A review copy of “Caverns of Slime” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
Support my work by using affiliate links for shopping and pledging via Patreon.
Designed by: Scott McClintock
An Easter Egg Hunt is a time-honored seasonal tradition for many, but admittedly I’ve never seen it applied to a D&D adventure, until now.
“Caverns of Slime” is one part county fair and one part ooze-themed dungeon crawl for levels 1-3. The PCs are invited to take part in a festival to gather magical eggs by helping NPCs, searching the town, participating in games, and exploring the nearby caverns, providing a solid balance of exploration, role-playing, and combat.
The adventure begins in the town of Leilon at the beginning of the Turnover festival, where clerics of Lathander host a big egg-hunt for adventurers. These aren’t ordinary eggs but special magical items, drawn from magical items and spells and replicating effects like fireball, the Immovable Rod, and even the Sphere of Annihilation.
Three other rival NPCs are after the eggs as well, including a friendly young druid, a pompous group of knights, and an evil necromancer with an army of crawling claws that harry the PCs throughout the adventure.
The first chapter allows the level 1 PCs to explore the town, finding eggs and participating in several games, such as an archery contest. The entire chapter has a fun, light, county fair feel to it that feels quite refreshing compared to the usual dour seriousness that kick off many D&D campaigns. Leilon isn’t quite as big as Phandalin but the half dozen NPCs and locations provide a solid amount of social content.
Chapter 2 provides a bit more combat as the PCs explore the outskirts of town, including battling a polymorphed barbarian-chicken named Bloodbeak who’s taken over the local chicken coop. Chapter 2 culminates in a battle with the necromancer and his zombies, though the crawling claws can continue to harass the PCs and steal their eggs.
In chapter three the adventure shifts to a pure dungeon crawl that happens to be near the town and include some of the magical eggs that everyone is after. While the egg-finding theme gets a bit lost the actual dungeon design is top-notch, with a giant river of slime flowing right down the middle (Ghostbusters 2 anyone?).
The PCs must carefully jump across pillars and walk across planks to avoid falling in, while battling oozes that can animate skeletons. The Cathedral of Ooze is a dungeon-within-a-dungeon, including a room of Gibbering Mouther trenches and a library with books of interesting lore about the ooze-worshiping cultists who once lived here.
Unfortunately the map is hand-drawn black and white, Dyson Logos-style, which I’m never a fan of. The numbered annotations are also incredibly difficult to read, making it a chore to try and match the dungeon and town areas to points in the text.
By the end the PCs have collected a number of eggs and survived the caverns to hopefully win the contest, though even coming in second place is still a decent payout. Turning an egg-hunt into a low-level adventure works well, though the caverns are bolstered by good dungeon design rather than tying into the egg-hunt theme.
Pros:
- The slime dungeon features a unique river of slime, ooze-animated skeletons, and interesting bits of lore.
- Rival NPCs who are also hunting eggs.
- A memorable necromancer with an army of crawling claws, some with unique statblocks.
- Over 30 magical eggs make good low-level magic items.
Cons:
- Black and white maps, poorly annotated.
- Light on artwork.
The Verdict: An egg-hunt is a brilliant motivator for the “Caverns of Slime,” creating a fun low-level adventure bolstered by a well-designed, ooze-themed dungeon crawl.
A review copy of “Caverns of Slime” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
Support my work by using affiliate links for shopping and pledging via Patreon.
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