I ran this with a bunch of new players along with a few other one shots so they could get a feel for D&D before commiting to a long campaign. This was by far their favourite because of the amount of roleplay involved as well as the multiple phases to the campaign (as opposed to to other one shots where its a single dungeon to complete). They loved the crew members and quickly grew attached to some of the weird personalities. The only nice to have I can think of is a scenario where you can keep some of the pirates alive so they could return for future adventures.

So far, this adventure has been a HIT! I wish there were more funny and lighthearted adventures like this because I would totally buy another one.

The best part of this adventure is undoubtedly Darkwater's Crew. My players LOVED them (and are lowkey not going to kill them). I love all their personalities, the monstrous races, and the reasons for turning each character aggressive was so well thought out and gave me a lot to work with.

Other pros:

• The party loved the stupid pirate puns and jokes.
• I personally love the sea shanty and I like the option to sing or play it.
• I liked that there was a skill challenge, and my players LOVED the pirates in Darkwater's Crew.
• The map of the mine is super cute and the last dungeon is creative with a cool boss fight.
• Lots of DM notes for how to run the adventure.

Some changes I made: I transitioned from a different campaign so I had the party acquire the map to the ship through an NPC's relative, who owned the pirate-themed tavern and was the Bard from Boldbeard's crew (where he sang the shanty every night to his patrons). My party was 4 level 5s but I added the Sahuagin Priestess to Darkwater's test to make it harder.

I added another part so that the players can get to know the NPCs more through a treasure hunt and I have yet to run the fight at the end. I'm also thinking of using Matt Colville's villain actions and key in some events to happen for the last fight. This would be a mixture of fighting and abstracting the pirates. Will update when all done!

This adventure has the perfect balance between Roleplay and combat. Ran it as a oneshot in between sessions, and everyone loved it. We all had a great time and the included high-res maps and audio files made for a fun session.

Pros:

• Unique setting that combines pirates themes within the Underdark and the Sunless Sea.
• Excellent balance of combat, exploration, and role-playing.
• Liar’s Dice is a fun way to make the PCs work for the adventure hook.
• The monstrous crew is full of fun characters, and there are multiple methods for handling the mutiny.
• Full color battle maps and fun, cartoonish art throughout.

Cons:

• Darklake encounters are limited to simple combat encounters.

THE VERDICT: THE SHANTY OF BOLDBEARD’S PRIDE BEGINS WITH A GAME OF LIAR’S DICE AND ENDS WITH A MUTINY IN THE SUNLESS SEA AND A DUNGEON EXCURSION THAT WOULD MAKE THE GOONIES PROUD.

Full review: https://roguewatson.com/2019/10/30/dms-guild-review-the-shanty-of-boldbeards-pride/

Video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlGhD0hz8f4

This little adventure pulled so many of the strings of the metaphorical mandolin I play that I can't help but adore it. While it indeed is rather morbid at points and obviously meant for an older group of players, I cannot help but see this as a perfect adventure to introduce young kids into the world of D&D with a "Yarhar!" and "A bottlarum!" to go along with it. With intrigue, high-seas swashbuckling, and a little spritz of horror - The Shany of Boldbeard's Pride has all the pirate - a unique and interesting crew that border on comedic, a terrifying ship, and the overall ancient legend of the bucaneer Boldbeard. I especailly love the fact that Jimmy created the game Liar's Dice within the adventure to add that additional layer of immersion - I am definitely stealing that to use in another game. At the end of the day, this is a fantastic product that is easy to run and easy to fall in love with.

Comics, Clerics, & Controllers d20 Roll: Nat 20

This looks like a lot of fun to run. It's full of inventive ideas, from the pop-up tavern whence you learn of the Boldbeard's Pride to its crew to the dungeon it leads you to. (Special mention to the mithril golem. I love creative monster mods.) It's also got a devilish sense of humor that is super fun. I'm definitely linking this to my friend who's gearing up for a pirate-themed campign.

This is a tremendous supplement from beginning to end. Compelling characters, a killer adventure (who doesn’t love a mutiny?), eye-catching maps—all the stuff you’d expect from a Jimmy Meritt & Co release. But the little details really set it apart. What other modules contain fully rendered menus for their taverns, or provide rules for cheating in a pirate dice game, or furnish your group with an original song to play in the bar? If you’re looking for an exciting and robust maritime adventure, you can’t do better than this.

It doesnt take a one-eyed pirate to see that this is a very well designed adventure that is guaranteed to have your players getting into the pirate spirit. Weigh anchor and hoist the Mizzen! Round up your scury players and set sail to adventure! No hornswaggling here. Just straight up adventuring fun, me hearties!

Well thought out, lots of opportunties for humorous role play, and the twist with the mostly dwarven pirate crew rounds out the quality of this adventure module. A worthy treasure at twice the pieces of eight they are asking.

P.S. Once again Jimmy and Co have written an adventure that can easily work with any edition of D&D. So my 1st edition campaign will soon be crawling with scurvy buccaneers!

I didn't pirate a game about piracy, and I'm perfectly happy about it because this is worth every dubloon I spent. Great layout, fun and fleshed-out NPCs, lots of depth (oceanic and otherwise), solid and interesting combats, and an absolute banger of a shanty I will play at my matelotage.

First time DM here - Mr. Meritt & Co. have once more struck gold (pun fuuuuully intended) with this fantastic guide full of vivid NPCs, challenges, and adventures. Highly Recommended.

Your timbers will be so shivered. Your buckels will be swashed. It's a good fun read and a good fun song. Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho Yoho.