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The Hole in the Oak
The Hole in the Oak: an expedition into the Mythic Underworld.
A hole in an old oak tree leads characters down to a maze of twisting, root-riddled passageways, the chambers of an ancient wizard-complex, and the banks of an underground river where once a reptile cult built their temples.
A classic dungeon adventure for characters of 1st to 2nd level.
A hole in an old oak tree leads characters down to a maze of twisting, root-riddled passageways, the chambers of an ancient wizard-complex, and the banks of an underground river where once a reptile cult built their temples.
A classic dungeon adventure for characters of 1st to 2nd level.
44 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 17, 2021
ISBN for the version I read: 978-3-96657-021-3
This is a solid adventure for low-level characters. It's well written and there is a lot for players to investigate. Two elements stand out for me:
1) The room descriptions are given in a limited, even terse, style, highlighting three or four immediate impressions of the room, with no long, rambling prose. I like this.
2) There are multiple factions in the dungeon, but Gavin does an excellent job of layering the history of the place, so it makes sense that all of these groups would have moved in over the years. There's a sense of history which, if the players uncover enough to grasp it, will make for a satisfying sense of understanding. It's subtle, but it's very well done.
I like this a lot. At first appearance it looks like a generic starting dungeon type of thing, and I suppose it is, but it's executed very well.
This is a solid adventure for low-level characters. It's well written and there is a lot for players to investigate. Two elements stand out for me:
1) The room descriptions are given in a limited, even terse, style, highlighting three or four immediate impressions of the room, with no long, rambling prose. I like this.
2) There are multiple factions in the dungeon, but Gavin does an excellent job of layering the history of the place, so it makes sense that all of these groups would have moved in over the years. There's a sense of history which, if the players uncover enough to grasp it, will make for a satisfying sense of understanding. It's subtle, but it's very well done.
I like this a lot. At first appearance it looks like a generic starting dungeon type of thing, and I suppose it is, but it's executed very well.
August 24, 2020
While The Hole in the Oak is a fairly standard dungeon for fantasy TTRPG games, there are some well-constructed elements that elevate it beyond the run-of-the-mill adventures that are the norm for the industry:
1) The Sheep-headed Fauns. One of the most interesting monster factions I've encountered in a while: "Quaint but wicked, these fauns cook tea and crumpets but secretly consume human flesh."
2) Good break-down of relationships between the groups of monsters in the dungeon.
3) Excellent map design by Karl Stjernberg.
There are other highlights as well, such as the Heretic Gnomes and the Evil Tree Babies. All-in-all, for a slim digest-size pamphlet, The Hole in the Oak packs quite a few interesting ideas that could either be used "as is" or incorporated into a custom adventure scenario.
1) The Sheep-headed Fauns. One of the most interesting monster factions I've encountered in a while: "Quaint but wicked, these fauns cook tea and crumpets but secretly consume human flesh."
2) Good break-down of relationships between the groups of monsters in the dungeon.
3) Excellent map design by Karl Stjernberg.
There are other highlights as well, such as the Heretic Gnomes and the Evil Tree Babies. All-in-all, for a slim digest-size pamphlet, The Hole in the Oak packs quite a few interesting ideas that could either be used "as is" or incorporated into a custom adventure scenario.
February 7, 2024
This is a lot of fun, with great faction play and a good balance for a new crew of low level players. The book is quite upfront about not having too much of an overarching story, which I appreciate - tho I do prefer dungeons that use their trappings to explain something, whether it be their own history, their inhabitants’ needs and wants, or hint at some greater adventure to be had. In addition, I prefer when adventures give hooks for characters to come (beyond gold for XP, or the meta argument “because it’s there”), and reasons for them to stay once the first pressure-triggered blade trap decapitate a player: this adventure does neither. Still! Hole in the Oak is a nice introductory adventure that offers many different flavors of fantasy as you roll through the dungeon, and could be great fun for a group learning the ropes of fantasy rpging.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews