Widow’s Peak is an adventure for 5th to 10th level characters set in Ravenloft. The characters are trapped in the domain of Widow’s Peak and must find a way to escape; however, the domain seeks to corrupt the characters, and the population of the town, many of whom have turned to unsavoury practices, are unlikely to be of much help.
This is an evocative adventure. As in Curse of Strahd, the adventure presents several different locations, each labouring under a different situation, all of which are tragic. The villagers of Widow’s Peak have been afflicted by a curse of barrenness, and the now-elderly villagers are trapped between depression and other dangerous pursuits. Other horrors hide in the vicinity, and all of this presents much for the players to investigate. Although there are some story threads, for the most part the adventure doesn’t dictate where the characters go, instead presenting a number of potential hooks.
This is great for the DM and players who want to craft their own story. However, there’s one area where I feel the adventure is weaker: there’s no strong introduction to the adventure. The characters just wander into town, and from there it’s up to the DM how things are introduced. With a Ravenloft adventure, I’d prefer a better start; something that introduces the themes of the setting and presents the players with a problem to solve. There’s a lot of excellent content here, and the late adventure has a far more scripted finish. Getting into things? Not so easy.
One of the interesting aspects of the adventure is that the characters’ choices can corrupt them and make them more susceptible to the lure of the Domain of Dread. The intention is to make one character more corrupt than the others, which pays off in the finale. Unfortunately, the implementation of this often is phrased in ways that makes ALL characters become more corrupt. The situations don’t distinguish enough so that individual characters are tempted.
Overall, evocative and strong writing elevate Widow’s Peak above other adventures. Just expect some work to make it run smoothly. Recommended.