Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.
Pros
The full colour art continues in this book. Locations, characters, and more are here and in the similar style we’ve come to expect.
The high quality art continues to the maps. They are full colour and looked great as handouts to the players. This is especially nice, since the first area is a carnival that they can see and plot the next attraction to visit.
The character summary section is nicely done, and I hope future adventures continue with this organization. The major characters are summarized in their own sections. Stats, traits, flaws, and bonds are all listed with some character background. Their personality is summarized into “Roleplaying Cards”, which covers just the summary of their personality and their alignment, personality traits, flaws, and bonds.
There are a few handouts, which is nice to see. Really, I hope adventures going forward put more effort into making things easier to run, and easier to track. Many people pay for adventures to make things easier for us to run.
In terms of organization, it’s probably one of the best books we’ve seen in a while. Multiple sections are separated, and a story tracker is provided.
Sections of the adventure have non-combat solutions. Many players like negotiating, so it’s a nice to see the options provided when many other books don’t even spare the space for 1-2 sentences for such possibilities, or what happens should players lose combat.
Could Go Either Way
Parts of the adventure, like items the players look for, are randomly determined. This adds replay-ability. And as someone who has run the same adventure multiple times before, I welcome alternate ways to replay the adventure. However, it does make reading the adventure more challenging and makes the reminders eat up word count. Personally though, I think this is a plus.
Cons
The stats for some characters use a simplified stat block. This means that if they are a spell caster, you won’t get all of their prepared spells listed. Instead they only get a few daily use spells, and often powerful at will. Think you can adjust it yourself? You could, but some characters don’t add up. Based on their spells, their proficiency should be higher.
No PDF*
* Denotes nitpicking.
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| The standard cover for the adventure. Pretty good, though I could've also gone for some Feywild scenery. |
Introduction
We have another large spanning adventure. This time, taking place in the Feywild. A location that hasn't got much attention in this edition yet in terms of adventures. Though it has got some in the past. In this adventure, we are back in the Feywild. Interestingly, it also focuses on ways to avoid combat. We have a fairy tale atmosphere, villains straight out of a fairy tale, characters, and an adventure with some twists and turns.
What do I think of the adventure? It’s an interesting one. I like the non-combat resolutions, and think this is a good adventure for new players. Combat can be kept low, and role-playing as well as character mechanics can go to the forefront. It’s not perfect however. The middle portion can feel a bit repetitive, so I think it’s important to make each of the villains different. The final location though? Love the concept. I ran the opening carnival twice. Once as intended in the adventure, and once as an attraction. I then ran the whole thing beginning to end. My players were experienced, and they loved to role-play. The two combined made the adventure go well, since they played to its strengths. Which is also why it took so long for this...but it also wasn’t so bad due to most of the adventure being playable without combat. Which my players avoided. A lot this time. Including some brand new players. In fact, I’d say players are encouraged to play avoiding combat.
The Adventure
New Player Options
This really is an adventure. A little bit is given here for players though. There’s a couple of backgrounds, lots of trinkets, and two new races. When I say that, I mean there’s a lot of trinkets in the table. I always like seeing these, as they are nice useful things to put in occasional desks players may check. The adventure gives an option for the adventure to involve the player’s childhoods. But there isn’t too much crunch here in terms of new mechanics. It’s really about exploring and interacting.
The new races are roughly in line with what we’ve come to expect. They are significantly more powerful than the original ones. Humans in particular continue to have their value diminished due to the ability score bonus being worse than the +2 and +1 of the new ones when using the variant with a feat. And these races often have at least one feat worth of bonuses. Though the flexibility and potential for combat may still entice some. Just keep an eye out for this, as some minor adjustments (custom feats, minor magic items, expanded background option, etc.) may need to be made if used alongside some of the weaker options.
New Monsters
There’s not much here either. Most monsters and characters are existing creatures, and races. Most are also based on simplified character sheets. If you like seeing the full spell lists of characters, this will be a bit of a problem. Also if the characters expected to find a spellbook from the body of a dead wizard. Making it even worse, the stats don’t note their level in their class like cleric, and their spells known can even contradict their proficiency bonus. Provide us both versions please. This should be easy, and can even be provided through the website without losing anything. The very least I’d like to see is the character’s level, so I can make their list myself.
What You Need to Play
The Monster Manual, Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide are referenced at the start of the adventure. The standard collection of books we’ve come to expect. I miss the days when the basic rules were enough. But this is normal now.
Non-Combat Options
One of the big things of this adventure is that there are many non-combat options. And even combat options often have non-death results. So it makes it a pretty good adventure for new players, or those that like the exploration and role-play components most. This doesn’t mean it’s the easiest adventure to run. It’s a bit better than some others due to the layout, and also it’s more linear than some others. The non-combat options will also help make it easier for new Dungeon Masters to run, though I do suggest you learn how to manage combat quite quickly. But it also will require some prep time. Especially the conclusion due to a rather complicated lock devise. What this does better than some other adventures is that it provides papers to fill out to keep track of adventure elements. These are especially useful for those parts of the adventure that can change every time the adventure is run. I’d probably say it’s somewhere in the middle. I hope thinking of ways to make it easier for Dungeon Masters to run continues to be a priority in future adventures.
The Adventure Itself
The adventure itself goes from level 1 to about level 10. As is common, levels are given out for particular events in the story. The nature of the story also means that combat can play a far more negligible role than other previous adventures. So the challenge becomes navigating and role-playing. A nice change, though combat is not completely absent, which is my preference anyway. This also comes along with a more constrained story than some previous adventures. It’s not as much of a sandbox. It’s more like multiple smaller and constrained sand boxes one after another. There’s still wiggle room, but there’s also an order to the sandboxes as well. This can be beneficial for newer players I think, as it gets them role-playing and interacting with different skill checks. But it may not teach them enough about combat for other campaigns. So don’t be afraid to run a few scenarios before this campaign, or before whatever more combat heavy campaigns you have planned after. It can obviously also be an issue. I know many of my previous groups really do like combat encounters with a twist or puzzle element. Though they also liked the occasional break, this is quite a long campaign in that style.
The opening provides two different options to bring players in. They both work, but I think there’s an obvious choice. This is because it forces more role-play, and also makes the campaign more personal. I do appreciate the other options, and it’s easy to come up with other motivations. Such as being a hired hand for another player. These sorts of options are often essential for players who want to make their attachments during gameplay. Put another way, some players like to write big backstories. Others prefer to keep it simple, and discover their character through role-play. And once they find a dynamic they like, or experience things as their character, they push forward forming their character through those interactions. Some level of both is impossible to avoid, but the balance can shift from player to player. So in general, I recommend asking the players on this one. But I think most would prefer the motivation that ties into their backstory.
The adventure itself is fairly well laid out. There is an introduction section with a hook early in the adventure that players take part in. It’s also randomly generated (or can be, if you don’t prefer to decide yourself), adding some mystery about where they need to go. They then go through a fairy tale like realm, and engage with 3 hags. Finally, it ends in a puzzle stage. A palace frozen in time, with some adversaries being free to move and attempt to half the party’s progress.
The introduction is fun. In fact, I ran it twice, though once in a more modified state. It takes place in a mystical carnival, so it was a breather session where the players could enjoy the sights, while also looking for someone. The real nice thing here is that there is enough here to be like a mini-guide to running the Witchlight Carnival. It’s also beginner friendly. The carnival mood also changes based on player actions, and there’s a few small subplots going on at the carnival to help fill things out. Some tie into later parts of the adventure too.
There are three realms, one per hag. They are all a bit different, and have their own theme. This should be handled with care, since I can see it feeling repetitive. But the differences between them are big enough that each one can be made interesting in its own way. The appearance of each also plays into their themes. There’s also a supporting cast for each location, and extra subplots. Each hag also has her own weakness, which further plays into the more relaxed combat nature. It turns it into more of a puzzle, which I think is a good thing, but it’s something that can be group dependant.
The realm of Hither is a swamp area. The side content here is very solid and entertaining. The court of Bullywags is particularly fun, and I played into the schemes with a hint of comedy. The exploration of the hag’s lair is more standard, but can also be made interesting by using the weakness, and playing into the character.
The realm of Thither is a forest, and contains a hag and stolen children. It’s the most fairy tale the adventure gets, and really playing into it was appreciated for my players. Even going as far to make sure to do a voice like telling a kid a story. The side content is good too but the main area with the hag...I’d suggest reading it carefully. And especially notes. There’s just many ways for this to go, particularly if your players will try to save the children.
And finally, the realm of Yon. The opening art to the chapter is also beautiful, and one of my favourites in this book. The same goes for the design of the hag herself. It’s Shakespearean, with the hag having a flair for the dramatic and loving to have plays put on for her enjoyment. There is also a prophecy element, that further plays into the theatrics. When I ran this, it was my favourite of the three, and my players felt the same. It also takes some setup, but absolutely I’d say the trick for me was playing up the theatrics. My players also improvised a tragic play on the spot. Which was entertaining for us all. The role-play opportunities are very good on this one.
And finally... the ending. The palace of the archfey the players have heard about since the start, frozen in time. Really, this is a very solid ending. Other characters are frozen in time too. It’s a setup that leads to good role-play, and potential combat scenarios. Also it leads to interesting visuals. It’s a suitable payoff to the mystery built early with what happened to the archyfey. You’d expect something serious to have occurred, and this fits. Some fun encounters, including the possibility of combat. Puzzles, role-play chances, and the setup means it’s fairly easy to add rooms, change rooms, or add more frozen time fun. I really do like this ending. It feels like an event, and makes sense in the context of the adventure.
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| The alternate cover for the adventure. I really like this one. Though it's not as obviously fitting as the standard. |
The Art and Book Build Quality
The art again maintains its quality. The large scale maps in particular are evocative and in character with the adventure. Characters get portraits often, along with their descriptions. The big bads also get portraits, making it easy to show players. Which I really like. Always do this please. It makes it easy to show the players and have them on the same page when it comes to the general appearance of the big bad they meet. Come to think of it, it’d be cool to get a few set piece pictures to show players when they enter a room. Anyway, it’s more of the same. If you liked previous books, you’ll be at home.
I had no issues with condition of the book on this one. But as always I’ll say to flip through and check the binding if you are picking it out from the store. Most people will probably order online at this time, which won’t afford the same ability to check the book.
Price
For the suggested retail price of this product, you can check here. The cost is the same we are used to for adventures of this size at $50 in the States and $65.95 in Canada (poor Canadians, the price went a little in the years I've been reviewing). As usual though, taking a quick look for sale prices can find you a good deal.
What I felt was Missing
A PDF of the adventure would be nice (like always I mention this). Having the supplement containing all of the creatures to run the adventure would also be nice...but looks like this ship sailed. Some big pictures that can be shown for set piece encounters before it starts would also be cool.
Please provide spell lists for characters, along with the reduced stat blocks. If I want to have them do more, or help in utility ways, it makes life easier. Sure I can do them myself, but the way they’re written I need to decode them because their spells and proficiency modifiers don’t line up.
It needs to be said that since combat is not emphasized, this is not a good adventure to get in order to re-use combat encounters. I know some people who look for maps, and entire combat encounters to re-use and modify. If this is what you wanted, this will not be the adventure for you.
Free Stuff
Nothing to see here. Yeah, I know. I miss opening adventures being free too.
Summary
It’s a good adventure. Combat is not de-emphasized, so if you’re a combat loving group it may not be the best choice. In such a case, a Dungeon Master can adapt around it...but it’ll be significantly more work. It also makes it a good choice for new players who want to role-play, and may not have a good handle on combat yet. Though I do suggest that new players do get to experience the combat to see if they like it. The characters are good, the areas are interesting, and the final area is great in concept alone, and I like it otherwise. A palace frozen in time. It’s also a great concept to build your own version, or to add to what’s there. However, there is a repetition of three locations in the middle, one for each hag. These don’t have to be repetitive, and I’d say effort was taken to make them different. But when running, I’d keep an eye out to make sure it doesn't’ feel too samey. In general, I was surprised by how much I liked this one.
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