Such an amazing campaign! I started it recently with a couple moms trying to find ways to connect with our DnD-obsessed teenage sons. I keep the gore fantasy/over-the-top, and the party can choose to get tangled up in as much drama/intrigue as they want, or just skip most of it and go right to the fights.

My only complaint is that I don't see a way to easily get the pics/maps onto my VTT. The artwork is beautiful so I'd love to incorporate more for the whole group to enjoy.

Definitely recommended for a great, multisession campaign at an awesome price. I would definitely purchase a hardcover version if it becomes available.

Duncan Rhodes has created a rich world that fits in very nicely for the Waterdeep campaign I'm running for players that have nearly cracked the Dragon Heist Vault but are not quite up to the grim enormity of Mad Mage. They need something that gets them underground a little more gradually, and the Blood Games setting is, literally, right in between, so thanks very much!

Nicely done on this very unique and engaging module. The players have no idea what they're in for, having only started to see mysterious posters begin to appear in various taverns around town....

This is a crazy fun sandbox with a ton of stuff for players to do, see, and destroy in the Dragonbowl festival grounds. Light-hearted without being complete fluff, action-packed without ignoring other pillars of play (in fact, the roleplaying and exploration elements are probably its best parts), and it's filled with clever ideas from cover to cover. No disrespect to anyone else, but I believe Dragonbowl is a better adventure than anything officially published by WotC and is one of the best stand-alone campaigns on DMsGuild. It's marketted as a sequal to Waterdeep: Dragon Hiest but, honestly, it's more like W:DH is a prequel to Dragonbowl. Trust me, this campaign is the main event!

Quick summary of media it evokes (just so you can get a sense of the vibe and know if it's a good fit for your group): Rollerball, Superbowl parody, Running Man, anime tournament arcs, Pyre, Fallout: New Vegas (Underbelly has a huge New Vegas feel), and pro wrestling. If you like any of those things, this is a perfect campaign for you. Worth every penny.

One last note: I suggest pairing the actual tournament fights with the "momentum" rules from Ashley & Isaac May's superb wrestling-themed suppliment, Battles, Brawls, and Belts (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/271074/Battles-Brawls--Belts). Honestly, the author should consider reaching out to them and making a bundle with them. It fits like a glove.

This is a sheer joy to DM – I feel like a kid in a candy store! So much crafting and passion has obviously gone into the creation of Dragonbowl; it blows many of the official WOTC titles right out of the water. On the technical side, the layout is easy to navigate, the quality of writing is top notch and all the mechanics for the competitions run smoothly and make for a hell of a lot of fun. And good grief, there is SO much fun to be had here – the open ended intrigues give so much scope for DM and Player creativity to shine, it's bursting with NPCs who are all so fantastic and fleshy they could each star in their own adventure outright. Many of them you'll recognise from WDH but there are plenty of utterly unique ones as well. So much more than a gladiator contest (although there is plenty of that for sure!) there's something to entice, intrigue and entertain no matter what inspires your party to action - be it the thrill of the fight, the thought of the epic prize money, the chance to rub shoulders and deal dirty with underground big shots, or something more altruistic like thwarting a sinister villain, re-uniting a lost family or rescuing a band of orphans. I am running this with two different groups right now and both are having completely unique experiences at Dragonbowl - and both are saying it's already the best thing they've played in a long time. I have to end by sharing a player quote that sums it up: “Did that feel to anyone else like we just starred in a dnd version of gladiator meets tank girl?!”

Wow! This adventure is so fun to read I cannot wait to start playing it, my players are gonna freak out! Exciting, versatile and brutal all at once ! I really appreciate all maps, characters description and drowings it will definitely make it easier to run, there is a ton of material you can work with and that's priceless! Not sure if I'm more enthusiastic about the tournament or the gallons of bloodwizer we're going to drink! Astonishing work!

If you took American Gladiators, the Colosseum, and the Quidditch World Cup and then mashed them all together I imagine you'd end up with something like Dragonbowl. More than just a combat-focused adventure, Dragonbowl is a Bacchanalian-style festival with its own economy and ecology. Opportunistic entrepreneurs (some more shady than others) are out hustling for profits and corporate sponsors have sunk their claws into monopoly (looking at you Bloodwizer).

This adventure is overflowing with well-designed NPCs for the players to engage with. They could also either oppose the players or join them, if need be. Dragonbowl has all the charm of a longstanding recurring carnival or state fair to include questionable prizes, hawkers, and mini-games and attendees. With so many personalities and activities competing for your attention, all players are bound to find things that speak to their characters while working their way through the adventure to its conclusion and main prize (who couldn't use 500,000 gold pieces?!).

Also, as someone who shamelessly plugs a pop-culture reference here and there, I love that that this adventure and setting does the same!

We got a lot of hours of fun out of Dragonbowl! At its core this is a combat-focused adventure, and let me say it does a great job of keeping combat exciting by pitching your players against other teams each offering different challenges. However we were surprised to see how deep the narrative went with a good variety of side quests and 'secrets' to discover about the various NPCs through sneaking around and social interactions. Definitely going to run this with another group of players in the hope they get to meet and side with different NPCs. One word of advice to players: get that resurrection insurance, you will need it!!

A glorious dive into the gladiatorial underbelly of Waterdeep! Loved the characters, setting and the ability to continue Dragon Heist in a different direction! The scope here is the key - I wanted to continue the intrigue and RP of Dragon Heist but DOTMM wasn't quite what I wanted. Dragonbowl allowed me to keep those elements and have various NPCS involved in a unique and somewhat bloody way. Plus the gorgeous art drew me in - I mean, just look at that airship! Bonus points for the quirkily named rivals too!

Really enjoyed playtesting this one despite almost dying in every bout. There is so much more to this than the gladatorial contest. Loved some of the unexpected characters we met - the succubus just looking for love. And I won't soon forget falling off the airship during a heist. I would like to meet the gamesmaster again though. I don't think we killed him enough the first time.