This month's roundup of published Adventurer's League modules on the DMs Guild.
These are very much a first-impressions view based on reading the description and whatever preview is available. I will look at look at the art, layout and text and give a brief summary of what it is about.I plan to use this research to find some adventures I want to run then I can come back and update my impressions and link to a more detailed review but I think if this is useful to me then hopefully it will be useful to other people too.
I don’t think it is worthwhile or fair to give ratings to adventures I haven’t run but I have ranked them in a rough top to bottom order of how much I would consider running them based on the previews and descriptions.
You can find my review of last month's top pick here: Rave Review Regarding Ravengard?
In May there were 14 new adventures published, 11 Dungeoncraft and 3 Premier Organizer modules from Baldman Games. Everything this month is suitable for play in the Forgotten Realms Adventurer's League campaign. Several were part of an ongoing series but they all seem quite loosely connected and would work as stand-alone adventures.
I’m not looking at bundles or Roll20 conversions of existing modules, just original AL legal adventures published in the last month.
Content warnings are those provided by the author.
PS-DC-STRAT-UNDEAD-02
Tier 3, 4 Hours, Forgotten Realms
Written as a convention module to premier at Gamex this is a nicely laid out module with simple but attractive design. Part 1 of their "Liches are a Girl's Best Friend" series. There is mention of at least one map but no further detail or preview of the map itself.
After defeating a lich in the opening part the party must track down it's phylactery, which is hidden away and guarded by...another lich. The premise sounds terrible when I put it like that but actually this looks like a pretty fun adventure and I love liches.
Sweet Dreams are Made of Geese
$3.50
Tier 1, Two Hours, Forgotten Realms
Another entry in the author's "Sweet Dreams are Made of" series, set in Waterdeep nicely written and designed with colour maps and a print friendly version available.
A very lighthearted adventure heavy on the puns and goose jokes, the party are hired to investigate why the supply of feathers for the Guild of Bowyers and Fletchers has dried up.
This looks completely charming and delightful if you love puns and general silliness. If not then best to avoid this like the bird-flu.
Content warning: awful geese, metamorphosis
PS-DC-BINGO-1
Tier 2, 4 Hours, Forgotten Realms
This one nearly broke my brain. I construct this blog with the links and the thumbnails over the course of the month and use Lorem Ipsum as placeholder text before I do the actual review. I'm still not sure whether either I or the author have just lost it here.
Past the Lorem Ipsum text the layout is basic but adequate, in fact the plain design is quite appropriate for the adventure's themes. "Simple maps" are included but it is hard to know what this means as they are not included in the preview.
This seems to be a very meta adventure as the party encounter the rogue modrons Lorem and Ipsum in sigil. They will then take the modrons to various demiplanes where they can help them replace their placeholder personalities with what the party help them uncover there. Later the party will defend Lorem and Ipsum from a rogue modron retrieval squad so they can thank the characters and start their own great adventure.
$6.99
FR-DC-TGT-02
$3.99
Tier 1, 2 Hour, Forgotten Realms
No preview was available at time of review but the authors previous title was well written and charming. This one is a follow up but can be played independently and includes colour maps and tokens.
BMG-MD-04
$9.99
Tier 2, 4 Hour, Forgotten Realms
The usual Baldman Games quality design, editing and layout at the usual BMG premium price.
Set in the Moonshae Isles which I believe
is BMGs exclusive adventure area this continues their Malefic Delusions
campaign though is the start of a new three-part storyline, "Fangs of
Snowdown".
The party will form part of a strife force sent to rescue
an abducted noble son. They will infiltrate and explore an enemy castle
before defeating the guards and rescuing the captive. It is implied they
will discover something horrible about the castle's owner before
escaping.
Content warning: This adventure contains themes of child abduction, murder, self-harm, mild body horror, unethical experiments, blood rituals, and implied torture. Player discretion is advised
FR-DC-VECNA-01
Tier 2, 4 Hour, Forgotten Realms
The full-size preview does not work so I will do what I can with the quick-preview and listing and update if it is fixed.
The layout is a basic black and white text augmented with spot art and symbols for the chapter titles. I can't look in detail without a full-size view but it looks very usable and includes four colour maps.
The first part of a trilogy intended to be released over the next month or so this is a Vecna-themed adventure intended as a tie-in for Vecna: Eve of Ruin and as a loose sequel to Nest of the Eldritch Eye.
It seems to be a detective/investigation adventure
and the party will investigate the rise of Vecna cult activity in
Neverwinter as part of the NCIS (Neverwinter Criminal Investigative Services).
Tier 4, 4 Hours, Planescape
Simple layout but clear writing and includes maps in both VTT and print varieties.
The sequel to Celestia has Fallen, the party discover that during the previous adventure several keys were stolen. These are the keys to unlock an imprisoned god from his shackles in Pandemonium.
The adventure begins in the gate-town of
Bedlam where the party need to discover how to open the gate to
Pandemonium to follow the cultists who stole the keys. They will need to
chase the cultists through Pandemonium to the god's castle where they
must prevent him being released.
Tier 2, 4 Hour, Forgotten Realms
A nice cover and some internal art, the art is a mixture of commissions, AI and community contributed art. The writing is clear and well set out though the graphic design is not to my taste with a quite dark background. There is a print friendly version for those who prefer a less distracting background though. Three full colour maps (for both VTT and print) and several reference images for NPCs and locations are included.
The preview is generous in giving you the call to action and first half of the adventure and you will be able to see whether it is to your taste before buying.
The adventure is written to work as a prequel to Vecna: Eve of Ruin though it will work well as a stand-alone.
After suffering nightmares featuring an obelisk the party are recruited by Ellminster to investigate a disturbance in the weave, he believes the obelisk may be involved. There is some desert travel (with travel distances strangely different from those in the DMG for some reason). After a search for the obelisk and an ambush the party need to gather samples in what from the preview I assume is a heist style conclusion.
Reading the full adventure reveals that the second part is quite free-form, there is a lot to do here and I doubt many parties will get through it all in the usual 4 hour session. I am not sure how I feel about running this for AL, I do like running free-form things with more options but in my experience AL groups can be very goal focused and might struggle with their not being a single clear goal.
The author has provided a lot of helpful one page descriptions of cultists, references for history and obviously has a good idea of what is useful to a DM at the table.
In the interests of transparency I will say the author provided me a heavily discounted copy so I could go on more than just the preview for this review.
Content warnings: Enslaved Race (implied)
BMG-MD-05
Tier 2, 4 Hour, Forgotten Realms
The usual Baldman Games quality design, editing and layout at the
usual BMG premium price.
Follows directly from the events of MD-04, though hooks are given for recruiting new characters. Having made terrible discoveries in the previous adventure the party must now escape the island, uncovering the full extent of its corruption by evil, while pursued by their enemies.
Content warning: This adventure contains themes of loss of limbs, interrogation and torture, and suffocation. Player discretion is advised.
$9.99
Tier 3, 4 Hours, Forgotten Realms
The usual Baldman Games quality design, editing and layout, an original cover and WotC provided internal art (though not new pieces), at the usual BMG premium price.
Continuing the Dreams of the Red Wizards Obscure Devotions storyline the party must travel to Thay and infiltrate a gala and masquerade ball to discover more information about a planned invasion. This appears to be a largely roleplaying and investigation quest with little combat.
$3.99
Tier 2, 4 Hours, Forgotten Realms
This
is an attractive product with nice cover art and some effort made with
the graphic design, it also includes a print friendly version. Coloured
maps are included but can't be seen in the preview.
It is labelled as a Candlekeep Apocrypha adventure but it is hard to tell from the preview where Candlekeep will come in. The numbering indicates it might be part of a new series.
The characters investigate attacks
by sleepwalkers in the Dalelands that lead them to an underground
temple and a nefarious plan to put the whole Sword Coast to sleep, they
defeat the person responsible and wake the sleepwalkers.
Content Warning for Mind Control.
PS-DC-STRAT-UNDEAD-05
Tier 4, 4 Hours, Forgotten Realms
Another convention module written to premier at Gamex, again with simple but elegant design and clear writing. It is a Planescape module but does rather appear to actually be a Spelljammer module, I assume because Spelljammer is no longer a legal setting for Dungeoncraft, which seems to be stretching the rules a little. No mention is made of maps or handouts.
The party are taking a well earned cruise break when they are attacked by cultists and their dragons, thus sucked into investigating the cult the party travel to the cultist's base, encounter the corruption there and come to face a greatwyrm.
FR-C-NMB2-01
$2.00
Tier 1, 2 hours, Forgotten Realms
The
design is basic and the art is AI generated but the writing in the
preview is clear and well set out. Two full colour maps are included but
can't be seen in the preview.
Comments
Post a Comment