The theme of star-crossed lovers inspires this tale of woe by Richard Jensen-Parkes. From Ancient Grudge is an adventure for character levels 4-5, which sets the adventurers the task of investigating a haunted mansion and putting the souls of two cursed lovers to rest.

It’s a very well-constructed adventure, which should provide a session or two of entertainment for your players. The structure is relatively linear: the characters are sent to the mansion, they explore the mansion and discover the history of the lovers, a haunting begins, and finally they must descend into the undead-filled crypt to find the items that will break the curse.

One of the lovely things about the adventure is that it’s very clear. The ideas are well-presented, and it feels very elegant.

The exploration allows the players to discover the elements of the story while also enjoying a frisson of horror.

The adventure mostly consists of exploration, moving to a more combat-orientated finale. There are opportunities to role-play throughout.

Although for the most part the adventure is well-written, there are a few odd infelicities of phrase. There are times when using “their” as a singular possessive works, the use here to describe a cloaked figure of uncertain gender is not one of those times; it feels clumsy. The adventure also overuses the word “will”; a word that adventure writers should avoid. “This will mean” is better written as “This means”. It aids in clarity and directness of prose.

A few new monsters provide variety and interest, although I’d prefer it if they were presented in alphabetical order.

Overall, this is an evocative adventure with some excellent encounters. Highly recommended!