It’s the start of day 3 of the Conquest Games Convention in Melbourne. It’s Easter Sunday. It’s a slow start for the day – I assume some people are going to church, while others are sleeping in. The main action at the convention at present is the gaming going on at the D&D Adventurers League tables. This pleases me, as I’m the one who organised … Continue reading Conquest Games Convention – midway report
Boxed text is used to provide an initial description of an encounter to the DM and players, with the intention that the DM read or paraphrase the information to the players. It has the following benefits: It alerts the DM and players to what’s important in the room. It conveys the author’s intention for the initial stages of the encounter. It can set a mood. … Continue reading On Using Boxed Text
Citadel of Vlaakith is an adventure for level 1-4 characters. In it, the characters are sent to investigate a strange structure that has crashed in a nearby swamp; all reports indicate it came from another plane of existence. The characters are not the first to investigate: another party of adventurers were sent but did not return, and there is also a hobgoblin tribe in the … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Citadel of Vlaakith
Using one format for all types of adventures unchangingly is a problem. You want to adapt the format according to the style of adventure (investigation, exploration, combat-heavy, event-driven, etc.) When I look to describing a particular scene or encounter, I think there are a few key areas that should be present. I look for the following: An opening paragraph or boxed text that sets out … Continue reading Formatting Encounters
The Wizard’s Egg is an OGL product set in an arcane-punk setting; I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if you could easily adapt it to Eberron. It’s an adventure for level 1 characters, which begins with the characters in their office, waiting for someone to hire them. Does it feel like the start of a noir novel? Absolutely! There’s a lot of background in the adventure; … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: The Wizard’s Egg
One of the challenges in any Organised Play system is to see how series of adventures work after the rules change… In 2018, the D&D Adventurers League moved from awarding Experience Points (XP) to awarding Advancement Checkpoints. For older adventures, each hour played gives 1 ACP (to the maximum playing time). The Curse of Strahd season is particularly challenging to run, because all the adventures … Continue reading Running the Curse of Strahd season under Season 8 DDAL rules
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is an enjoyable adventure set in the City of Waterdeep, where you get to work for some of the factions of the City whilst stopping other factions from looting a great hoard of gold from a hidden vault. The adventure takes you from first to fifth level, much as does the D&D Starter Set adventure, Lost Mine of Phandelver. So, what do you … Continue reading What to Play After Finishing Dragon Heist
Handful of Heists is a collection of five short adventures for third-level characters, potentially set during Chapter 3 of Dragon Heist, but adaptable for use elsewhere. Each adventure, as indicated in the title, is a “heist” of some sort, where the characters are sent to retrieve something valuable. In Cavern of the Sunken Queen, the characters venture underwater into a temple of Umberlee, the evil … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Handful of Heists
The third part of the Tenets of Bane series, Tyrant of the Forgotten Forge, is a two-hour adventure for level 1-4 characters. Set in an old dwarven mine, the adventure features oppressed kobolds, tyrannical derro, and some traps and puzzles for the party to navigate. There is a nice mix of challenges in the adventure, with some role-playing opportunities and quite a bit of puzzle-solving. … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Tyrant of the Forgotten Forge
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 … Continue reading 5E Supplement Review: Black Road Report: The Night Shift
