NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Krypter" data-source="post: 6745522" data-attributes="member: 15016">4 out of 5 rating for Out of the AbyssI've been following events in the Underdark since the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide from AD&D days, and I've been very happily surprised at the quality of writing and detail in this latest version of the Underdark for 5E. The locations are superbly described, with intriguing fungi, tonnes of encounters, clever NPCs and unique adventuring locales that could be plug-and-played in any other underground scenario with ease. The atmosphere of mystery and brooding, unplumbed dangers emanates from every page and underground cities such as Gracklstugh, Neverlight Grove and Blingdenstone come to life like never before. The map of Menzoberranzan is particularly good. The only weakness is the main plot, which is both under-described (no summary, you have to read  the whole book several times to get it all) and at the higher levels somewhat vague and sandbox-y. The first 60% of the book is meaty with plenty of detail (sometimes too much) and muscular guidelines for survival, lighting, food, etc.; but the latter 40% becomes too vague for inexperienced GMs, with very thin encounter descriptions and loose anything-goes suggestions for what happens. This is to be expected at higher levels of play, but based on XP I just don't see the PCs advancing to levels 13, 14, or 15 at the rate of progression in the book. The GM will have to spend a LOT of time padding encounters, pulling all the tiny plot threads from 8 chapters back into a coherent whole, or the adventure will quickly go off on a wild tangent. This is not a campaign for beginner GMs. The demon lords are also under-used. Once again, to be expected given their challenge ratings, but still, I wish they could have played a more pivotal role in each location rather than just being scary backdrops menacing the NPCs in the background. That said, it's still one of my favorite Underdark books, something I will refer to for years if not decades to come, even if I never run this particular adventure. It's a fantastic underground resource full of faerzress-lit wonders.</blockquote>

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