Brief but adequate background and setup. Simple direct plot. Satisfying conclusion. NPCs are mostly programmed ghosts who endlessly perform the tasks they did in life, and attack if attacked. There are a few monsters/monstrous appendages that can be encountered, some powerful enough to give experienced adventures a worthwhile challenge. Very basic faction play; whale vs whalers, but this is a brochure style drop-in adventure, so no points lost here as depth isn’t the goal. The ship has multiple areas, each with a unique atmosphere that evolves as the situation changes. A few secrets to be discovered for the brave or foolhardy. A reward is available of a hoard of treasure if you can get it off the ship before it sinks. The plot is simple and straight to the point as it should be for this format of adventure, with a sound conclusion to bookend the hooks offered in the introduction. The only criticism I can really offer is the handful of editing mistakes and overlooked typos which is disappointing in an otherwise very professional offering.

This adventure is really fantastic. The lore of the area is fun, and ties into the various areas well and if thoroughly explored will reveal a well-thought out story behind the individual plots and pieces.

The NPCs are colorful and are presented with sufficient motivations for GMs of any experience level to easily present to their players. The selection of monsters is varied but appropriate to the setting.

Each area on the big map offers a unique experience, and there is so much to explore. The individual areas are well presented and layed out so that each contained adventure area or dungeon can be explored piece by piece without a lot of page turning. There are unique treasure pieces that work with each other scattered throughout the adventure to offer great rewards to those who love to explore, and plenty of secrets to be found.

The text flows around the illustrations well, and the illustrations themselves are simple but lively and evoke the nature of their subject well. The GM should have no issues glancing at the picture and recalling the personality of the entity described.
The dungeons are well laid out with multiple paths and entrances.

The sore spot for this entire adventure is really the editing. There are multiple missing monsters and inaccurate page references that really hurts the polish and evokes a rushed and unfinished feel to an otherwise excellent product. I am using v1.0.1 so hopefully there will be revision where these issues are resolved and I will update my review. This criticism not-withstanding, this is still a very playable adventure and I do highly recommend it, just be prepared for the failings.

The Alchemist’s Repose is a clever and inventive One Page Dungeon. The main feature that sets this OPD apart is the idea of programmable constructs. Littered about the dungeon are punch-cards that can be installed in various forms of construct (Armored fighting machine, Tooled repair bot, and a type of courier bot that can pass through magic fields unharmed). Depending on the type of construct and which of the 6 different punch-card programs are installed in said construct yields vastly different behavior and a multitude of possibilities and options. The dungeon itself is well layed out with 2 paths and some required retracing of steps. True to form for OPDs, the enemies are simple general concepts that you can stat according to your own needs and the ability of the party. Well thought-out and well-designed this is worth picking up to team with the excellent Maze Rats system for an enjoyable couple of hours of exploration for any experience level of player.

Knave brings to OSR something that has been sorely missing, namely a bare-bones framework that gives exactly what you need to run the classic published adventures with little to no conversion, and without any further rules to worry over. This system stands on its own, but is also very much ready for you plug in rules from any other system of your choice, and in this manner has become my preferred system for running my weekly games. Creator Ben Milton even goes so far as to include italicized explainations for his thinking for each rule, so you can decide for yourself if the reasoning stands up (it very much does). Combined with the procedural generators and Game Master's Guide from Questing Beast's also excellent Maze Rats, this could easily be the perfect place to start as a new GM/Referee. Pick up the outstanding adventure "The Waking of Willowby Hall" a set of polyhedral dice and some paper and pencils and you have everything you need for an exciting Friday night with your friends.

You certainly won't find better bang-for-your-buck out there, very well worth the price.

Maze Rats has become my go-to for introducing new people to RPGs. From middle-schoolers up to roudy group of adults on a Friday game night, this system stands up, gets out of the way, and paves a path for memoriable adventures. Inside you'll find some of the best advice around for new referee/game masters including procedural generators for dungeons, cities, wilderness settings, NPCs, unique monsters and interesting spells. Many of the resources offered here will be useful even in systems other than Maze Rats. Well-worth the price of admission!