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CCC-UBCON2020-02-Realm of the Brand $2.99 $1.79
Average Rating:1.5 / 5
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CCC-UBCON2020-02-Realm of the Brand
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CCC-UBCON2020-02-Realm of the Brand
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by Stephen L. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/14/2021 22:47:45

First off, let me start by saying there's a cool premise here. Getting onto a mysterious Island infested by Sahuagin to find a dragon couple is compelling. Doorstop the Kobold and bizarre diseases are hilarious.

However there are several problems in this module. I would strongly recommend against purchasing this adventure. The TL;DR is that it's incomplete and should not have been published, but if you want to know more read on.

  • The story hook is very weak. You get scooped up by a ships captain who is apparently too cowardly to do his job and thus tells your players to do it, except with no incentive. No promise of reward, no threats, nothing. The players are just expected to get on the train and follow the rails. More work needed to be put into this.
  • There's a section to describe interactions with the ship crew, promising advantage on interactions with them if they help out...except, there's no follow up. Interacting with the crew is purely an exercise up to the improvisation of the DM for RP purposes. It affects the plot not an iota. I feel like there must have been plan here, but it is not presented.
  • The decision of where to land doesn't really matter. It only changes the location where the Sahuagin ambush the players. This is an unecessary complication, and seems just thrown in there for the sake of it. The locations themselves have basically nothing interesting and do not justify requiring the players spending time to make a choice.
  • And speaking of locations....maps? The one map that is provided doesn't seem to line up with any of the locations in the adventure; the closest match is the inlet, except that the inlet is described as being littered with the bones of sea creatures, whereas the map has dragon skeletons in it instead. And the one location that MOST needed a map (The Stairs In The Jungle) due to it's complexity in a combat situation didn't have one. What is even going on here?
  • Amusing as the diseases are, this is another part that was not well designed. Players just automatically contract disease with no saving throw (removing player agency is bad), and two of the diseases, while initially funny, cause permanent loss of body parts to a party of 1st Tier adventurers. There then appears to be some confusion later; the author seems to imply that Greater Restoration from the dragons will restore body parts....something that spell definitely doesn't do. Oops.


Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
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CCC-UBCON2020-02-Realm of the Brand
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by Marcello V. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/15/2020 22:20:09

I found many things in this adventure challenging to present without more brevity and clarity. The background premise is interesting. But before the Call to Action (CTA), there are no adventure hooks provided, players start on a sinking ship. DMs are advised to feign checks-fabricate checks for players to give them the fasaud of hope-the checks simply to eat time? You can gain up to 3 lvls of exhaustion before the CTA ends! Best to have the adventure start on the ship with the captain and crew to avoid mutiny at your table.

The adventure captures a sea-trek to an island where a cure can be acquired to rid several coastal villages of a plague. During travel, there are tasks that grant advantage to checks that don't manifest with DM fiat. The module recommends downtime activities which seem "out of reach" by the rules. In some cases, players will not have the DT to do so. Players may have limited opportunity if they suffered exhaustion levels in the CTA. The island layout is simple; however, crucial information is lost ( i won;t say what) if the party does not speak a certain language-unless magical means exist. The cliff tower that players ascend to get to Episode 3., is presented poorly. Climb distances and limitations are not provided. Episode 3. has a very creative diesease puzzle-one of its highlights; but, there is no meta to go along with the dieseases. (They get no save against them-they automatically get them?). The final encounter seems "one-sided". Player parley ends with the heroes fleeing (I won't say why), dying quickly (I won't say why), or guided to a very descriptive ending, given the cure and allowed to leave. It seems to happen very quick. There's little player agency in the narrrative. DMs will need to do a strong meta-review of this adventure, flesh out the CTA, the end of Episode 2 and the beginning of Episode 3. before presenting.

My overall rating is based on the above observations and a spotty attempt at formatting compliance. It will make reading it slighty challenging. Even so, this is a great premise for an adventure. It just needs to be fine-tuned.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
I began the adventure in the style of Robert E. Howard with the heroes already in peril. I waste no time before putting the heroes in peril and making them respond to the challenge. This is different from traditional D&D modules, but I stand by the idea of starting strong and not messing around at page one.
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