Review - A Requiem Of Wings (series)

I'm going to try something a little different today.  Although I've gotten a lot of stand-alone adventures I have also gotten a few modules that are part of linked series.  Today I'm going to be looking at (the first?) three adventures in Ashley Warren's A Requiem Of Wings series.

As an aside if any of this seems a bit familiar I had previously covered my group's experience with the second adventure in the series here http://worlds-in-conflict.blogspot.com/2019/02/labyrinth-of-thorns-contains-encounter.html I will be re-covering the adventure from a more critical point of view this time.

A Requiem Of Wings is set in a pocket of the Forgotten Realms against a backdrop of a conflict between celestials and abyssals but could easily be transposed into Ravenloft (which it almost certainly will be in my case) and feels like it would make a great prequel to Descent Into Avernus.

The first adventure in the series is A Night Of Masks And Monsters.

Before I get into the adventure proper I want to call out something awesome about this adventure that more authors creating unique content should emulate.  When you purchase A Night Of Masks And Monsters in addition to the adventure PDF you will receive a separate 7 page primer on the background for the campaign/adventure that maps out the influences and lays out how the world of A Requiem Of Wings differs from the traditional backdrop of the Forgotten Realms.  I really like this feature as it helps the DM fill in any blanks that may not be directly covered in the adventures and closes the gap between the writer's understanding of their setting and the reader's.

Onto the adventure itself.
A Night Of Masks And Monsters is a role-play heavy adventure primarily in the setting of a fancy party with a mysterious death hanging over the whole thing.  The adventure is radically different from anything I've played in the past and actually makes me want to go back a re-plot some existing adventures I've run that use a party as a set piece.  What makes the adventure different is almost the entirety of it is set within the party.  The bulk of the players' time will be spent interacting with the other party guests, playing games set within the party itself and absorbing the flavour of the setting.  I feel like I say this a lot about Ashley Warren's writing but one of the great strengths of this adventure is how well she conveys the themes and atmosphere of her setting.  For a 23 page adventure A Night Of Masks And Monsters does a tremendous amount of world building and should leave most groups wanting further adventures set in Emberez.

A Night Of Masks And Monsters is currently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/229708/A-Night-of-Masks-and-Monsters-A-Requiem-of-Wings-1?term=a+night+of+masks for FREE!  I would definitely recommend picking this one up as it both stands tall on its own and also has some great party ideas that could be transplanted into other adventures as a DM requires.

Our second adventure is Labyrinth Of Thorns.

Labyrinth Of Thorns is more combat-heavy than it's predecessor but still finds a ton of time in its 18 pages to tell an engaging story.  The titular labyrinth is a mix of problem solving and combat that I believe any and every party would find enjoyable.  The adventure is a dark take on a Valentine themed story with some of A Requiem Of Wings thematic and  celestial links thrown in to keep up the flow of the campaign.  The central villain is an engaging flip on a traditional trope and the adventure includes some classic iconic D&D monsters as well.  Of the three adventures in the series (thus far) Labyrinth Of Thorns could probably be described as the most 'traditional', this is not in any way a criticism as the execution and flavour of the adventure makes it an exceptional take on traditional adventure structure.  Although its hardly a critical evaluation I would also like to add that my gaming group played this adventure about 8 months ago in one session and two of my players still reference this adventure fondly and regularly.

A Labyrinth Of Thorns is currently available for DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/234066/Labyrinth-of-Thorns-A-Requiem-of-Wings-2?term=labyrinth for $1.99 and as I mentioned in a previous review it is easily the best $2 I have ever spent!  A memorable satisfying adventure that should appeal to everyone.

The third adventure in the series is The Starlight Relic.

The Starlight Relic takes the players outside the urban environment of the previous adventures and into the wilderness of Emberez.  In addition to exploring a wilderness setting the adventure potentially exposes more elements and a character involved in the ongoing conflict between celestials and abyssals.  The Starlight Relic takes the group on a quest to recover an artifact that is also of interest to others in the area.  Clues are hidden in one song to be sung and one song to be deciphered  adding a layer to the flavour that has pervaded and enriched the series thus far.  The Starlight Relic strikes a balance between its two predecessors in that there is more combat and less role-playing than A Night Of Mask And Monsters but more role-playing and less combat than Labyrinth Of Thorns.

The Starlight Relic is currently available for DMsGuild at   https://www.dmsguild.com/product/237562/The-Starlight-Relic-A-Requiem-of-Wings-3?term=starlight for $1.99.

Taken as a whole A Requiem Of Wings gives players and DMs a LOT of content for a more than fair price.  The main draw for me in the series is the background and the subtle goings-on in the back ground.  For groups looking for traditional D&D adventure and discovery all three adventures more than deliver and for groups looking for a deep, rich back story with intrigue and politics that is there with the ability for the players to influence the bigger picture.

I highly recommend A Requiem Of Wings and I sincerely hope that as I'm writing this Ashley Warren is working on a fourth instalment in the series.

-Jay