The warning bells went off when I read the hook for The Secrets of Imaginary Friends, a Tier 1 CCC adventure for the D&D Adventurers League. It stated that the adventurers are hired as labourers. This was the only hook presented. Oh boy. The stuff of exciting adventures this wasn’t. Look, there are plenty of perfectly fine hooks for adventures. They may not be inspired … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: The Secrets of Imaginary Friends
Mike “Sly Flourish” Shea is in the final stages of a kickstarter for his latest 5E-compatible adventure book: Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot. I’ve read a lot of it. It’s awesome. Of course, Mike paid me to have a look at the book and help develop it, but part of the reason I said “yes” to him (and not the other offers … Continue reading Ruins of the Grendleroot – Thoughts on a Kickstarter
In the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, there’s a place known as the Temple of Elemental Evil. Although it was originally situated on the World of Greyhawk, I’m sure it’s appeared on many self-created worlds over the years. In its most recent incarnation, a new Temple of Elemental Evil was built in the north-east of Faerun, in the Forgotten Realms. Here’s a very quick summary … Continue reading Thoughts on Elemental Evil
A few years ago, my party were trying to liberate a dwarven mine from the forces of the Scarlet Brotherhood. As they emerged from the mine, they found soldiers waiting for him. Ever quick-thinking, the wizard created the illusion of a great demon emerging from the mine behind them. Ever not quick-thinking, the paladin turned around and charged the demon, as he didn’t realise that … Continue reading The Dangers of Illusions and other Versatile Magics
There’s a tendency in a lot of Dungeons & Dragons settings to have a vast number of deities. The World of Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms are typical examples of such, with over fifty deities (not including non-human deities) described for each. Back in the day, I thought the Dragonlance setting had a small list of deities with a “mere” twenty-one! As I get older, … Continue reading Limiting the Pantheon
Last Friday, I took my players on an excursion to a great peak in the Yatil Mountains – that’s just to the north of where they’re staying in Veluna. Why were they going there? Well, while they were staying in the Deepfathom Mine (found in Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Adventures), a stranger came to them with a tale of a friend who had disappeared on that … Continue reading Greyhawk – the Wind Dukes of Aaqa?
Down Came a Blackbird is an adventure for level 1-4 characters set in Saltmarsh. The children of the village have discovered a strange egg, and crazed birds are attacking villagers. The heroes need to find the source of the unrest before great misfortune comes to the village. Darker things are afoot than just the birds! It could go very poorly, however. The first encounter sees … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Down Came a Blackbird
It is rare in a game of Dungeons & Dragons that you’re not attempting to succeed at a goal. There may be odd encounters which are unexpected, but typically your party is working towards something, either self-generated or a task given by others. It helps to agree on what that goal is! Even an expedition into a megadungeon typically has a goal, such as these: … Continue reading Making Plans
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is an adventure published by Wizards of the Coast set in the great city of Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms. It presents an urban scenario where the characters get to own a tavern, become involved with the various factions in the city, and go on a hunt for dragons – the gold coins of Waterdeep – that are stashed in a hidden … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review – Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
It’s the end of May, Ghosts of Saltmarsh was released this week, and we’ve started a new campaign that will play through the first five adventures (at least)! Hooray! This will be, as most of my book campaigns are, a D&D Adventurers League campaign. As you may expect, spoilers abound in this recap of the session. We began our adventures in Saltmarsh with the last … Continue reading Ghosts of Saltmarsh – The Adventure Begins!
