Play Adventure Module
The Toymancer's Folly's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Writing: Is the adventure original and fun to read? | #4 | 4.476 | 4.476 |
| Overall | #4 | 4.270 | 4.270 |
| Usability: Is the adventure easy to use on the fly? | #7 | 4.190 | 4.190 |
| Fun: Is the adventure fun to play in an OSR playstyle? | #13 | 4.143 | 4.143 |
Ranked from 21 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
I don't think I'll have any time to check out other entries before the deadline hits, and wow what a scenario to finish on!
The map in particular is beautiful and legible. Pages 4 and 5 did a great job of setting the stage and I enjoyed that it leaned into puzzles and clever thinking as solutions instead of combat.
Animated toys/dolls are innately terrifying, and you did a great job channeling that.
A solid adventure, with solid advice about running horror games. To echo the comments of others, including both top-down and isometric maps is an excellent idea, and something I'm going to emulate in the future.
Very fun, or should I say scary, adventure! Love the choice of Random Encounters and Delve Shifts – they are all very true to the atmosphere of this toy–horror adventure. Very nice touch with the Toymancer's Study being able to change floors; is it an elevator? or is it an otherworldly mean of teleportation? Who really knows? Lovely adventure!
Thanks so much! That's high praise coming from you!
oof! hard not to judge this one on the fantastic layout and design. i'm still soaking in the idea of color coded dungeon levels with my choice of top-down and isometric. and a minimap for every spread? lovely! the random encounters being on a bell curve is also really great. the fact that delve shifts are handy there too is really, really great. those things plus a few d100 and spell references and a sink full of marbles really do sell the "made for Knave" label while not being at all inaccessible to another OSR.
Knave 2e wounds seem to be designed mostly to get adventurers to make a risk & reward vs run & rest calculation. but what to do when you're locked in (Recast) and unable to rest safely? the Potion of Cleansing Water and Margot probably help ameliorate that without turning down the tension, i'd guess. i'm a little bit fascinated by wounds and would be interested to know what playtesters thought of them throughout.
Thanks for your comment! I tried really hard to incorporate what I thought was unique about Knave 😄 I’m really stoked you could tell! I was only able to playtest once, and my players avoided becoming Recast haha! I didn’t wanna force it on anyone, so I tried to leave wiggle room even though it’s still a threat.
That being said, I definitely need to test it again with Recasts and make sure it’s tuned up right. I tried to give them a few boons (less fall damage, same speed in combat) so that they didn’t slow the party down and had their own unique way they could interact.
But honestly I ran out of pages and time haha. If originally had a bigger role for Margot and was going to try for a d100 table of botched toy surgeries that would play with some toy body horror hah. (Like Sid’s toys from the end of Toy Story 1). I also wanted the players trapped in a dollhouse with an easy ‘escape the room’ situation that ultimately taught them the solution to a more complicated escape of the house… all too ambitious for 16 pages haha
Hopefully I’ll get some time to make adjustments after the jam 😄
the sid-victims would have been interesting but i have to say those puppet strings everywhere seem plenty creepy! also, i think you'd have been well justified in recasting most of your reluctant playtesters in the name of (mad) science.
...and now i'm smitten with the image of one "tall" character loaded down with doll people like some sort of adventure opossum. and adjacent to "the little wars of hopsberry manor" (or is that too much? :D )!
This is absolutely beautiful. Please let me know when I can get this zine in print. Masterfully done.
Art is great and layout clear. Love a cursed toymaker for those "7th Guest" chills down my spine.
Very well done. Great art, layout, premise. Liked the little intro bit about running a horror game, that's good stuff.
A pretty solid horror adventure that still leaves room for heroism. Well done! The paper doll at the end is a nice touch too.
Fantastic adventure with a lot of great ideas!
Fantastic adventure with a lot of great ideas!
Very creepy. A perfect example of translating the "normal people transformed into toys" horror subgenre into a TTRPG adventure. The only thing I feel is missing is a physical description of the Toymancer.
Great point! That’s an oversight on my part ☺️ I’ll have to fix it after the jam.
Love the vibe, the art choices, and color scheme lends to the whole thing. The paper doll in the back takes me back to my childhood with the push pins through the holes and moveable art. Great overall presentation. Look forward to running this one as a player or GM. Cheers!
WHY IS THIS NOT AT THE TOP???? I love this art! This adventure checks all my boxes!
This is really top notch. The layout and design of this adventure makes you ready to pick up and go with it. And love how colourful this is for a horror scenario 😂 can't wait to run this one myself!
Edit: ohh and the addition of the cut out paper doll on the end page. Love that finishing touch! 😁
Thank you so much! Haha you're right, the color palette is pretty bright XD I actually sourced it from an old circus poster I found on Pinterest. The paper doll was my wife's idea! She helped me nail down the vibe alot!
Oooh, that's so clever! Makes it feel really authentic as well ^^
Bad Star has delivered another incredible adventure! The writing is top-notch, and the art and layout are stunning. While it's not my usual style of game due to my fear of dolls, I'll definitely try it in my home game. It seems like a perfect fit for where my players' campaign is headed.
Love the paper doll!
Fantastic work! I love the theme and the story, great vibe, beautiful art and awesome maps! Best I've seen so far, great job