Review & Commentary On Silvia Clemente's Temple of Flesh For the Wretched Bastards Rpg & Other Old School Campaigns

 "Temple of Flesh - Released (Red Room Store and Big Geek Emporium)

"The Temple of Flesh is a treacherous and unbalanced dungeon crawl by Sílvia Clemente, designed for parties of any level. However, it is not for the faint of heart, as the chances of survival are slim. The adventurers will face not only physical challenges but also the reasonably high chance of becoming a Creature of Shadows, a fate worse than death."

"The Sylvandell forest is home to a reclusive elven community that lives a peaceful life, undisturbed by the outside world. However, their tranquillity is shattered by a sudden earthquake that shakes the forest to its core. The elves soon discover that the quake has caused a monstrous temple to rise from the depths of the earth, looming ominously over the surrounding landscape. To make matters worse, the temple unleashes a horde of dark creatures that begin to prey on the unsuspecting elves. Faced with the looming threat of destruction, the elves desperately need a hero to venture into the temple and put an end to the evil that resides within.""

Silvia Clemente's Temple of Flesh For the Wretched Bastards Rpg isn't for the faint of heart in any way. This is a multi level forty nine page dungeon that's set within the heart of an Elven onclave and it's highly dangerous. Not only are the encounters really well done but the overall dungeon is not something that should be used lightly. 
Even a high level group of adventurers should not take Temple of Flesh off the cusp. This isn't a dungeon in the traditional sense but one that looks like it came straight from the early writings of Clive Barker. And it does fit right into the back drop of the  Wretched Bastards Rpg.

Temple of Flesh could easily be a Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg adventure without blinking an eye. There are five reasons for this. One the adult nature of the adventure. Two the writing is solid and the design of the adventure is deadly. PC's entering the temple of flesh are going to be changed and not necessarily for the better. Four the fact that the temple as an adventure location is going to be the focus of a highly dangerous campaign element. And there's no getting around the fact that this place is a focus for dark forces. 
The temple of fleash might as well be the campaign point for a cult of evil elves and all that entails. This isn't a statement made out of hyperbole but necessarity. The temple of flesh needs to be taken out and with extreme malcontent. 
But is the Temple of Flesh worth your time & money!? Well for four dollars Silvia Clemente has created an adventure location that can and will give your players pause & nightmares. Temple of Flesh is an adult title with all that conveys. And it does it well and dangerously. 

Reviews & Commentary 'The Goat Lady' by Sílvia Clemente & Miguel Ribeiro From The Red Room For The Wretched Rpg or Other OSR Rpg Systems

 "On the Westernmost part of Kharabas, one can find the Kingdom of Baetica, a strange and eerie place inhabited by rude and superstitious folk. At the heart of the country stands the Biscaya mountains; they are ancient and mysterious, a place feared by most Baeticans. The ruler of Biscaya, lady Lydia Alvarez, seeks protection from her unruly subjects. What seemed to be an easy job for an experienced group of bastards will become trickier once the party discovers an ancient evil has been unleashed in the mountains. And it must be stopped before it is too late. A scenario inspired by an old Portuguese folk tale, The Goat-footed Lady, Richard Donner’s 1985 fantasy tale Ladyhawke and several low-budget horror movies." 

The Goat Lady by Sílvia Clemente & Miguel Ribeiro From The Red Room is a forty two page dark adventure based on Portuguese folk tales. And this adventure is very well done. Let me explain, 'The Goat Lady' presents itself as both an old school  adventure & a horror scenario. 

We get a cast of NPC's who move the adventure along after the party becomes trapped in a storm; "The party has been travelling on their way to the castle; it is a rough walk.They are following a winding and steep trail up the mountain. On one side, they have rocky and dark mountain walls and, on the other, a dark and deep abyss. Although it's still early in the afternoon, suddenly the sky turns dark.Then, a flash of lightning breaks the sky, followed by the roar of thunder; it starts to rain heavily.The characters have been caught in a bad storm." 
So 'The Goat Lady' avoids the 'you all meet in a tavern' trope right off the bat. And from here the player's PC's meet a tarot reader and a young boy who puts them on the road to the castle of Lady Lydia. And the PC's get embroiled in the political goings on of the region. The villagers hated being ruled by a royal after her husband's death. The villagers are fighting a guarilla style war against the Lady Lydia & the player's PC's are hired to root out the rebels. 
And things go from bad to worse as the party is subject to mountain of mystery. And the supernatural goings on there but things are actually centered around the castle. There's far more going on & around at the castle then meets the eye. The Goat Lady actually is an NPC driven point & dungeon crawl with lots & lots of supernatural elements within it. The NPC cast is interesting, the adventure locations dangerous, the supernatural happenings within The Goat Lady are well done. Where the adventure actually shines is when it's employed for the Wretched Bastards Rpg. 

Why does 'The  Goat Lady' work for Wretched Bastards?! Because it showcases exactly what can be done with the system & done well. Supernatural happenings, deadly encounters, compelling game play, and more are where Wretched Bastards shines when paired with 'The Goat Lady'. 
Could 'The Goat Lady' be paired with other OSR systems?! And in point of fact is can & that's where I think 'The Goat Lady' could work very well for the Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg. You've got all of the adventure elements here for an excellent LoFP mini campaign. We've got powerfully written NPC's, weird supernatural happenings, solid political motives, & more. 

The other OSR style system that 'The Goat Lady' could handle is the Lion & Dragon  rpg. Messed up royals, political rebellion, occult horror and more are all perfectly aligned with Dark Albion's themes. And with a bit of hand waving by the dungeon master the 'Goat Lady' could work very well within a mini campaign of Lion & Dragon. 

'The Goat Lady' is an adventure that thrives on player PC play & interaction because of the fact that it's NPC driven and driven well. The Goat Lady is very well done & wouldn't be outta of place within a Ravenloft style horror campaign setting either. It's easy to squint and see the main antagonist as a Dark Lord villain. 
And this also means that 'The Goat Lady' could be used for other OSR style games such as Castles & Crusades easily. The C&C players have all read all of the rules back to front & are jaded rpg's. An adventure like 'The Goat Lady' is the perfect spanner to throw into a campaign to have them questioning the campaign narritive. 

The Goat Lady also has an unexplained aspect & that's the fact that the castle or it's lands are going to be up for grabs! Keep this in mind as 'The Goat Lady' could be a perfect horror adventure for  Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg. Tempt the PC's with the lands haunted by supernatural horror & stay for the conquest & carnage! 

So is the 'Goat Lady' worth the download?! Yes I think that Sílvia Clemente is a far more vicious rpg writer then many folks were expecting. The author knows her horror influences & The Red Room's adventures wear them on their OSR bloody sleeves. This is a solid entry from the Red Room and I can't wait to see what they come up with next! 
'The Goat Lady' by Sílvia Clemente & Miguel Ribeiro From The Red Room For The Wretched Rpg or Other OSR Rpg Systems Is Availabe Here. 

OSR Review & Commentary On 'The Labia: The Strange Case of the Cursed Vagina' By Sílvia Clemente, & Miguel Ribeiro For The Wretched Bastards Rpg or Any OSR Fantasy Rpg

 "Princess Lisabetta, the precious daughter of the King of Riget, has been cursed by her evil aunt. Between her legs, Lisabetta now has a monstrous carnivorous "octopussy". To bring the princess back to her natural self, an intrepid group of wretched adventurers must venture into the maze-like Citadel of Berleng and destroy the evil witch. But in a world of bastards, nothing is as simple as it seems and a dark, forbidden secret that will shake Riget is about to be revealed..." 

The Labia: The Strange Case of the Cursed Vagina By Sílvia Clemente, & Miguel Ribeiro is actually a straight out dungeon crawl with lots of old school weirdness. There's a lot going wrong for the royals in this adventure; "Rigetans know the royal family has had some bad luck: first, the beloved prince Charles Sebastian disappeared in the lands of Corphye. Then the queen died, giving birth to princess Lisabetta. There is bad blood between king Goran and his sister, countess Golithya, and she was expelled from court. The king is rumoured to be highly unstable, the oldest son, prince George Ferdinand, a lazy fool, and Princess Lisabetta to suffer from some strange malady. Fortunately, his Holiness Ozirix III, the High Priest of Xhardox, has provided spiritual guidance to Goran and helped him with the burden of ruling Riget" 
And it's actually up to the party take on the maze-like Citadel of Berleng and destroy the evil witch. And this is no easy task. The Citadel of Berleng is a twisting old school adventure location with lots of monsters, horrid rooms & locations, twisting hallways & even Lovecraftian horrors thrown in the mix. And there's a lot going on here within this twenty four pages. And this isn't going to be an easy adventure in the strictest sense & for the  Wretched Bastards role-playing game the adventurers are going to be in for a rough time. The maps & layout of the 'The Labia: The Strange Case of the Cursed Vagina' is well done. The presentation up to the usual Red Room's standards. 

The Citadel of Berleng isn't at all what it seems and the old pile is a twisting & dangerous maze of horror with plenty of opportunities for NPC interactions & PC death. Sure there's a good chance that 'The Labia: The Strange Case of the Cursed Vagina' could be played over multiple sessions but it's more likely that the Citadel of Berleng is going to turn into a mini campaign for Wretched Bastards. 

There's enough within 'The Labia: The Strange Case of the Cursed Vagina'  to be more then a one note 'joke' adventure. Below the title is a really dangerous & utterly devious. It presents an adventure that over time a party could actually come away with some solid experience points, lots of treasure, & a pile of character sheets. 

Where else could  'The Labia: The Strange Case of the Cursed Vagina' work  as an OSR adventure? Well in any B/X powered OSR rpg system. But actually there are several OSR systems that immediately spring to mind. And one of those is Lamentations of the Flame Princesss. The adventure subject matter not to mention the deadliness dungeon crawl itself is really within the LoFP wheel house. All in all 

Ulitmately,  'The Labia: The Strange Case of the Cursed Vagina' By Sílvia Clemente, & Miguel Ribeiro would also work with believe it or not Dark Albion or Lion & Dragon. The twisted fairy tale aspect of the adventure works on several levels and Citadel of Berleng isn't going to be a push over even for experienced players. 

'The Labia: The Strange Case of the Cursed Vagina' By Sílvia Clemente, & Miguel Ribeiro For The Wretched Bastards Rpg or Any OSR Fantasy Rpg is Available Right Over Here.