Review: Questionable Confectionaries Volume 2 Cole'Dren's Tavern Side Bistro

 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

Review: Questionable Confectionaries Niter's Ye Olde Candy Shoppe

  Today's review is something that feels new and unique in the RPG space, the first volume in the Questionable Confectionaries series (more to come shortly!) Niter's Ye Olde Candy Shoppe.

Although the DMsGuild has no shortage of collections of new and wonderous magical items for players to add to their games Niter's is the first collection I've come across with such a clear, coherent and well executed theme.  As is no doubt obvious from the title the theme is candy!

First up the layout and presentation of this volume is terrific.  Each candy receives a full description, clearly laid out game effects, flavour text in the form of an anecdote from Niter, as well as an image for every entry.  This layout both makes the collection easy and engaging to read as well as giving a certain sense of immersion.

Two of the features I'd also like to call out are a brief section on accessibility at the beginning on the book reframing some of D&Ds conditions and separating them from disabilities of the same names.  In addition when purchasing a copy of Niter's you will receive both the standard copy of the document, as well as a dyslexia-friendly version which is a rare and valuable accessibility option. 

From a game mechanics point of view the impact that the individual candies would have on a game is quite wide-ranging and seems well defined by and connected to the rarity level of each individual confection.  What I personally found really appealing about the game effects were that they were well anchored and described in the context and sensibilities of D&D 5e, but had very much the gonzo old-school feeling of something that a player might have found in an old fun-house style adventure like Tegal Manor or Castle Amber.

The only real downside I can see in Niter's Ye Old Candy Shoppe is that for groups who like their adventuring style more 'grimdark' the general fun and whimsical tone might not align with their view of what they want in their game.

Overall I think adding bits and pieces from Niter's Ye Olde Candy Shoppe to existing adventures or using some of the options as seeds for adventures on their own can add a lot of fun and wonder to a D&D campaign and I'm personally looking forward to adding some traveling sales reps from Niter's to my own games in the coming months.

Overall I highly recommend Niter's Ye Olde Candy Shoppe to anyone running a 5e game.  It's currently available from DMsGuild at  https://www.dmsguild.com/product/290988/Questionable-Confectionaries-Vol1-Niters-Ye-Old-Candy-Shoppe?term=niter%27s and is a bargain at only $3.99.

-Jay

Review - Back To The Sea

Today I'm taking a look at the one-shot adventure Back To The Sea by Inky.Ginge

Back To The Sea is a one-shot adventure for 3rd-4th level adventurers with a very atmospheric horror theme so in a lot of ways it falls right into my wheelhouse.  In many ways the quickest summary I can probably give of the adventure is that it is probably the exact adventure a group that is playing Sinister Secret Of Saltmarsh for the first time thinks they're actually playing.  The group is hired to investigate an area just off the coast that superstitious locals believe to be haunted.  Once the group 'arrives' at the main encounter location they find themselves investigating and plagued by supernatural occurrences.

Back To The Sea is an extremely short adventure that most groups will probably be able to complete in a single session of play.  Although the adventure itself is short I have to say that the author did not compromise on full rich descriptions of encounters, NPC actions, and descriptions of key features.  I found the adventure to feel extremely thematic and immersive.  In addition to how well written the adventure is it comes with 3 amazing looking maps as separate files that can be used as DMs reference but can also be blown up into encounter maps to be used for tabletop gaming.  Even after running the adventure these maps will be super useful for dropping in as a small house or cottage in other games and settings.

This is the kind of adventure that is difficult to describe in real detail without ruining the surprises inside but if you and your group want an incredibly well written  ghost story with terrific cartography I highly recommend Back To The Sea.

Back To The Sea is currently available for $5.95 from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/297621/Back-To-The-Sea?term=back+to+the+sea

-Jay

Review - To Hell & Back Again

What has turned into a solid week of reviewing solo adventures continues with the Descent Into Avernus tie-in; To Hell & Back Again.

I've got to say I didn't know what to expect from a solo module attached to such a weird campaign adventure, but this adventure felt like playing along with the D&D Live The Descent event.  To Hell & Back Again did an amazing job of capturing the flavour of Avernus and gives the player the experience of interacting with an Infernal Warmachine as well as some of the other Avernus weirdness.  The adventure was fun and engaging and filled with a lot of different types of encounters and content.  From combat, to social interactions, to an actual deal with a devil this adventure is both an extremely complete experience on its own while also functioning as a prequel to give a character some background, benefits, ties, and disadvantages for their further adventures in Avernus.

In addition to the overall execution of the theme and satisfying story To Hell & Back Again has a lot going for it.  The adventure is split into three distinct acts, each of which happens in a different location and feels legitimately different.  In spite of the text of the adventure proper taking place over 43 pages it feels truly epic and makes the player character feel like a hero in the truest sense of the word.

If I had one criticism to offer it would be that for my personal tastes the levelling up happens too fast.  I know that milestone levelling at lower levels does generally move very quickly but to me personally the jump from 1st to 2nd level happening without the player character accomplishing anything all that significant cheapens the sense of character development and growth.  Other than that I can't find any fault or flaw with the adventure.

To Hell & Back Again is currently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/288363/To-Hell-and-Back-Again?term=To+Hell+ for $9.95 and is a definite must-buy if you're at all on the fence about whether or not Descent Into Avernus is for you or not.

-Jay

Review - There's Snow Place Like Home

I have a pile of new winter holiday themed adventures sitting on my desk right now, and am hoping to address 3 of them over the next 3 days.  I have to say the one I choose to review first may have set a really high bar for our next 2 books.

There's Snow Place Like Home by D&D Duet team Jonathan & Beth Ball reads and plays almost like Rankin & Bass produced a D&D adventure to be played while watching their classic Christmas stop-motion holiday specials.

There's Snow Place Like Home lays out a classic 'Christmas in jeopardy' type of narrative with familiar feeling characters and set pieces while still feeling new and fresh.  As I've mentioned in some previous reviews I think certain players really like a balance between a scenario feeling familiar without becoming predictable and this adventure achieves that balance flawlessly.

The character or characters are drawn into a demi-plane in a very (although much less sinister) similar fashion to characters in a Ravenloft game.  What's nice about this is it doesn't require that this whimsical setting and fanciful cast of characters fit into whatever existing gaming world you're using.  In my particular case my intention is to snatch one player from our regular ongoing game who has had to miss out on playing due to real world nonsense and plan this as a solitary game when they can play to get them back to the table and having some D&D fun over the  Christmas/New Years break.  The narrative itself is excellent, starting off with a mystery in a town under a spell, followed by a journey through a winter wonderland, and concluding in the exploration of a magical fantasy toy workshop.  The characters and monsters range from a snowman, to gingerbread men, reindeer, a polar bear, gnomes, and something even more sinister towards the end.

For anyone who wants a D&D game that feels like Christmas, and/or a Christmas story that feels like D&D; There's Snow Place Like Home sets a perfect tone and feels like a potential new holiday tradition for me and my gaming friends.

There's Snow Place Like Home is currently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/297390/Theres-Snow-Place-Like-Home-A-Christmas-Holiday-Adventure?term=there%27s+snow and failure to add it to your collection may indicate you are the Grinch of your gaming group!

-Jay

A Forlorn Hope Part 1 of ?

I've begun work on my series of Ravenloft one-shots kicking off on YouTube in 2020.

In my case "work" means writing, mapping, and plotting but also painting and building.

The adventures will kick off with our characters freshly escaped from the lands of Barovia and seeking a way through or out of the mists of Ravenloft.  This should allow for a variety of quests looking for key items and clues to help the characters move through various locations with the eventual goal of escaping from the domains of dread.  (Think Quantum Leap if it was directed by George Romero).

For our first of three planned adventures the group will find itself in the haunted lands of Forfar, the Ravenloft domain originally detailed in the outstanding Castles Forlorn by Lisa Smedman.

I've gotten my models done for 2 NPCs the group might meet in their first adventure, as well as 2 NPCs they will definitely meet.  Also some monsters, because; what's D&D without monsters?

The guide.

Bondi is survivor living off the lands in Forfar that the group will definitely encounter early on.  Her primary role will be to set the group on their path as well as potentially providing some knowledge about the area and depending on how the group relates to her being a useful ally further down the road.

The mysterious stranger.

This fellow will have yet more information for the PCs but the group will likely be left wondering what master he serves.  The stranger may or may not have a larger role to play as the narrative develops but regardless will not lose interest in the PCs.  He will also somehow seem to have eyes and ears throughout the land.

The warrior.

Michael is engaged on a quest of his own, unrelated but potentially running parallel to the group's goals.  Whether he will be an ally or an enemy will depend highly on the choices the group makes.

The knight.

Sir Donnegal will be encountered by the group near the end of the first session.  Is he a stranger, or have they met before?  Sir Donnegal may be the answer to some of the players' questions, but he will likewise be the starting point for many new questions.

The Goblyns.

I needed some Ravenloft Goblyns for this and my third adventure and once more my Escape From Goblintown goblins seemed fit for the job!

That's my first batch of hobbying for this project.  Another batch of scenery making lies ahead and then in January I'll update with DMsGuild and YouTube links for where you can find more Forlorn Hope content.

-Jay

Review - Circle Of Balance Druid Subclass

Most of my experiences with DMsGuild to date have been with adventures and encounters, today I'll be going a slightly different route looking at a new and unique subclass of the Druid designed specifically for urban adventure.

The Circle Of Balance is by author Beth Ball of Grove Guardian Press (the design team behind D&D Duets) and is a great example of the kind of content that can really add new content to a D&D 5e game.  In brief the core notion of The Circle Of Balance is that civilization is a part of nature, and as protectors and/or shepherds the city can and is part of a Druid's responsibilities.

The subclass itself seems extremely well balanced adding some martial strengths at lower levels, which make for a good trade off for some of a Druid's basic spells which may be of dubious use in a city.  In addition the Circle spells that have been added give the Druid some additional typically non-druidic utility powers that play off the people and materials that make up a typical urban environment in a fantasy world.  For any fans of the comic The Authority (or later runs of Stormwatch) this subclass and its Circle spells are a great starting point to make a character similar to Jack Hawksmoor (minus the suit and tie).  In addition to the mechanical additions that serve balancing a Druid in a new environment there are a number of features that really tie to the theme of operating in the packed terrain of the city.  "Wildly Compact" which allows more compact versions of Wild Shape animal forms to be adopted.

In addition to the subclass rules themselves the supplement also adds rules for 2 new creatures; The Fey Pug and The Jewel Fox as well as formatting The Fey Pug as a D&D Sidekick.  I know in my home game this has the potential to be right up my daughter's alley.

Overall Circle Of Balance is  a unique and worthwhile addition to the existing player options in D&D and is well balanced enough to drop into an existing campaign without upsetting the power balance of existing classes. 

I strongly recommend Circle Of Balance to both players looking for a new option for their Waterdeep campaigns as well as DMs potentially looking for a new template for sage NPCs in an urban setting.

Circle Of Balance is currently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/294719/Circle-of-Balance-druid-subclass?term=circle+of+bal for $1

-Jay

Review - Grimm Encounters II

The quest for the perfect Halloween one-shot continues today as I go through Grimm Encounters II.

Grimm Encounters II follows the theme of it's predecessor given the DM another dozen encounters blending fairy tale and horror mythology.  One of the improvements over the first collection is that the page count has increased to 42 pages giving each encounter a slightly longer word count which in general seems to have allowed for a bit more background and NPC motivation to be detailed than the previous instalment.  This second collection also includes a few more unique creatures which I enjoy as it keeps experienced players who also DM from inadvertently meta-gaming their way through challenging encounters.  The final thing I'll call out before getting into specifics will be taken either as a positive or a negative depending on your personal tastes, as the first volume used many of the more popular Grimm stories as inspiration this time around I wasn't familiar with most of the starting points for these encounters.  Personally as much as like the familiar feeling of "D&Ding" existing stories the unfamiliar adds that sense of newness and wonder to the game for me.

Once again I find myself drawn to more than one encounter from this anthology but today I'll limit my praise to two encounters.
Beyond the Realms Of Madness by Ken Carcas (inspired by How Some Children Played At Slaughtering) is a Tier 2 encounter that feels like a hybrid of a Grimm and Lovecraft story.  As I've mentioned many times in the past I enjoy a horror story with a twist and the twist here (especially in the context of D&D) works really well.  The party is tasked with helping a grieving father who is haunted by the ghosts of his slain family.  In the context of D&D most players will no doubt assuming they are in fact dealing with a haunting and go about planning strategies to lay to rest the souls of the fallen family.  When the twist is worked out and the players discover they are dealing with something just as supernatural but not quite what they expected they will need to be able to think quickly on the fly to come up with a new solution in real time.  I really enjoyed this encounter and supplanting one horror with a different horror will guarantee that even if this isn't the one-shot I end up running I have a specific player in mind who would love to play through this as a one-on-one encounter.
Two Dozen Devils by JVC Parry (inspired by The Twelve Huntsmen) is another Tier 2 encounter and a great balance of combat and/vs role-play.  In practise one of the things that makes hauntings or curses work really well in D&D as opposed to actual 'mysteries' is that a haunting or curse can frequently be concluded or resolved even if they players aren't successful in working out all the details.  In this encounter a nobleman is the victim of a curse that the party has been drawn into breaking.  Depending on play-style and decisions made by the group this encounter can play out in a variety of different ways and depending on  how things are resolved success or failure is definitely on a spectrum rather than a black and white win versus lose binary end.

One thing I feel the need to call out is that while this is a horror anthology and the author did put a content warning in the preface of the collection there may be some encounters in here that may go 'too far' for some audiences.  Personally I really liked The Trial Of Little Franecker Finn but I know for a fact that one of the players at my regular table would have to get up and physically leave if I ran that encounter.  This is really just a good reminder, and applies to many adventures, that when running horror content check in and make sure your players are comfortable with the themes and content of your game. 

I highly recommend Grimm Encounters II and am definitely looking forward to a Grimm Encounters III.

Grimm Encounters II is currently available from DMsGuild for $4.95 at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/256980/Grimm-Encounters-II?term=grimm&affiliate_id=329977

-Jay

Review - Grimm Encounters (I)

As I start planning out a Halloween session for my local group of victims/players I've begun scouring DMsGuild for some suitable one-shots.

Before I got into any new adventures I was reminded last night that I had already downloaded and printed Grimm Encounters by JVC Parry and Jeff Stevens along with contributions from five other authors.  As I'm sure you can tell by that quick preface Grimm Encounters is an anthology collection of adventures.

The book itself comes in at 28 pages and manages to pack 12 encounters between its covers.  The overall theme of the collection is Brothers Grimm fairy tales with a slight D&D/horror re-imagining.   As I believe I referenced in the past this is the kind of material I really like as it combines the unknown with somethings that begin with a familiar backdrop.  Typically I find that's the kind of flavour and background my players can deeply and quickly immerse themselves in which makes encounters like this ideal for one-shots where you won't necessarily be investing in world-building ahead of time.

Overall the quality of the writing is excellent and the artwork is suitably dark and thematically appropriate to the content.  I appreciate the choice to pull the references for the monster stat locations out of the individual encounters and collecting them in an appendix at the back of the book as it removes mechanical distractions from absorbing the narrative content on a first pass through.  Although I haven't yet run any of the encounters yet upon a first read through they all seems very well balanced to the suggested party levels.  Having said that I really like the fact that 'The Tailor And The Giant' includes an element (sarcastic spoiler warning; it's 'the giant') that if players make bad choices will quickly break the notion that D&D 5E is a non-lethal RPG for player characters.

Normally with an anthology I try to focus on a single scenario that I was really excited about but in this case three of the encounters really appealed to me and I will definitely be using in the near future.
The Marquis Of Carabas by JVC Parry (inspired by Puss In Boots) caught my eye by having a very non-traditional jumping off point for a D&D adventure, using a mysterious cat just showing up rather than an overly contrived 'hired for a mission' start.  At first the players might be inclined to think they're dealing with a Cheshire Cat type of antagonist but after some investigation the twist will reveal itself and the true villain of the story will appear.  It's a short encounter but starts off with a little fun and whimsy before taking a dark turn and it should appeal to both players who like to use their brains to work through a problem as well as those who like to use their brawn to get things done.
Not Another Cinderella Story by Tony Petrecca (inspired by Cinderella) was my next selection.  For most players the setup for this adventure should feel very familiar and many groups will probably guess who/what they'll be fighting at the end (incorrectly) before what's really going on reveals itself.  I like twists in my adventures but I really like twists that make sense and follow narrative logic and this encounter delivers on both fronts.  In addition to being a potentially great one shot this adventure feels like it would fit very well into an existing Old Margreve campaign.
The Tailor And The Giant by Jeff C Stevens (inspired by The Brave Little Tailor) is my final choice for a must-run.  Outside of the narrative itself I will start off by saying that one of the things this encounter does extremely well is break the feeling that the D&D world is like a video game where higher level areas are bordered off until you are ready to deal with them.  Just because you're level one doesn't mean giants don't exist in this world or they'll leave you alone until you're suitably high level to fight them.  This encounter really encourages the use of role-play and soft-skills to get through, it's really nice to see an encounter structured this way as it will give groups a completely different type of experience than a traditional D&D game.  As an aside I can't help but wonder if inexperienced players are more likely to be successful in this encounter than more experienced players.

Overall Grimm Encounters delivers a high quality take on Fairy-Tale-Horror and I highly recommend it to any DMs looking for something fun and dark to run this Halloween season.

Grimm Encounters is currently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/224651/Grimm-Encounters?term=Grimm&affiliate_ID=329977 for $3.95 and is a bargain at that price.

-Jay

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


 

Review - The Proving Glade

After a brief hiatus I'm back tonight with my review of The Proving Glade.
The Proving Glade is a Level 4-5 adventure by Jonathan Ball one of the co-authors of the D&D Duets series.

The Proving Glade is a quick (14 page) one shot adventure that is more exploration than combat themed (although there is combat to be had) as the player(s) search for a missing hunter and a many mouthed beast dwelling in the forest.  The adventure proper is laid out in three distinct chapters.  The first is primarily focused on exploring the forest with a variety of woodland encounters.  The second chapter is comprised of two encounters that require the player(s) to make choices about how to overcome some obstacles.  Traditionally these are the kind of  'moral choice' type of encounter that video games like to throw in to add a 'are you good or are you evil?' measure that ultimately doesn't mean anything, I'm pleased to say that this is implemented to much greater impact and effect (whether the player realises it immediately or not) and should be a pair of fun encounters for the player(s) and something that will be equally as satisfying for the DM.  The final chapter starts with a role-play encounter that really lays on the theme and the flavour of the setting and then concludes with the showdown with this adventure's big bad.  This final chapter is where the player(s) earlier moral choices will come to reward or punish them.

Once again the Ball family has used the new Sidekick mechanic to to support their small-party/solo play style and it works really well within the narrative here.

The Proving Glade has classic fantasy-story vibe about it, and in spite of being relatively combat-lite manages to integrate a good number of classic D&D monsters into it's encounters.

If you're looking for an easy-to-run one-shot that is hiding some surprising depth under it's straight-forward veneer please check out The Proving Ground available from DMsGuild at  https://www.dmsguild.com/product/284455/The-Proving-Glade?affiliate_id=1869853

-Jay

Review - In The Heart Of The Forest

Historically I've been a DM who runs a lot of games in contained interior (dungeons, haunted houses, etc) environments.  I was never much of a fan of outdoor settings until the release of Castles Forlorn for Ravenloft in 2nd Edition.  Castles Forlorn introduced a struggle between druids and the undead.  The forces of nature versus the unnatural forces of undeath made for a great fantasy/horror story that captured the classic flavour of Dungeons & Dragons while being set against a new backdrop.  This started my appreciation for druidic stories in D&D.

Today I'm looking at In The Heart Of The Forest, the latest adventure from Beth Ball.

One of the first things I'd like to call out here is the fact that Beth Ball has previously co-authored a series of adventures intended for 1 player and 1 DM.  With In The Heart Of The Forest the author has applied the new Sidekick mechanic to continue to accommodate that one-on-one style of play.

Onto the adventure itself.
The adventure is a tight 3 chapters featuring an ancient pact and as I was alluding to (although it might have seemed like rambling) at the start of this post a conflict between the forces of nature and undeath.  I really liked the theme and the exposition was handled really well through a combination of exploration and investigation book-ended by a simple hostile encounter at the very beginning and a more complex encounter at the end.  The adventure can easily be run in one sitting but is populated with enough NPCs that it could be dropped into an existing campaign and teased well ahead of play.  I also personally liked the fact that the adventure has it's own internal history and mythology that is not linked to any particular outside world, this means the adventure can easily be dropped into any campaign setting with a forest in it.  With the recent rise in popularity of The Old Margreve setting I could easily see this fitting in there or possibly Forfar or Sithicus if you're a Ravenloft fan like me.

In The Heart Of The Forest does a great job of mixing high fantasy and some light horror elements.  The adventure is currently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/284452/In-the-Heart-of-the-Forest?term=in+the+heart+  Not only would I recommend In The Heart Of The Forest for players and DMs looking for a quick forest adventure but it would be great for a DM to have prepped in their back pocket for one of those sessions where your whole group doesn't attend and you need something you can run on the fly.

-Jay

Review - Wolf Lord Of Yol

Today I'm looking at Wolf Lord Of Yol a D&D adventure for characters of 7th-8th level currently available from DMsGuild.

Wolf Lord Of Yol is a sandbox adventure, which is a style I'm personally a big fan of and provides a surprisingly large and fully realised sandbox for an adventure that is a mere 44 pages in length.  Normally I wouldn't consider 44 pages 'short' but when you read through this book you'll be surprised that the amount of content you're getting was realised in only 44 pages.

Wolf Lord Of Yol really makes the most of its sandbox format by having an underlying story running throughout the entire adventure while letting the players discover what's going on through a number of avenues.  One of the things I enjoyed the most about how uncovering information is handled is that there is a TON of background information available but what the PCs find out will depend heavily on which skills they use to uncover information not just whether or not they are making successful checks.  The adventure proper takes the PCs through villages, woods, ruins and catacombs and provides a great mix of both combat and social encounters.  I don't want to spoil any details for potential players but I will also say that this adventure starts off and moves through most of the plot in a very grounded way for a D&D adventure before substantially moving upward into 'epic' adventuring territory.  I really see the big picture as being really rewarding for player's and making their actions feel important and substantive.

From a design point of view Wolf Lord Of Yol could easily be used as an example of how adventures should be written.  The cover advertises the adventure as "Part 1 of the Yol Valley Saga" which is the kind of thing we've all seen in the past from authors planning to write a linked series of modules but The Yol Valley Saga starts servicing that intention in this, it's first adventure.  The adventure highlights and breaks out notes on which encounters and outcomes will be follow-up or touched-on in future adventures in the series.  For me that really conveys a sense that there is a larger plan in place that the authors are working towards, rather than just linking some separate writings.  I also found the adventure visually very appealing with a lot of terrific cartography and some great artwork.

When I'm looking for adventures on DMsGuild to run for my group I usually base my choices on theme and current group level but I have to say even if my group wasn't level appropriate for this adventure I could easily see myself using the Yol Valley as flushed out in this adventure as a backdrop or locale for other adventures while teasing the story of Wolf Lord Of Yol to run down the road.

Wolf Lord Of Yol is currently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/283965/Wolf-Lord-of-Yol?term=wolf+lord  I highly recommend the adventure and at the time of this writing I have to say my only real criticism of the product is that I'm now left waiting for the next chapter in the Yol Valley Saga.

-Jay

Review - Warriors Of Sehanine

Today's review is Warriors Of Sehanine a D&D adventure for characters of 3rd-5th level.

The two things that initially drew me to Warriors Of Sehanine were the amazing visual presentation and the all-star creative team behind the project.

The cover is beautiful and atmospheric, the rendering of the two characters on the cover reminded me of the best of 2nd edition cover art and I particularly liked the use of the firefly jar as a lantern.  In addition I should point out that this module is 38 total pages and includes full colour art or maps to this same standard on 15 of those 38 pages, this is honestly one of the most visually appealing products I've gotten from DMsGuild to date.

The creative team made this an easy choice for me as well as two of the credited writers are Ashley Warren (Winter's Splendor, Labyrinth Of Thorns, Uncaged) and JVC Parry (Call From The Deep) both of whom have produced material that I have previously given 5 star reviews to on DMsGuild and have produced some absolutely fantastic material that I have enjoyed in the past.

Beyond the visual elements and the reputation of the creative team I have to say that Warriors Of Sehanine is an extremely interesting and challenging adventure where the characters are tasked with rescuing two children while overcoming a Black Dragon.  While the premise of the adventure is on it's surface quite simple the layering built in with; various NPC motivations, as well as some interesting forest encounters, rival factions that can change the level of difficulty, as well as something of a ticking clock element give this adventure a lot more depth that it's page count might initially lead you to believe.

The background for the adventure is set firmly in the Forgotten Realms but it wouldn't take much effort to rework the module into another fantasy forest setting if your game takes place in a different campaign setting.

Warriors Of Sehanine is currently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/283029/Warriors-of-Sehanine?term=warriors+of+seh and it's well worth your time both as a read and an actual adventure to run.  My one recommendation would be that if (like me) you like to print your gamebooks before using them, definitely splurge on a colour print job, this book is well worth it.

-Jay

Review - The Ghostly Library

About a week ago I was privileged to be sent a preview copy of a new adventure for D&D; The Ghostly Library.

The Ghostly Library scratches a lot of different itches; it's a mystery, it's a ghost story, it's set in Ravenloft (sort of...), and by sort of I mean it's set on Gothic Earth.  Gothic Earth is a fairly low-fantasy re-imagining of our own world circa 1890 with the supernatural layered in.  It was a setting TSR developed as a bit of side project to the original Ravenloft campaign setting that now appears to be experiencing a second renaissance on DMsGuild.

It can be difficult to discuss a mystery adventure without spoiling details but I'll endeavour to do my best. 

The Ghostly Library by Mrs C, Evans starts off with the characters being engaged to determine the cause of some recent disturbing attacks on one Doctor Henry Fitzroy.  Fitzroy has been victimised by seemingly 'normal' people with no apparent links to each other on multiple occasions and now seeks resolution and peace from his current circumstances.  During the course of the PCs investigations they should discover not all is as it seems, and at the climax of the adventure the players will be forced to set aside normal conflict resolution in D&D (ie violence) and use their wits if they hope to succeed and survive.

One of the measurements of a truly great adventure mystery is that clues are laid out in a way and a context most players could be expected to pick up on without applying any weird leaps of logic.  This keeps the adventure from descending into chaos and prevents players from getting frustrated and feeling unsatisfied with their gaming experience.  Mrs Evans has done a terrific job of presenting multiple logical avenues of investigation, while also providing one extra encounter that can be thrown in at a time the players might feel the most lost.  It's truly fantastic to be able to write an adventure in this style that provides the DM narrative tools to help guide things back on track if necessary without removing player agency.

The adventure is populated by a variety of distinct and interesting NPCs for the players to interact with, and breaking from the standard medieval high-fantasy setting of D&D should give the players time to absorb and deal with moral implications of their choices before they make them.

Overall I would highly recommend The Ghostly Library for any true fan of gothic horror (as opposed to slasher or jump scare horror) as well as to anyone looking for a satisfying investigative mystery for their players to engage in.

The Ghostly Library is currently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/284042/The-Ghostly-Library?term=the+ghostly

-Jay

 

Review - Uncaged Volume 2

After about a week I have finally made it through my copy of Uncaged Volume 2 for Dungeons & Dragons from DMsGuild and I'd like to share my thoughts.

Uncaged is an anthology series originally planned for four volumes (I believe now a fifth has been added) that as the blurb on the back reads "subverts and reinvents the tropes around female mythological creatures, monsters, and figures."

Volume 2 offers 25 short adventures for Tiers 1-3 by a massive and diverse team of writers and artists.  Much like the first volume I have to start off by saying that the book itself is physically gorgeous.  The cover art by Samantha Darcy of a Rusalka is incredibly striking and powerful and once you start flipping through the book you will find it is crammed full of art in a variety of styles.  I've always felt the use of art in gaming products is immensely important to help the DM get a feel for the atmosphere of the adventure or setting and much of the art in Uncaged really drew me in and ultimately determined the order I read the adventures in.    If I had one criticism of the visual elements of Uncaged Volume 2 it would be that some DMs might find the lack of cartography a bit surprising.  Most of the scenarios presented in Uncaged Volume 2 are very narrative and role-play driven so they do not really rely on maps to steer exploration or combat.  Where maps are needed they are provided but the ratio of maps to page count might surprise some DMs.

At it's core though the true value of an adventure or series of adventures for an RPG is the quality of their writing.  This is another area where the team behind Uncaged truly excelled.  I really enjoyed Volume 1 so I had high expectations for Volume 2 and those expectations were more than met.  By working from existing mythology and storytelling tropes Uncaged feels familiar as you start reading but then the authors bend and twist and give you something unexpected to layer on top of the familiar.  With a list of 25 adventures my original intent had been to call out the adventure I liked the most and the one I liked the least but I genuinely can't come up with one I don't like so I'll just have to focus on the one I liked the most and will probably run first.
Love's Sorrow is written by Tera Hooper and illustrated by Gwendy Bee.  Love's Sorrow is a great combination of horror and mystery that as I touched on earlier may initially feel very familiar to both players and dungeon masters but as they begin to unravel the mystery they will find a few twists and a lot of depth for a story that takes a mere 7 pages to tell.  How the adventure plays out will be entirely determined by player choices and the author has thought to lay out multiple outcomes so that success or failure is more on a sliding scale than a traditional got-it/didn't-get-it dynamic that exists in mystery adventures.

Overall I think Uncaged Volume 2 (and Volume 1 for that matter) are must buys for any Dungeon Master.  There are high quality adventures across almost every level of play that can either be played as one-offs or dropped into an existing game as side quests.  Personally I love having a ton of short adventures ready to go on hand as it means if a scheduled game ever becomes unplayable due to a player or players dropping out you can run something else on short notice with those who can attend and possibly some other players dropping in as well.

I would definitely say buy Uncaged Volume 2 and I highly recommend investing in the print-on-demand version as the art and visual elements make it more than worth a space on your bookshelf.

Uncaged Volume 2 is presently available from DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/278966/Uncaged--Volume-II?term=uncaged

-Jay

Review - Grandmother Crookbesom's Book Of Hags

Today I'm taking a look at another new DMsGuild title; Grandmother Crookbesom's Book Of Hags.

Grandmother Crookbesom's is a little bit different from the books I usually get from DMsGuild in that rather than being an adventure or compilation of adventures it is a collection of 13 different unique named hags (or covens of hags in some cases) set in different locales with different motivations and histories to be dropped into an existing game or perhaps to have one-shots built around.

As a toolbox for DMs Grandmother Crookbesom's is a fantastic resource setting up a lot of content that can be used in a variety of ways.  One of the first hags I started planning to incorporate into my current game is Auntie Bumble, a hag with  a confusing and really unique secret that will make my players truly satisfied when they figure her out.  I also immediately adjusted a current adventure I'm running to use Cackling Gundred as the initiator of a minor sidequest.  The contrast for me personally between these two uses; Bumble will effectively be an entire adventure on her own, while Gundred will add some depth and flavour to an existing adventure, showcase the versatility and value of this book.

In addition to the named hags with their various story hooks and encounters there are some new types of hags and some unique magic to provide surprises and fresh challenges for any of your players who have become overly familiar with the cannon of published monsters.

I can highly recommend Grandmother Crookbesom's Book Of Hags for anyone looking to add a dark fairy-tale sensibility to their existing game and it's tremendously good value for money based on the amount of content and hours of play laid out inside for less than a fiver.

Grandmother Crookbesom's Book Of Hags is available now on DMsGuild at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/280395/Grandmother-Crookbesoms-Book-of-Hags?term=grandmother

-Jay

Review - Call From The Deep

I was fortunate enough to get a preview copy of JVC Parry's newest offering on DMsGuild; Call From The Deep and having had  some time to read an absorb the material I'd like to share my thoughts.

Call From The Deep is a nautically themed adventure with a little something for everyone.  Slightly Cthulhu?  Check!  Pirates and high seas adventure?  Check!  A little haunting?  Check!  Heavy use of an iconic D&D monster?  Check!  A scratch for your Spelljammer itch?  Check!

I will preface my review by simply stating that I was stunned by the length, depth and production quality of this book.  The book weighs in at a whopping 270 pages (for context that is a slightly higher page count than Curse Of Strahd) and is chock full of absolutely fantastic and evocative artwork and maps.  I would easily say the quality of this book is on par with anything Wizards Of The Coast has published themselves.

In addition to the excellent use of art and maps the layout with regular breakout sections and clear subsections makes it a very easy read for a book with this much content.  I particularly liked how much focus was given to each significant NPCs motivation and personality, the level of description provided should make each NPC easy for DMs to role-play and memorable for players to encounter. 

The adventure features many different nautically themed locations that all manage to feel unique and important with a character all their own.  Flavour text is descriptive and evocative without being overly long or drawn out.

The thing I appreciate most about Call From The Deep from a DM perspective is that it is a massive campaign length adventure broken down into bite-sized pieces that are incredibly easy to absorb and then run for your players.  The art and flavour text will make the settings and characters come alive for the DM and then they can use that immersion to deliver a truly fun and satisfying experience for their players.

Call From The Deep is available from DMsGuild now at  https://www.dmsguild.com/product/280922/Call-from-the-Deep?term=call+from+the+deep and I can't recommend it highly enough.  The amount of content contained herein is a bargain at the price and I can guarantee your players will enjoy it....unless maybe they get sea sick or are allergic to shellfish.

-Jay