Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module design. They’re stream of consciousness and unedited critiques. I’m writing them on my phone in the bath.

Desert Moon of Karth is a 52 page module for Mothership by Joel Hines. It’s fully illustrated by Logan Stahl, Francesco Zanieri, Glynn Seal, and Ben Smith. It’s a mini-setting in an unusual vein for Mothership, more inspired by Cowboy Bebop and Dune than by the working class horror in most other modules for the system.

The layout and art direction is beautiful in monochrome and clear to read as a cover to cover, with art reminiscent of Moebius that is gorgeous, sparse and characterful. I say clear cover to cover, as the inconsistent approaches to layout throughout the module, while striking, make it a little more challenging to find things when flicking through the book, although the vertical titling that always lies on the far left margin helps to locate sections well enough. It’s dense, interconnected and dense enough I think it’d benefit from an index or cross-referencing (like in Reach of the Roach God) to be easier to run, especially as you hear a lot about certain factions and characters well before they’re described.

Joel’s writing isn’t beautiful, but it’s serviceable in a way that feels workmanlike and elegant in a way that suits the setting. Regardless of whether or not it’s intentional, it works well: “bronze statue of a mutton chopped man with a cane and a beatific expression, left boot tip rubbed to a shine by hands seeking good luck.” In places, it’s too long winded for my tastes, but this largely occurs in places where the mechanics and traditions of the world are being described, where it’s a little more forgivable, rather than in location or character descriptions. Not precisely what I want, but perfectly usable.

There’s a lot of small locations in Desert Moon of Karth, rather than a few large ones, and breaking them down individually will be tedious to read, I think. My favourites on vibes: A dungeon inside a fallen statue and one inside a living sandsquid, this settings’ take on the sandworms of dune. The best though are probably the traditional dungeon that is Seahorse Mine or the social challenge that is the Dawnseeker’s Spire.

The real question is, should I play this? And it’s an interesting question to me, because is Desert Moon of Karth good? Definitely. Does it have traditional Mothership aesthetics or vibes? No, not at all. Would I recommend it anyway? Definitely. Mothership is a very flexible system, it works well enough. You could run an entire campaign based on Desert Moon of Karth, and if space cowboy is your vibe, this is the best package for you, I think — better than, for example, Orbital Blues (or it’s module Trouble on the Rock of Tariq). I’d wouldn’t recommend Desert Moon, though, as a starter module for Mothership, because the vibes aren’t Mothership enough. Perhaps I’ll second guess though, because the first time I ran Mothership — Dead Planet is what I ran — and half the group asked we never play again. Maybe a sandbox with a dash of horror is a better introduction than an entire zine of horrors? Depends on your group.

While Desert Moon of Karth needs a contents page, or an index, writing could be terser and prettier, the information design requires rereading and it features that most dreadful of creatures, an NPC generator, my main complaint is honestly that it isn’t big enough. I could see myself playing in this sandbox for longer than it could support it, and with little to no preparation either. Thats hardly a strong criticism, though, and if the space cowboy vibes are what you’re after, and you’re not interested in the harder horror of modules like Dead Planet, Another Bug Hunt or In Carmine, this is an excellent way to play Mothershiip.

Idle Cartulary