I've read probably 10 unaffiliated books and this is the real deal. Huge book, tons of a adventures, really well laid out. Especially good if you're trying to cater to a 'woke' party, as the authors put a lot of effort into treating sensative topics with the sensativity it deserves. Only 'warning' is that this is truly a collection of adventures, not an expanded rule book or player suppliment. I recommend you buy it now while your players don't have know what it is and you can still pass it off as your own original work!

Content Review: I have read through the PDF when I purchased this on 2020-05-14. I received my hard copy on 2020-05-29, almost exactly two weeks later. I knew when I saw this on the D&D subreddit and on GeekTyrant (who introduced me to the Uncaged series), I knew this would be good. I, myself, run a 5e Wuxia homebrew campaign. I am not Asian and I took great care to not have this be a Western-stereotyped adventure. To help with this task, I read the following books to help bolster my campaign: "The Condor Heroes", "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio", "Japanese Ghost Stories", "Tao Te Ching" and "The Bhagavad Gita" to name a few.

This book is hands down the fastest and best way to introduce Asian myths and stories respectfully into D&D campaigns. The ten adventures in Vol 1 are fantastic and can really seamlessly be integrated into any campaign. This will be a fantastic way to still run my game while I need to write an adventure for my campaign if my players end up doing something completely unexpected.

PDF Review: The PDF is ~20mb so this could be difficult to read on mobile, but on my PC and laptop I had no issues. The Table of Contents is clickable and the PDF is searchable which is fantastic.

Physical Book Review: As I stated earlier, it took about two weeks to receive my hardcopy and this was during the Covid-19 crisis. I am beyond impressed since this is print on demand. Excellent hardcover material, it doesn't feel cheap or flimsy. I know we all have experiences of a hardcover just sort of bending and creasing horribly when it comes in and out of your gamebag. The binding is in the case binding style, where pages are sewn together then glued in sections, should add to its durability and presentation. I do recommend that as with all hardcover books to break in the spine properly to help extend its life and to not get those hard creases where the cover meets the binding. The paper feels great in your hand in my opinion. The paper is not glossy which I prefer as I am cursed to have the glossy paper light reflection in my eyes at all times. Combine the art style, the font size, and the font type and this book is just a great tactile read. The illustration on page 107 is stunning.

The only minor knock I have is the book does not have an index. In the PDF, the pages are clickable and searchable. This does not negatively affect me in any way, it would just be a nice to have in a possible Vol 2 so I can more easily look up a monster or a npc.

A beautifully made anthology. This is clearly the work of great care and love for Asian culture, myth, and stories that shows on every page. The Last Guest, Drowned Souls of the Hidden Stream, and Lost Children are adventures that I found particularly compelling. Not to mention that the art for Unbreakable is flat out gorgeous! Add a copy to your library immediately.

In a similar vein to the way the Uncaged Anthology freed women from the chauvinistic shackles of mythology and folklore, Unbreakable is a watershed moment for Asian representation in both content and creators. From the Khmer language of Cambodia, Chinese proverbs and places both lost and restored through societal forces, through reconnecting with cultural roots and familial tales from the Philippines that blur the line between reality and fantasy, to folklore, spiritualism and Chinese-American mythology, the inspiration for these adventures is as vast as the countries and cultures of Asia and Asian-Americans, beyond the East Asian Archetype and previous offensive depictions epitomized by the 'Oriental Adventures', still available on DMs Guild (with unwieldy notes on the history of its publication and disputes over ownership, though nothing addressing its problematic content).

As important as this is for representation, the quality of the writing and artwork of the anthology are equal to the moment; absolutely spellbinding with adventures rich in mythology, blending with and augmenting existing D&D lore. In Unbreakable you will help a talking carp prove itself to a maternal golden dragon; aid spirits of nature and face moral quandary and pollution; release the restless spirits of a village drowned by greed; reclaim a cultural artefact in a bamboo city heist during a festival; rescue monks trapped within crystal constructs and battle a spirit inside a silver chalice to keep a sacred flame alight; battle or placate undead and fiends with puppets in a bizarre, harrowing tale of lost children; trade emotions and traverse visions to find a legendary warrior to help rally the defense a city from monsoon and monster; enter a mahjong tournament rife with intrigue, tile mimics and a forest spirit in the form of an adorable mouse deer, with the chance to win a wish; deliver melons to a giant demon salamander's son...in hell (Diyu) to save a village from drowning in her tears, help the son get a job and the party out of hell with the power forgery and clerical work because few creatures are more litigious than fiends (or take a quick walking tour of the 18 hells in this Journey to the West inspired mythology), and ultimately end up rich or drowning in melons... and reunite a jade hermit with their 12 animal friends, each with their own flavourful realm, unique zodiac-inspired abilities, lair actions, and various involved and entertaining skill challenges to convince placate the, including a showdown with the tricksy Lord of Cats with multiple possible outcomes.

The lore and world-building are phenomenal with so many fantastic ideas, themes and seeds to act as inspiration for building your own Asian-inspired campaigns, with each adventure providing areas and concepts to use and expand upon in the form of everything from villages, towns, cities and regions to caves, forests, mountains and rivers, as well as people, creatures and mythology, all the way down to the 18 hells (Diyu). Taking the concepts and hooks provided, and expanding upon them could easily make for a quality campaign in which each adventure in the anthology could play an integral part.

Included within are new mechanics for reputation and adversity, a system for generating and emulating the changeable nature of high heat and humidity, running a mahjong tournament with rumours to be collected along with the winnings, as well as handling monsoons, organizing the defense of a city and measuring time as a resource. Also included are a cavalcade of new fascinating, adorable and terrifying creatures and magic items, as well as detailed settings and allusions to power structures and the world beyond and below.

I am absolutely captivated and moved by this release, which is as timely and momentous as it is entertaining and brilliant. Jacky Leung (@DeathByMage) has brought together a team truly worthy of the honour of being a part of this historic project.

Credits:

Produced by Jacky Leung and Jazz Eisinger.

Layout & Graphics Design by Caroline Amaba.

Edited by Camielle Adams, Jazz Eisinger, Daniel Kwan, Steve Huynh, Lynn M. Meyer, Echo Roanoke

Cover Art by Joshua Mendenhall.

Original Artwork by Anthony Alipio, Caroline Amaba, Alison Huang, Kari Kawachi, Xyrystina Marcos, Tiona, Mouton, Jennifer Peig, Kathryne Wilson, Nicole Wilkinson, Reshma Zachariah

Adventures Written by Anthony Alipio, Steve Huynh, Kat Kruger, Daniel Kwan, Jacky Leung, Kevin Nguyen, Collette Quach, KC Shi, Russ Wilde, Ethan Yen

This book is wonderful. First the size of the book was impressive to me. I didn't expect over 250 pages of useful content for the price. Each author contrubutes a lot, giving multiple detailed hooks, adventure background and notes on things like pronunciation of Asian words, character significance and ways to change or expand the adventure. Most of these adventures could easily be expanded to a short campaign or serve as the seed for a longer one.