Review of Lake-town by Gerrit Nuckton
First published in Other Hands 10/11 (October 1995) p. 34

The newest Middle-earth Citadel module, Lake-town, is as comprehensive as any yet published by Iron Crown Enterprises, providing gamers with adventure aplenty as they explore one of the more unique settings in Middle-earth. Author/designer Zachariah Woolf has left no stone unturned, providing an all-encompassing view of Lake-town, otherwise known as "Esgaroth on the Long Lake," which should be familiar to readers of The Hobbit.

The temporal setting for the module centers mainly upon T.A. 1640, less than five years after the deadly Great Plague has swept through Mirkwood and thence to Esgaroth, killing nearly half of the town's residents and disrupting its most important resource: trade. The author has taken the trouble to describe other eras in the region's history, courtesy of a timeline and historical overview of Lake-town. These make it possible to adventure in the town during the Third Age from the year 999 (the date of its founding) onward. For example, an entire page of possible scenarios is presented wherein characters interact with the Northron denizens of Esgaroth during T.A. 3018, a time when the town was occupied by Easterlings.

Esgaroth is presented in its true context by describing it as a center of commercial activity. The population of seven hundred and seventy inhabitants makes its livelihood by engaging in barter and trade for money, since the town receives goods from a number of routes. The lower river Celduin towns bring foodstuffs and dyes, while Mirkwood's Wood Elves trade their lumber and crafts, not to mention the Dwarves of the Iron Hills selling gems and weapons. A ten-percent toll (known locally as the blasting) levied by Esgaroth's rulers ensures the town's prosperity.

Not surprisingly, if adventurers choose to interact with the townspeople, they will invariably encounter merchants (both wealthy and poor), smugglers, thieves, or the town guard (which numbers about 60 men on active duty). The author warns that players would do well to remember that Lake-town is a frontier settlement where nearly everyone carries and knows how to use weapons.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the module—not forgetting the splendid drawings and character portraits—are the concisely written descriptions of no less than seventy of Esgaroth's residents. All of the descriptions of these NPCs give the Gamemaster an understanding of a person's social standing, personality and physical size, adding to the extensive MERP/Rolemaster stats in the appendices.

From the word go, Woolf offers several adventure scenarios, including one in the first eleven pages of the module involving a murder mystery, whereby the characters try to uncover a major smuggling operation in the town. For those gamers interested in a side-bar adventure involving almost pure combat, the module includes the hunting of a legendary and fearsome beast inhabiting the waters of the Long Lake.

The Lake-men speak often of a Séahmatha (Northron for "Lake-serpent"), which recently claimed the lives of several fishermen who ventured out to an isolated part of the lake. Anyone attempting to slay the monster (if indeed it can be found) should have the requisite combat and swimming skills in order to have a chance against the creature. Of course, if the adventurers are successful (and can show proof of such), they may expect to be handsomely rewarded by the townsfolk with money and renown throughout the region.

Other features of interest include an eight-page color-coded map of the town, as well as a large-scale map of the Long Lake, depicting all nearby encounter areas of note, including parts of Eastern Mirkwood and the town of Dale to the north. What interested me most, however, was a chapter at the end of the module devoted to special "Items of Note," which players may come across during their adventures. Items are classified three ways: Most Potent (very powerful magic); Potent; and Modest. These items, some of which include powerful weapons which can shift the odds in any scenario in favor of the player-characters, can be used to great advantage, if indeed they are properly used.

In sum, then, Iron Crown has again published a module of the highest quality, definitely worth looking into for anyone interested in this important area and age of Middle-earth's history.