and, at its length, doesn’t really need them. The text maintains a two column format with a few minor errors. There are a number of custom black and white illustrations, as well as the maps; presentation is therefore very good for a short supplement.
The adventure doesn’t specify what levels it is aimed at, so the GM will need to work this out beforehand. It is also subtly very dangerous; characters can accumulate shadow points, both from time spent in the realm and from other confrontations. These shadow points once they reach a certain level can turn the affected character into a shadow – effectively permanently killing them. This makes the adventure more dangerous than it looks, and it already looks quite dangerous in places.
Many of the encounters – and, indeed, the entire adventure – have different choices that give the characters different options as to what to do, which is good. The adventure itself is very linear; one area leads directly to the next and if characters are unable to pass a challenge, the adventure will derail.
Mini Quest: Sword of the Archon is a decent, but not perfect, adventure and it can be checked out for free by clicking here.
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