A review copy of “Shot in the Dark” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.

Designed by: Shane Hogan, Triden Games

Way back during our Shadowrun RPG days, I designed a mini-adventure based around a big music concert, with the players charged with running security for the pop star, and all the fun complications and shenanigans that could surround a chaotic and fun venue.

Shot in the Dark is also inspired by music, in this case the awesome power of rock and the classic satirization of over-the-top 80s glam rock and hair metal.

Shot in the Dark is a spacey Spelljammer mini-adventure designed for 8th level, with encounter adjustments for 5th-10th level. It’s written and organized as an Adventurer’s League one-shot module, which is usually too short and blunt for my tastes.

The adventure takes place in the Trayah Space system, and the only thing we need to know, is there’s a blue collar mining camp simply called The Waystation.

A massive, dangerous creature surrounded by an astral storm was recently awoken and attacked a nearby ship. It was impervious to all damage, but temporarily retreated when the ship’s alarm started blaring. Sound is its only vulnerability. You can probably guess where this is going!

With the creature now barreling toward The Waystation, the merchant guild hires the infamous rock band Vorpal Scream to put together a rock show to either ward it off, or destroy it altogether.

The party is hired to protect the band and make sure they pull off the concert.

It’s a neat setup, though directly involving the players in the initial ship attack with the creature would be an awesome adventure hook.

The Vorpal Scream band are all hilarious stereotypes and punk rock weirdos. I wish they were more developed and we spent more time with them.

A table of flavorful (non-combat) encounters can occur while exploring the town, and the party can get involved in a bar brawl with the locals. Otherwise, there’s not much.

Even worse, the party is scripted to fail at their job, with the band getting far too drunk off-screen over night, and unable to perform the next day, leaving the party to take up the instruments!

Shoving the players into the spotlight isn’t a bad move, though I imagine not every PC will be down to shred or scream.

Thankfully the designer offers two different climaxes: either the party takes down the massive creature with music, or they can revive the band mates and jump down for a more traditional battle with some random monster minions to protect the band.

If I were running it, I would probably do both!

Playing the concert includes a suite of special rules that reflect pyrotechnics, flourishes, and successful performance checks to deal damage or gain advantage.

With the awesome power of rock, the party (or the band, or both) can defeat the heavily modified cosmic horror and save the day.

The adventure’s plain paper presentation isn’t much to look at (and relies heavily on Midjourney AI art), but includes full color battle maps and VTT-ready tokens, which I always appreciate.

I dig the suitably epic climax in Shot in the Dark, but I wish the first half of the adventure were more involved. Give me some rabid fans, fun chase sequences, frightening overdoses, emotional outbursts and all the messy complications that come with babysitting a dramatic rock band.

Pros:

  • Cool climax that uses music and the power of rock to defeat a big bad monster.
  • Vorpal Scream is a nicely satirized 80s glam band.
  • Full color battle maps and VTT-ready tokens.
  • Encounter adjustments for levels 5-10.

Cons:

  • Needs more content, even if utilizing both branching main quest paths.
  • Unattractive, plain layout with all AI-generated art.

The Verdict: Shot in the Dark is a rock ‘n roll Spelljammer adventure with an epically cool climax, but the setlist could use a few more songs.

A review copy of “Shot in the Dark” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.