Category: DMs Guild Review

DMs Guild Review – The Priest, The Witch, and the Lost Temple

Save an entire town from an undead invasion – and its own prejudices, with this excellent Tier 1 adventure.

Advertisements

A review copy of “The Priest, The Witch, and the Lost Temple” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work via Patreon.

Designed by: David McDonough

dms guildAlthough its title may bring fond memories of Narnia, “The Priest, The Witch, and The Lost Temple” is more akin to The Lost Mine of Phandelver – and that is indeed high praise.

The low level adventure is designed for levels 2-3 and features a town in need of saving, exceptionally detailed NPCs, and several satisfying dungeon crawls.

Continue reading “DMs Guild Review – The Priest, The Witch, and the Lost Temple”

DMs Guild Review – Enhanced Focuses

Over 60 magical items designed specifically for spellcasting classes, as well as a guide to make your own magic focuses.

A review copy of “Enhanced Focuses” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work via Patreon.

Designed by: Tyson VanOverhill (Double Crescent Productions)

dms guildPure spellcasters often get shafted when it comes to loot. Although D&D Fifth Edition is far less loot-focused than previous editions, martial fighters and hybrid spell-and-sword slingers rejoice when finding armor, weapons and trinkets. For spellcasters, much of their power reside in their spells, leaving them with a more limited selection of useful magical items.

“Enhanced Focuses” is nice repository of magical trinkets and items designed specifically for spellcasters. Instead of granting new abilities, these class-specific magical items enhance existing spells and powers, making it a useful loot table for your spellcasting players.

Continue reading “DMs Guild Review – Enhanced Focuses”

DMs Guild Review – The Heir of Orcus: Verse II

Pick up where Verse I left off by delving into the demon-infested temple of Orcus in the conclusion to this pixelated Tier 1 adventure.

A review copy of “The Heir of Orcus: Verse II” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work via Patreon.

Designed by: Anthony Joyce

dms guild“The Heir of Orcus: Verse II” picks up right where the first one left off, with our heroes entering the Temple of Orcus to recover a fallen angel. It’s a direct continuation of the Tier 1 adventure designed for a 3rd level party, featuring plenty of demon battles amid a straightforward dungeon crawl.

It’s a bit shorter and simpler than Verse I and is made up entirely of the three-room temple dungeon, though like the first one the included art assets and attention to detail for each area are top-notch.

Continue reading “DMs Guild Review – The Heir of Orcus: Verse II”

DMs Guild Review – The Heir of Orcus: Verse I

Embrace the quirky pixel art style in part 1 of 2 in this demon-themed Tier 1 adventure.

A review copy of “The Heir of Orcus: Verse I” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work via Patreon.

Designed by: Anthony Joyce

I have a huge amount of nostalgia for pixel art and 8-bit games. They helped define my childhood and put me on the path to eventually write about games for a career.

Tabletop RPGs and video games have a lot of obvious crossover, but I’d never seen a DMs Guild module use actual pixel art in its maps, tokens, and handouts, until now.

“The Heir of Orcus: Verse I” is the first-half of a two-part series, using the colorful backdrop of the never-ending war between angels and demons. It’s designed for a party around 3rd level and could be run as a one-shot depending on the number of combat encounters.

Verse I has lots of opportunities for fun role-playing and exploration. There’s a heavy focus on the richly-designed NPCs, though the adventure abruptly ends before the third act, requiring you to continue the story in Verse II.

Continue reading “DMs Guild Review – The Heir of Orcus: Verse I”

DMs Guild Review – Heaven Is a Place on Faerun (Truly, Madly, Deeply Part 3)

Help a small town with a pesky insect-summoning wizard in this underwhelming adventure for 3rd level.

A review copy of “Truly, Madly, Deeply-Module 3” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work via Patreon.

Designed by: Chad Cray and Patrick Higingbotham (NZS Games)

dms guild reviewBalancing a written adventure with the ad-lib nature of D&D is tricky. How do you create content when the players and DM are actively creating their own content while playing? If you go too broad you risk not giving DMs enough information; go to too narrow and you stifle any creativity from the players.

“Heaven is a Place on Faerun (Truly, Madly, Deeply Part 3)” suffers from the latter. It’s a short mini-adventure for a 3rd level party involving a town and a nearby dungeon that features a very specific delineation of events and characters.

A truly stellar story can make railroading your players worth it, and while the individually written characters are surprisingly deep, the actual story presented here isn’t very compelling.

Continue reading “DMs Guild Review – Heaven Is a Place on Faerun (Truly, Madly, Deeply Part 3)”

DMs Guild Review – Cult of the Glutton

Delve into a troglodyte-infested cave in this thematically-rich dungeon crawl for 5th-10th level.

A review copy of “Cult of the Glutton” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work via Patreon.

Designed by: JVC Parry

“Cult of the Glutton” is a one-shot dungeon crawl designed for Tier 2 play – that’s 5th-10th level heroes, although a Tier 2 party would have a hell of a time actually beating the final CR 20 boss at the end!

It’s an old-fashioned dungeon in that it’s devoid of story in favor of combat, traps, hazards, and lots of loot. On the plus side the actual dungeon design is absolutely delightful, with multiple branching paths, dungeon denizens that actually make sense, and plenty of secret passages and fun trap ideas. Continue reading “DMs Guild Review – Cult of the Glutton”

DMs Guild Review – Grimm Encounters

A dozen brief and twisted encounters drawn from classic fairy tale stories, such as Snow White and the Three Little Pigs.

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

Support my work via Patreon.

Designed by: JVC Parry & Jeff C. Stevens (+ Ken Carcas, Jean Lorber, Patrick E. Pullen, Phil Beckwith, Tony Petrecca)

dms guild reviewWhen I reviewed “Grimm Encounters II” I wondered where the more obvious fairy tale stories were. Turns out they were here in the first installment!

Within “Grimm Encounters” you’ll find a dozen fairy tale-inspired encounters (CR 1-7), including the much more recognizable tales of Hansel and Gretel, the Three Little Pigs, and the Pied Piper. The encounters are much shorter and simpler than the sequel, but still successfully apply classic grimdark fairly tale characters and themes to Dungeons & Dragons. Continue reading “DMs Guild Review – Grimm Encounters”