A 13th-level Dungeon/Wilderness Crawl for D&D 5E

Hot on the heels of Kobold Press, Alea Publishing Group is the latest company to publish a D&D 5E adventure. At 93 pages, The Shadowed Eye of Halagar is one of the largest yet. It's available in PDF, and a hardcover version is apparently coming soon. A high level dungeon/wilderness crawl, this is designed for 13th-16th level characters, and also includes new monsters and magic items.

Find it here.

Deep in the Shadkhanim Mountains, beyond the Valley of Dormant Fire, a gold shadow dragon covets the great wealth of Halagar and a several hundred year old secret that led the dwarven people to mine the shadow realm.

The Shadowed Eye of Halagar is a vast dungeon and wilderness crawl with over 90 pages filled with new villians and monsters; exciting scenarios that takes 5th Edition rules to the edge!

This product provides Players and Game Masters with the following for thrilling play:

• Shadows of Flame, a prelude adventure for 10th to 11th level characters.
• Shadowed Eye of Halagar, a mega adventure for 13th to 16th level characters.
• Interesting encounters and locales that emphasize the strength of 5th Edition.
• New 5th Edition monsters: Frost Giant Raiders, Humming Death Spiders, Shadowaxe Mages, Shadowmist Spiders, Undead Dragons, Umbra Warriors, and Wailing Knights.
• New magic items, including the fabled artifact, the Eye of Halagar.
• Unforgettable NPCs with a myriad of goals and secret agendas.

Although designed for the Feudal Lords Campaign Setting, this product easily adapts into your favorite campaign or serves as a "drop-in" region ready to explore.

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[Jraynack]

How much play testing was done and what's your opinion on higher level play in 5e?

To be honest, not enough as I would like, though that is a problem I have as a small company. For this product, we had 7 to 8 play testers during the process (most of the play testers have 20+ years experience in a variety of roleplaying games). While I have 25+ years experience as a Game Master and 10+ years as a Game Designer, I am confident in my ability, but not arrogant and often err on the side of caution (ex. if a monster has the numbers to rank as a CR 11, depending on the abilities, especially those without a similar counterpart in an official product, I may settle on CR 12).

I rely on consumer feedback and reviewers - over the years, it helped guide my hand. As a small publisher, word-of-mouth and a reputation for game balance is key to a sustained success.

As for high-level play in 5E, I enjoy it. In my home campaign, the players reached 18th level not too long ago and last week, several CR 8 assassins proved a challenge. I found in 3rd and 4th edition games, higher levels often meant that each encounter was a borderline TPK in order for it to challenge characters. For years, Cameron (co-founder of APG; Arnix here on the forums) and I often thought that AC should be lower and have Hit Points serve as the buffer. This allows lower CR creatures to threaten higher-level characters and lower-level players to affect higher-level opponents (the archmage "monster" is a perfect example). We were glad to see that concept in 5E.

There is a lot of subtlety in the game - the concentration rule for one and restricting the level of +X magic weapons in a playgroup (not everyone should have a +X weapon unless you want that super high-fantasy feel).

 

[ShadoWWW]

Are you planning to publish Feudal Lords Campaign Setting as a product for 5E? According to the adventure it seems great.

 

[ShadoWWW]

As I am reading the adventure, it seems super cool. Any other 5E adventure you will publish is an instant buy for me. Congrats!

 

[Jraynack]

Are you planning to publish Feudal Lords Campaign Setting as a product for 5E? According to the adventure it seems great.

Yes! I am sifting through our 3rd and 4th edition campaign guides and seeing how the mechanics should work in 5E. You should see articles that explore a 5E Feudal Lords setting in the following months.

Although, the next big project for the year is the Quick Start Guide our new deckbuilding rpg, the Aspyrais System. We hope it will offer a different role play experience for those interested in cards instead of dice.

 

[Jraynack]

As I am reading the adventure, it seems super cool. Any other 5E adventure you will publish is an instant buy for me. Congrats!

Thanks - it means a lot. I worked hard bringing all the elements together. I hope it evokes new experiences for players and sparks the imagination for Game Masters well beyond its pages.

While I enjoy adventure writing, I realize every GM makes their own mark on the game and may not mesh with my style of play. Therefore, it is good to hear when someone takes what I have written and makes it their own.

 

[EthanSental]

Bump - rpgnow now has the hardcover and softcover available.