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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9588433" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/pnQWFcQ.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 585px" /> Chapter 3: Under the SunSandy deserts, rocky badlands, and various other kinds of desolate wastelands, these one-shots take place in areas where the environment itself is a deadly threat all its own. Some of the more notable adventures include Flower Power, where a druid hires the PCs to retrieve a single flower petal from a legendary plant (any more and the plant will die) in order to brew a year’s worth of healing potions, overcoming wild animals and rival scavengers who would take the entire plant itself; No-Horse Race, where the PCs compete in a racing tournament where the vehicles are magical crystal-powered wagons, complete with three separate rolls so that multiple PCs can do interesting things other than drive, such as repairing the power crystals and shooting competition as the gunner; The Tomb’s Tome is our mapped dungeon crawl, where the PCs need to return a stolen book to the mummy within so that the undead reverses a dire curse placed upon a local village; Law and Disorder, an escort mission where the PCs need to safely transport whistleblowers aware of poor safety and labor standards at a mine as its corporate owners arrange them to be assassinated by an oni that stalks the party overland; and Chasing Dreams, where a missing girl believed kidnapped by a monster actually went of her own accord to find a couatl in order to receive its tutelage to obtain divine powers. This consists of a linear dungeon crawl with puzzle rooms that test virtues such as a Trial of Respect where knocking on a locked door opens it but attempting to force one’s way in unleashes a damage-dealing trap.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/ASpfPW5.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 543px" /> Chapter 4: Into the WoodsStories centering on forests are an ever-popular element of Western fiction, from foreboding lands home to wicked fey and vicious beasts to scenic realms of primeval beauty. The one-shots within run a diverse gamut of adventure types and themes. Curtain Call is a murder mystery where a member of a theater troupe of traveling satyrs find one of their number dead, and the PCs need to piece together various clues to find out the killer and their motivation. Unhappy Birthday is a more comedic adventure where a friendly ogre pleads for the PCs to find replacement birthday presents for his pouty son, and is an open-ended time-based mission where the party can visit different locations in the woods to retrieve gifts, such as a jar of glowing beetles that are dangerous in a swarm and honey mushrooms that grow nearby poisonous fungi that act as a proximity-based trap. Welcome Home is a map-based dungeon crawl where a farmer hires the PCs to clear out a neglected mansion they inherited, and is filled with the legacy of a married couple, whose wife turned to dark magic in order to revive her deceased husband. Trouble Brewing is a magical distillery that is suffering a series of dangerous disasters as the PCs arrive, and they need to act quick to safe bystanders and the facility from a variety of hazards such as haywire constructs, scalding steam vents, and overflowing cider making the floors slippery. And two adventures see the PCs fighting alongside good-aligned monsters against threats to nature. The first is Foes In the Foliage, where the PCs are aided by a treant to stop the plot of wicked dryads who seek to gain mastery of the rainforest by assassinating a sapling treant next in line as the jungle’s caretaker. The second is Nightmare Glade, where a group of nightmares are corrupting a holy glade, and the PCs have to overcome magical traps and insane wildlife to get to the glade and fight the nightmares, where the guardian unicorn arrives to help the PCs fight once they kill all but the last nightmare.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/Dftaoi8.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 438px" /> Chapter 5: Up in the HillsFrom gently sloping ridges to vertical snow-capped peaks, this chapter covers adventures where the earth meets the sky. The first adventure, Hilltop Herd, is your tpical low-level stakes “fetch quest,” where the PCs rustle up escaped mountain goats to bring back to a village farm. The goats must be rescued from hairy situations such as a hungry bear to a villager mistaking the PCs for being cattle rustlers. But the Wizard and Oz stands out, where the PCs are hired by a mage to rescue her kidnapped pseudodragon from a rival mage as part of an escalating (yet non-violent) feud, and in addition to the rescue can raid the other wizard’s tower for treasure. Come Home to Roost is our mapped dungeon crawl, where a group of exhausted and frustrated travelers accompanying the PCs are displeased to find out that the only inn for miles has been overrun by a family of cockatrices, and must be cleared out if the PCs hope to and a nice reward from the inn’s owners…to say nothing of getting shuteye outside the elements! Up In Smoke involves a group of reactionary azers and salamanders known as the Firebrands seeking to destroy a gnomish village by triggering a volcano, and the PCs are given an iron golem mecha to pilot as they attack a legion of Firebrands. Aerial Outlaws involves the party taking to giant eagle mounts in order to dispose of some wyvern-riding bandits menacing a mountain pass.Thoughts So Far: One Shot Wonders continues to provide us with creative and offbeat adventures. I particularly like how several of them incorporate good-aligned monsters into encounters, particularly Aerial Outlaws in the use of aerial combat. I do feel that having the unicorn cavalry show up only when there’s one enemy left in Nightmare Glade can feel a bit disappointing if one’s player groups are the types to feel as though their glory is being hogged or stolen. My favorite adventures in these chapters are No-Horse Race and Up in Smoke; the former in that you don’t see many racing mini-games in 5th Edition and one that has more involved tasks than seeing whoever maintains the highest movement speed. And I like Up in Smoke due to the novelty of the PCs piloting a golem mecha.Join us next time as we depart for classic dungeon-delving setpieces Down Underground and head into civilization in Around Town!</blockquote>

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