Wrath of the River King

Disclaimer note: I was a senior patron and as such, I got to contribute and playtest portions of Wrath of the River King. Take that for what it’s worth.

The first thing that hits you as you open it up is the front cover. It has a definite "Wild Things" vibe to it that's great. The fantastic Rackham art that had been shown as the preview cover is still there, on the inside title page.

The layout is nice, the header font is very legible. Some of the art has a very medieval, woodcut, or Brothers Grimm theme to it, but that is probably both intentional and doesn't detract from the more detailed pieces-- if anything, they accent it.

The introduction sets up the backstory, the conditions for the start of the adventure, and the points at which milestones are met. The whole thing is light on initial hooks to get things going, but we're looking at a sandbox style adventure. Wolfgang is known for preferring that format, and it's one that puts more responsibility on the GM.

Chapter one kicks off with a great full page picture of a battle scene, providing some cool foreshadowing of things to come. It gives an overview of the village and region where the adventure begins, then launches into the encounters-- each one laid out in the 4E delve format. While I'm personally not thrilled with the limitations of the delve format in any product, it works here. The progression between the five encounters could be a bit more detailed, but again, that's the sandbox design.

There are six chapters in total, with 27 encounters in 96 pages. Combat outnumbers skill challenges about 15 to 8, but there are four purely roleplaying encounters and easily 3 to 4 of the combat encounters could be resolved through roleplay rather than initiative. If you played absolutely every encounter in this great tale, starting at 4th, you'd be creeping up on 11th level. There's quite obviously a lot to work with here. Compare that with Keep on the Shadowfell, which clocked in at 80 pages and 27 encounters—all combat.

The lack of a specific map of the Greater Feywild area allows you to place regions as you please, configuring the sandbox to your whims. It's another way the adventure puts a little responsibility on the GM, but I like that option, as it plays to the mutability and random nature of fae creatures.

Designer notes are scattered throughout, giving insights on particular encounters and possible twists to the encounters as written.

The Birch Queen's Fair is a sandbox that promises to entertain a group for *sessions*, providing characters, side games, interactions and sites that will keep them exploring and looking for more. Which gamer has ever hated going to the RenFest? Now put their characters at one... There's also a new ritual and some excellent roleplaying opportunities salted with a couple combats.

Like the Fair, the Court of the River King provides another interesting sandbox with lots of chances to interact, allowing players to make new allies or engage foes in courtly duels. The best part is that many of small choices sprinkled throughout the adventure can contribute to the encounters here.

It builds up to a fine cinematic conclusion that just about any group hungers for and doesn't disappoint. I'm quite thrilled by the quality and looking forward to getting a table seated to try it.