This review has been sponsored by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

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Designed by: Duncan Rhodes

Inspired by the heists from Keys from the Golden Vault comes The Incredible Balloon Bamboozle, a spin-off heist-venture pulled from the designer’s gigantic adventure book, Dragonbowl.

This heist effectively expands an optional sidequest from Dragonbowl into a full stand-alone adventure for 5th level.

The party’s mission is to steal the airship plans from the impressive Dragonbowl Airship, a large zeppelin that slowly flies around the annual Blood Games beneath Waterdeep.

The Blood Games were the setting for Dragonbowl’s adventure, but here it’s an optional backdrop — though the corporate satire and real-world references remain intact in the airship, and still enjoyable.

The masked lord Mirt offers the party a relatively easy way in: his organization has “detained” several NPC invitees to the Sky Party aboard the airship. By impersonating these NPCs, the party can easily get on board.

I’m all for the classic deception angle, but it’s a shame this is the only detailed path for getting inside. There are lots of potential entrances and ideas, but only one other alternative, dressing up as catering staff, is presented as a quick little sidebar.

On the other hand, the impersonated NPCs are fully fleshed out, and create some delightful complications while on board, such as the performing twins, the eager kobold inventor, the shady yuan-ti priestess, or the seven foot tall aarakocra war hero (with mechanical bird suit for maximum hijinks).

Our heroes will need to navigate some tricky social situations, and the ever-present Dragonbowl-branded security systems, to reach the office on the highest level. They’re sure to be thwarted by Kenja, head of security and secret Red Wizard of Thay.

balloon bamboozle security

But the real complication comes in an epic third act climax that transforms the heist into a full-blown cinematic action movie. The Xanathar, going full Maleficent after not getting an invite to the festivities, launches a full-scale assault on the airship with an army of harpies and bugbears.

The beholder himself attacks the ship with his anti-magic cone and eye rays, sending everything into chaos. It’s the most memorable moment from Dragonbowl and I love that it’s used again here to kick things into high gear.

As with Dragonbowl, The Incredible Balloon Bamboozle features a professional layout and design, with plenty of artwork and fun handouts, including a classic heist-genre player map of the airship, and an actual handout of the airship plans.

Unfortunately the airship’s graph paper-like grid map has not been improved since Dragonbowl, and it would’ve been nice to get some artwork for those super-important NPCs.

Heists are some of the most challenging adventures to develop, with all the necessary complications and security detailing, but The Incredible Balloon Bamboozle makes it look easy.

The unique airship setting, balanced humor, and awesome climax make it more than worthy to stand alongside the upper echelon of heists from Keys from the Golden Vault.

Pros:

  • A zeppelin is an awesome location for a heist.
  • Balances serious adventure with silly hijinks and satirical themes.
  • Intriguing party guests and interesting complications.
  • Huge, awesome climactic complication when the Xanathar’s army attacks.
  • Half a dozen magic items.

Cons:

  • Narrative railroads PCs into beginning the heist in a very specific setup (impersonating certain NPCs).
  • Underwhelming map art.

The Verdict: Spinning off the airship heist from Dragonbowl into a stand-alone heist-venture is an excellent idea, held aloft with fun characters and memorable complications.

A review copy of “The Incredible Balloon Bamboozle” 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.