A stunning sandbox adventure for 2nd-level characters!
A legacy of death bears bitter fruit in the northern coastlands, as brothers long separated rise to the call of their darkling heritage. A new destiny has arisen in the west that threatens to shake the foundations of an empire half a world away, but not if Ranulfr the White Wolf and his one-eyed sibling can waylay these would-be heroes on their road to destiny! Bandits hound their steps, driving them from danger to danger, until their road reaches its bitter and bloody end - for them or their enemies!
"Road to Destiny" is a 36-page sandbox adventure for 2nd-level characters using the 5th edition of the world's most famous roleplaying game. It delivers clever combats, negotiation and investigation, a delightful mix of urban and wilderness adventure possibilities, and roleplaying possibilities aplenty. The adventure can be played on its own as a self-contained campaign adventure or as part of an epic Adventure Path campaign that journeys from the northern coastlands to the Far East.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this product.
Given the relative infancy of 5th edition, there is a lack of material for it. Road to Destiny, though not originally designed with 5th edition in mind, is an excellent product and conversion effort that displays all of the hallmarks of good 5th edition design.
This adventure details a short tale of a caravan, an attempted abduction, and an ancient grudge. I have enjoyed everything about the way that the adventure is laid out: The encounters are well balanced, treasure is appropriately sparse (something that is integral to 5th edition design), and the adventure itself is well designed and characterized.
If this product had one flaw, it would be this; it is meant as a companion to the Jade Regent adventure path, which of course it not itself a 5th edition product. This is not a serious flaw, as adventure paths can be converted to 5th edition rules with relative ease, and the adventure itself is given to fitting in other campaigns with a few detail changes.
That being the case, I actually enjoy the modularity of the encounters within this book. I am planning on using them as distinct set encounters that I can tuck away in case my group should decide to partake in side trek away from my session plans. In that respect, this book does wonderfully at providing a plethora of encounters, and even beautifully rendered maps that give you everything you need to run these encounters. I was especially impressed with the full page maps reproduced in the back of the book.
Road to Destiny is an excellent entry into the so far sparse offerings of 5th edition adventures, and among the few to have experienced and versatile game designers. I am impressed with Jim Groves and Alistair Rigg, who have shown their excellent writing chops. I would also be remiss to omit praise for the artist, Jason Juta, who lends this adventure a very impressive sense of dread and excitement.
I give this adventure 5 stars, and my royal approval.
Does it really work as a stand alone? Just curious given it was apparently meant for JR.
Jason Nelson
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
Helaman wrote:
Does it really work as a stand alone? Just curious given it was apparently meant for JR.
The adventure has its own beginning, middle, and end, with a plot that can be introduced and then resolved without reference to the rest of JR. It does operate on the presumption that PCs are guarding a caravan, but that's easy enough to introduce as an adventure hook for 2nd-level characters. The individual scenarios could also be broken apart and used as drop-in micro-adventures or side-treks without referencing the overall plot of the adventure.
In short, it's a bit of a mini-sandbox. Using the adventure as is assumes the caravan journey through the rugged coastlands, but you can use it in a lot of different ways without reference to JR.
As I mentioned in my review, I would presume that it could be used in just about any capacity. It assumes a caravan, but could really be for any overland travel, and spice things up without just rolling random encounters.
For built in modularity, it is quite excellent, but if you choose to run it as a cohesive adventure, I would imagine it to work rather well.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
