In The Golden Apple by Luciella Scarlett, a party of Tier 1 characters chase a rogue eladrin into the Feywild, get caught up in the machinations of the fey courts, and have an opportunity to stop the rogue causing a war between the courts.

This is a great basis for an adventure, and I’m very fond of tales of the fey.

The adventure begins in medias res. Riva, the villain, has beguiled the characters into stealing a golden apple of discord from a dragon. The action starts as the characters wake from the beguilement and follow Riva into a portal rather than stay around and be eaten. They arrive in a forest of talking trees – Riva has managed to get a head start – and must discover from the trees where she’s gone.

Eventually, the characters arrive at the Summer Court where they see Riva presenting the Golden Apple to the Summer Queen. Regardless of what the characters do, the Summer Queen ignores them and throws them in prison. However, the Queen brings the characters to a meeting of the Fey Monarchs, where the magic of the Golden Apple does its work. As the monarchs fight, the characters get a choice: Do they aid Riva in her plans or stop a war from starting?

There’s a lot of opportunity for role-playing in the adventure, and that role-playing often occurs in places of wonder. There’s some combat. Exploration tends to be confined to “we’re in a wondrous place”; there are rarely choices about where to go next. The action is very linear in form.

The major issue I have with the role-playing is that little of it has any impact on the story. There are two major interactions with the Summer Queen, but neither allows the characters to change her mind in any way or alter later events. I would have dearly loved for another NPC – an advisor, perhaps – whom the players could influence, and who could then play a part in the climax. Boxed text abounds, and groups that are weak at role-playing may end up passively listening to you read the adventure rather than participating.

However, the structure works regardless of whether the players choose to pursue Riva and disrupt her plans, or just want to find a way home. The interaction with the Summer Queen, as she comes under the influence of the Golden Apple, could be terrifying for the players as they realise their characters are hostage to her whims. Give me players that are inclined towards role-playing, and we could have great fun with this situation.

The weakest part of the adventure is the introduction, which manages to avoid explaining what’s going on in the adventure, while still being overlong. Yes, it sets forth the background of the courts of the fey, but it doesn’t mention what Riva’s plan is. The opening of the adventure requires a lot of explanation. It’s effectively a page of boxed text, even if some is presented as dot points. I like this implementation better than running the raid on the dragon’s lair, but I think the set-up could be conveyed more efficiently.

The writing is very good, although occasionally overlong. The boxed text, in particular, is very lengthy. The illustrations are also drawn by Luciella; they are rendered in black and white and, although I admit I’m not particularly fond of their style, do a good job of depicting important characters and locations. No maps are provided, but I don’t feel that the adventure requires them. (I note in passing that 5E does not have a “surprise round”).

Overall, this is an adventure with excellent concepts. It has the potential for strong role-playing scenes, but it could frustrate players with its structure. Recommended.