Today I'm taking a look at the second volume in the Questionable Confectionaries series, and after how much I enjoyed the first collection I'm really looking forward to it!
For those who aren't familiar with the first volume the Questionable Confectionaries series is a collection of food-themed magic items that would occupy a similar place in a treasure assortment to a potion or scroll. What's nice about the food/treat theme of most of the items is that they inherently give the items themselves a more whimsical nature and may fit particularly well into certain themed games, for example if you're already tapping into some fairy tale mythologies, or possibly even an Alice In Wonderland type feel.
The overall tone and feel of the items themselves hits the perfect balance for me in my games of being very tongue-in-cheek without descending into cartoonish levels of silliness. This time out the collection is broken up into sections based on overall rarity (which I find extremely helpful).
I have to say upon my initial read-through of the second volume I was immediately struck by one significant improvement over the first volume, as well as one unfortunate step back. The big improvement for me was the sheer quantity of content. In addition to simply having a higher page count (by a significant margin) the layout is a bit changed and updated with a lot more text on every page. This is a big improvement because if you liked the first volume, there is simply way more of it to like here. The step back is that all this increased material seems to have come at the cost of a dramatic reduction in the ratio of art to items. For some purchasers this simply won't be an issue but for me art really makes an RPG product pop, and I not only enjoyed the art in the first volume, but what art there was in the second volume was again very well done (special shout-out to the Draconian Fruit Cake) and I certainly would have liked to have more of it.
One of the areas of expansion covered by this volume is the addition of The Gourmand which is an appropriately foody version of the Artificer along with some new abilities. This gives both DMs and players more opportunity to work with the Questionable Confectionaries material in-game.
Overall I think Questionable Confectionaries Volume 2 is a worthwhile addition to any DMs toolbox, especially those looking for treat-themed items to add to their games!
Questionable Confectionaries Volume 2 is currently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/333603/Questionable-Confectionaries-vol-2-ColeDrens-Tavern-Side-Bistro?term=questionable for a sweetly priced $5.50.
-Jay
