[ad_1]
Whenever I see a sport or setting, I prefer to see an instance journey to point out how the designers meant to see the setting used. Even if the patron decides to make use of the product another way, it supplies a baseline from which to make an knowledgeable deviation.
When I wrote my overview for The Star-Shaman’s Song of Planegea for Gnome Stew, I famous that the setting materials does a very good job of offering examples of plot hooks and marketing campaign frameworks. These are executed in a way that really feel extra desk helpful than numerous marketing campaign settings that I’ve seen. But it didn’t embody an instance journey.
Have no concern, nonetheless, as a result of there’s a beginning journey obtainable for the setting. Today on the weblog we’re going to check out In the Lair of the Night Thing, an journey for 4 to six 1st degree characters.
Disclaimer
I used to be a Kickstarter backer for The Star-Shaman’s Song of Planegea, and acquired this journey as a part of the success. I used to be not offered a overview copy of this journey. I’ve not had the chance to run this journey, however I’m conversant in Dungeons & Dragons 5e each as a Dungeon Master and participant.
In The Lair of the Night Thing
Author: David Somerville
Developers: Adam Beckwith, Avalon Palmer, Daniel Gable, Fin Prindle
Cartography: Brian Patterson
Layout: David Somerville and Michelle Nephew
Producer: Justin Alexander
Publishers: John Nephew and Michelle Nephew
Special Thanks: Woody Eblom, Jenae Floerke, Jackie Sue Lozano, Heather O’Neill, Travis Winter, Justin Woodall, Casey McDonough, Nicole Ketz, Chris Martin, and our Kickstarter backers who made this e book attainable!
Art: Daniel Mallada, Cory Trego-Erdner, Douglas Deri, Michelle Nephew, Ari Ibarra
The (Digital) Manuscript
In the Lair of the Night Thing is a 38-page journey. This features a title web page, a credit web page, and a desk of contents. There are a couple of reused photos from the setting e book, however this journey comprises a number of items of unique artwork depicting characters and conditions from this journey, in addition to maps of the places detailed inside.
Unfurling the Scroll
The journey is damaged up into the next sections:
- Introduction
- Summons of Skarna
- Whispers of Nod
- The Two-Axe Clan
The final ten pages of the journey is basically a sourcebook on the Two-Axe Clan. It supplies a gazetteer of their present encampment, NPCs which can be more likely to be encountered, however not vital to the plot, and native gods and supernatural occasions.
The Adventure
The spoilers are going to return fairly rapidly, so in case you are more likely to be taking part in on this journey, chances are you’ll need to skip this abstract. Now on with the present.
Skarna Two-Axe is the dwarven lady who leads the Two-Axe Clan, a clan composed of many alternative kinships working collectively as a neighborhood. Her son was lately killed by a marauding monster, and her daughter was injured within the assault. Because Skarna should observe the normal days of mourning for her son, she wants somebody to seek out the Night Thing earlier than it may hurt anybody else within the clan.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot that Skarna doesn’t know. Elves from the Nightmare aspect of Nod are working with a hag to remove the management of the Two-Axe Clan. The elves have made a take care of Adaki, Skarna’s daughter, who’s making an attempt to kill her household. To this finish, the elves and the hag have helped Adaki rework into the Night Thing. The wounded Adaki that’s current within the camp is a disguised elf, ready to assassinate Skarna.
While the Dread Elves are working with the hag, the hag has her personal agenda. In monitoring down the Night Thing, the PCs might encounter the hag, who’s probably keen to assist them discover the path to the Night Thing. It’s a probably harmful negotiation, however she’s finished her half on this scheme, and her actual allegiance lies away from the Throne of Night that the Dread Elves serve.
The Dread Elves guard a portal to the Nightmare aspect of Nod, the land of goals, and the origin level of elves. In their lair, the PCs will encounter waking nightmares, manifestations of creatures which have crossed over from the opposite aspect of the gate. They may additionally discover out about Adaki’s duplicity, and sq. off towards the Night Thing.
While the journey is pretty easy, I don’t suppose that’s a foul factor on condition that it is a 1st degree journey that’s introducing distinctive parts of a setting. There are many particulars for the PCs to work together with that appear like they’ll present numerous enjoyable, just like the hidden path to the hag’s lair, and the torches that negate invisibility within the Dread Elves lair. While the PCs could have an opportunity to rescue Skarna from the murderer both manner, the PCs can discover a technique to take the tentwing dinosaurs that the Dread Elves use as mounts to fly again to the Two-Axe Clanfire extra rapidly and provides themselves extra respiratory room to disclose the murderer.
The greatest potential points within the journey are the locations the place the PCs must keep away from attacking every thing on sight. There is a T-Rex that’s manner out of their league, however the journey supplies a technique to lure it, in addition to a technique to escape it. If the PCs escape it, it may present up later to do the T-Rex versus Raptor Jurassic Park final minute savior transfer. It’s additionally pretty essential for the PCs to a minimum of try to barter with Mother Hush to assist them alongside their path.
There are two plot particulars I like on this. In the unique draft of the setting e book, Dread Elves had been equated with drow. This journey introduces that the elves which can be affiliated with the darkish are cut up between these making an attempt to grant ascendency to Nightmares and people making an attempt to make the darkness a safer place. There can also be the chance to attach Mother Hush with one of many massive marketing campaign villains offered within the setting e book, making this much more of a gateway to the setting materials.
The Sourcebook Material
The part on the Two-Axe Clan may be very related in presentation to what we acquired within the marketing campaign setting e book. By that, I imply that we don’t simply get an inventory of individuals and locations within the territory, but additionally plot hooks tied to totally different NPCs, random occasions and actions that is likely to be taken by totally different NPCs, and what the camp seems to be like at totally different components of the day. We see who’s gathered across the Clanfire at what time, and why they’re there.
In different phrases, just like the setting parts within the marketing campaign setting, all of these things have a substantial amount of desk prepared content material hooked up to them. There are few entries on this part the place a DM will examine one thing and surprise how that could possibly be utilized in an ongoing marketing campaign.
Happy Hunting
This journey introduces the setting very nicely, and likewise supplies a powerful reply to “what does this setting look like in play.” Not solely does it use parts of the setting in a manner that highlights them, nevertheless it additionally ties into the bigger marketing campaign arcs talked about within the setting e book. It additionally supplies materials for the DM to make use of earlier than and after operating this journey within the type of the Two-Axe Clan info.
Long Cold Winter
I really like the concept of introducing a T-Rex early within the marketing campaign, however this might go fallacious actually rapidly, and moreover, utilizing the T-Rex to save lots of the PCs in the event that they want it later within the journey could possibly be superior, however some DMs might not pull it off in addition to others. It all is determined by how nicely the DM can body this as a setup/payoff state of affairs. It is feasible for PCs that actually need to “go it alone” to have a tough time discovering the trail to the Dread Elves, and Adaki might have used just a little extra backstory detailing how she went from “generally agreeable but prone to jealousy” to full on “I need to murder my family for power.”
Recommended–If the product suits in your broad space of gaming pursuits, you might be more likely to be pleased with this buy.
This is a straightforward suggestion for anybody that picked up The Star-Shaman’s Song of Planegea. Even although it touches on numerous setting parts, I believe the Two-Axe Clan materials within the again fleshes out the place to begin for this setting nicely sufficient {that a} group might simply use this journey to check out the broader setting, quite than getting the marketing campaign setting e book first (so long as they are saying their stuff is made out of rocks and bone and such to suit the aesthetic).
[ad_2]