Lost Man’s Trail is an adventure from Judges Guild published in 2010. It is based upon the last manuscript written by Bob Bledsaw before he passed in 2008. In the late 90s Judges Guild made a comeback and a number of products were released. This one was written for use with a “Universal Role Playing System.” rather than any specific system. The stats are more or less compatible with most of the Dungeons and Dragons editions. It is easily converted to just about any D & D edition where there are differences at all.
This adventure is 43 pages long from cover to cover.
Lost Man’s Trail provides different areas to explore including a tin mining area, a large inn and an underground cave system. Werewolves have been seen in the area and people have gone missing.
What I like about Lost Man’s Trail
It is kind of a mystery story. Werewolves are eating the locals. Who are they? And where can they be found? Some goblins are also raiding the area. And they have had their own run in with the Werewolves.
I am not a huge fan of the “Universal RPG system” but it is easily converted to ADnD or even some of the later editions.
The inn is very detailed. There are multiple NPCs that are also fully detailed in order to give the game master something to work with when developing the mystery story.
What I do not like about Lost Man’s Trail
Too many magic weapons are handed over with little difficulty in obtaining them. I realize that this is probably a result of this new “Universal” system. In ADnD things should be a whole lot tighter than this. Unless you want your players to have a choice of six magic weapons every time they take a swing.
There is plenty of art in this one. And it is not bad at all. But it is not like the old days when the regular Judges Guild artists were illustrating the adventures. Those folks all moved on to other companies, I suspect, by the time this one was written.
The caverns really have little to do with the Werewolves. The purpose of the caverns themselves is kind of unclear. The monsters found there have little relation to the Werewolves story line.
Would I recommend this adventure to others?
Perhaps. It is not a terrible adventure. But it kind of lacks some of the depth of the previous works from Judges Guild. The cave system seems kind of like an afterthought rather than a planned part of the adventure. It really has nothing to do with the werewolf story so why is it there at all? And there are four levels of caves!
Would I run Lost Man’s Trail with my own players?
Personally I would not run it myself. It is an interesting piece to read since it was the last known work of Bob Bledsaw who was the primary force at Judges Guild for so long.
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