A review copy of “The Black Sun Rises” 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: Vassilis Tsipopoulos
The Black Sun Rises sounds like the title of a moody poem, but it’s actually a short but effective adventure designed for 2nd level parties in D&D 5e. The straightforward plot is a little too predictable, but it’s an easy to drop-in side quest bolstered by fantastic battle maps.
The town of Telpetui has been experiencing a rash of missing teenagers. While arriving in the village (or more likely, simply passing through), the party sees an emotional fight between the father of a missing teen, and her boyfriend, both blaming each other for her disappearance.
The truth is far more sinister.
A charismatic but evil young man, Ascalaphus, has recently returned home after becoming a cleric of Cyric, a dark god. Frustrated with his lot in life, his recently dead parents, and his burgeoning powers, Ascalaphus has started his own cult of Cyric right here in the village, and recruiting the vulnerable young people through promises of power, or seduction.
It’s a tale as old as time, and one that’s instantly relatable and believable, particularly the foolhardy boyfriend who tags along with the party whether they want him to or not.
The investigation leads the party to an old cabin in the woods where the teens would meet up. There they find a horrific sight, and have to put down an undead monster — who is actually one of the teens transformed by Ascalaphus.
It’s a neat twist, especially when the ghost of the unfortunate teen appears and helps explain the situation. More importantly, he can point the party to where the cult currently meets up — the abandoned mines outside town.
The mine dungeon sets the stage for the final showdown. There’s a nice opportunity to use diplomacy to talk down some of the purple-robed teens, reducing the number of enemies in the battle, though the big boss flees further into the mine regardless, setting up more battles, and ultimately a final confrontation with Ascalaphus and his zombified parents!
It’s an eyebrow-raising challenge, as Ascalaphus is a CR 3, 6th level necromancer built like a PC, and the party has to wade through multiple cultists, acolytes and a thug to reach him. Not to mention the random encounter with an ogre back at the cabin.
This is all for 2nd level? Dang!
It’s possible for the boyfriend or the girlfriend to die during this adventure (or both!), and the designer accounts for several different outcomes depending on how the party defeats Ascalaphus while minimizing the damage done to the coerced teenagers.
Still, I wish there were a few more twists and turns in the story. Ascalaphus is just kind of a dick, which is fine (and all the more relatable). But other than the teen-turned-ghast in the cabin, there are no big twists or revelations or anything deeper going on. He’s just a bad dude who started his own little club to take advantage of impressionable youngsters.
But it’s a solid little adventure, enhanced with a pair of great battle maps (the cabin and the mine), along with a map of the village. The designer, who also did the map art, includes gridded and non-gridded versions ready for virtual tabletops. An easy recommendation for anyone looking for an easy-to-run, add-on side quest.
Pros:
- Story involving young teens and a charismatic cult leader is instantly relatable.
- Realistic NPC allies and victims.
- Full color, detailed maps with gridded, non-gridded, and DM and player versions.
Cons:
- Story is a little too straightforward.
The Verdict: The Black Sun Rises is a straightforward, easy to run, and challenging side quest that’s easy to drop into any adventure.
A review copy of “The Black Sun Rises” 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.
RogueWatson 