So let me preface this before I even dive in. I don't like to review modules that I have not run. Reading them is great, but you don't know how they play until you play it. Also, I give WoTC a lot of crap...most of it pretty justified, plus most of the employees there would toss me into a gulag based on my political views if given the chance...but is a totally impartial impression of my first quick read through on "The Wild Beyond the Witchlight".
There will be some minor spoilers here, so proceed with caution.....this is your warning players....seriously.....don't read this if you intend to play in this adventure, your DM will thank you and some of the spoilers are worth finding through play.
OK....all clear....here we go. This is a level 1-8 adventure for 5th edition D&D, published by Wizards of the Coast, this is their annual marquee adventure release. The book is available in both a standard and collectors edition copy with alternate art. The guts of the book remain the same through both copies. The setting is agnostic and can be placed in any game setting with little difficulty, this is a welcome change and I'm glad to see it. The Sword Coast has been beaten to death at this point.
Two new character races are presented: the fairy and the harengon. The summaries are brief, no real background or roleplay nuggets. The fairy starts with flying...yikes....and the harengon is anthropomorphic rabbit person. A few character background and trinket options specific to the adventure are presented and then it is onto the adventure itself. There the standard appendix goodies of new monster stats, NPC stats, magical items along with a NPC card section which is a new feature highlighting the personality and ambitions of many of the notable NPC's found throughout the adventure. I wish this on the same page as of the adventure where said NPC was encountered as opposed to a appendix area, but step in the right direction. Lastly there a few organizational charts provided to jot down the interactions of the players throughout the adventure as choices as consequences and possible rewards, I really freaking love this despite it being a lot of DM work....just note, please for the love god, don't write in your actual book....just photo copy or print this out haha.
To start the adventure there are a couple of lead hooks presented for use. One is magical man can't magic, hires players to go fix....blah....the other is more interesting, the players having previously encountered / visited the carnival lost something of note and have returned to seek it back. Go this route, there are fun roleplay criteria addons applied with having lost this "thing" and is certainly a more unique approach to kick things. The Witchlight carnival is detailed fully in chapter 1 of the adventure, presenting games, encounters, timeline of events and mood meter that the players impact by their choices and play. Really great stuff here, the games are unique and fun and I can imagine the players venturing every which way to try their hands in all that is presented here. I'll make a quick note that the maps in the adventure are beautifully illustrated, but it is definitely a tone shift from the standard grid/hex maps of previous adventures. Be ready to do lots of theatre of the mind as you run this module.
As things unfold and are revealed at the carnival, the players are presented the option to venture into the Feywild to further their search for their missing items. Chapters 2,3 and 4 detail the area of the Feywild called Presmire which is been broken up into three sections, each ruled by a different NPC, the areas are Hither, Thither, and Yon. I'll really keep the spoilers here low, but each section is unique in atmosphere and environment, presenting the journey through the realm to the eventual encounter with that realms lord. For the players to set things right, they must venture to all three domains and encounter the said lord. The domains themselves are very sandboxy in presentation, but there is still the driving plot which the players can follow as needed, encountering numerous flavorful NPC's and monsters throughout. There is an enchanted and fairy tale vibe in many of these which I adore....a bullywug kingdom ripe with political intrigue, a "lost boy" settlement living atop their treehouse on a roaming treant, and a heroic dandelion chasing his beautiful bee lover...flavorful, intriguing and memorable. Side quests can derail the players as they seek allies and items to aid their quest, but all funnel back to the end goal of seeking the lord of the domain.
The last chapter of the book covers what I could call the more dungeon crawling part of the adventure: The Palace of Heart's Desire. Here the players must venture to finally free the true queen of the realm and return the Feywild to its "normal" state. Break out your 80's action figures because the League of Malevolence is back, albeit randomly. Warduke and Kelek are up to no good as usual...the players must venture through the enchanted gardens and castle, tackling difficult puzzles and avoiding a legit scary for a 7th level character Jabberwock that haunts the castle. With luck and some careful planning the characters may even get a great Easter Egg reveal of who the queen of Presmire actually is.
Overall, wow, I'm a huge fan of this one. This may be the best 5E adventure to date and I'm shocked honestly, I has such low expectations here, but I seriously want to run this one. It has been noted by many others, that the book presents alternative means to success outside of "hitting it with the axe" on every encounter and this is true. You could in theory do a full passive play through here with good roleplay and wits....to me, this seems unlikely, but I bet a number of groups will go this route or try....I would note that you certainly want to do a session 0 with the players to go over the feel and style of adventure you will be undertaking here, this isn't your standard heroes of violence scenario. As noted before, DM's will need to be heavy note takers as actions early on affect many as the adventure progresses all the way up to the end.
I will eat my words here, great work WoTC for a change, more of this please...at least before they push the new edition changes onto us haha!!!
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