Grimvember 2018 is here! Be wary of the "Chaos in the Rye"!

Welcome to the third edition of Grimvember, where I review my favorite WFRP modules - both official and fan-made. Let's kick this year's grim & dark event with a look at "Chaos in the Rye" by Jeff Mason.

I've GM'ed this adventure at the beginning of this year. It was sort of a prelude to the "Thousand Thrones" campaign that we're currently playing. Well, a prelude is perhaps too big a word. Simply put, I wanted a short scenario between "Terror in Talabheim" and the "TTT". Did "Chaos in the Rye" managed to satisfy my snobbish taste?

I really dig that climactic art. It simply fits the tone of this scenario

Yes. Yes it did. Jeff Mason managed to craft a really nice, cheeky horror-like scenario with this one. It has everything: cultists, chaos, daemons, beastmen and rye, which is the main antagonist of this adventure. Sadly, beside the title, Jeff's work has nothing to do with J.D. Salinger's excellent "Catcher in the Rye". Oh well, you can't have everything, right?

Anyway, the scenario takes place in a small village of Trotteldorf in Stirland and is intended for 4 to 6 players. It assumes that the PC's are on the road, travelling from one place to another, seeking fortune (and most likely a messy demise) when they encounter a bunch of Raven Knights, led by one Sir Dhambass (snicker). They are escorting four supply wagons to their chapter keep near Siegfriedhof and are generally a bunch of nice guys, albeit slightly fixated with death. Morrites, nuff said.

After that the PC's enter the village of Trotteldorf, which belongs to the Raven order and immediately notice strange and uncharacteristic attitude from some of the residents. Without spoiling too much, the sleepy village hides a nasty secret and a certain dark power covets this place and all whom live within its borders...

"Chaos in the Rye" is a timed scenarion. The PC's have a short window of opportunity to try and prevent Trotteldorf from falling to the whims of the Fly Lord and his servants. Each day is divided into a few time sections, during which various things might happen. There is also a nice, cool table, which the GM can use to describe strange things happening to the villagers. I like it so much, that I will probably use it in my other games of WFRP!

This adventure is not too combat-heavy, which I personally like. The potential enemies are not too terrifying and a 2nd level party of 4-5 PC's should be able to walk through most of the encounters with their lives and Fate Points whole.

Jeff Mason included quite a lot of artworks in his scenario. Most of them are really well done. There are even some nice, atmospheric photos included, a rare sight in a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay module. Some of the character graphics are kinda goofy, but they do fit the overall theme of "Chaos in the Rye", so it's really not a problem.

My only complaint about this scenario is its structuring. It had been assembled quite erraticaly and sometimes I had to jump through the pages to find the required information, but other than that it's a solid work. I highly recommend "Chaos in the Rye". It's a cool, little scenario, perfect as an interlude between chapters of a campaign or as a quick one-shot.

One last thing - I'm actually curious if Trotteldorf is actually a reference to Trotterville, a fictional town from the horrendous, RPG-themed movie "Skullduggery". It's so bad that it's good and I highly recommend watching it... with a six-pack.

Fuck, now I will have to review it, aren't I? Great.

Me and my big, dumb mouth...

Until next time!

Xathrodox86