Mini-Dungeon #074: Temple of the Secret Power (5E) PDF

This pdf clocks in at 2 pages and is a 5E-mini-dungeon. This means we get 2 pages content, including a solid map and all item/monster-stats hyperlinked and thus, absent from the pdf, with only deviations from the statblocks being noted for the GM. Oh, and the series now comes in an archive that also contains...*drumroll* a .jpg-version of the map, in both GM and player-friendly versions!

Since this product line's goal is providing short diversions, side-quest dungeons etc., I will not expect mind-shattering revelations, massive plots or particularly smart or detailed depictions, instead tackling the line for what it is, a helpful tool in the GM’s arsenal. Got that? Great!

This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players may wish to jump to the conclusion.

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There are forces out there that few truly understand – one such item would be the omnihedron, an artifact with a snide intelligence that is capable of temporarily imbuing items with magic, which is used to some effect to upgrade the ravenfolk cultists that worship at this place. (And yes, I like how the conversion-team chooses the proper monsters from Tome of Beasts here, with hyperlinks provided.) Still, the temporary items can be somewhat of a killjoy for the PCs when the magic items their opposition wields lose the magic. The artifact doesn’t get stats per se once liberated, and may or may not enhance the weapons of the PCs. There is a puzzle, but it amounts to being very rudimentary.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good, I noticed no significant glitches. Layout adheres to a beautiful 2-column full-color standard and the pdf comes sans bookmarks, but needs none at this length. Cartography is full color and nice. Huge plus: We get a GM AND a Player-version of the area in which this takes place, providing full VTT-friendly compatibility.

Michael McCarthy’s “Temple of Secret Power” is a bit weaker than usual for the author. The mini-dungeon’s artifact-conceit is a bit frustrating for players and the lack of definition for the artifact’s precise powers render this more opaque than it imho should be. The conversion by Chris Harris and Kyle Crider is solid and neither stronger, nor weaker than the PFRPG-iteration – personally, I like the change from ratfolk to ravenfolk. Still, I can’t go higher than 3.5 stars, rounded down for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.