The finale of the Folded Time trilogy, Purging the Blood, manages to provide a conclusion to the overall story of the trilogy while being an entertaining adventure in its own right. This time, the adventurers are sent back to the newly formed Waterdeep as the citizens vote on the names of the various wards, while the nobles pursue a new fashion craze: having their blood drained by vampires for that lovely pale complexion!

One of the reasons I like this adventure is the creativity on display. There are memorable NPCs. There are interesting situations. There are little touches to add to the verisimilitude of the situation; I especially like the signs created by the citizens to promote their choices for the names of the wards. These details, while they’re not important to the plot of the adventure, help tremendously build the feel of the world.

The basic story, where the adventurers are sent out by the Open Lord of Waterdeep to deal with the vampires, works. It’s interesting to track them down, and the bonus objectives allow the party to explore the situation in more depth. It’s worth noting that the set-up for the investigation very much allows different approaches to how it’s handled. This is an adventure where different groups can progress through it in vastly different ways, and it supports the three pillars of play well.

Unfortunately, then you’ve got the time-travel plotline. And that doesn’t work that well.

It integrates very poorly into the vampire storyline. It is entirely possible that, during the investigation, you come across the section that links to the “wrinkle in time” first, which could lead you directly to the conclusion of the adventure, bypassing both bonus objectives. Why are you looking for vampires? Only as a method of blending in, as you search for whatever relates to the “wrinkle in time”. Once that is found, why do you continue with the investigation?

It’s nice to see an actual manifestation of the “wrinkle” in this adventure, as it’s been noticeably missing from the previous two instalments. Unfortunately, I found the revelation of what caused the wrinkle is underwhelming. It’s the sort of thing that makes you wonder why the Blackstaff didn’t know that already.

The handling of the “wrinkle” brings into sharp focus the inconsistencies in its handling over the trilogy, especially with regards to how each adventure begins and ends (if such properly occurs). In this adventure, the characters appear in the Open Lord’s office, and he immediately gives them the job of investigating the vampires. Why does he trust them? The assumption is that he’s been waiting for a group of adventurers and so assumes the party are those, but this isn’t directly stated here. The wrinkle is described both as “a side-effect of using powerful magic” and “a natural effect of the Weave’s powerful magic”. Were the first two trips just test-runs, with the Blackstaff sending the characters back to locations she considered likely targets or was there some “wrinkle” in each of them?

If this had been handled like the crack in Amy’s wall in the first season of Matt Smith’s Doctor Who, with the wrinkle appearing in each adventure, then I feel the adventures would have felt far more unified in theme. As it stands, I’m left with the distinct feeling of “I don’t understand the point.”

It’s the vampire plotline that provides much of the entertainment here, and it’s hurt somewhat by the use of the bonus content to provide resolution to the situations; between the vampires and the wrinkle, the two-hour version of this adventure feels squeezed.

The first bonus objective also provides an example of minimalism in action: There’s a chase, but you’re left almost only your own as to how to handle it. There isn’t even a reference to the chase rules in the DMG! This is a little too minimalistic design for my tastes, and it disadvantages those who aren’t familiar with how to handle that situation – which is not a standard part of D&D adventures. If you can handle this, it’s probably going to be fun, but it did catch my attention as something that could be a problem for some.

Overall, I enjoyed the adventure, and I think it does a better job of handling the new adventure format that many others. It’s not perfect, and the rationale for the time-travel hampers my enjoyment of it, but at least you’ve got situations that allow a wide range of approaches to how the party handle them. Recommended.