Pyramid Review
The Last Dance (for d20)
Published by Atlas Games
Designed by Chris Aylott
38 b&w pages; $9.95
Atlas Games' Penumbra series was the first of the independent d20 lines to hit the industry, and under the guidance of John Nephew and company, it continues to be one of the best. The Last Dance is another fine example.
Designed for relatively low-level adventurers (a group of 4th to 6th level), The Last Dance is very simple . . . on the surface. There's not a lot of traveling, and most of the action takes place in a single room -- the great hall of a border fortress, where a peace treaty between neighboring orcs and humans is being celebrated with a grand dance.
[BEGIN SPOILER ALERT]
It's a wonderful party, except for the fact that it's been going on for a thousand years or so . . . and everybody's dead.
It's a story of ambition, betrayal, arrogance . . . and dancing. The Last Dance in the title is not a metaphor. Dancing is a crucial part of this adventure, and while players could treat the whole exercise as an abstract puzzle to solve, it will be much more fun if they get into it. (The publishers claim that in the playtests, players actually got up from around the table and danced.) If your players aren't up to that sort of participation, or at least willing to get into the spirit of things, The Last Dance might not be the adventure for them.
Don't get me wrong -- it's not like you have to be an SCA-trained pavane-loving fool to enjoy this adventure. But it's more than just hack . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: December 21, 2001
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