First Thoughts - Harper's Tale

Normally when I get excited about an upcoming gaming product I'm quite content to wait until release and absorb it in it's entirety, writing my reviews after I have the finished product in hand.  Today however I want to talk about a new D&D adventure that's currently seeking funding on Indiegogo and I honestly hope I can encourage some of you to give it a look and hopefully back it.

Harper's Tale is a 10 chapter D&D adventure co-created by Matt Corley and his daughter Harper with the goal of benefiting Friends Of Kids With Cancer.  Please check out their crowdfunding page at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/harper-s-tale-an-adventure-path-for-dnd-5e#/ for full details and the story behind the adventure's creation.  After reading Harper's story I was ready to back the project regardless but after looking at the art, and since then getting a backer's copy of the first chapter of the adventure I'm blown away by how great this project looks and I can't wait to start running it.

The first chapter 'Welcome To Grove' starts with the PCs investigating an abandoned town and mixing a combination of exploration and trying to determine what has happened to the inhabitants.  One of the things that immediately appealed to me about Welcome To Grove is that it is family-friendly without being in any way childish.  There is a definite mystery to be solved, a dark secret to uncover and combat to be had but nothing that would be objectionable to running with a younger audience or a school D&D club.  Welcome To Grove is also a great potential introduction to D&D for new players as the players will have the opportunity to engage in; skill check, role-playing, social interactions with NPCs, and combats scaled well for 1st level PCs.  I don't want to spoil any details but the mystery of the town follows a logical but not overly simplistic investigative path and solving it should give players a real sense of accomplishment and establish them as folk heroes in the community.

From an objective point of view I have to say that the quality of the writing and the style of the art are extremely professional and even though the first chapter I received as a backer made it clear it was not a final edit, it was very polished and ready to be played as is.  I didn't find any gaps, logical fallacies or even simple editing issues common to early drafts that crowdfunders tend to share with backers.

I sincerely hope everyone reading this will check out Harper's Tale and consider backing it.  The opportunity to get an interesting, well thought out D&D adventure while also supporting a good cause doesn't come along every day.

Harper's Tale is currently funding on Indiegogo at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/harper-s-tale-an-adventure-path-for-dnd-5e#/

-Jay