D&D 5E [Let's Read] Faster Purple Worm, Kill Kill! A 5e anthology of TPK adventures

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Edition Note: This book was designed with the updated 2024 5e ruleset in mind.

The onset of 5th Edition D&D was accompanied with the surge of popularity in actual play podcasts. The first episode of Critical Role debuted in the middle of 2015, their popularity eventually turning them into household names in the tabletop fandom and turning the world of Exandria into a full-fledged setting and even a television series. Matt Mercer’s crew were far from the only ones to build passionate followings, such as Not Another D&D Podcast, Worlds Beyond Number, and Dungeons & Daddies.

Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! is part actual play, part improv comedy show, running a series of adventures with a common theme: a band of fresh 1st-level heroes embark on an exciting adventure way beyond their league, inevitably suffering ignominious deaths at the hands of one or more overpowered monsters. The series ran successfully on various streaming sites, and their 2024 Gen Con session is available for free on YouTube.

Now people can enjoy these same moments in their own games as a series of 15 one-shot adventures. And due to their ties with Wizards of the Coast, various people and settings part of D&D’s IP show up in this book, such as one adventure involving the demon lord Demogorgon attacking a village, or another adventure that takes place on a lightning rail in Eberron.

The book’s Introduction is brief, outlining the common guidelines, expectations, and advice. Each adventure is designed for 4-6 1st level PCs, and while designed to be standalone each adventure has a sidebar called You Saying There’s a Chance? which outlines ways to tone down the difficulty to make the session survivable. Another common sidebar is Keeping It Spontaneous, outlining ways to insert unexpected and interesting twists to liven up a scene or speed up play. Additionally, the Conclusion of every adventure details the aftermath, usually with an NPC reflecting on the PCs’ doomed accomplishments and each player describing in-character how they’re remembered. Additionally, noncore magic items and creatures are provided in Appendices in back, which gives us quite a few stat blocks for some famous figures from various D&D settings.



Everybody Dies at a Costume Ball takes place in the city of Sharn on the world of Eberron. Amahlia d’Lyrander, a powerful member of her namesake Dragonmarked House, learned that one of her three advisors is planning to betray her at an annual masquerade gala. The gala takes place on Reginald Butterbottom XVII, an airship docked up in a fancy neighborhood near the top of Sharn, and Amahlia hires the PCs to search for the traitor.

The reality of the situation is that Cog, Amahlia’s warforged advisor, has fallen under the influence of Dyrrn the Corruptor, one of the daelkyr that was trapped on the Material Plane during Xoriat’s invasion 9,000 years ago. Cog is convinced that the world will become a utopia once everyone is turned into illithids, assimilating all life and wiping away tribalistic and prejudicial divisions. Dyrrn’s agents smuggled barrels full of magical gas onto the airship, primed to drop and erupt over the City of Sharn, turning most of the population into mind flayers.

Despite being hired by House Lyrandar, the PCs are undercover and have to play the part of regular attendants. This means that they’ll have to earn the right to enter the gala via an appropriate group performance skill check, as a valet notes that “only the most fascinating invitees” are allowed onboard, and romance-themed performances are made with advantage as Amahlia is quite fond of those. Once they enter, the three advisors can be located and interviewed, with the adventure recommending that they locate Cog last. One of them, a gnome named Alistair, can give the PCs a dragonshard imbued with a one-use casting of Zone of Truth to aid their investigation. As for Cog, the stress of the operation as well as the inevitable casualties is playing heavily on his conscience, meaning that it will be easy for PCs to get him to spill the beans by playing to his better nature. The warforged will beg the PCs to head to the hold, telling them that something vaguely terrible is bound to happen down there, and gives them a Necklace of Fireballs.

The airship’s lower deck holds the seemingly unmarked gas-filled barrels, along with a bunch of gunpowder barrels labeled XXX. The gas barrels have hidden runes on them in Undercommon that can also be translated via an Arcana check, being the word “assimilation.” Dyrrn is in a locked door far back with two mind flayers, and it will enter the main hold after some time. The daelkyr will not be initially hostile, curious to find out the PC’s intentions. Regardless of how the PCs respond, it will either attack or let the mind flayers handle the PCs.

While the PCs are pretty much doomed, they can prevent Dyrrn’s evil plot by sabotaging the gas barrels. Lighting the gunpowder barrels on fire will trigger a chain reaction, destroying the airship along with the gas barrels and rendering them useless. The airship’s drop hatch is opened via a locked lever, and Dyrrn has the key on its person. For a survivable adventure, the opposition is replaced with a pair of dolgaunts instead.

Thoughts: This adventure’s rather short and straightforward for an intrigue/mystery-based one, which may not be to everybody’s taste. I like the addition of magic item rewards to give the PCs an edge in later encounters and interactions, as well as the pyrrhic victory of dying yet managing to stop Dyrran’s plans. The scenario makes use of several iconic elements of Eberron that make it quite distinct, rather than a generic fantasy adventure that happens to be set in that world. For a 1st-level module it feels very high-stakes, so overall I like it a lot.



Everybody Dies in Barovia takes place in the most popular domain of the Ravenloft setting. Like just about every other Barovian module, the PCs are outlanders transported there via the Mists, with the adventure hook involving a Missing Person important to the party. The players must describe their PC’s relationship to the character, while Keeping It Spontaneous provides more options such as each player giving the NPC a single descriptive physical trait.

Once transported by the Mists, the DM either rolls or chooses from a list of legends about Barovia for each PC to know, being a mixture of three-true and one false tale. The Mists don’t let up, and they must navigate to safety by following the sound of mandolin music. Those with a Passive Perception lower than 10 are unable to make it out of the Mists without a guide and take necrotic damage, but otherwise a decently-perceptive guide can get the group out of the Mists. The party will then find themselves in Madam Eva’s Vistani camp, who will invite them into her tent. She will give the party a Mirror of Insight, a magic item that shows the viewer their deepest desire or fear, and the player must describe what they see. Afterwards, Eva will perform a Tarokka reading, and PCs who honestly answered what they saw in the mirror will gain one of ten possible mechanical boons based on the Tarokka card drawn. The DM can either choose the card or roll randomly, and include a wide range of one-time or limited-duration effects. Summoning a raven that gives a PC advice in the form of advantage on a d20 roll, halving incoming damage and gaining an equal amount of temporary hit points, casting Moonbeam or Misty Step, or igniting a weapon in magical flame to deal bonus fire damage. Most of these boons can be activated as a bonus action or reaction, making them relatively easy to use for most characters.

The final card Madam Eva draws is the Darklord, filling her with fear. She cries out a warning too late as the PCs are teleported into the dining room of Castle Ravenloft, with none other than Strahd von Zarovich! He will answer any questions they have in truthful yet vague ways, although any queries about the Missing Person will have him dodge the question by saying there will be answers later. The vampire count is more in the mood for some evening entertainment, and subtly pressures the characters to come up with something. The specifics of the entertainment are whatever the PCs can plausibly come up with, but regardless it takes the form of an appropriate ability check from each character with a DC 10 to determine the overall success PCs who fail earn scorn from Strahd, inflicting a curse imposing penalties to their AC, but success earns a standing ovation that grants them +1 on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.

Strahd’s “reward” for the party is the revelation of the Missing Person: a recently-reanimated Strahd Zombie who shambles into the room, with the darklord proudly announcing that their loved one is back and “much improved!” The zombie will be hostile to the PCs, and Strahd will join in the slaughter. The sidebar for a survivable portion of this adventure has Strahd summon three zombies instead and watches the fight. Should the PCs survive, Strahd will declare that they won’t make for challenging prey, and has vampire spawn minions escort the party out of his domain.

Thoughts: I’d rate this adventure a 2 out of 5. It’s much more rail-roaded than the first one, and the bonuses gained from the Tarokka Cards are going to be less directly impactful during the dinner scene. Contrast this to the magic items rewarded during the airship gala in Eberron. Additionally, the initial threat of being lost in the Mists is a non-challenge, only being a risk if the PCs split up or everyone somehow has negative Perception modifiers. As someone who ran a modified Castle Ravenloft dinner scene in Curse of Strahd, I know how important it is to have an underlying motivation and goal for social conflict. Normally, one would assume that the PCs can use the opportunity to learn more about the Missing Person, but as Strahd automatically evades the topic it also railroads the dinner scene into hinging entirely on the entertainment skill check challenge.



Everybody Dies In the Eye of the Beholder takes place in the city of Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms. The PCs are prospects for recruitment into the Zhentarim, and their handler Davil Starsong tasked them with stealing a magical item from a private party held by the Xanathar Guild in order to become full-fledged members. As for what that item is, it lets the user open portals between the Material Plane and Feywild. The adventure proper begins in the Yawning Portal, a popular tavern for adventurers, and the Keeping it Spontaneous sidebars suggest that the players give backstories as to their last successful mission and how they were recruited. Davil will outline the mission once everyone agrees to do it: the beholder crime lord known as Xanathar is holding a secret club that looks like an abandoned warehouse on the outside, taking place during the holiday known as Fey Day where the mortal and faerie realms are closest.

As for how the PCs are to infiltrate the party, Davil explains that they must take the sewers and find an entrance to the club guarded by a creature “like a beholder, only stupider.” They’re given a map of the sewers, which requires light sources to see for those without Darkvision and those who fall into the water via a failed Acrobatics suffer disadvantage on Charisma-based ability checks due to smelling horrible. The beholder-like guard is Sam, belonging to a weak species of beholderkin known as a Gazer that has 4 eye rays (charm, fear, frost, telekinesis). Sam floats in front of a grate leading up to the club, and is while not initially hostile he is stupid and paranoid, which the PCs can play on to convince them to pass if they pretend at knowing ulterior schemers in the Guild. Sam will become hostile should the PCs fail to convince him to pass, although they have 1d4 rounds to get his mood back up to indifferent before combat starts. Regardless of the outcome, Sam will relay a silent telepathic message to other Guild members that suspicious characters entered the club.

The club is a large, fancy room packed with costumed guests, and people are passing around the magic item on the dance floor to summon and create various fey-themed effects. A pair of guards using the Bandit stat blocks remain close to the item at all times, and two more guards are up on the balcony as snipers. Nobody will be initially suspicious of the party, and the security is light on purpose. As to why, Xanathar knows that the Zhentarim are planning to steal the item, and wants to be there personally to kill them. Should violence ensue during the theft of the item, the non-Bandit partygoers will get as far away from the fight as possible. The only way out is back through the sewers, and at this point Xanathar is already headed the party’s way, with four hobgoblin minions who block the other way out of the sewers. Xanathar will explain how excited he is to kill the party, but claims that he might change his mind if they beg for their lives. He will hear the PCs out, then announce that anyone who puts their hands on his treasure is a “one-way ticket to disintegrationville.”

Although it might seem that the Zhentarim came out losing, the PCs’ mission was actually a distraction to divert the Xanathar Guild’s attention from the docks. This allowed the Zhents to steal a ship full of contraband items from the Guild, and Davil commemorates the PCs in his journal as “people who were very nearly good enough.” A survivable version of this adventure instead has Sam the Gazer try to ambush the PCs as part of the final encounter, and replaces the hobgoblins with Bandits.

Thoughts: This adventure leans a lot more heavily on social interactions, and has some potential combat as a fail-state with Sam. Combined with the open-ended means of snagging the magic item from the club, this adventure provides some room for leeway and PC creativity despite its linearity. Additionally, the surprise twist of the mission being a distraction feels both in-character for the Zhentarim while also giving a plausible explanation for why mere initiates were entrusted with such an important-seeming task. Overall, I like it, and rate the adventure a 7 out of 10.

Thoughts So Far: The first three adventures in Faster, Purple Worm do a good job of highlighting notable aspects of Eberron, Ravenloft, and the Forgotten Realms which should be easily recognizable to fans of said settings. Of them, Everybody Dies at a Costume Ball is my favorite, with only Barovia rating low for me.

Join us next time as we trigger a TPK in a cemetery, while eating mushroom stew, and trying to rescue a princess from a tower!

Everybody Conveniently Dies in a Cemetery is a setting-neutral adventure that takes place in the remote town of Short Rope. Some foul force is reanimating corpses in the Long Rest Cemetery, and deathly phenomena is now popping up in the town itself. Short Rope’s mayor hires the party to venture into the cemetery and put a stop to the source of their troubles. A single PC has a long-lost Uncle Marcus as part of their backstory, who was best known for wanting to become a wizard as well as the catch-phrase “Jumpin’ Jehosephat!”

The adventure starts with the assembled townsfolk outfitting the party with intelligent magic weapons plus a Toad of Knocking for their quest. The weapons deal 1 bonus point of force damage, but all have personality traits that display varying levels of reluctance in being used. For example, a pessimistic weapon views combat as delaying the inevitable and will loudly make their opinion known, while a dismissive weapon will wish they were being used by someone more competent. The Toad of Knocking is an intelligent animal who can speak Common and can cast the Knock spell once per day by croaking, which is intended to be used to open the Cemetery’s front gates. But the toad will play a prank on the party by lying about how to use his magic, saying that he needs to be “in the mood” in order to cast the spell and will ask the party to sing a song about toads to him.

Once inside, the party will meet the ghost of a child named Timothy, who reveals that not all of the ghosts are fond of the new entity that has taken control of the cemetery. The adventure suggests throwing some low-level undead as optional encounters if the PCs wander aimlessly or to otherwise spice things up. Timothy can lead the party to the supposed source, a flameskull who has no offensive abilities and is actually the spirit of Uncle Marcus. The flameskull will pretend to be the evil overlord, but if attacked he will flee, shouting his catchphrase. By either persuading or chasing Marcus down, the party will come face to face with Sir Annus Horribilis, the Death Knight who is reanimating the Cemetery’s undead. He is an honorable sort of evil, offering to let the party go first in initiative order if they appear both courageous and willing to fight him. The survivable alternative is for the DM to give Sir Annus a Specter stat block instead.

Thoughts: This adventure is perhaps the clearest example of Faster Purple Worm’s origins as an improv comedy. The Toad of Knocking, unhelpful magic item personalities, and Uncle Marcus can help liven up what would otherwise be a very linear adventure. Such humor helps disguise the fact that there’s less wiggle room for alternative resolutions in comparison to Costume Ball or Eye of the Beholder. All in all, it’s hard to rate this adventure given the subjectiveness of humor, but I imagine that me and my group would like it.



Everybody Dies Eating Mushroom Soufflé takes place in the Feywild, where an archfey known as Mother Frost plane shifts the party to a forest campfire attended by a large audience of awakened woodland creatures. An unnamed hobgoblin emissary of Mother Frost is playing a flute, and it will soon become clear through social interaction that a fearsome red dragon known as Gorgreth is contesting Mother Frost’s domain. The archfey is in need of mighty heroes to defeat the dragon and hobgoblin will give each PC one of five magic boons to help their mission. The boons take the form of blue flowers which are activated via a command word (or musical sound) as a bonus action or reaction, and typically mimic the effects of a higher-level spell such as Haste or Gust of Wind. Afterwards, the hobgoblin will serve the party mushroom soufflé to encourage them to not fight on an empty stomach. Anyone who partakes gains a random d6 effect, such as being emboldened by the sound of music in the form of advantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saves, or being compelled to dance whenever something scares the character.

There is one side-effect of the soufflé which the hobgoblin withheld right before she disappears: its scent is easily detectable by dragons, and Gorgreth is already flying towards their location whether or not the PCs eat the food. The dragon’s preceded by a group of kobold scouts who wish to gather information about the party, and won’t be initially hostile. A satyr by the name of Nigel will also arrive, explaining that he can banish Gorgreth from the plane with a song-ritual, but can only do so by learning the dragon’s real name, as Gorgreth is likely just a surname.

Thus, this adventure’s “victory condition” is using some form of trickery to convince Gorgreth to reveal his true name, either determined from picking from a random hat draw or asking the players to come up with one once discovered. Like most dragons, Gorgreth is arrogant, and upon realizing that the PCs are way underleveled once combat starts, he will be angered at Mother Frost for presenting him with such “lackluster challengers” before swiftly defeating them. Nigel will safely flee once the real name is divulged. The survivable version of Gorgreth is making him a dragonnel, and having Nigel and/or a Giant Owl aid the PCs during combat if necessary.

Thoughts: This adventure feels rather lacking, as unlike the others the events come to the PCs as opposed to the PCs coming to the events. Additionally, much of the information about Gorgreth and the stakes are provided voluntarily, and the kobold scouts don’t really share much useful information themselves besides the fact that Gorgreth will arrive within minutes. While I do appreciate there being a win condition in the form of tricking Gorgreth into revealing his true name, this hinges entirely on roleplay or a DC 15 skill check if the DM’s feeling generous.



Everybody Dies as a Surprise is the most cliche of fantasy quests: Queen Belinda’s daughter, Princess Rusa, has been kidnapped and locked in a tower. The throne is offering to pay the valiant heroes who rescue her with noble titles and the land to go with it. In reality, Princess Rusa is a rakshasa adopted by the Queen as part of an infernal contract. The two set up this false kidnapping plot, which helps get rid of pesky adventurers and political rivals for the Queen while giving the Princess fun in killing prey willingly walking into danger.

The adventure starts in Queen Belinda’s throne room, who gives a cover story of a winged beast flying off with Princess Rusa one month ago. They were last seen headed towards the Dread Tower in the Royal Forest. The tower used to be a set of ruins filled with magical traps and defenses, and it’s likely that the monster recently moved into it. PCs can discover that the Queen is holding back if a player questions her intentions, prompting a DC 18 Insight check. If asked what she’s hiding, the Queen will say that she is filled with guilt, for she allowed her daughter to go into the woods alone, which is how she was kidnapped in the first place.

The PCs are told of a magic wishing well in the courtyard should they need additional aid, which can provide either Knowledge, Power, or both if given valuable offerings. The offering’s monetary value isn’t important; rather, the well makes the judgment based on whether or not the one making the offer views their sacrifice as valuable in some manner. A DC 8 Performance or Persuasion check convinces the well that the offering is sincere. Asking for Knowledge grants important facts in the form of rhymes, such as announcing one’s presence as the means of gaining access to the tower, or that the monster is a “threat hidden in plain sight.” Asking for Power gives a character one of 4 magic items from a table: a beret that gives the wearer +1 to Armor Class and saving throws, am amulet that makes wielded weapons magical, a floral pin that grants advantage on initiative and rolls to detect traps, or clogs that let the user cast Haste on themselves. For this last item, it doesn’t say how many times it can be used, so presumably it’s an at-will effect.

The journey to the Dread Tower is an uneventful trip, and it’s a 5 room, 3 story dungeon. The tower’s moat is guarded by a water weird who prefers to grapple and throw back uninvited visitors, and showing politeness causes the drawbridge to magically lower. If the PCs attained the magic floral pin and learned how to gain access to the tower from the wishing well, the pin will have a voice echo from the flower, repeating the well’s clue. Alternatively, the party can sneak across.

The entry hall is home to two swarms of rats which can be detected ahead of time as though searching for a trap. The parlor is home to a valuable pitcher and goblet, along with a Mirror of Life Trapping which can be “deactivated” if insects, mice, and other small pests in the tower are used to fill it. The third floor landing is home to a suit of animated armor that will attack if the PCs try to open the bedchamber doors. Finally, the bedchamber is home to Princess Rusa disguised as a human, who says that the tower’s magic keeps her imprisoned unless she “crosses the threshold with a true hero.” The PC who gets the highest Performance/Persuasion result in regaling her with their heroic deeds is chosen by Rusa. Chosen to be “saved for last,” as hero flesh tastes the sweetest! She will cast Dominate Person spell on her “champion” to turn on their party members as she reveals her true form. The survivable version of this final encounter makes Rusa a Harpy with the Shapeshift ability.

Thoughts: I really like this adventure. The wishing well’s advice and magic items are directly useful for the challenges ahead, the dungeon has a variety of encounters that can be solved in ways that reward clever thinking, and the tower’s non-rakshasa occupants are still decently challenging for a 1st-level party.

Thoughts So Far: Everybody Dies as a Surprise is my favorite of the three adventures in this post, with Mushroom Soufflé rating the lowest. The former is a cliche we’re all more than familiar with, but it works for a light-hearted oneshot. The cleverness of the traps and puzzles help give it a fresh spin, while still being enmeshed in the classic folktale fantasy vibe.

Join us next time as we trigger TPKs against an illithid dragon, fighting Demogorgon, and in a storm giant’s castle!

Everybody Dies on a Squid takes place in the city of Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms, where the PCs are members of the city watch investigating an unannounced ship that docked in the harbor during the middle of the night. The ship’s crew are cultists serving a mind flayer colony, who hopes to unleash an infected dragon upon the city of Waterdeep. The dragon has the essence of an elder brain bound to its form, granting it powerful psionic abilities on top of draconic might. But an unexpected storm blew one of the cult ships off course, leaving the villains understaffed and thus are seeking to buy time by claiming that they’re a plague ship should interlopers investigate. A warning bell at the end of a pier can be rung to alert the rest of the city watch in the event of trouble.

The adventure’s entirety takes place on the docks, with the ship (called the Crimson Squid) being a four-story, ten-room structure. The dockmaster doesn’t believe the captain’s plague story, instead thinking that they’re either smuggling goods or trying to avoid paying tariffs. The party has a variety of means of infiltrating the ship, and crew members will be hostile unless a PC gives them the proper password only cult members know (or sufficiently bluff their way into not giving it up). Captain Samira is more agreeable initially, and if she cannot convince the PCs to leave she will invite them to her personal quarters where she plans to attack them. The characters can realize something’s amiss by various clues, such as the elder brain dragon’s psionic aura causing a randomly-determined mental instability if the PCs rest while on the ship, a lack of ammunition for the cannons onboard, the captain’s personal log talking about vague plans to destroy Waterdeep, seeing a large shape in the cargo hold via peering through a hatch above it, or convincing cultists to lead the PCs down to the hold to receive a blessing from “her.”

The canvas-covered object is actually the elder brain dragon, which will wake up via one of two ways: if a character moves adjacent to it to inspect it, or if the warning bell on the pier is rung. It easily smashes through the ship once awakened, although the physical barriers and tight quarters have it move at half speed while within the ship. The “win scenario” for this adventure is if the warning bell is rung, as this will allow the higher-level NPCs in Waterdeep to mount a defense and prevent the dragon from infecting the entire city. The survivable version of this adventure has the elder brain dragon escape without attacking the PCs, as it views the PCs as not worth the effort to kill.

Thoughts: I do like how the adventure is a sort of meta-commentary on the Forgotten Realms, where the doomed PCs are the ones meant to alert the “real heroes” of trouble that their puny 1st-level selves cannot overcome. The one downside is that the adventure might wrap up a little too soon if the bell is rung too early. Say if a fight breaks out on the deck and a PC uses a ranged weapon or spell to ring the bell. I rate it a 7/10.



Everybody Dies in a Den of Snakes is another Faerûn-based adventure, taking place in the nation of Najara in the Forest of Wyrms. The forest is home to a long-running war between naga and yuan-ti fighting over land and resources. Tired of generations of battle, the naga and yuan-ti are sending representatives to a peace summit. One of the naga representatives is Safar, who guards over an artifact known as the Solant Mote in the village of Jadeite, which ensures that supernatural evil cannot be summoned in the area and is thus safeguarded at the top of a spiral tree. The yuan-ti, however, have an ulterior agenda: repurpose the Solant Mote to summon Demogorgon into the world to defeat the naga!

The PCs are in the village of Jadeite when the adventure starts, in discussion with a half-elf resident by the name of Cora who hopes to regale visitors of the area’s history as a tour guide. This way, she can give out a boxed-text infodump on the brief background of the kingdom. Safar is going on an expedition to the yuanti- settlement of Serpent’s Cowl, escorted by several veteran warriors. While a militia is present, there is worry of the weakened defenses. Via a tabaxi intermediary by the name of Lotus, Safar appoints the PCs to watch over the artifact in her absence.

The party has some time to look around the spiral tree to boost its defenses, such as repairing a broken mangonel (basically a miniature trebuchet) or learning of a secret hollowed out portion of a tree to hide the Solant Mote by examining a tapestry displaying an illustrated history of Jadeite. While studying said tapestry, the magical light emitted from the Mote begins to flicker downwards, warning the party that someone is trying to steal it! The culprit is a yuan-ti infiltrator by the name of Morvana who will surrender easily, but if she escapes then Lotus will capture her. Morvina will lie about her intentions for trying to steal the Solant Mote, claiming that the yuan-ti need it to seal an evil contained in Serpent’s Cowl, and her bluff can be called via appropriate skill checks. Additionally, a combined successful Perception and Religion checks reveal that she’s wearing a necklace that is the holy symbol of Demogorgon.

And just like that, an ill omen of legions of wild animals rushing out of the forest indicates that the Prince of Demons has been summoned to the Material Plane! The PCs are tasked with protecting the relic and village while Lotus leaves to alert Safar. Demogorgon’s arrival can be delayed via various activities and successful skill checks: firing the mangonel siege weapon (which doesn’t hurt the demon lord but does cause one head to mock the struck one), giving an inspiring speech to the village militia, pretending to hide the Mote elsewhere to confuse the demon lord, using the mote’s reflective light to temporarily blind Demogorgon, and social skill checks to trick the demon’s heads into arguing with each other.

Once Demogorgon arrives, he will offer to spare the PCs if they surrender (a lie) before climbing the spiral tree to devour and thus destroy the Solant Mote. He can also destroy a level to cause it to collapse by dealing 50 damage to said level. Either way, it should take the demon a total of 3 rounds to reach the top of the tree where the Mote is located. The adventure doesn’t say a specific number of rounds before Safar’s party arrives back in town, but once that happens the naga will be able to banish the demon lord. This event will be immortalized on the tapestry, along with the PCs in their best moments. The survivable version of this adventure makes Demogoron merely a manifestation of the demon lord, who automatically fades away if kept away from the mote for the unmentioned time limit.

Thoughts: While I like the idea and set-up of a “tower defense” adventure in delaying a demon lord, the adventure is notably lacking a set time duration for Demogorgon’s arrival and then Safar’s, which is unfortunate. Additionally, while the NPCs advise against moving the mote save in the most dire of circumstances, the mote’s size and weight isn’t explicitly given. I can imagine a player asking if they can tie the artifact to a familiar to fly off with it. As demogorgon doesn’t have a fly speed and his gaze attacks reach to 120 feet, even an owl can outmaneuver the demon lord via the Dash action. Due to this, the adventure feels much more constrained and lacking in choice than the others, making it rate an average 5/10.



Everybody Dies in the Heart of the Storm takes place in the Crystalmist Mountains in the setting of Greyhawk, but given how generic said world is the book informs that this adventure can easily be placed in the mountain ranges of other example settings. The PCs are members of the Vael Society, an evil-aligned mage’s guild specializing in acquiring magical items for wealth and power. Madame Rathmore, the guildmaster, learned of a relic known as the Heart of the Storm held in a floating tower in the Crystalmist Mountains. After an interview process among various other hopeful members, the PCs are hired to retrieve it. The tower is believed abandoned, but in reality it is home to a storm giant quintessent by the name of Ogmoth, who acts as the Heart’s guardian against thieves such as the PCs.

The adventure begins during an interview with Madame Rathmore, attended by an orc bodyguard and various other guild members also wishing to prove themselves to her. Rathmore will give the PCs the mission, and present to them a teleportation circle that will conveniently transport them to the base of the floating tower.

Due to her elemental bond with the surrounding weather, Ogmoth is automatically aware of everything the PCs do once they teleport there. Save for the throne room, the tower has no map or keyed room numbers, instead using general descriptions and theater of the mind. The first obstacle the PCs must overcome is making their way across a pseudo-bridge of floating rocks to the entry arch, and a trio of elementals known as storm children can be talked into helping the PCs cross by presenting the task as a fun game. Once they pass the arch,* the party will be teleported into individual cages with numbered plaques hanging over an expansive storm. Each cage has multiple levers with numbered plaques corresponding to the other cages. A nearby golden door with magical script that can be read by anyone presents a “test,” claiming that a life must be sacrificed to obtain the Heart of the Storm, and that the sacrifice is chosen by a majority vote. Once read, a pseudo-clock appears, made of glowing gems that slowly darken over time. And then, the cages slowly descend…

*Or fall off the bridge, where they’re saved by Ogmoth who takes the form of a strong wind that pushes them into the tower as though the walls are immaterial.

The test is actually meant to discern the morality of intruders, as the storm is illusory and anyone who falls will hit the ground that isn’t far below the cages. The “right” way to win is for nobody to pull the levers, and a DC 20 Insight check tells a character that storm giants aren’t usually evil, so they wouldn’t ordinarily make “sadistic choice” kind of trap. If a sacrifice is chosen, the illusion will fade as the rest of the cages lower and open. The party can then proceed through a golden doorway transporting them to Ogmoth’s throne room and the Heart’s location. Ogmoth’s initial disposition to the PCs will depend on how they dealt with the prior test. However, upon learning of their intention to steal the Heart, she will be irate, saying that the “Heart” is actually the remains of her dearly departed wife, and will move to kill them. As 1st-level PCs are unlikely to be able to transport a Huge-sized corpse, a snatch-and-grab is out of the question. PCs can safely escape by leaping off the tower onto the storm children elementals if befriended earlier, although the Vael Society has no tolerance for failure and will attack and kill the PCs should they make their way back to the teleportation circle. The survivable version of the adventure doesn’t have Ogmoth directly manifest and attack. Instead, she leaves that to two ogrillion ogres. Should the party overcome them, the storm giant will give them a Gem of Brightness along with a warning to never return, and the Vale Society accepts this as the “heart” and thus a successful mission.

Thoughts: As the floating rock bridge and cage test aren’t actually lethal, the only real risk in this adventure is at the end when they confront Ogmoth the storm giant. While this helps speed otherwise-fragile 1st-level PCs to the proper climactic TPK, it ends up feeling extremely railroady as their choices don’t really matter. While all of these adventures are short and linear, there should be some tangible penalty or risk, even if death doesn’t occur in these smaller encounters. I thus rate this adventure a 3/10.

Thoughts So Far: Of these three, Everybody Dies on a Squid is my favorite in serving as a rather fun and passable adventure. Den of Snakes has potential, although the round-based timer for Safar’s cavalry coming in needs to be determined by the DM. If it were up to me, I’d make it 8-10 rounds: let’s presume demogorgon takes 2 rounds to do his surrender offer. He takes 3 rounds to reach the mote, and the skill challenge for delaying his arrival can add several more rounds on top. I’m not a fan of the Heart of the Storm, although I do appreciate the adventure making use of a high-CR good-aligned monster as an adversary, which you don’t see very often in modules.

Join us next time as we die at the claws of a dracolich, while fighting an ooze in a bathhouse, and hunting a dragon turtle!

GREAT reviews, thank you!

Question: does the book include maps? If so, might be an easy buy for me.

It’s been a while since I last posted. Upper back pain threw off my schedule, but now I’m feeling better enough to continue.



Everybody Dies at the Circus has the PCs hired by Lord MacGuffin (haha) to look for his missing children, the twins Lima and Lorelai. Via an alliance with the twins’ elven godmother, the MacGuffins’ lands are supernaturally shielded from all manner of natural misfortunes. But when the twins run away to join the circus, this alliance is in jeopardy if Lord MacGuffin appears to be an irresponsible father. The nobleman already dispatched several agents to investigate the circus, but they all went missing. In reality, the circus’ ringmaster Hemlock Harris is a dracolich in disguise, searching for talented people to add to her “hoard” via magically-binding contracts.

The adventure begins at Lord MacGuffin’s estate, with the sole major clues being in the twins’ bedrooms. Their pet cat is expecting, which can be discerned via a Nature check and this information can be used to better convince the twins to return home. As for the circus, it is currently closed to the public and the PCs must undergo auditions to enter. They will need to come up with their own act, where success causes Hemlock to make them sign contracts enchanted with the Illusory Script spell (they will not be allowed to leave and will be forced to sign should they refuse) and thus given free reign in the circus. If they fail, they need to sneak in, but are given tickets for the next show.

During this time, the PCs can pick up clues by interacting with the other carnies, such as noticing that the dragonborn fortuneteller is secretly afraid of the ringmaster, or learning from jugglers that the Lord’s missing guards were detained for trespassing but are unaware of what happened to them afterwards. Lima and Lorelai are excited to be part of the circus and will need convincing to leave. If the PCs are successful, they ask the party to retrieve their contracts from the Ringmaster’s office during the show. If unable to be convinced, they will ask to do just one more show before going home. They will rat out the party to the other carnies, who will take them to the ringmaster. Hemlock’s office has an extradimensional space with a mirror serving as a doorway, containing an enormous hoard of treasure along with the contracts and the slaughtered remains of Lord MacGuffin’s former investigators.

The adventure will end when Hemlock realizes that the PCs seek to take away her newest talent, and her secret hoard is enchanted with an Alarm spell. The adventure’s “win condition” is to stall Hemlock for at least 2 rounds, at which point the dragonborn fortune teller will help the twins escape. The survivable version of this adventure turns Hemlock into a Yuan-Ti Infiltrator with a skeleton minion.

Thoughts: Being a mystery/clue-finding module with some leeway for nonlinearity, I do like how successful skill checks can grant the party information as well as making their infiltration easier. Adding in the win condition in helping the twins escape is also a sensible challenge, as lasting 2 rounds is a significant challenge for 1st-level characters on account of the dracolich’s legendary actions, breath weapon, and Multiattack. I rate it a 7/10.



Everybody Dies at the Slurping Spa takes place in Sigil, the City of Doors, but the adventure notes that it can take place in other high-magic cities such as Sharn or the Rock of Bral. The PCs are hired by the Society of Sensation (or appropriate setting faction) to look for a missing member by the name of Howel Maltby. His last job and location was to review the Thalasso Natatorium, one of the newer bathhouses in town. The bathhouse is home to an planar portal to the Abyss, which cultists of Juiblex hope to use to have their demon lord enter in order to bypass Sigil’s “no gods” rule in order to consume the city. The cult leader, Silysia Vandor, repurposed the building above the portal into a bathhouse as a cover for their operations, and so far managed to get an elder oblex acting as Juiblex’s Emissary. Howel is currently alive but imprisoned next to the extra-dimensional rift.

The adventure begins at the Society’s Festhall, where the PCs must provide a new name to the flumph doorman as part of his art project in coming up with a new name for themself. The party must also provide a recorded copy of one of each of their memories into a magical device, which is used to round out a bit of each PC’s backstory. The job and meeting proper begins with an interview with Erin Darkflame Montgomery, who provides general information about Howel and the bathhouse, including that it’s members-only and restricts said membership to arcane spellcasters. Howl doesn’t qualify, so he planned to masquerade as such in order to enter. The PCs must rescue him if alive, but if that’s not possible they must retrieve his Advanced Sensory Stone in order to learn his last moments. Montgomery gives the PCs some bonus equipment in the form of gold, potions of healing, and Advanced Sensory Stones to record anything interesting in the bathhouse.

The PCs are transported to the Thalasso Natatorium via a mimic shapeshifted into a carriage. The bathhouse is a one-floor, seven-room building, and modron staff members handle the day-to-day busywork. They aren’t aware of the demon cult’s presence and plans, and PCs can take advantage of the modern’s literalist understanding of the rules to bluff their way through. For example, one such modron has orders to prevent anyone from opening the guest ledger, so getting him to open it for others to read wouldn’t violate this rule. Another is that the dress code for bathrobes doesn’t specify that other things cannot be worn under the robes, so wearing them over normal clothing and armor is thus permitted. There’s a variety of other ways for the PCs to get inside, such as stealing a key from a human employee during their outside shift, or visiting a nearby wizard-themed shop to disguise themselves as arcane casters if nobody in the party qualifies class-wise. An iron golem security guard can be bypassed by convincing a beholder relaxing in the pool to use its eye powers to disable the golem so that they can sneak by. But the beholder demands to be entertained first, and it’s up to the PCs to come up with something creative.

The abyssal portal, and Howel, are in a circular grotto serving the final room in this pseudo-dungeon crawl, and the portal’s nature is clear as an airborne hole in space-time oozing caustic slime. Howl will frightfully tell the PCs about the cult’s plot and that Juiblex cannot be allowed to enter the city. He presumes that the PCs are capable enough to defeat the ooze, and if unshackled from his bonds will attempt to flee. The ooze will form into Silysia Vandor, who will attempt to do a villainous speech before the rest of the ooze devours her and turns into an Emissary of Juiblex. The Emissary uses modified stats of an Elder Oblex, possessing a variety of spells such as Slow, Fireball, Hold Person, and Telekinesis. The “win condition” for this adventure is making sure that at least one survivor (Howel or somebody else) at the bathhouse is able to escape and warn the rest of the city about the extraplanar threat. The Emissary will pursue the PCs single-mindedly through the bathhouse should they flee, ignoring noncombatants (everyone else at the spa will flee, including the beholder). Statwise, an Elder Oblex is a CR 10 creature who fights with pseudopods, can eat memories which deal psychic damage and impose a growing penalty to d20 rolls each time they’re targeted, and a variety of psionic-themed spells that are mostly enchantment-school stuff. The survivable version of this adventure replaces the Emissary with two psychic gray oozes.

Thoughts: Another low-combat adventure centered around an investigation, I do like how Slurping Spa plays up Sigil’s high-magic nature in the form of extraplanar and nonhumanoid inhabitants. Taking advantage of the modron’s unimaginative rules enforcement rewards clever play, and I like how the module provides a variety of ways to infiltrate the spa. The low point is the climactic TPK lacking a notable feature other foes in this book have: as the Emissary has no Legendary Actions and a speed of 20 feet, PCs can outmaneuver it via action economy if they’re lucky enough. So theoretically they might be able to avoid a TPK if they prioritize fleeing and hiding. I rate this adventure an 8/10.



Everybody Dies at Turtle Bay is a setting-neutral adventure taking place at Grave’s End, a prison colony near the sea. The colony was once a town known as Turtle Bay, so named for a dragon turtle frequenting the area that hasn’t been seen in decades. The PCs start as prisoners gathered by Gratter Grumlock, the warden, as part of a lineup. The warden hasn’t told anyone his plans, so both prisoners and guards are confused about these recent orders. Looking for ‘volunteers’ to search for a recently-sighted ghost ship, Grumlock needs a number equal to the number of PCs plus one, and the additional pick is a bugbear known as Benny the Butcher. Although initially presented as a choice, none of the NPC prisoners will step up, so if any PCs hold back Grumlock will pick them out. Benny will never volunteer, and he is also chosen this way.

The rest of the adventure is a rather linear boat ride, where the PCs are part of a sailing crew on a ship known as Cod is Great, with a naval officer and mage quartermaster as the only others onboard. The latter provides each PC (and Benny, who picks last) their choice of one weapon and one gem, which combine together to become a magic item. The ship is equipped with ballistas and can take various unique actions if it has an appropriate person in the proper crew role. PCs must perform ability checks in order for the ship to avoid taking damage during the choppy ride, and eventually the dragon turtle will appear after Benny the Butcher briefly infodumps about hearing sailor’s tales pertaining to the creature. The dragon turtle will attack the ship first, then attack and eat any survivors after destroying the vessel. Benny cannot swim, so he’s good as done if he falls into the water. The survivable version of this adventure replaces the dragon turtle with a Plesiosaurus, and renames the former town Dinosaur Bay.

Thoughts: The linearity of this adventure, lack of substantial choices, and no “win condition” for a better outcome even in the face of death make Turtle Bay a letdown in comparison to the prior adventures in this post. It would take a lot to improve this adventure, at which point you’d be better off running another from this book. I can only recommend it if your gaming group is really into (doomed) naval combat against a kaiju-style monster, so I rate it a 2/10.

Thoughts So Far: As we near the end of Faster Purple Worm, it’s becoming clear that the best adventures are the ones that provide a good amount of noncombat challenges and creative alternative solutions. This type of game design is also good advice for more conventional 1st-level adventures, and I like seeing the writers being aware of this even if TPKs are supposed to be inevitable. Making sure the PCs survive until the end at the hands of the “monster of the week” is important, as dying earlier may feel less dramatic. If I had to pick a favorite of the above three, it would be Everybody Dies at the Slurping Spa.

Join us next time as we end this review with a TPK while playing as monsters in a dungeon, on a lightning train, and in Wildspace!

Burnside said:

GREAT reviews, thank you!

Question: does the book include maps? If so, might be an easy buy for me.

Click to expand...

Yes, 11 out of 15 of the adventures to be exact. I should note that said maps range from simplistic single rooms for a particular battle to multi-room dungeon crawls, depending on the particulars of the adventure.

The adventures with maps are Costume Ball, Barovia, Eye of the Beholder, Surprise, Squid, Den of Snakes, Heart of the Storm, Slurping Spa, Turtle Bay, Dungeon, and Wildspace.

The podcast episodes I've watched have been hilarious! I backed this, but haven't had time to read through the PDF yet. Would love to run this with my group, but . . . pretty sure they wouldn't go for an "everyone dies" one-shot.

Dire Bare said:

The podcast episodes I've watched have been hilarious! I backed this, but haven't had time to read through the PDF yet. Would love to run this with my group, but . . . pretty sure they wouldn't go for an "everyone dies" one-shot.

Click to expand...

Mine generally wouldn’t either, but all these adventures have a non-TPK option which just scales down the final boss to a more reasonable threat level - and most of them seem like generally good adventures regardless of the deadliness level of the last encounter.

Everybody Dies in a Dungeon is a subversion of the typical adventure, where the PCs are goblins guarding a throne room in a dungeon which has a secret door to the treasure vault. The adventure is linear and passive in that the PCs are standing guard as they receive word from a goblin messenger that a foolish lonesome human ventured into the dungeon. Said human, in fact, is the main antagonist: an overpowered solo adventurer by the name of Vashon Dumiay!

The PCs are then given orders by their bugbear boss to guard the room they’re in with their lives. Over the course of time, the messenger will continue returning to the PCs with increasingly nervous status updates as the adventurer makes their way through successive rooms of traps and monsters. The PCs have a limited time frame to set up defenses of their own, such as building a makeshift ballista, blocking the door with heavy objects, and looking through wooden crates that have just about every nonmagical item from the PHB. The treasure room is guarded by a poison dart trap full of valuable art objects, but nothing that can conventionally be used in combat.

When Vashon Dumiya reaches the throne room, he knows of a secret area due to a clue obtained in an off-screen adventure, so he cannot be dissuaded from leaving the room or dungeon. He is a CR 9 human who is effectively a high-level Fighter* with relevant class features, and a Cloak of Misty Step that casts the spell of the same name up to 3 times per day. The survivable version of this adventure makes Vashon an injured Knight with 25 hit points remaining.

*Which is odd, as the descriptive text part of his illustration describes Vashon as a paladin.

Thoughts: The “reverse dungeon” concept is a rare but interesting thought exercise, and having seen it better-used in other sourcebooks, this adventure is a letdown. The PCs are pretty much just waiting for the inevitable rather than exploring or taking charge themselves, and there’s no “win condition” like in some of the other adventures in this book. I rate it 2/10.



Everybody Dies on a Lightning Train is an Eberron-specific adventure where the PCs are hired to rescue a hostage held on a lightning rail passing near the Mournlands. Their patron is vague on the details, only that the hostage is of vital importance in preventing conflict from erupting in the region. In reality, the “hostage” is Professor Drumwit, who is voluntarily on the train and possesses information about the Lord of Blades’ forces. The warforged warlord is aware of this, and is plotting to stage a kidnapping of him…personally!

The adventure starts on an airship where the PCs meet a human warrior known as Mr. Green, next to a giant eagle named Bagel, the latter of whom is actually the Lord of Blades in a polymorphed disguise. Although Mr. Green has both written instructions and equipment to stage the false rescue, he is comically incompetent. First, he accidentally drops a “Barbarian in a Box,” accidentally activating the magic item which causes an axe-wielding warrior to materialize with a war cry before being awkwardly summoned back into the magic item. Then, partway through the mission briefing, Mr. Green reads the command word for opening the airship’s hatch that causes him, Bagel, and the PCs to start falling to the ground, with the lightning rail far below.

The PCs have the opportunity to grab several items relevant to their mission during the descent: one Feather Token per PC to cast Feather Fall on themselves, Mr. Green’s written instructions for the mission, and the Barbarian in a Box. Mr. Green will be attacked and carried off by an awakened wyvern by the name of Theodore Trout. The wyvern will swiftly return and attempt to engage the surviving PCs in a conversion regarding his backstory while they’re falling: he was awakened by a druid who he is trying to make amends to for eating his paladin friend back when he used to be a “regular” beast pre-awakening. The druid is actually one of the PC’s uncles, and if brought up Theodore will offer to help the PCs during their mission, such as helping them safely descend to the train.

The lightning rail has 4 cars, and only one contains Professor Drumwit. The other three are decoys warded with magic traps that deal lightning damage when their hatches are touched. The real car contains six humans using the Guard stat blocks. The written instructions say to toss the Barbarian in a Box into the car. If this is done, said barbarian will defeat the guards offscreen in 4 rounds, but will be too wounded to contribute any further in the adventure. He offers to regale the party with his poetry if they’re willing. The only thing standing between the PCs and Professor Drumwit is an intelligent construct named Ogred serving as a door lock, who will only open if a secret pass-phrase is said. Mr. Green’s written instructions contain it, and being immune to all damage Ogred cannot be conventionally destroyed.

The inevitable TPK occurs when the PCs come to “rescue” Mr. Drumwit, who will quickly inform the party that he has not been kidnapped and is here of his own accord. At this point, “Bagel” will fly into the train car, closing the hatch behind him as he reverts to his true form. After evilly announcing “we meet again” to the Professor, the Lord of Blades says that he’s needed for his plans of world domination and then engage the party in combat. The warforged will make use of Animate Objects to bring furniture to life in combat, and can have said objects grapple the Professor. The Keeping It Spontaneous sidebar suggests having the Lord provide witty retorts to each PC’s attack, drawing upon his earlier observations of their successes and failures during the adventure. The survivable portion of the adventure changes the Lord of Blades into a warforged warrior instead.

Thoughts: Just reading this adventure is fun, and it has a nice mixture of action and comedy. In true Eberron style, the PCs are practically thrust into danger via the mistimed command word, yet with the risks being surprisingly balanced for 1st-level PCs. Save for the inevitable TPK, of course! My only main criticism is that the sentient lock can, well, “softlock” the party’s progress if they don’t have Mr. Green’s instructions. I would’ve preferred other ways for the PCs to get access to Professor Drumwit. 9/10.



Everybody Dies in Wildspace is the final adventure of this book, taking place in the Spelljammer setting. The PCs are part of a secondary retrieval team waiting for a report from the primary team who were investigating a derelict vessel. The first team has been captured by space clowns, which for those not familiar with the setting can be summed up as clowns from a horror movie. When a surviving team member returns and dies on the bridge with an ominous warning to “beware the squeakers,”* the party is ordered by the captain of their ship to find out what happened to the first team.

*A reference to the squeaking sound the clowns’ shoes make when they walk.

The vessel is a 3-story, 12-room dungeon crawl, with various traps and atmospheric details reminiscent of a creepy circus. For example, magical lights create moving spotlights; brightly-colored ichor drips from the walls and ceiling, dealing acid damage to those who touch it; and balloons with painted smiley faces on them serve as magical surveillance for the clowns, which if popped explode and deal acid damage to those adjacent. At a DM-determined point in the crawl, one room will fill with fiendish bubbles, causing those who cannot dodge them via a Dexterity save to gain altered physical and personality traits in line with a demented clown.

Only one dead crew member can be found normally in this adventure, and she has some higher-tech weapons on her person for the PCs to loot. The remaining three crew members (and the TPK) are in the lowest level of the vessel. Down here, five space clowns lie in wait, four using their innate powers to disguise themselves as space hamsters as they wait for their fifth member to make a dramatic entrance. The crew members are unconscious, their bodies trapped in hard taffy. The space clowns are preserving them to eat for later, and the taffy can be chipped away by pouring flasks of oil on it as well as conventional damage. No stats are provided for the crew members if they happen to be healed awake.

Unlike the other TPK monsters in this book, Space Clowns are much lower in terms of Challenge Rating, being 2. That being said, five at once are still incredibly deadly for a party of 4 1st-level PCs. In terms of stats they are lightly-armored (13 AC) but have a good amount of hit points (58). Their innate spells are non-offensive in nature, such as Prestidigitation, Mirror Image, and Spider Climb, and up to 3 times a day they can magically disguise themselves as an equivalent-size or smaller creature or object. Their primary methods of attack are a melee lightning shock or a ranged ray gun that deals psychic damage, the latter of which causes a target to find everything hilariously funny on a failed Wisdom save, becoming incapacitated for 1 minute.

Should the PCs seek to escape and make their way to their original vessel, the captain orders the ship to leave the derelict vessel, realizing that the missing crews are a lost cause. The survivable version of this adventure makes it so that only 1 space clown is faced by the party, and suggests any PCs knocked to 0 hit points awake later trapped in the taffy so they have a second chance of surviving.

Thoughts: Spelljammer has always been one of the sillier settings out there, so doing a Killer Klowns From Outer Space style dungeon crawl is incredibly appropriate. The bulk of the pre-TPK dangers come in the form of traps that are unlikely to kill PCs, but do a good job of building up tension in the atmosphere. I rate it an 8/10.

Thoughts So Far: While I wasn’t much impressed with Dungeon, the final two adventures more than made up for this. Lightning Rail is my favorite one in this book, and the one I’d be most eager to run.

Final Thoughts: Faster, Purple Worm packs a lot of content for a book of its size, and the adventures have enough variety to avoid feeling stale and by-the-numbers. They do vary in quality and appeal, but there should be something in here for everyone. I also like how each adventure has survivable modifications for groups that may not be fond of the anthology’s unorthodox concept, which helps make it more usable in conventional play. The main weakness of Faster, Purple Worm is that the adventures are quite short, even for 1st-level ones, so some gaming groups may breeze through them quicker than expected. I definitely recommend this product for gamers looking for a unique change of pace.

Very helpful & thorough review. Thank you!