This was an already great title before it got updated.

Once the PoD of this updated version goes live it will be my first purchase. I am greatly looking forward to it.

Tight writing, good plot hooks, great npcs, well ordered, beautiful hand drawn maps. This module has it all.

Some noticable nice thing about this module missing in many others are the summaries up front, like the notable streets, the timeline it gives, the reward posters it provides.

Here is an example event from the rollable table for the town Dulwich.

The town guard attempts to disperse an angry group of workers upset with a tax rise. A few of the workers begin to throw stones.

Example Npc Zado (location 11; CN male human unknown) plies his trade in the marketplace as a street performer or, perhaps, street performers. However, this enigmatic performer’s real trade is in secrets and information

Example street Briar Park Row: A small park rests along the street. Believed to be the remains of a former druid’s grove, the park features a large oak tree with a life-like face etched into its trunk. Badgers’ (location 15) stands on Briar Park Row, and the presence of its watchful, armed mercenaries makes this a particularly safe, crimefree street

As you can see its not just a one word monster or event but rather a fleshed out encounter with some real meat to it either to inspire you on or drop in as is to your game. There has been some real love and thought gone into this product.

Its a delight to read!

I like this set of tables a lot.

There are 11 sets of tables. I will include two examples from each table. And for consistency I will pick the first 2 entries from each table rather than my favourites.

I find that these tables perform their role for me, in that they inspire ideas within me, they help create unction where my mind was a blank.

Worth mentioning that I intially I had trouble reading the text but the author quickly put out an amended version. Have asked for a print fiendly so I can have it as part of my DM kit

I picked this up as an aspiration, [If I successfully build it] I will definitely be back to pay for the supplement.

The thought and care that has gone into making this product is Fantastic and very typical of this creator. If you cast your eyes across his back catalogue it is full of really good, well thought projects.

The design of this piece allows the box to "travel" with you without becoming damaged.

The best of all there is a very detailed video explaining how to build this item step by step. Each step looks super easy too!

Cavern Crawls 44 Oceanic Grotto

6 pages - Cover, Publisher page, pages 3,5 & 6 Adventure content. Page 4 Keyed map.

There is very little wasted space on this product.

I needed a very quick one shot to run, to get my group up a level. The dungeon is aimed at Average Party Level 2 & 5 players. It looked like a fleshed out quest & map situation and as a result seemed like a perfect side trek without ruining main campaign [Storm Kings Thunder].

I had 4 players but level 6 so swapped out the monsters. I kept the art just switched out the stat blocks :).

The art is rich throughout, recall its 6 pages in total. Including the cover I saw 6 really nice pieces of art here. The cavern crawls series has templated border art too, which is also very nice. The attribution said it was Cody Rakai who did the art, it was beautiful throughout.

So the 6 pieces are as follows: The cover - a composite of the dungeon map and a Sailor. Page 3 - Has a top 1/4 atmospheric banner scene. It also has an image of Neptune's Sceptor one of the magic items. Page 4 - Full A4 [letter sized] Keyed map image for the dm's, again nice and crisp image. Page 5 - Ring of Water Walking taking up the bottom 1/4 of the page. Page 6 - Decaying Merrow [Big bad of this mini dungeon] taking up a quarter in the bottom left corner. Nice big pieces of art but no sense of "hiding a lack of content"

The adventure itself is pretty solid. Page 3 - Introduction to the adventure inmcluding a preamble, a background, quest hook, Big Bad Evil Guy [BBEG] and magic items. The writing is solid but concise and [most importantly] without waffle. Of particular note though was in the BBEG section was some tips on roleplay. Not huge but a really nice touch. Maybe even written by someone who runs adventures.

Each room has read aloud descriptions, again pretty tight writing. The first room text is "You enter the serene grotto, its floor a tapestry of vivid green moss and small, flowering aquatic plants. The atmosphere is damp and earthy, with the moss acting as a natural carpet, softening steps and muffling sounds. Large rocks, shiny and smooth, ground down by the power of the tides, guide the way forward." Like I say pretty solid.

There were 3 different ability checks, [often missed in one shots], that gave meaningful results.

There were four different combats, ramping up to harder each time. I particularly enjoy the scaling up as it meant my players came to the bad guys having used up a bunch of their resources. The fourth was the BBEG, which looked like he would be a great fight at CR3, [I changed mine out due to the party being over levelled for this dungeon]. It worked very well it easily slotted into a one session time line.

The cherry on the cake [for me anyway] was that the maps came as separate from the PDF. Which as a DM I appreciate enormously! You received 3 maps of the same image. 17 [1 inch] squares wide by 23 [1 inch] squares deep. 1 keyed for the GM. 1 gridded for table play and one ungridded [so you can add your own grid on your VTT of choice].

I really liked this adventure! It is a very hard to fault this one shot. It covered the three different pillars of Roleplay, Adventure and Combat. As it was so concise but not lacking detail, it meant I could pick it up and run with it 40 minutes before the session and half that time was coding it into my VTT.

I know I have gushed a bit on this review but I have been in D&D for many years [not quite 40] and this ranks up there for one shots to run.

Only negative from a dm perspective is that the main magic might need to be adjusted according to if the party are part of a main campaign [which mine were].

This "dozen" was part of Wave 01 of a Kickstarter back in 2021.

It is a system agnostic book making it excellent for any system at all. I play with 5e, Level Up 5e and Starfinder. I have read Pathfinder 1 & 2 and I could see this book easily fitting to three of these and needing slight tweaking to fit Starfinder. I believe that this book could easily fit any of the other systems out there. Cairn, Shadowdark, Tales of the Valiant, Daggerheart, DragonBane, 13th Age and so on.

Don’t be fooled by the small page count. It might only be 12 pages of content but it does put other works of many more pages to shame.

As the title suggests it features a Dozen Dangerous Foes.

An intro page explaining the premise of the booklet.

a second page including a four-step system detailing the anatomy of a foe or how to read [understand] the following 12 Encounters

1. 1. A name/title, to help set the mood.
2. Descriptive text detailing the character's history, info on what the character may or may not be doing when met, and some ideas on how to introduce the rival in your campaign session.
3. Each foe includes a single illustration.
4. If the character has any special magic items or valuable treasures, they will be detailed here so that you know what tools the rival may possess.

On the same page is the following excellent advice:

Using The Foes The characters that follow may be used as random NPCs that the adventurers meet somewhere in the campaign world, as long-time rivals who are often competing with the party for the best rewards, or as friends of the party who will aid them at times or serve as sources of information and supplies.

Foes are divided into two levels of experience: Experienced. These are true rivals to the PCs and should often be of an equal power level to the party. Experienced rivals are those NPCs most likely to be the friendly competition, always looking to clear out the next dungeon and find the treasures before the player characters can get all of the good stuff.

Master. These are NPCs who may be significantly more powerful than the player characters. As with the novice rivals, a master rival may be more useful as a MacGuffin, something that is important to your story but is mostly set dressing and not directly involved in the campaign's action.

Unlike A Dozen Adventurous Rivals, none of the characters that follow are classified as a novice adventurer. My thinking is that a novice would not be classified as a "dangerous foe," so I've focused on experienced and master non-player characters.

If you wish, you may scale back the power level of any one of these NPCs to create a weaker foe.

I normally take the first example so as you know I have not picked a favourite but, in this review, I will use the referred Encounter above. Sections Numbered to help.

1. A name. Selggi Metrakk bonus inspirational quote --> "Over the course of their adventures, characters are likely to face a variety of enemies. From brutish ores to cunning cultists, numerous adversaries will rise to oppose the heroes" - JayLittle (developer), Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Game Master's Guide (3rd Edition)

Dragonkin warrior Selgi Metrokk was raised by the chromatic dragon clans of the mountains, trained from birth to hate all who worship the good-aligned gods, and instructed to chase down and destroy the supporters of those gods at every opportunity. A green dragonkin, Metrakk possesses the ability to exhale a poisonous gas that sickens and harms others.

1. Descriptive text detailing the character's history. Dragonkin Fighter (Experienced) Selgi Metrakk is an adventurer of sorts, though not in search of treasures and fame but, rather, as one seeking out those who are opposed to the evil causes for which he stands. The dragonkin has no home or base of operations, but is a wanderer who travels from city to city across the lands and never remains in one place for too long.

Over time, Metrakk has learned to be less zealous in his pursuit of good-aligned characters and creatures, now exercising restraint and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. In his youth, the dragonkin was unable to visit most cities and towns because he would be turned back by the town watch and citizens of the city; these days, he knows to act indifferent and neutral at most times so that he can take advantage of the services and collect supplies when visiting population centers.

In battle, Metrakk is a dangerous warrior who uses his axe to split skulls and willuse his poisonous breath weapon when given the chance to breathe directly into the face of an opponent. When he has no other choice, he will hire himself out to others to make money.

1. Each foe includes a single illustration. Fiercesome looking dragonkin/half dragon/dragonborn? Even looks a tad like the Dragonlance Draconians from much earlier editions of D&D.

2. Notable Treasure Meltrakk carries a magic shield – Dragon’s Hide – that grants him protection against flame attacks. His waraxe is a magical weapon that grants a minor bonus to attack and damage rolls. Additionally, the dragonkin fighter wears Gauntlets of Giant Strength that increase his already-impressive strength.

This is a strong word picture of a great foe. Tons of switches to play with in the description. Don't forget you can adjust up or down the scale of the difficulty. A good trick I have learned is introduce your high levelled foe at the start of the campign when everyone is level 1. Giving them the feared intro they deserve.

Another quality work by Philip Reed.

This "dozen" was part of Wave 01 of a Kickstarter back in 2021.

It is a system agnostic book making it excellent for any system at all. I play with 5e, Level Up 5e and Starfinder. I have read Pathfinder 1 & 2 and I could see this book easily fitting to three of these and needing slight tweaking to fit Starfinder. I believe that this book could easily fit any of the other systems out there. Cairn, Shadowdark, Tales of the Valiant, Daggerheart, DragonBane, 13th Age and so on.

Don’t be fooled by the small page count. It might only be 12 pages of content but it does put other works of many more pages to shame.

As the title suggests it features a dozen city encounters.

An intro page explaining the premise of the booklet.

a second page including a four-step system detailing the anatomy of an encounter or how to assimilate the following 12 Encounters

1. A title, to help set the mood.
2. An opening block of text that may be used as read aloud text when using the encounter during your game session. Or, if you prefer, text that you will rework to better suit your personal style.
3. The encounter description, which is freeform and very open to interpretation. My goal with each and every encounter described within these pages is to provide you, the GM, with a fanciful and unusual encounter to toss at the party when you wish to shake up their world. Most of these encounters are useful only a single time and should not be repeated.
4. Each encounter includes a single illustration to help set the mood.

On the same page is the following excellent advice:

Using The Encounters The important thing to remember about all of the encounters that follow is that they are not fleshed out, complete adventure locations and events. Every single encounter includes just enough information to trigger your own imagination; it is my wish that as you read through these encounters, you find yourself overwhelmed with ideas of your own. Each one is a snapshot stolen from my own imagination ... and now we need for you to take these fragments and transform them into scenes that your players will never forget.

For additional inspiration when taking the encounter ideas that follow and making them your own, I highly recommend grabbing a scrap of paper or a journal and writing down every idea that comes to mind as you read the words I've provided.

Then, once you've got all of your thoughts in place, grab a 3 x 5 index card - or open a note file on your phone or tablet - and string concepts together one piece at a time to form a sequence of events that take my ideas and, with work, make them your own.

For example, in the encounter shown above, I've presented a conflict between a ranger and a goblin and a way in which the party may become involved in the scene. When preparing this encounter for your own group, you may find that it is best to change the goblin to a different race; perhaps goblins are terribly evil in your campaign and one would never be allowed in a city. In such an instance, you may find that a gnome or halfling works just as well. The important thing is to make each encounter your own.

I normally take the first example so as you know I have not picked a favourite but, in this review, I will use the referred Encounter above. Sections Numbered to help.

1. A title, to help set the mood. --->the ranger, the goblin, and the magic ring In the dark of night, as they search for a place to rest, the party hears voices in one of the city’s many alleyways. An argument between two, maybe three voices, catches their attention. When the group investigates, they find a human male engaged in heated conversation with a well-dressed goblin. What is happening?

2. Opening block of "boxed text" Danniell Jauric, an experienced woodsman and hunter who has devoted his life to defending the rights of the good and weak, asks that you and your friends stay out of the argument. “This is between me and he,” the ranger growls low when you step foot in the alley.

3. Encounter Description The goblin, dressed as if he were a fine gentleman and not the beast that you are sure that he is, holds something in his left fist; between the darkness and the distance, you can only see that his hand is clenched tight around something.

The two had an agreement; Jauric lost a magic ring and the goblin has found it. Since Jauric suspects no foul play, he set out to reward the goblin for finding the ring, but the goblin insisted that the only reward that he would accept would be if the ranger cleared the goblin’s sewer home of giant rats. Jauric hired a rat catcher and an apprentice wizard, and the three unlikely adventurers slaughtered the rats and cleared the goblin’s home as negotiated.

Jauric has since paid his hired help and has been trying to get the goblin to hold up his end of the deal for two days. The goblin was in the middle of promising to hand over the ring if the ranger completed another task . . . and that is where our party of adventurers joins the encounter.

The goblin feigns shock and claims the ranger is lying as Jauric, if convinced by the party, tells the tale. The goblin begs for the adventurers to believe him, even going so far as to offer them a reward – a ruby as big as his fist, he claims – if they will protect him from this madman.

Jauric is an honest man and telling the truth. Whether or not the party believes him will depend entirely on how well the goblin lies, and whether or not they are deceived.

4 Evocative image ---> Picture of a ranger

This is a strong word picture of a great encounter. None of the final decisions are set in stone allowing the party to choose freely and still get a good resolution.

Another quality work by Philip Reed.

This "dozen" was part of Wave 01 of a Kickstarter back in 2021.

It is a system agnostic book making it excellent for any system at all. I play with 5e, Level Up 5e and Starfinder. I have read Pathfinder 1 & 2 and I could see this book easily fitting to three of these and needing slight tweaking to fit Starfinder. I believe that this book could easily fit any of the other systems out there. Cairn, Shadowdark, Tales of the Valiant, Daggerheart, DragonBane, 13th Age and so on.

Dont be fooled by the small page count. It might only be 12 pages of content but it does put other works of many more pages to shame.

As the title suggests it features a dozen ancient dragons.

An intro page explaining the premise of the booklet.

a second page including a four-step system detailing how to read [understand] the following 12 Dragons

1. Every dragon includes an illustration to help spark your imagination as you think through how to best use the creature in your campaign. 2 The dragon's name. 3 Each dragon includes background information to setup the dragon's possible place in your campaign. At times, when appropriate, a description of the dragon's personality has also been included. 4 Involving the party. This section describes the way(s) in which you may introduce the dragon to the adventurers. At times, it is less of a direct introduction between the two and more of how they could become involved with the dragon and/or the events in motion around the beast.

On the same page is the following excellent advice:

Using The Dragons Most campaigns never see a single dragon, let alone twelve, so the dragons that have been detailed on the following pages should last for your entire career as a gamemaster, right? Or not. I know that some are far more liberal when tossing dragons into their campaigns; if you're running a game world that is swarming with dragons, it is possible that you will burn through all twelve of these dragons in a single session. I certainly hope not; your player characters won't know what hit them if you do that.

Background. You may never even introduce the PCs to the dragons, instead keeping the stories of the various dragons as background matter for your game world. When used in this way, these dragon descriptions are used to help add flavour and depth to your world.

Adventure. You're an insane one, aren't you? You truly plan to bring one of these dragons into the campaign and pit the party against the wyrm and its situation. When used in this way, you'll want to take time to prepare the dragon's game stats, using your preferred game system and the description that follows as a guide in your efforts.

Inspiration. Maybe none of these dragons are an exact fit for your campaign and you instead find the dozen wyrms a source of inspiration when writing up your own dragon. Awesome. I am always honoured and excited to learn when someone uses my work as a guide to devising something of their own. If you do create a dragon after reading the twelve, I've detailed, please let me know on Twitter: @philipjreed.

Because there is no sample to download, I have included the first Dragon. Sections Numbered to help.

1. Image ---> Due to the nature of the review process no images are allowed. I can tell you in 5e Terms you are looking at a 5e Ancient sized dragon spewing its breath weapon at a lone adventurer.

2. The Dragons name - Mokaelmiakra. Tiny critique here. I wish that there was a pronunciation guide for these guys. dragon names see to thrive on being difficult to pronounce

3. Dragon Background. A giant of a black dragon, Mokaelmiakra – also known as The Betrayer – lives in the ruins of Castle Graymaw several days ride from the port cities of the eastern plains. The castle, once home to King Graymaw, was reduced to its current state during a battle between the king and the dragon. The king was defeated, his home destroyed, and his army scattered, though the dragon paid a serious price for the victory; Mokaelmiakra tapped into dark magicks and traded his soul to a devil for the power necessary to defeat Graymaw. Now, when the dragon dies, he will forever suffer in the hells of the devil who owns his soul.

Mokaelmiakra is working on the problem and thinks he has found a way to break the bond and free his soul from the devil’s grasp. Mokaelmiakra has uncovered the resting place of an artifact, the Crown of Holy Defense, that is rumored to make the wearer strong enough to bend a demon’s will to his own. If true, he can use this artifact to make the devil release his soul from captivity.

The crown is in a distant dungeon, too far for the dragon to risk visiting since it would mean passing through the lands of competing dragons. Mokaelmiakra has issued a reward for the item, paying rogues to spread leaflets to the larger cities in an attempt to spur adventurers into seeking out and recovering the artifact.

Unfortunately for the dragon, the stories of the artifact are inaccurate. While the Crown of Holy Defense truly does exist, it is not the powerful magic item as told in the tales of bards and sages. The crown provides good-aligned characters with protection against attacks, and nothing more. The crown will not free the dragon’s soul from its hellish prison.

Involving the party. The group comes across one of the parchment notices, tacked to the wall of a tavern, and may either leave the promise of a ruby worth hundreds of gold or seek out one Noqia Anyll, the dragon’s representative in their city. Anyll is a human male thief, forty-odd winters of age and missing his left hand, who shows them sketches of the promised ruby as well as a promissory note signed by a local magistrate promising that the ruby is being held safely and will be traded for the powerful crown.

If they accept the assignment, Anyll provides them with a map and directions to the distant dungeon. The thief has no knowledge or information on the dungeon beyond its location; what is inside, or where the crown may be resting, are details that are unknown and will have to be learned on the fly. Will the party go weeks out of their way for a chance at finding the crown?

When I say that this description is typical of the whole booklet, I am really saying the booklet sets a high standard and keeps to it!

As you can see for yourself, this really does deliver on the promise to provide inspiration and dont forget the picture that you cant see in this review.

edited for typos

This "dozen" was part of Wave 01 of a kickstarter back in 2021.

It is a systemless book making it excellent for any system at all. I play with 5e, Level Up 5e and Starfinder. I have read Pathfinder 1 & 2 and I could see this book easily fitting to three of these and needing slight tweaking to fit Starfinder. I believe that this book could easily fit any of the other systems out there. Cairn, Shadowdark, Tales of the Valiant, Daggerheart, DragonBane, 13th Age and so on.

As the title suggests it features a dozen adventurous rivals.

An intro page explaining the premise of the booklet.

a ssecond page including a four step system detailing how to read [understand] the following 12 rivals

1. A title to set the mood
2. Descriptive text detailing the character's history, info on what the character may or may not be doing when met, and some ideas on how to introduce the rival in your campaign session.
3. Each rival includes a single illustration.
4. If the character has any special magic items or valuable treasures, they will be detailed here so that you know what tools the rival may possess.

On the same page is the following excellent advice:

Using The Rivals

The characters that follow may be used as random NPCs that the adventurers meet somewhere in the campaign world, as long-time rivals who are often competing with the party for the best rewards, or as friends of the party who will aid them at times or serve as sources of infor¬mation and supplies.

Rivals are divided into three levels of experience: Novice. An inexperienced non-player character who is often just starting out in the world. Novice rivals aren't all that challenging, even for beginning player characters, but they can be trigger characters who lead the party to an encounter or adventure. Think of novice rivals as plot points and you'll be all set to use them in your game.

Experienced. These are true rivals to the PCs and should often be of an equal power level to the party. Experienced rivals are those NPCs most likely to be the friendly competition, always looking to clear out the next dungeon and find the treasures before the player characters can get all of the good stuff.

Master. These are NPCs who may be significantly more powerful than the player characters. As with the novice rivals, a master rival may be more useful as a MacGuffin, something that is important to your story but is mostly set dressing and not directly in-volved in the campaign's action. Regardless of how you use these characters, I hope that they make your campaign a little more fun for everyone.

Because there is no sample to download I have included the first Rival. Numbered to help.

1. Gegrim Gran, The Claw of Kelrob --> This gives you a good strong name to work with or replace if you think it doesn't quite fit your campaign.

2. Human Druid (Experienced) ---> great but succinct backstory designed to evoke a strong image in your players minds or spur you on to alter the description as needed. Forty winters of age, Gegrim Gran has spent his adult life in service to the gods and goddesses of nature, doing all within his power to protect the forests as well as the innocent, beautiful creatures that live within the woodlands. He is an experienced adventurer, veteran of countless battles, and explorer of several dungeons, and he is often in the company of those he has befriended in his many years of adventure. Gran is kind and gentle when not pushed, though he transforms into a barbaric and savage warrior when he or his companions are threatened. In combat, the druid relies on his axe (see below) and is not afraid to engage in melee with any enemies he may encounter. He will use spells to aid his efforts, though he turns to magic only when his axe fails to complete the current task. If encountered alone and asked, Gran will join the party and aid them if he believes that their plans are just and good. The man will never aid evil and will always, regardless of the danger, take what action he can to defeat evil acts.

3. Illustration cant be shown here but its a very evocative tribal warrior type. Its hard to overstate how evocative the image is from a very intricate weapon & armour set, to the bear cape, the tribal make up and even the npc's build.

4. Notable Treasure ---> Great flavour text on the magic items open enough to be dropped straight into your campaign or descriptive enough to inspire change to fit your setting. In his travels, Gran has found many treasures, though only two have remained in his hands for over a decade. The druid wears magical fur armor that protects him against attacks and shields him from damage. His magical battle axe, Claw of Kelrob, can sever the head from a goblin in a single blow and augments the druid’s own magical powers; once each day, the axe grants the druid the ability to cast any one druidic spell (as selected by the gamemaster).

This first description is an excellent example of the entire booklet.

edited for typos

a 52 page zine. Although it would easily print side by side to make 26 pages should you print it out. You could even print 4 per page for 13 pages but that would take away from the greatness this litle book is.

So there are a number of "chapters" in this work detailed as follows:

I will include one sample from each, I will take the first example for each chapter to let the quality shine for itself. That way you can easily see I am not just cherry picking favoured sections.

D20 Treasures Found in a Dragon’s Hoard Wizard's Enchanted Lectern. When the caster Naemie Naym set out to equip his private workshop with the mystical doodads and thingies that all wizards must possess, he grew frustrated with every lectern he found. Inspiration came to him in a dream, and Naym then spent six years of his life crafting this enchanted lectern. So long as the reader keeps one hand flat against the wooden stand, they need not eat, drink, or rest and may continue reading from whatever book is on the lectern for eternity. Once they step away from the stand, they suffer 2d8 damage, and their Constitution score is reduced by one-half (round down) until they get a full night of rest and have properly eaten.

Dragon's Eye. If an arcane caster consumes the eye of a slain dragon, the character permanently gains the power of arcane sight, as per the spell of the same name. The power may be used at will once daily for up to an hour.

Cloud of Bones. Once each night (only between dusk and dawn), the dragon spews a thick, dangerous cloud of jagged bones. This extends a number of feet equal to the dragons wingspan and to all sides a number of feet equal to one-half the clouds length. Anyone within the affected area must make a Dexterity check at a -4 penalty or suffer 6d6 points of damage. (Half damage on a success¬ful roll.) Additionally, even if they succeed on their Dexterity roll, those within the affected area must make a Constitution check. If the roll fails, they gain one negative level.

Mound of Coins. A giant pile of copper, silver, gold, and other coins upon which the dragon often sleeps. The exact number of coins is left to the GM to decide. The dragon knows each and every coin, and if even one is taken, it will stop at nothing - including destroying entire villages and towns - to reclaim its property.

If you visit Malaks Last Night and keep yer mouth shut, ye may be lucky enough to hear the bard Inars Kohs tell the tale of the knight and the dragon. It's an ancient story, but Kohs outlines the path to the dragons lair and its vast riches.

No Breath Weapon. The monster was born with a cruel impairment and, unlike most of its kind, is without a breath weapon of any type. Whether or not one of its other features is somehow enhanced to compensate for the loss of a breath weapon is up to the GM.

The first observation is that the quality of writing really stands out. Any typos like "yer" are designed to be quotes in the local vernacular to the quest, item, rumour. These entries [and the many more in this book] are the types I can directly quote without needing to edit directly into my campaign.

Second observation is that where these entries touch on lore, they are on point. Not campaign changing or world shaking but full of intrigue and the kinds of things my players will occassionally abandon main plot for a dalliance in such.

Regarding the treasure items, where there is a dramatic increase in power for the player, the gamble is big to gain the reward. One such item I will be inputting to my next session [where they meet an adult black dragon] will be to gamble taking a -1 to their main stat if they lose the challenge to gaining a +2 to that same stat if they win the challenge. For that group it will have strong roleplay/mechanical implications whichever way it goes. The thing that is so attractive about this entry is that it will enhance the game for gm & players which ever way that challnge goes.

And all I have to do is lift and drop that idea into my campaign. This is the biggest selling point behind this and many other of "Team Reed"'s products. I dont have to finaegle [sp] things o make it work!

The examples quoted with my review should speak for itself. If you are a GM and not buying this product, you are hobbling yourself.

What is this? Well its a d100 table to be sure.

Why should I review it?

well lets look at the first 4 entries on page 2.

1 A cry from a nearby alley catches the attention of the heroes. If the party investigates, they find a wounded town guard who begs for their help. The man, near-death, claims that he and his fellows were chasing Goran Ivanisevic, a known thief who is wanted for questioning in the murder of a councilman. The guard points to one of the many doors facing the alley and says that Goran is inside. “Careful,” the guard whispers as he collapses. “The man is armed and more dangerous than ye may think.” Will the PCs try to locate and capture the thief? Their thoughts on the matter may change when the guard mentions that there is a reward for the capture of the criminal. Alive.

2 The wizardess Lloreta de las Alas has long made the city her home, residing in the same boarding house for well over a decade. Lloreta occupies the top floor of a three-story home in the city’s merchant district, and she makes her living selling potions to the wealthy locals. She specializes in love potions, but she has been known to brew many other potions when she has a buyer lined up. At the moment, the wizardess is running low on a handful of key ingredients and has posted a notice in a nearby tavern seeking adventurers to locate and deliver specific ingredients to her home. (Exactly which ingredients, and what the woman will pay, is left as an exercise for the gamemaster’s imagination.)

3 Oraz Narimanov, a towering human bard who wears only the finest of outfits and prefers the company of the beautiful, has taken a room at The Glistening Blade, one of the city’s finest inns. Oraz recently overheard a visiting merchant discussing a possession that the bard very much wishes to acquire. It appears that the merchant has, possibly hidden in his own room in the inn, a rare songbook known only as The Many Works of Lukas Diederich. Bards, scholars, and historians well know the value of this book; it is said that Diederich collected over a dozen magical songs within the pages of this book. Any bard would pay handsomely for the tome . . . except for Oraz, who wishes to pay the PCs to steal the book.

4 A nearby ruckus on one of the city’s many streets catches the attention of the adventurers. If they push their way through the crowd of onlookers, they see a few local bullies kicking and beating a defeated goblin. The green-skinned creature is begging for the bullies to cease their assault as the crowd cheers on the abusers. Do the PCs interfere and save the goblin from certain death? The bullies – and watchers – are cowards at heart and flee if confronted by experienced heroes. The goblin struggles to rise but is weak and unwell. He introduces himself as Pohand Dilazak, a traveler and explorer, and says that he was only in the city in search of supplies. He was unaware of the hatred that many here feel for his kind and thanks the party repeatedly for their kindness. He offers them a few silver as thanks.

I think you'll agree that there is nothing normal about this d100 table.

Its rich and expansive, its a truly fully formed comment that really sparks the imagination.

The art [6 pieces] whilst nicely drawn and has a nice aestetic behind it, really pop out with the accompanying description.

In my opinion, Philip Reed & Lex Morgan are a winning combination and this is just one of the very many examples that are out there. I run 5 tables per month. 5 different campaigns, about 23 sessions a month. Their many products are gradually taking over my DM bag as my main resource to go to.

The other thing worth noting is that their products whilst complete are never really left alone. They are regularly updated by the author if he has found a way to enhance their value [particularly the decks they do]

Stats - 32 pages including outer pages, the rest is pure content.

11 slimes portrayed as 1 page art and 1 page flavour text.

The book has a great layout, really helps the text and the general reading of the project.

The art [1 page] Beautifully illustrated with a page of narrative flavour text.

Some mechanics but nothing that limits this source book to a particular system. The mechanics text is actually helpful in guiding you with a strong feel about the critters Armour Class [AC] and health [HP].

Nice 2d20 [39 entries] table of encounters to help you realise how you can use these critters.

The nicest part of this book and all Philip Reed's products is that there is no flannel text or waffle and they way that its presented makes it an easy book to dip in and out of in order to gain great inspiration.

This arrived today. The book is 222 pages. It has excellent binding. The paper weight feels very high quality. The art is black and white but nice and detailed. I have owned several of these modules [approx 50 of them] as they came out.

The articles are of such a quality that I have longed for a hardcover book option of them. There are 100 monster 'lairs' and the modules themselves follows a tried and tested method. The tables all have 10 options and are broken down into 7 sections. 01 Outside the lair 02 Whats going on? 03 Major Lair Features 04 Minor lair Features 05 insert monster name here's Appearance 06 Treasure 07 Trinkets + Treasure Below is an example from the Troll Cave Outside the Lair A rock barricade fortifies the entrance, making entry difficult for creatures man-sized or larger. Whats Going on? The troll is sifting through its treasure hoard. Major Lair Features The cave is rife with fungi; some is poisonous. Minor Lair Features Water oozing up from below has transformed a swath of floor into a sticky morass; the characters discover this, when they step into the affected area. Troll's Appearance The troll is obese and cannot see its feet (or bend down to pick things off the floor without great difficulty). Treasure A tightly wound woollen rug—decorated with geometric patterns—leans against one wall. The rug is wrapped around a sheaf of five throwing spears. Trinkets + Treasure A ripped and torn map shows the surrounding area. Obviously once a work of art as well as a map, now only scraps of dirty parchment survive. There is of course the option to not pick with what you rolled but any of the 9 others presented. Its been an excellent resource over the years, producing lair after lair. Its now an excellent resource, packaged into this book. I look forward to pulling the book of the shelf and having the complete freedom to create a lair on the hop. Because its really that good!

This is so much better than it appears in the preview.

Lets start with the price. £8.19 is a lot for a DMSguild supplement when you dont know what you are getting. Its often a gamble.

I am happy to say that value for money was achieved and exceeded. Please read on to see why.

I am not quite sure how you would market this product better but try because its great.

In my purchase I received the following:

The 136 page main booklet. A handouts folder containing all 10 missions as individual handout images to players and a pdf containing all of them. A handouts folder containing all 19 items as individual handout images to players and a pdf containing all of them. A maps folder maps of the locations mentioned. With a bonus map of the Sword Coast.

The artworked are very high resolution and should have no scaling issues when it comes to reproducing it for the table..

The maps have a DM and a PC version with the exception of the Sword Coast regional map of which there is no need to hide details from the players.

The supplement itself is a joy to read. Clearly laid out. Liberal use of good art [NONE of it was AI!! A great bonus!!]. Each faction sets out the same structure enabling a quick way to easily see the dufferences on a galnce.

Each faction gets and average of 15 or so pages, beoken down as follows: a double spread just about the faction. This includes a short introduction, how to join, goals, beliefs, contants, ranks and rewards. How to level up [gaining renown] in the faction. 18 or so side quests split up by 1-6, 7-13 and 14-20. Not sure why it wasn't by tier but its a minor [and possibly the only] flaw.

There are clearly written guidelines on how to progress through the ranks and how to tie in the LMOP and DoIP plot points to progressions. [a bonus if you are a new DM] There are also a sanctioned mission per faction. I think this is one of the underplayed / underadvertised things about this suuplement. Each sanctioned mission is its own one shot. Its not a one page dungeon either. The Emerald Enclave sanctioned mission is an 8 page fully fleshed out map with all rooms having a great set of descriptive notes.

Honestly these could have been made into separate supplments themselves. The dungeons not the factions. Each faction has a separate supplement priced at £1.64 per faction

There is barely any flannel to the product. I have bought some supplements that are 8 pages and only 2 pages of actual content. This baby is 136 pages of the main supplement. 1 is the cover, 1 is the Table of Contents and 1 is the OGL and acknowledgements. 3 in total.

In short, since dm'ing fifth edition, this is the faction guide I wanted for LMOP but never knew about. It will also act as a great springboard for me for my own factions at my tables [I currently run 5 separate campaigns a month]

This book is unbelivably helpful! Believe the hype.

B&W, hardcover, increible paper.

474 Pages of content, guaranteeing you'll never run out of content again. Ever.

Looking at 1000 Abnormal Mummies [p19]. You have 3 rollable tables.

01: Physical Description 02: Battle Tactics 03: Treasure each with 10 intricate descriptions for you to roll on.

Amazing book!

What an amazing module

1. It made very little assumption for the GM to run it.
2. The artwork was incredibly.
3. It was very well laid out.
4. It reads incredibly well.
5. It is self contained. [Everything you need to run it].
6. Tight and enjoyable storyline.
7. Mechanically great [good rules thoughts]

You might thing that adventures like this are common. Sadly they are not. This adventure should be used as the gold standard of things to include in a published adventure, how to write, the artwork, etc. It is worth getting this adventure to study it, just so as you can see "How its done"

Thank you so very much for such a great thing you have created!