5E Supplement Review: Black Road Report: The Night Shift

I have no idea who the “Black Road Report” is for.

Here’s the blurb:

Ever wonder why the Harpers can’t seem to quash the Zhentarim? It’s because the Zhents keep excellent notes. Think I’m kidding? Check out this edition the first ever unearthed notes from the Zhentarim’s Black Road Report, Faerun’s only glimpse into the inner workings of the Zhentarim spy network. This edition is called “The Night Shift.” Follow along as the spies track an infernal power with deep ties to the Sword Coast. Nimp, an unholy paladin, is terrorizing the region with the help of an unsettling warlock. They’ve recently recruited a Lizardfolk druid, and who knows if they can be stopped. The only man on the inside is a devoted Tortle monk – but can his training keep the Zhentarim out of the dark and in control?

It’s 358 pages.

What it’s made up of are 20 levels of character sheets for four Zhentarim operatives. That is, each of the characters at all levels from first to twentieth. There are five “memos” from an insider describing the members of the groups and what they’ve been up to. These notes aren’t bad, although they’re very brief. The rest of the product makes me want to tear my hair out in frustration. They’re simply exported D&D Beyond character sheets, with all the formatting problems that causes, and incredibly dull to read. Personality traits? Backgrounds? Not on the character sheets. Suggested tactics? Those are likewise missing.

Players might want these simply to have access to higher-level characters, but they’re horribly clumsy for a DM. Do you want to have to deal with five pages just to run a 14th-level evil paladin? Whose abilities are all page references to other rulebooks? Didn’t think so!

Not for me, sorry. Nor for many other people, I’d expect. Avoid.

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