“You all meet in a tavern…” is an opening as old as role-playing games themselves. Even after decades of evolution in playing styles, settings and even formats, Ye Good Olde Inn still is the number one meeting place and quest hub. If you think about it more closely it actually makes sense: Lots of different folks coming together, being in a talkative mood either because they are naturally chatty or because they have been quaffing just one ale too much. An ideal atmosphere for sharing information and lending a helping hand. Where else can you speak so openly about all of your troubles to total strangers? Where else are you going to make hasty promises based on alcohol fuelled solidarity and overconfidence? Some might say it is a rather cheap hook, some might wish for a more personal character motivation and some might want to draw more attention to their elaborate backgrounds. Others might just create an excellent game about it, a game like Tavern Crawler.
If you were to judge a book strictly by its name, today’s title sets the bar quite high: The Citadel of Chaos frankly sounds rather cool. It promises whimsical magic, rolls of the tongue and hints at even greater things to come. So, the question we are going to ask today is: Does the content match its wrapping?
Really? The name seems somewhat generic to me. Even its predecessor had a bit more character. Never mind, let us dive right into the prologue: The sinister Balthus Dire (nomen est omen) is threatening the helpless, honest people of a nearby village. So, this time you are going to be a really ‘good’ guy.
Professor Moriarty is the arch-enemy of Mr Holmes. The clash of these two well-known figures is undoubtedly of epic proportions. The result of the encounter decides the reign of good or evil over 19th century London. The mini adventure at hand takes the player to this fictional final battle, which, however, never occurred in this exact form in actual literature.
Sherlock Holmes finds himself in his flat, which is guarded by snipers on behalf of Moriarty. The arch-villain is about to gain access to the flat. Holmes is on his own. He has no weapon at his disposal and escape is out of the question. Therefore, the detective must quickly use his intellectual abilities to find sufficient defence of his life against the approaching criminal.