Back in the infantile days of the internet and 8-bit gaming, I enjoyed going to the local library and reading Choose Your Own Adventure and Fighting Fantasy book series. These books featured fantastical sci-fi and fantasy adventure stories written in second-person. Almost every page ended in a choice with a page number, and that determined how your story played out – including a premature death!
The Shipwrecked! trilogy is crafted like a D&D version of those unique stories, though with skill checks in place of most choices. Each mini-adventure is designed for a single solo player without needing a DM.
The choice-based gameplay isn’t nearly as robust as the books from my childhood, but the high production value (including battlemaps) and immersive storytelling create a uniquely enjoyable solo experience.
Given the nature of this DM-less adventure, this review is spoiler-free.
It’s November, the last month of spring, the weather is moderate, deciduous trees are in leaf again, days are warm and there’s lots of green growth in the garden. The changeable and windy weather from October continues, but now there’s also the possibility of very sudden hot weather striking without warning so it’s important to protect plants from sun and wind. Also, regularly water newly planted trees and shrubs as the hot weather and strong winds can quickly dry out the soil.
Things to Do This Month:
Mulch around fruit trees and plants to retain moisture in the soil and prevent water loss from evaporation (keep mulch away from plant stems and trunks as this can cause stem rot/collar rot).
Mulch strawberries by placing straw underneath to keep the berries off the soil.
Propagate strawberries from runners.
Plant potted fruit trees and vines (having roots, can be planted anytime, best in spring & autumn).
Tie growing vines back to supports or wires.
Propagate plants by taking softwood (green) cuttings from now till January (after which they harden off).
Last chance to plant evergreen shrubs and trees (this includes citrus trees).
In ponds and water gardens, thin out existing aquatic plants, continue planting new ones, fertilise aquatic plants and feed fish regularly.
Vegetables and Herbs to Sow:
Sow in November
Harvest (weeks)
Amaranth
ds
7-8
Angelica
ds
18 months
Asparagus
d
2-3 years
Asparagus Pea
d
8-11
Beetroot
ds
7-10
Borage
ds
8-10
Burdock
d
17-18
Cape Gooseberry
ds
14-16
Carrot
d
12-18
Chicory
d
16-24
Chinese cabbage
ds
8-10
Chives
ds
7-11
Climbing beans
d
9-11
Coriander
d
30-45
Cucumber
d
8-10
Dwarf beans
d
7-10
French tarragon
d
30-40 days
Globe Artichokes
s
42-57
Horseradish
d
16-24
Jerusalem Artichokes
d
15-20
Kohlrabi
d
7-10
Lemon balm
s
8-10
Lettuce
ds
8-12
Mustard greens
d
5-8
Okra
ds
11-14
Oregano
s
6-8
Parsley
ds
9-19
Pumpkin
ds
15-20
Radish
d
5-7
Rhubarb
d
12 months
Rocket
d
21-35 days
Rosella
s
21-25
Rosemary
d
12 months
Sage
d
18 months
Salsify
d
14-21
Silverbeet
ds
7-12
Summer savory
d
6-10
Sunflower
ds
10-11
Sweet corn
ds
11-14
Turnip
d
6-9
Yacon
d
25
Key:
d = sow directly into ground
s = sow in seed tray
ds = sow directly into ground or seed tray
*= frost tender
**= sow after frost
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is an all-around supplement for D&D 5e, adding dozens of new subclasses, magic items, and spells for players, and details on puzzles, group patrons, and sidekicks for Dungeon Masters.
Starring: Kaelan, level 14 tiefling Monster Slayer Ranger/Fiend Warlock Scarlet, level 14 human Oath of Devotion Paladin Gillian, level 14 triton Champion Fighter/College of Lore Bard Kethra, level 14 half-elf Assassin Rogue TIM, level 14 warforged War Domain Cleric
The dragon is so fast we almost lose sight of him as he takes to the skies and head towards Marina’s tower. We could feel the rage emanating off of him, a shackled slave of the archdruid, forced to destroy an entire city.
We race through the forest. The forest, which is completely under Marina’s control. Her eyes and ears.
A voice begins to echo through the trees. Marina. “I give you every chance to follow my rules. I give you clear instructions. And still you betray me like so many others. You are an enemy to me now. Taken my greatest servant and turned him against me. I will destroy you all.”
Scarlet couldn’t help herself: “The servant is the sword and the sword is with me now and he’s fine. We didn’t do anything wrong!”
As if in answer, the dragon overhead roars in fury. Giant ravens take to the sky to intercept as a furious aerial battle breaks out.
The voice grows agitated. “You have brought me many problems,” Marina snaps. “You are my enemy, and the forest is now your enemy.”
The skies darken, thunder cracks, and rain begins to fall. Marina emerges from the tower draped in her robes, her three-headed chimera growling next to her. We clench our weapons, startled to hear multiple hissing sounds from beneath her cowl.
While Scarlet chatted up an adult green dragon, Kethra attempted climb on top of its head. A magic longsword was imbedded in the dragon’s skull, changing its entire personality, and we aimed to free them both.
Unfortunately the dragon had noticed Kethra, and we had to roll for initiative.
Kethra acted first, continuing the perilous climb up the dragon’s neck, grasping the sword, and pulled. She wiggled it a few inches, but we realized it would take several successful checks to extricate the blade.
Kaelan followed up by Mist Stepping right next to her and pulling…unsuccessfully. While Scarlet tried to downplay the entire situation and calm it down, the angry sword-dragon swiped at TIM, then launched itself 80 feet in the air, bathing us all in its Frightening Presence.
We were in quite the predicament, with Kaelan and Kethra hanging onto the sword as the dragon took flight. Another yank from Kethra wiggled the sword a bit further.
Gillian tried to bring the dragon down with a Hypnotic Pattern, but the beast shrugged it off. TIM sent a Message spell, reassuring the airborne party members that Gillian can cast Feather Fall.
Emboldened by the support, Kaelan mustered the strength and yanked the sword free, grabbing Kethra as they both began to fall off the dragon and plummet toward the ground. Gillian caught them with Feather Fall, letting the drop gently, followed by a loud roar as the dragon landed beside us (that’s twice Gillian has saved our bacon with Feather Fall!).
The dragon, named Valdemar, was somewhat grateful, but mostly ready to go kick Marina’s ass for embedding the sword in his skull and using him as an instrument of destruction. He revealed that his body was taken over, and forced to destroy the entire city that surrounded us.
Scarlet claimed the magic sentient longsword Tellurai, continuing to build a cute relationship as she admonished it for the, er, genocide.
The dragon didn’t stick around to chat for long, taking to the air to confront Marina. He pointed out that Marina was already aware of our betrayal, and our choice had been made for us when we decided to free him. We hurried after, waving at the tribe of were-bears who had gathered outside their cave to watch. Don’t worry friendly were-bears! We’re going to go kill the archdruidess instead of you.
The green dragon engaged in a mid-air fight with a flock of Marina’s giant ravens, while the druid emerged from her tower, her albino chimera and wooden guardian in tow. She wasn’t thrilled about her pet being freed to turn on her, and we’d finally grown fed up with her past transgressions. Roll for initiative!
Our poor DM rolled poorly on initiative for all the enemies, leaving Kaelan to open with a 35 damage Fireball (everyone fails) and Kethra to land an assassinate Crit on Marina, dealing 60 damage! In only two turns we dealt nearly 100 damage to the boss of Marin’s Grove.
We continued to smack Marina around, though she surprised us when she removed her cowl, revealing a head of snakes. A medusa! Gillian averted her eyes yet still sliced her up with her phase axe. TIM responded by hitting her with a blinding Contagion, eliminating her Petrifying Gaze, and her ability to aim her powerful spells, causing a Sunburst explosion to explode harmlessly to the south.
By the second round, Marina was limping away. The chimaera pounced in the middle of our team, biting and clawing at Gillian and Scarlet, but Kaelan destroyed it with a powerful volley of crossbow attacks. Crisann, the ghostly spirit that whispered at TIM, emerged to exact his revenge on Marina, but it was Kethra who got the kill with a deadly arrow.
Rycresh (AKA the DM) reminded us that we needed information from her on where to the find the creator, who apparently had named this entire plane after himself, Anonyma.
Scarlet used Revivy to bring Marina back, and we learned that the creator was happy about bringing together new factions into the plane, and had left to an island to welcome them. We recalled from his journals in the tower that a rogue group of celestials and demons had forsaken their war and tried to escape here. Clearly that didn’t end up working out for anyone.
Valdemar landed with a thud, declaring that Marina would not survive his wrath, while he was willing to let us go. We weren’t prepared to argue with him, and so we walked out of the grove, hearing a final scream from the murdering druid-medusa as we embarked on our next journey to the island, and level up to 15!
MVPC – Kaelan & TIM (Tie)
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Despite the laser-focus on the Forgotten Realms and Sword Coast in particular, Candlekeep has been underserved in Fifth Edition adventures, including the briefest of stop-overs in the opening chapter of Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus.
Elminster’s Candlekeep Companion provides a comprehensive guidebook to the intriguing fortified library, including history and adventure ideas, as well as new subclasses, magic items, and spells tied to theme of knowledge.
SPOILERS: This review contains spoilers for chapter 1 of Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus.
Starring: Kaelan, level 14 tiefling Monster Slayer Ranger/Fiend Warlock Scarlet, level 14 human Oath of Devotion Paladin Gillian, level 14 triton Champion Fighter/College of Lore Bard Kethra, level 14 half-elf Assassin Rogue TIM, level 14 warforged War Domain Cleric
As we climb the stone steps we could hear a desperate voice on the wind – “Free me!”
At the top lie a gigantic green dragon – the same we had seen fly over us earlier. A longsword is firmly lodged in its head, purple gems along its blade and hilt glowing softly.
The dragon is sleeping, but before I can signal to Scarlet, the paladin calls out, “Hello? Where are you?”
The whispery voice cuts out, along with the soft snoring of the monstrous beast.
Moments later the dragon leaps up and crashes down beside us, claws digging into the crumbling stone structure. It lowers its gigantic head, its mouth revealing sharp teeth the size of longswords. My hands fly to my crossbows even as my stomach drops out.
The dragon stares intently at Scarlet and says, “Hello darling, how are you?”
