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Beginnings: Westbrook
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<blockquote data-quote="Teflon Billy" data-source="post: 2011863" data-attributes="member: 264"><p>Beginnings: Westbrook is something the D&D Community at large has been requesting for some time. Read any of EN World’s myriad threads on subjects such as “How to get new blood into RPG’s” and “What products would you like to see” and you will read, time and again, requests for a product like this.</p><p></p><p><strong>Westbrook</strong> is a simple, introductory setting with a few basic adventures, liberally peppered with helpful advice for the novice DM.</p><p></p><p>“Sounds simple” you say? It is. At it’s heart <strong>Westbrook</strong> is not a complex piece of work. There is no “High Concept” here, and little to differentiate it from the “quasi-medieval” baseline that gamers have come to regard as D&D default setting. </p><p></p><p>And thanks largely to the excellent execution, <strong>Westbrook</strong> is a great deal more than a journeyman collection of setting material and linked adventures; it is, at it’s heart, a fantastic “DM’ing for Beginners” handbook.</p><p></p><p>The Town of Westbrook itself is detailed to a much greater degree than I was expecting (given the examples of its predecessors <em>Hommlet</em> (<strong>The Village of Hommlet</strong>), and <em>Restenford</em> (<strong>The Secret of Bone Hill</strong>)) and includes clearly written, easily understood descriptions of the town’s History, Inhabitants, Religious Practices, Government, City Guard and detailed write-ups important locations and character descriptions of all major NPC’s.</p><p></p><p> The three adventures included detail a battle against wererats intent on surreptitiously taking over the town. The three adventures cover quite a bit of standard “Adventuring” fare (abandoned wizard’s towers, catacombs beneath the city etc), as well as some roleplay and are well written and very playable (though I was a little put off by restarting the numbering of rooms on each level of the previously mentioned structures. A minor quibble, but it makes looking stuff up quickly more difficult than it needs to be).</p><p></p><p><strong>Westbrook</strong> mentions throughout it’s text that it is for Beginning <em>and</em> experienced DM’s, but it really hews quite a bit closer to being a product for new DM’s rather than the experienced. There are all manner of hints and tips for the neophyte DM (it is taking all of my willpower not to use the term “newb”…I need to get off the internet for awhile <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />), and little aside from the fully-realized town for the veteran (though the town <em>is</em> a real jewel).</p><p></p><p>I think that, though this is billed as a product for everyone, it would really, truly shine as a tool with which new, non-mentored DM’s can find their feet.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Teflon Billy, post: 2011863, member: 264"] Beginnings: Westbrook is something the D&D Community at large has been requesting for some time. Read any of EN World’s myriad threads on subjects such as “How to get new blood into RPG’s” and “What products would you like to see” and you will read, time and again, requests for a product like this. [b]Westbrook[/b] is a simple, introductory setting with a few basic adventures, liberally peppered with helpful advice for the novice DM. “Sounds simple” you say? It is. At it’s heart [b]Westbrook[/b] is not a complex piece of work. There is no “High Concept” here, and little to differentiate it from the “quasi-medieval” baseline that gamers have come to regard as D&D default setting. And thanks largely to the excellent execution, [b]Westbrook[/b] is a great deal more than a journeyman collection of setting material and linked adventures; it is, at it’s heart, a fantastic “DM’ing for Beginners” handbook. The Town of Westbrook itself is detailed to a much greater degree than I was expecting (given the examples of its predecessors [i]Hommlet[/i] ([b]The Village of Hommlet[/b]), and [i]Restenford[/i] ([b]The Secret of Bone Hill[/b])) and includes clearly written, easily understood descriptions of the town’s History, Inhabitants, Religious Practices, Government, City Guard and detailed write-ups important locations and character descriptions of all major NPC’s. The three adventures included detail a battle against wererats intent on surreptitiously taking over the town. The three adventures cover quite a bit of standard “Adventuring” fare (abandoned wizard’s towers, catacombs beneath the city etc), as well as some roleplay and are well written and very playable (though I was a little put off by restarting the numbering of rooms on each level of the previously mentioned structures. A minor quibble, but it makes looking stuff up quickly more difficult than it needs to be). [b]Westbrook[/b] mentions throughout it’s text that it is for Beginning [i]and[/i] experienced DM’s, but it really hews quite a bit closer to being a product for new DM’s rather than the experienced. There are all manner of hints and tips for the neophyte DM (it is taking all of my willpower not to use the term “newb”…I need to get off the internet for awhile :)), and little aside from the fully-realized town for the veteran (though the town [i]is[/i] a real jewel). I think that, though this is billed as a product for everyone, it would really, truly shine as a tool with which new, non-mentored DM’s can find their feet. [/QUOTE]
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