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: Kera Hildebrandt, Noah Stavish, Douglas Harvey-Marose, Revelations Studios
In an excellent example of not judging a book by its cover (or its title!), The Feypool Beauty is a densely packed horror-mystery with an intriguing central villain, designed for fifth-level parties.
The titular beauty refers to our tragic villain. Like any good horror story, The Feypool Beauty puts the spotlight squarely on its villain — a tricky prospect for any tabletop RPG.
Several pages are devoted to Marietta’s (nee Ezrebet) backstory, including her mother’s deal with a hag, her partial transformation, and her tragic death at the hands of her brother.
Now the creature known as Marietta has sworn revenge against her noble family and the entire town of Feypool by corrupting them with her illusory beauty, making them obsessed at the cost of their own health and well-being.
The party stumbles upon (or is called to) the isolated town of Feypool in the middle of a large swamp. After battling off a rather awesome swamp chimera, they’re given free reign to explore the town and discover the truth about its oddly-obsessive townsfolk.
The town of Feypool is gigantic, featuring over 40 areas and rooms to explore and investigate, including an Inn with secret rooms and ghostly allies, a supremely creepy crematorium, a large palace, and a barred quarter known as Old Feypool.
The adventure relies on the success of this open-ended investigation — not an easy task for a DM. It requires players who are invested and motivated to tackle a story-heavy adventure that’s light on combat and features almost no railroading.
It’s also up to the DM when to trigger the few important events, such as the attack by the surviving hag (and the optional hag cabin area), as well as the final showdown when the charmed populace rises up to depose the nobility.
Marietta herself is available as a social NPC, which is also a tricky thing to pull off. Her final boss battle is an awesome multi-stage fight with two unique statblocks (one spellcaster, one huge and creepy) that reminded me of Auril’s multi-forms in Rime of the Frostmaiden.
The adventure is greatly enhanced with gorgeous color maps — and there’s not even a real dungeon crawl! The walled town of Feypool is lovingly rendered with gridded, non-gridded, and player versions. I love how each segment is given its own “zoomed in” map with further annotations. At no time was I ever confused about where something was, or what the party could do there.
The entire book is well-organized, with summary, adventure hooks, and dramatis personae at the front, and an easy breakdown of each location, including different scenes for day and night. Not to mention lots of DM-read flavor text! A story-heavy adventure could be a nightmare to unpack, but The Feypool Beauty makes it as easy as possible.
That being said, it doesn’t quite stick the landing. The brief ending and epilogue is far too vague and hand-wavy, leaving too much work up to the DM. Even the number of minions in the final boss fight is left up to the DM. Well, yeah, duh! But that doesn’t mean I don’t want your recommendation!
Abrupt ending aside, this is a truly excellent adventure for motivated players and experienced DMs looking for a meaty story.
Pros:
- Excellent layout and organization.
- Huge, detailed town with over 40 rooms and areas to explore.
- Climactic, multi-stage boss battle.
- Beautiful full color maps, with gridded, non-gridded, and player versions.
Cons:
- Underdeveloped ending puts everything on the DM.
The Verdict: Not for newbie DMs, The Feypool Beauty is a densely detailed, tightly woven, horror-mystery featuring a tragic villain and a memorable story.
A review copy of “The Feypool Beauty” 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 