A review copy of “Encounters at the Wayside Inn” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.

Designed by: Carl Terence Vandal

The Wayside Inn lies between Neverwinter and Waterdeep, at the crossroads to Phandalin and the Dessarin Valley. The popular rest stop is also home to several quests and encounters, ranging from auctions and card games to a good ol’ fashioned bar brawl.

Encounters at The Wayside Inn is an encounter book centered around a the titular Inn, smack dab in the middle of the Sword Coast.

The encounter book dedicates the first several pages to the inn itself, providing a room-by-room breakdown of the kitchen, smithy, guest rooms, and common room, as well as the few staff who work there.

There’s nothing especially compelling, but perhaps that’s the point: this inn is about as normal and generic as they come.

The bulk of the 50-page encounter book are the ten encounters. Each encounter takes up a single page, with level scaling from 1-9. I’d prefer more bespoke encounters with limited scaling, as swapping out enemies adds to the generic effect of many of these encounters.

The worse ones suffer from MMO side quest-itis, such as Going to a Place to Kill Some Stuff, Escorting a Dude from Bad Guys, or Getting Stuff from a Place (and killing stuff).

I don’t need generic side quests, or worse, encounters that build to bigger things. I just want encounters that are slightly more memorable and interesting than a random encounter table!

The best encounters take place at the Inn with fun little twists and ideas, such as a breakout fight between two lycanthropes (turns out they’re a sorcerer using Alter Self and a Path of the Beast barbarian), or a critter chase between a cockatrice and a tressym.

The encounter book also includes full color grid maps, including a full layout of The Wayside Inn, and for any outdoor encounter areas. Also included: over 30 statblocks, about half of which are custom built NPCs. The detailed appendix full of statblocks and maps helps make up for some of the more lackluster encounters.

Pros:

  • Ten relatively simple drop-in encounters with level scaling for Tier 1-2.
  • Over 30 statblocks included (about half are custom NPCs).
  • Full color battle maps for the Inn and outdoor encounters

Cons:

  • Some encounters are too generic and forgettable.

The Verdict: Though not every encounter is a winner, The Wayside Inn provides plenty of easy to run side quests and a fully detailed rest stop for adventurers.

A review copy of “Encounters at the Wayside Inn” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.