I want to say that picturing myself at sea, the wind behind me, the solar overhead, can be a relaxing factor, however I’d be mendacity. I can’t swim, I don’t like being on boats, and I a lot choose overcast days. And but, I’m an enormous fan of nautical swashbuckling tales. I comprise multitudes.
Since we’re already on the subject of nautical adventures, I assumed as we speak can be day to try the primary subject of Vodari Voyages, from Angryfish Video games’ new Patreon.
When you haven’t heard of the setting but, The Seas of Vodari is a 5e SRD setting the place the continent has been shattered, and nations and city-states exist on islands of various sizes. There’s numerous sea journey, numerous piracy, and plenty of aquatic magical mayhem. You could find my overview of the marketing campaign setting books right here:
Vodari Voyages is a chance for Angryfish Video games to publish adventures and setting materials for Vodari to assist the work they’ve already finished. The primary subject is an journey, The Goblin King’s Vault.
Disclaimer
I’m a member of the Vodari Voyages Patreon and didn’t obtain a overview copy of this journey. I’ve not had the chance to play in or run this journey, however I’m conversant in D&D 5e, each as a participant and as a Dungeon Grasp.
The Ledger
The primary subject of Vodari Voyages is 11-pages lengthy, which incorporates an introduction, credit, and desk of contents web page, a four-page gazetteer of town of Lor’Thak, a handout map of the situation of the journey, and the four-page journey itself.
The art work, like a lot of the artwork within the core Vodari books, is finished by Mariam Trejo, and I hope that is still to be the case sooner or later. Previously, sure artists created a mode that was related to a selected setting, whether or not it was Elmore with Dragonlance, DiTerlizzi with Planescape, or Brom with Darkish Solar. The product line will not be as broad, however one in every of its strengths is that it has each a unified and distinctive look to it.
The Gazetteer
When you personal the Seas of Vodari marketing campaign setting, among the Lor’Thak Gazetteer goes to be acquainted from that supply. Lor’Thak is the capital of the goblin nation of Ghak, a nation that’s making an attempt to broaden its affect with different nations. In comparison with the outline in The Seas of Vodari, the Grand Cathedral, a number of pubs and taverns, an inn catering to vacationers from exterior of Ghak, and varied retailers have been added.
We even have extra characters detailed within the Allies and Adversaries part, together with a number of NPCs that contribute to an rising story on this product. There’s a rebel towards the present king of Ghak that has sprung up, which contains an NPC detailed within the setting guide, and introduces a brand new persona that serves because the chief of that rebel.
If in case you have preconceived notions of goblins from earlier editions of D&D, it’s value noting that neither the king nor the rebels are evil. King Garhung has principally been effectively regarded for growing commerce however has additionally come below higher scrutiny for the wealth he, personally, has amassed, and Brobbi Vezz, the chief of the rebel and a retired adventurer, is no less than as motivated by boredom as she is by justice.
There’s a secret that’s revealed within the core setting guide that isn’t repeated on this Gazetteer, however isn’t obligatory for operating the journey, and isn’t one thing that detracts an excessive amount of from town when you don’t have the data. I’m glad to see this metropolis getting used, as a result of it’s one of the crucial distinctive and enjoyable locations within the Vodari setting guide. Lor’Thak builds up and out, and has many collapsing buildings and industrial mishaps, however it’s not due a lot to incompetence or an absence of engineering data, as it’s to fixed development. Ghak even has its personal nationwide sport, Bobbleball.
Particular retailers and commerce outposts known as out within the gazetteer embrace the next:
- A commerce firm specializing in meals and medication
- A commerce firm specializing in cornering commerce from a particular area of the setting
- A butcher store
- An explosives store
- An apothecary which will additionally promote nefarious substances (the assassination type)
- A big basic retailer
- A spot to purchase educated beasts and monsters
A few of these could also be related to the journey, relying on the preparations made by the PCs. I additionally recognize that they assist to flesh out the character of town.
The Goblin King’s Vault
There are going to be some spoilers for this journey, so in case you are planning on taking part in on this situation, or simply need to be shocked by it, now’s the time to leap ship.
The journey is a heist, the place the PCs are employed by Brobbi Vozz, the chief of the burgeoning rebel, to raid the vault of King Garhung. They’re supplied with a basic map of the situation, a technique to infiltrate the location, a lead on the place to choose up the important thing to the vault, info on a number of of the obstacles, and a warning of the situation of a lure, however solely sparse particulars on the way it works.
Brobbi needs them able to go the following day, so no matter planning they will do, they should do it shortly. There are some pointers for what the PCs might decide up from varied native retailers, however the main encounter that’s detailed is an encounter with Common Mugg’dar, who holds a key to the vault. Studying forward, you don’t must persuade Mugg’dar to provide the key, bribe him, or rob him, it simply makes it simpler to seek out the doorway to the vault and open it.
I like this type of setup for a heist. It’s not too open ended that the gamers will doubtless plan their method into oblivion. There’s a time restrict and there’s a particular insertion level supplied by the employers. There are a set variety of obstacles to which the PCs have been made conscious, and nothing they do to plan for the heist is completely obligatory, however a number of issues will make it simpler to tug off. It’s a really comparable setup to what we see within the adventures within the Keys from the Golden Vault anthology.
The PCs get smuggled into the situation, and have the next to contest with:
- Guards that must be pacified earlier than they elevate an alarm
- A hidden keyhole to open the vault
- A gargoyle that requires a password
- A lure that they know exists, however not the way it’s triggered or disarmed
- A two-headed mutant worg
- Locked bars that they received’t have the important thing for
The wording on the gargoyle encounter confused me a bit, as a result of it states that after you present it with a password, you then should persuade it to talk a password, which I’m assuming signifies that it has a separate password from the password you simply gave it, which means you’ll be able to’t minimize the gargoyle out of the equation by utilizing the password on the door, however it’s slightly complicated. I really like the thought of speaking with Bloodpaws, however I want the encounter had a “default” motion that communicated that talking with the mutated worg is an choice.
As a result of there’s a heist, this journey has a built-in twist, or presumably two, relying on the way you have a look at it. There isn’t really any treasure, a secret that the King doesn’t need to get out, as a result of he’s been spending past his means, though not simply on himself, but additionally on making town extra amenable to outsiders.
Somebody that the PCs interacted with betrayed them and units up an ambush simply after they discover out there isn’t any treasure. The journey instructs the DM to find out who betrayed the PCs based mostly on context. For instance, if they’ve are available in contact with any of the service provider homes, it might be them. It might be one of many shopkeepers they visited to get their gear. It might be the final from whom they secured the important thing. It’s talked about that you could make it Brobbi Vezz, however she’s the least doubtless NPC to make use of for this. As soon as the PCs survive this ambush, earlier than they will escape the vault, King Garhung and a few guards try and cease them.
Brobbi, when you didn’t make her the turncoat, isn’t going to pay them something extra, as a result of the unique phrases have been 100gp plus 25% of the take, and 25% of 0 can also be 0.
Down with the Monarchy
This journey makes use of some robust finest practices for heist adventures, leaving the PCs open to comply with up some leads, however not forcing them to do all of the legwork themselves, and constraining the period of time they’ve to organize. Leaving out the small print of the lure, whereas revealing that it exists, is a pleasant contact that introduces the concept they don’t know every little thing. I recognize that each guardian creatures are framed in ways in which facilitate roleplaying them. If you will have a betrayal ingredient to an journey, I actually recognize having some pointers for adjusting who the betrayer is, somewhat than presenting a improvement which will go away the PCs unwilling to belief any NPCs, ever once more, for the lifetime of your marketing campaign. Leaving it open to somebody that the PCs might already not belief, or that they might have butted heads with, is a a lot better choice than naming a single default NPC.
Waving the Flag
Any time you introduce betrayal into an journey, particularly after revealing that the PCs aren’t going to get extra treasure, you introduce the opportunity of discontent, however I believe this journey does it higher than most that I’ve seen. I want there have been slightly bit extra included about King Garhung’s ideology and potential developments that present the character of the elevated hardships on the residents, to both make it simpler to aspect with the rebels, or to make it simpler to understand that neither aspect could be the faction to enroll with long run. I additionally want we had gotten only a wee bit extra steerage on ensuring Garhung can escape his confrontation with the PCs, in case we don’t need to change the management of a significant nation within the setting in a Fifth-level journey.
Really useful–If the product suits in your broad space of gaming pursuits, you’re more likely to be pleased with this buy.
This journey does precisely what I would like an journey showcasing a particular setting to do, and that’s to make use of the weather that make the setting distinctive. Lor’Thak is a good location to make use of to showcase what’s distinctive about Vodari. I recognize having a devoted goblin nation within the setting, and I believe it’s one thing to showcase.
The heist format is robust and thematically builds on a comparatively current WotC product, and it supplies a format that’s each open-ended and constrained, which means that the PCs can get ingenious with out the DM all of the sudden needing to design fully new scenes to accommodate the form of drift that may occur with too few borders outlined for the heist.
This was opening salvo to showcase what the Patreon might need beneath decks, and I’m trying ahead to seeing extra points.
If you’re thinking about trying out The Seas of Vodari merchandise, and also you don’t thoughts serving to me purchase extra video games to jot down extra opinions to purchase extra video games, and so on., when you use the affiliate hyperlinks beneath, I get a little bit of the gross sales. Thanks!
