Goodman Games

Blackdirge Publishing and Goodman Games bring you Critter Encounters, a line of short encounter scenarios for the Fourth Edition Dungeons & Dragons game. Each Critter Encounter can be played in a single gaming session, and can be easily slotted into nearly any fantasy campaign. Critter Encounters is the companion line to Critter Cache, published by Blackdirge Publishing and Goodman Games, and features monsters from that line. However, every Critter Encounters includes complete stat blocks for all monsters.

Critter Encounters: Bugged Out is a short scenario for the Fourth Edition Dungeons & Dragons game that revolves around mysterious disappearances in the small town of Kettledowns. Townsfolk are disappearing in the night, spirited away by some force that burrows up beneath homes and businesses, leaving an empty, ransacked shambles in its wake. It will take a canny and brave group of heroes to tackle this ominous threat, and bring peace and prosperity back to Kettledowns.

For a more complete gaming experience, pick up the companion Critter Encounter Tiles set for this encounter, publishing by SkeletonKey Games. This set includes all the tiles necessary to make a printable, full-size battlemap for all encounter areas in Critter Encounters: Bugged Out.

Critter Encounters: Bugged Out features the following:

• A ready-to-play 4E scenario for characters of 6th to 8th level.
• Dynamic encounter areas, with full-color maps by SkeletonKey Games’ Ed Bourelle.
• Complete stat blocks for all monsters, traps, and hazards.
• Advice on how to tailor the scenario to parties of various levels.
• Full-size monster counters for all monsters in the scenario.
• Fabulous illustrations by Jesse Mohn.

You can get both Critter Encounters:Bugged Out and the Critter Encounter Tiles at RPGNOW for only $6.99 in this bundle: Bugged Out Bundle

Just grabbed

Damn this Goodman/Blackdirge hybrid of goodness....

Arawn76 wrote:Just grabbed

Damn this Goodman/Blackdirge hybrid of goodness....

Awesome. There's more on the way.

When you get a chance to read through Critter Encounters, let us know what you think. We're always looking for feedback on new product lines.

BD

OK take with a pinch of salt since I'm STILL waiting to actually run a 4E game .

Artwork inside is nice, simple and is just enough to add to your product. Cover art not so fond of, if I wasn't already aware of how good your stuff is I wouldn't have looked twice at something with this cover. No disrespect to the artist, I can't draw a straight line, but that was the impression/feeling I got from it. Is it the same artist as inside?

The encounters are cool, I like how they read and they seem anything but boring in how they'll play. The intro is nice but I think with a product like this I'm more likely to foreshadow this in an ongoing game, maybe have the ants kill/kidnap a few NPC's my players are attached to. I'm happy doing this but maybe a paragraph or two for newbie DM's? I realise word count can be an issue.

Mark out of 5
Content: 5 - Products like this are invaluable to me, I love having stuff I can insert into an ongoing game)
Style:4 - Love the layout and writing, really not grabbed by the cover art.
Total 4.5 - Look forward to the future offerings very much.

Big bonus points for the option to download the tiles, really a great time saver.

Anyway what do I know

Arawn76 wrote:Artwork inside is nice, simple and is just enough to add to your product. Cover art not so fond of, if I wasn't already aware of how good your stuff is I wouldn't have looked twice at something with this cover. No disrespect to the artist, I can't draw a straight line, but that was the impression/feeling I got from it. Is it the same artist as inside?

The artist is Jesse Mohn, and he does most of the art for my products. He did indeed do all of the art (with the exception of the maps) inside Critter Encounters. I think the cover has a very 1E feel to it, and I understand that that might not resonate with some. No worries. =]

Arawn76 wrote:The encounters are cool, I like how they read and they seem anything but boring in how they'll play. The intro is nice but I think with a product like this I'm more likely to foreshadow this in an ongoing game, maybe have the ants kill/kidnap a few NPC's my players are attached to. I'm happy doing this but maybe a paragraph or two for newbie DM's? I realise word count can be an issue.

I like that you are instantly able to see how the encounter could develop into a larger adventure/campaign. That's exactly the kind of thing I'm shooting for. However, it would be no problem to throw in a handful of hooks into these encounters to help out newer DMs, like you suggested.

Arawn76 wrote:Mark out of 5
Content: 5 - Products like this are invaluable to me, I love having stuff I can insert into an ongoing game)
Style:4 - Love the layout and writing, really not grabbed by the cover art.
Total 4.5 - Look forward to the future offerings very much.

That's an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars. I'll take that everytime.

Arawn76 wrote:Big bonus points for the option to download the tiles, really a great time saver.

Yeah, Ed's tiles are awesome, and this is the perfect format for a crossover. Did you pick up the tileset?

Arawn76 wrote:Anyway what do I know

Enough to write a decent review, obviously.

BD

Definitely worth the score.

I can honestly say that "encounter" products like these are worth their weight in gold.

As I get older and time becomes more of a premium adventures are a necessity if I want to run a game, although I love 4E for this.

However the trouble with written modules is that even the best follow a linear track, no matter how well disguised. These critter encounters are a great way to show that hey other stuff happens. Really makes a setting live, at least for me.

As for the cover, well art is entirely subjective and I was always more a fan of the 2e stuff. However I'll look forward to Jesse's art if only because I like the package inside .

Admittedly, I'm predisposed to like anything from the mind of Blackdirge, but I got a big kick out of this and chatted up the Critter Cache on my blog (which is probably read by a huge audience of 11 people ).

--Ken

Ken Hart wrote:Admittedly, I'm predisposed to like anything from the mind of Blackdirge, but I got a big kick out of this and chatted up the Critter Cache on my blog (which is probably read by a huge audience of 11 people ).

--Ken

Awesome. Thanks for the write-up, Ken.

I'll make sure you get copies of all the upcoming Critter Cache products. Becasue, hey, 11 sales is 11 sales.

BD