A review copy of “Blinsky Is No Fun!” 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: DM Sparky
Blinsky Is No Fun expands the Blinsky Toyshop encounter from D&D 5e campaign Curse of Strahd, transforming the toy store into a full dungeon crawl, with an interesting method of cranking up the horror.
The original Blinksy encounter from Curse of Strahd is just a toyshop with an eccentric NPC, and perhaps a chance to deal with Izek, Ireena’s long-lost (and disturbed) brother.
In this adventure, Blinsky has become somewhat of a mad scientist after the losing his wife and daughter. By following the works of another inventor (whose doll later appears in the Castle Ravenloft dungeon), Blinsky has created a self-aware doll in the likeness of Strahd, as a warmup to recreating his family.
The Devil Doll has an amazingly cool statblock built for launching surprise attacks and then getting away: sneak attack, assassinate, cunning action, stun + attack multihit, and legendary actions that include moving without provoking attacks of opportunity. Nice.
The adventure includes multiple adventure hooks to bring them to Blinsky’s, though the actual quest is offered by Blinksy himself. The toy maker has been recently injured by the doll, and keeping it locked away upstairs. He’s happy to give the party a key and send them up to deal with it.
The top two floors become a dungeon crawl. The second level is mostly empty but filled with lots of nice environmental storytelling showcasing Blinsky’s despair, and eventual dark secret.
The doll can ambush the party, then escape up the secret staircase to the third floor, where it can further antagonize the PCs and animate swarms of killer toys.
Interestingly, the doll has its own motivations: find and install the voice box locked in another room, so it can properly confront its creator, and perhaps work out its confused feelings and rage.
That might be hard to get across while it’s trying to murder the PCs, however.
Blinksy’s lost family can also change, depending on how dark the DM wants the story to be. Did they simply leave, or were they killed? Did the wife kill herself and the daughter, or did Blinsky murder them both?
This modular approach to his backstory is brilliant, and the handouts and some room descriptions change depending on which story the DM chooses.
In the end, the party will have to deal with the killer doll, and possibly expose Blinsky’s nearly finished robotic family, leaving multiple endings and epilogues to a morally complex situation.
The adventure is enhanced with detailed battle maps for each level of the shop, though the maps lack color. AI art is used throughout the adventure, though it’s rarely distracting or obvious.
Blinksy Is No Fun is my favorite type of product on the DMs Guild: a well-designed expansion of existing content within a published 5e campaign. It may not be quite as must-have as others I’ve reviewed, but I could easily see myself adding this little side encounter and dungeon romp into a Curse of Strahd campaign (or any town with a creepy toyshop!)
Pros:
- Modular choice for Gadof’s family’s backstory.
- D100 table of creepy toys.
- Devil Doll statblock provides fun hit-and-run tactics.
- Detailed DM and player maps for all three levels of the toyshop.
Cons:
- Battle maps lack color.
The Verdict: Blinksy Is No Fun expands a one-off encounter in Curse of Strahd into a satisfying little dungeon crawl mystery.
A review copy of “Blinsky Is No Fun!” 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 