Princes of the Apocalypse

What a great story line. I have played a lot of Pathfinder with our friends but have not ventured into D&D yet. I really wanted to try 5e and this story sounded like a lot of fun. I GM one of my pathfinder sessions and play regularly on another. I asked if my pathfinder session that I GM would like to switch to 5e and give it a go. Everyone agreed because we wanted something more into roleplay and not so much number crunching. The switch so far has been awesome! I honestly prefer 5e so much more than pathfinder. The battles flow much nicer and there is less time per player turn. Instead of adding "well I'm flanking so thats +2, then the bard has inspiration so another +2, then first attack is BAB of 11 while second is 3 and on an on and on" you just simply have your modifier to attack and disadvantage or advantage. So much easier. Now for the campaign, princes of the Apocalypse. We are about half way done so I will update once we finish but so far it has been amazing. I love the openness to this campaign. There are so many different paths the adventures can take that you can actually run the campaign with different people and have totally different experiences. That to me makes it so fun to DM because the group gets to decide how the story plays out, I am just here to facilitate. My favorite experience thus far, spoiler free, was the group commandeered a boat at a keep, saved the civilians by hiding in the druids spell, and bolted with some stolen books. It was really fun and all played out by them. The story is not quite all laid out I found, and I have to embellish a little bit to give it a little more flavor, but the bones are all there. The dungeons are well laid out, the new classes and spells are fun, the enemies from each group feel different in play styles and RP wise. I'm very excited to see this play out.

All I can say is simply WOW! I was wavering in my faith that Wizards of the Coast could truly pull me back into DND after the, in my opinion, failed 4th edition of the game. This adventure, set in the Forgotten Realms, is spectacular to say the least and is really an update to the "Temple of Elemental Evil" and a very well done one at that. The adventure/supplement also has a new race for 5th edition, the genasi, and new spells, magic items and monsters. One really cool feature is an appendix that give tips on how to run this in your home brew campaign as well as Dark Sun, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, and Eberron. The book is of good quality and the interior pages are like those of the core books. Well done!

I DM Encounters and Expeditions at my local gaming store. This season, expeditions is starting this adventure. I decided to buy the full adventure and work my way through it during Encounters as the provided material doesn't extend through the whole season. This adventure is excellent and provides a mostly open world for exploration and adventure. It isn't a "railroaded" experience as some adventures have been in the past and a source book with adventures that span from level 1 to 18 is excellent, not just for the current season, but as a source book for future campaigns. It is chapter driven, but each chapter provides a large span of adventures and multiple ways of dealing with the emerging elemental cults. There are some cons here. First, you have to have access to a Monster Manual as only the specialized creatures and NPCs are in this guide. Also, you need to download for free or purchase the Player Guide for Elemental Evil. You can find the download on the Wizards of the Coast site.In that guide, you get new races, spells, and mechanics for this adventure. (BTW, the site also has "unofficial" downloads for other worlds and realms if you desire them.) Also, this book looks like it is going to suffer from the same bad binding issues the Players Guide and DM Manual have all faced. I have been lucky so far with those two books, but this one looks to be headed down a bad path. If you buy this, watch for pages coming loose and then contact Wizard's or the seller as this is a known defect in some printings. Overall a good adventure and sourcebook, even if the book itself may have issues.

A campanha Princes of the Apocalypse (PtoA), é o segundo arco narrativo da 5ªed de Dungeons and Dragons, um evento transmídia desenvolvido simultaneamente como RPG, romances, e videogames, ele resgata elementos do clássico Temple of Elemental Evil situando ação no mundo de Forgotten Realms (mas possui orientações de adaptação para outros settings como Dark Sun e Eberron) e atualiza regras e conceitos da campana original à nova ediço, enfrentando os heróis a vilões poderosíssimos organizados em torno aos eixos elementais (terra, água, fogo e ar) e controlados por um antigo mal que se prepara para voltar a assolar o multiverso, Tharizdun apresentado como seu sigil, o Elder Elemental Eye. O livro propõe uma campanha épica que levará os personagens do nivel 3 até o 15, mas possui uma série de sidequests e pequenas sugestões de aventuras introdutórias (cáp.6) que podem ser enfrentadas por personagens iniciantes dando a eles a chance de subir de nível ao mesmo tempo em que vão desbravando o Vale do Dessarin e conhecendo os personagens locais. Seguindo o padrão de qualidade dos livros da 5ªEd de D&D, PtoA é um livrão de mais de 250 páginas coloridas e com uma arte fabulosa, complementada por uma galeria de arte conceitual e esboços de personagens, locais e objetos para aumentar a imersão no cenário. Como está sendo de praxe, os mapas mais importantes (como o do Vale do Dessarin), são apresentados em uma página, se quiser o mapa completo tem que adquirir a arte direto com o artista (no mundo civilizado, vc pode receber por correio o mapa com impressão de luxo e até em tecido! Aquí na selva é mais complicado…). O livro está dividido em sete capítulos: Rise of elemental evil, no qual se passam as orientações para o mestre sobre o uso do material, o conteúdo da campanha e as relações dela com o momento atual de Faerun, detalhando as atitudes e motivações das diferentes facções às quais podem pertencer os personagens jogadores; The Dessarin Valley, apresenta os locais e NPCs com os quais os personagens devem interatuar ao longo de suas aventuras, segredos, curiosidades e mistérios que podem envolver motivações particulares e “dar um estofo” extra ao dia a dia dos heróis. Os três capítulos seguintes Secrets of Sumber Hills, Air, Earth, Fire, Water e Temple of the Elder Elemental Eye são o núcleo da campanha, detalhando a sequência da aventura que vai passar por etapas temáticas focadas em cada elemento clássico e o enfrentamento climático para os mais persistentes. Alarums and Excursions parece um anexo da descrição do cenário, dando alternativas de aventuras curtas e sidequests podendo, inclusive, ser usado como introdução para personagens de nível 1 ou jogadores iniciantes (exatamente a maneira como aproveitei!), tem algumas sugestões básicas e propostas de aventuras one-shot bem satisfatórias que podem ser intercaladas ao longo da campanha para dar variedade. O capítulo 7, Monsters and Magic Items, complementa com monstros e items mágicos (duh!) focados nos aspectos elementais de D&D que surgirão ao londo da história e que acabarão inevitavelmente nas mãos dos heróis. Finalmente, os apêndices com novas magias e opções de raças novas como personagens jogáveis, no caso o Genasi e orientações de adaptação para outros mundos. Já que não teremos um manual de campanha exaustivo e detalhado nesta 5ªE (o Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, apenas descreve em traços muito gerais o mundo de FR), os livros de campanha cumprem o papel de descrever regiões específicas, como o Hoard of the Dragon Queen e The Rise of Tiamat fez com a Sword Coast, por exemplo. No PtoA, veremos em mais detalhes, com mapas de localidades e NPCs (muitos), a região situada ao norte de Waterdeep e ao longo da bacia do Rio Dessarin, uma região mercantil e bucólica e com ponto focal da aventura na vila de Red Larch, assolada por bandos de criaturas malignas que parecem atacar a esmo mas que chegam em número cada vez maior e mais organizadas. Como o PtoA é um livrão importado, o preço está bem salgado, mas o conteúdo compensa e muito, rendendo meses de aventuras com a turma e a arte e informação ainda podem complementar suas campanhas durante muitos anos, servindo como material de referência. https://danielcenoz.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/princes-of-the-apocalypse-resenha/

Compré tres libros y llegaron en excelente tiempo y estado. Totalmente recomendado para los DM que quieren llevar su aventura a lugares inimaginables.

Not an easy to read book, as it is very in depth, and the information contained within it does not always read A, to Z. You have to search for information a lot of the time, and reminds me so much of the good `old school` days of gaming back in the 1980`s 1st Edition era of Dungeons and Dragons. The Dungeon Master is e-x-p-e-c-t-e-d to put some effort into running this game.. so its not really an open book - read once - and start play, sort of a deal. The Dungeon Master is expected to study this book in depth, probably many times over ( I`d advice making copious personal notes), comprehend what you have read, and THEN.... you will have one of the best role playing adventures seen in many years of gaming. Princes of the Apocalypse, for 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons is a classic adventure. I predict it will one day go down as one of the truly great iconic books in gaming history. I truly cannot urge 5th Edition Dungeon Masters strongly enough to go buy it for themselves. Incidentally, the title does not make it blindingly clear, but Princes of the Apocalypse is in fact a complete re-write of the classic Adventure Module “Temple of Elemental Evil”.... only its actually better written than the classic original. The artwork is astounding, the maps are VERY well drawn and detailed, the NPC characters are interesting and enticing, and the adventure itself is amazing. The book even contains a host of early level (1 to 3) "Side Quests” providing the Dungeon Master with multiple choices how and where he can start his own campaign. Princes of the Apocalypse is a blindingly good adventure, but it is far more even than the sum of its parts. This book provides the Dungeon Master with an entire campaign far larger than just the material contained within. It is a sandbox with endless appeal and game repeat value.

While it stands as part of the fairly daunting "Elemental Evil" campaign setting, "Princes" still comes complete with all the essentials required for it to serve as a meatier alternative to any starting one-shot or the Fifth Edition's own starter campaign, the Lost Mines of Phandelver. There's a short introductory adventure designed for beginner players or reasoned veterans starting with lowbies, its endpoint transitioning into "Princes" proper. There's enough on offer for a long and richly detailed set of gaming sessions - I'm six games in as the DM and it feels like my players are barely scratching the surface. Of course, that's dependent on your own group's preferred tone or speed. As could be expected, the sourcebook packs all the needed variables that allow you to alter the pacing or style of the overall narrative. "Princes" can be as atmospheric or as combat-focused as you'd like, with the provided encounter tables and dungeon maps allowing most DMs to focus on gameplay, rather than preparation. If anything, I'd suggest keeping this aside for groups that manifest a clear interest in a longform campaign. There's a lot of meat to this and it does offer support to new players, but there's no real potential here as an introductory one-shot. If that's what you're looking for, pick up the Starter Set's Mines of Phandelver.

Great book!