The sixth part of Dan Hass’s Dimgaard series, And the Dwarf Thane Slept, finds the party hired to acquire and transport a supply of gems so that the clerics of the land can cast raise dead again (they’ve run out!). Persuading the dwarves to help is likely to be easy, as their Thane has recently died and the clerics can raise him! This is an unusual hook, to say the least, and it quickly brings the group into the land of the dwarves, where the usual violent politics soon intrude.

The bulk of the adventure details travelling back home with the dwarf’s body, all the while with the various humanoids and bandits that live in the area causing trouble.

As with most of these adventures, it’s a fairly linear adventure. Despite being a 26-page adventure, this feels really short, although the party is likely to be challenged by the ambushes and attacks that occur on the road. There’s a modicum of role-playing, but it isn’t really a great exploration adventure: you’re likely to see most of what it offers without trying too hard.

It’s fascinating to compare the structure of this adventure to the original, site-based adventures. This is a long way from them, although – in a lot of ways – it’s the other side of the coin. Fixed encounters occurring along a time-line? The comparison to fixed encounters at set locations is an interesting one.

Although a competent enough adventure, I’m not feeling that this is the best of the Dimgaard series; at this point, I’m very familiar with the structure of the adventures, and I’m wanting something a little more involved and with more divergence of possible activities. There’s good material here, and it’s interesting to see how the Red Blade War develops. There’s enough here to keep players interested.