Immediately after opening up the adventure, it’s easy to notice the clear cut layout of the events. The story synopsis and background can be fit into almost any medieval fantasy campaign that a DM might have fashioned, and the “Pacing/Transitions” sections gives an easy to follow guideline for any encounters that will inevitably transpire. This feature helps cut down on a lot of the preparation that often goes into implementing written adventures into your own group. That being said, I’d advise to read the entire thing at least one time through before delivery, as you need to have a concise understanding of the lighthouse and the areas surrounding it, as well as descriptions you might need to pepper in. The NPCs are also mostly open ended, meaning that despite having basic bullet points provided about what they do, look like, or think, it’s still important to pre-emptively come up with some interactions that the players might engage in, and how said NPCs might react. A mechanic that I found has a lot of potential is the conflict score system, which allows PCs the ability to talk it out in one specific situation, given the right dice rolls. However, I one hundred percent see myself using the conflict score in my own adventures. In terms of challenges, don’t expect any new monsters of epic proportions in this adventure, but definitely be excited for the Eefolk, as they are surprisingly fun in combat, and add a lot of fun mechanics such as Death Burst and Lunge. I applaud Kelsey Dionne and The Arcane Library for bringing in these amazing creatures and giving them depth (no pun intended, you’ll see what I mean). In addition, a variety of environmental effects can change the course of battles, such as the water elementals and their tendency to turn against their summoners, as well as the underwater battles. Finally, a number of different outcomes are proposed which make for great continuations, easily linking to any other story arches you might have prepared. I found the reward to be very fair for the effort from the PCs side. The Secrets of Skyhorn Lighthouse is a definite must have if you are looking to delve into an amazing amphibian adventure for level 5 players, and I cannot wait for more work of this caliber from The Arcane Library in the future. This debut has definitely earned my full admirations and a solid 5 stars.
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