Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall will be Level 11-20 adventure

Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall will be a high-level Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Today, Wizards of the Coast officially made the upcoming adventure and its companion rulebook Arcana Unleashed, available for pre-order. The listing for Deadfall reveals that it will be a Level 11-20 adventure, pitting players against the undead lich Szass Tam. The new adventure is billed as a "magical spy thriller" with Tam set to unleash a demonic undead horde upon the Forgotten Realms.

The adventure will also feature 20 dedicated maps, a Thay gazetteer, 6 "high-CR" creature statblocks, including Szass Tam, and 14 magic items.

Historically, Wizards of the Coast has shied away from high-level adventures for its 5th Edition campaigns, although there were a few exceptions like Dungeon of the Mad Mage and Vecna: Eve of Ruin. It's interesting that, for the first official campaign adventure for 5.5E, Wizards is opting for a high-level campaign as opposed to an entry level campaign.

Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall will be released on September 15th.

 

[WisdomOfWombats]

A high-level adventure where the player characters must stop a lich from completing its plans - where have I seen that before? I just can't remember...

 

[Zardnaar]

A high-level adventure where the player characters must stop a lich from completing its plans - where have I seen that before? I just can't remember...

Checks current campaign notes. Sobs quietly.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I would like to receive a complete, fully fleshed-out adventure, not just an outline. It is only 128 pages long. In its current form, it falls rather short.

This. My GM (the inimitable Hussar) has complained about exactly this problem with Out of the Abyss. The early conflicts have extensive information, preparation, and notes. The final conflict? Three pages. One map of Menzoberranzan--and that only at the highest level, an overview of the entire city. There apparently just isn't a map for the final battle...AND the writing is so weird, like you do the thing that should be the end of the story and then you go deal with Zuggtmoy and Juiblex.

Seems WotC is good at starting adventures and really struggles with ending them.

 

[Retros_x]

If I buy an adventure, I'd like some good, detailed content.

Complete agree. Yes the 2010's adventures were not time savers, I had to put a lot of time in prepping Storm Kings Thunder, Phandelver, Icespirepeak. But they gave me detailed creative work, I havent had to think of creative scenarios and settings etc. This is what I want from a published module.

 

[Zardnaar]

This. My GM (the inimitable Hussar) has complained about exactly this problem with Out of the Abyss. The early conflicts have extensive information, preparation, and notes. The final conflict? Three pages. One map of Menzoberranzan--and that only at the highest level, an overview of the entire city. There apparently just isn't a map for the final battle...AND the writing is so weird, like you do the thing that should be the end of the story and then you go deal with Zuggtmoy and Juiblex.

Seems WotC is good at starting adventures and really struggles with ending them.

I bought that one early.

Its kinda bad. Even to mine it.

 

[Remathilis]

Seems WotC is good at starting adventures and really struggles with ending them.

A problem with a lot of Genre fiction these days (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, The Boys).

 

[Reynard]

Maybe they have realized that plots don't actually work and what they are doing is giving people situations, NPCs and set pieces and letting the GM do the rest. I mean, it is a level 11-20 adventure, so no need to coddle the GM. And it is impossible to design an adventure at that level to cover all the possible bases for every potential party.

IF (and it is a big IF) that is what they are doing, I will be impressed.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

But if it is bad, is that what you want to support? It is like when people go see crappy Star Wars movies even though they are crappy. In the end, you are sending the wrong message.

Well how can I judge if it's bad if I don't read it? People who go see bad Star Wars movies also do not have preordained knowledge that they are bad.

 

[Reynard]

Well how can I judge if it's bad if I don't read it? People who go see bad Star Wars movies also do not have preordained knowledge that they are bad.

Reviews are a thing.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

Reviews are a thing.

Oh so I should just BLINDLY LISTEN to what I am told instead of thinking for myself and form my own opinions? What's next, I should trust famously untrustworthy review score aggregates?