Before delving into the intricacies of the review of Micro Dungeons, a small but very interesting collection of dungeons for D&D5e, we would like to thank ND Hobbies for sending us all the material to be able to tell you about it.
If at the end of this overview, if you’d like to buy one or more of the volumes in the series, know that you can find them directly in the official store at about 5 dollars (about 5 euros).
One year after the first publication, ND Hobbies has decided to collect all the dungeons already seen in a compendium that contains as many as 50. This volume can also be purchased from their store at a price of $29.90 (about 30 euros).
As we said, Micro Dungeon is a short selection of small dungeons for D&D5e, presented in a fresh, immediate guise and with an old-school conception.
The product is designed for novice players and Dungeon Masters of the world’s most famous role-playing game but can be easily approached by expert groups. Each dungeon can be played in a matter of hours allowing for an immediate approach to fill an evening or to intersperse longer campaigns.
Product Versatility
It certainly happened to everyone to find themselves, at some point, unable to carry on the gargantuan Dungeon & Dragons campaign that had begun with all the emphasis it was due. In turn, some of the players have other commitments or, simply, the complexity of the plot (or its repetitiveness) begins to tire a little.
In other cases you need a quick dungeon to set up a one-shot. Or there is a need to show a new player how to approach the game.
In all these cases and many more, Micro Dungeon certainly comes to the rescue of Dungeon Masters and playgroups.
5 Tiny Dungeons
As we will see in this review, Micro Dungeon is an extremely specialized specialist product. It is a small volume of about twenty pages and presents 5 dungeons to be entered in a matter of minutes.
In fact, this volume includes Chapel of the Rift God, Nightcrystal Keep, The Underground Garden, Heads of the Hydra and The Molten Sanctuary.
Each dungeon includes a map, an introduction to the adventure and all encounters. There is no shortage of traps or puzzles for the different rooms. In addition, each dungeon includes at least one new monster specific to that adventure.
It is obviously not possible to show here, to avoid spoilers, the entirety of the dungeons. However, I would like to underline that each of the proposed itineraries has a simple and at the same time interesting structure. While never featuring more than 8 rooms, each dungeon offers interesting challenges and great versatility in terms of discounts, traps and treasures.
I particularly appreciated that the texts contain direct hypertext links to the publisher page or to the appendix, where all the stat blocks for the new monsters are present.
Micro Dungeons Aesthetics review
All the twenty pages of this collection are extremely pleasant to browse. The layout compresses each dungeon into a single page, making it very easy for those who approach it to have everything under their eyes.
Even the complexity of the maps, designed quite clearly to be used by the dungeon master, are however extremely simple to transport on a sheet of paper, squared or not.
The choice of print colours (sand dotted with red and black) makes everything particularly easy to recognize. Each dungeon, presented in the middle of the page, is then surrounded by information boxes; thanks to the symbols on the map, they detail the description of the room, any traps and treasures.
If the Dungeon Master wishes to include one or more of these scenarios in his own campaign and does not find a match with the difficulty level of the encounters, he can refer to the appendix. In this section, you will also find the tables to make the encounters more or less dangerous. This is a particularly functional and intelligent choice, which makes the product much more versatile than it might seem by looking at its size.
Even the images, few but decidedly punctual in terms of aesthetics and detail, are in perfect agreement with the type of project.
Micro Dungeons Review Conclusions
However small and inexpensive, I believe this volume can be a great tool. Its versatility allows it to become part of every Dungeon Master’s ready-to-wear toolbox; starting from the novices up to the most experienced. It is an essential and easily transportable product.
I am convinced that it can really turn a mediocre session for the better, and help newbies to approach the most famous RPG in the world.
If you enjoyed this Micro Dungeons review, stay tuned for more RPGs!
Thanks to Max Moon for sending us a review copy of Fairyland. It is a system-neutral old school psychedelic micro-setting; thanks to it, author Kyle Reimergartin introduces us to the world of fairies, such as pixie and goblins.
If this manual arouses your interest, know that it is available on the official store at the price of $20 (about €19 at the moment) in its physical version; the digital format is included in the purchase.
The world of fairy creatures can be wonderful or unforgiving, a sweet dream or a terrible nightmare; pay attention: we are going to the fairy kingdom!
The Charm of the Fairy Kingdom
An essential aspect of this manual is the charm. Just like the creatures featured on its almost fifty pages, a first glance is enough to fall in love with it.
The soft cover has a black base and the illustration comes in several variants to choose from at the time of purchase; they are all iridescent colors, which create hypnotic light tricks.
The internal illustrations are instead all in black and white, with a bizarre and delightfully archaic style. Sometimes grotesque, sometimes graceful and sometimes disturbing figures and scenes alternate. Some images take up almost a full page, while others are as small as a fairy.
Max Moon’s artistic and design choices work perfectly with the proposed themes, giving a further touch of magic to the contents; the layout on a single column and the clear (but refined) font, however, also allow an excellent legibility. The combination of eccentric and classic makes this work unique.
However, the charm cannot be limited to aesthetics and for this reason now, in this review, we will get lost in the contents of Fairyland. In this regard, I really appreciated the list of works that inspired the author, placed at the end of the manual. This allows us to understand what influences he has had and to explore them ourselves in case we are enchanted by them. Among them we find, for example, Dictionary of Fairies by Katharine Briggs and Pan’s Labyrinth (by Guillermo del Toro).
Fairyland Locations Review
This setting is system-neutral, although any old school RPG is fine, especially those with eccentricities. I like this choice because the introduction explains that entering these lands is never trivial and can generate truly unexpected events. Here we see what is normally invisible to the eye.
Those who visit these places will never be the same again; sometimes the characters may encounter creatures that have trodden the fairy ground and may have memories of them, whether true or false. Here a key element of the manual comes into play: the tables; with a die roll (made by the master or by the players, depending on the circumstances) an aspect of the narration is randomly determined.
First of all, however, a question arises: how do you enter? The possible answers are many; through a door in a rock, the trunk of a tree, a field of flowers… Crossing the threshold will not always be a choice!
The Secrets of This Realm
And when you start walking these lands beware: the little folk tend to take great joy and amusement in setting weird traps! They are often not mechanical, but they tend to use the magic that permeates this realm to confuse the senses and deceive the unfortunate.
Sometimes fey use these means to conceal their most precious treasures. Here too random tables help us and allow us to generate many original ideas. Each object belonging to a treasure can be characterized by various peculiarities; visible effects, hidden qualities, enchantments, curses and engravings. Some combinations are truly bizarre; imagine the face of an adventurer wearing a crystal and beautiful helmet, only to discover that it cannot be removed and that it gets heavier every day! There are also a few examples of ready-made items, but honestly the thrill of randomness seemed more appealing to me.
I also really enjoyed the random fairy tomes generator. I can’t wait for one of my players to browse the Catalogue of Magic Worms and Forgotten Dreams!
After all, however, adventurers often have more courage (or silliness) than prudence and could still decide to steal these goods. Be careful, sometimes the inhabitants may not like it, while in other cases the objects themselves will react.
The Inhabitants of Fairyland
The protagonists of Fairyland (and of this review) are its inhabitants, the little creatures belonging to the folklore of many cultures. They are known by many names: goblins, elves, pixies, imps, and more. Their nature totally reflects that of the place where they live; they are fickle, deceitful and fond of disturbing jokes.
The same chaos is also evident in their appearance. I loved the random tables that allow you to give unique and bizarre appearances to the fairies, choosing each body part individually. I did a test, just to satisfy my curiosity; now I absolutely have to play my little being with a catlike head, a feathered body and insect legs in some adventure! One thing is certain: I’ll have to be careful with the iron; the manual clearly explains the nefarious effects of this material on the fey.
The Fairyland manual also includes interesting notions about their uses and customs, which I will now summarize in this review. Another table allows us to generate very different ways of saying; obviously, given the randomness, they risk not having a precise meaning. But you know, the wisdom of the small people must be interpreted! Another section of this work offers us an insight into the whimsical fairy magic; its effects are much more useful in discouraging curious visitors and amusing the fairies, rather than becoming truly useful resources for adventurers. In fact there is also a section dedicated to magical maladies; it will be fun to tell a player that their character can only speak in rhyme now on!
A die roll also reveals where they are and what they are doing when encountered. In case you want something a little more structured, there are also some ready-made circumstances. They are very simple, but also interesting and original.
Experience the Magical Realm
In case this isn’t enough and the strangeness of this world intimidates you, fear not: the author has thought of you too. At the end of the manual there is a system-neutral a premade adventure: The House of the Sunken Stars. The characters, following unsuspecting circumstances, arrive at a house built inside a huge oak stump (represented by Andy Webber’s magnificent map); inside they find many magical beings, who invite them to stay on the occasion of a planetary conjunction. In exchange for treasures and information, however, a request is made to them; the inhabitants ask for help in removing Blobby Things from the cellar. The plot is simple, the characters you meet are bizarre and described exhaustively, just like the rooms of the house and the possible endings. A very interesting adventure!
Inside there are various dangers and with them the probability that a character will die is high. The manual, however, also in this case helps us. In fact, a table shows us the effects of the fairy world on the deceased; how scenic can it be, for example, the appearance of a fairy from the heart of the corpse?
A final die roll reveals what happens if the characters manage to return to their world. There are many options, but the situation will not go back to how it was before. Among popular superstition, lack of memories and permanent influences from the fairy world, narrative cues abound.
Fairyland Review Conclusions
Finally, there are two summary diagrams; one is dedicated to the contents of the adventure, the other to all the setting material present in this work. A soundtrack is also available and you can find it here; after listening to it while reading the manual, I can say that all the songs are perfectly themed and further enhance the immersion.
After carefully reading Fairyland in order to write this review, I can state that the tabletop RPGs that can best support this setting are Mörk Borg, Troika!, Old School Essentials and Dungeon Crawl Classics. In general, an immediate and old school system is needed, one capable of leaving a lot of room for the possibilities of the chaos of the fairy world.
I recommend this manual to anyone who wants to have a classic roleplaying experience, but with strong, bizarre features; I consider it very suitable in particular for all fans of small creatures belonging to the folklore of many populations!
If you enjoyed this Fairyland review, keep following us to discover more of Max Moon’s works!
The Dream Prison makes the second adventure produced by Menagerie Press I have receivedto review (the first was Adul, City of Gold). Again this is an adventure for D&D5e for character of levels 6-8. You can buy The Dream Prison on DrivethruRPG in PDF for 11,99€ or softcover for 14,99€.
The value is in the little things
We are talking about a 41-pages adventure with a very classical structure. In some ways, I would call it trivial. But, as I often point out, it is very difficult to write a truly original, surprising, and well-articulated adventure. Most of the stories that are told at the table of an RPG have characteristics attributable to a few archetypes. The strength is in providing details that make the setting and situations fresh and engaging. Dream Prison excels at this.
The initial situation is well framed and there are many details that accompany the Game Master in completely painting the picture as he gradually reveals it to the players. It is an imaginative and dreamlike adventure, in which the descriptions and the environment reflect the creativity and talent of the author, William Murakami-Brundage. There are quality NPCs whose characterizations are relevant, not just an end in themselves.
The facets described open up the game to player choices, and grant the opportunity to embellish the story. I was very pleased to read an original and ingenious use of riddles, here. In general there is a lot of inventiveness and colorful characterization. Not only are there creatures created or revisited for the adventure, but other details are also provided, such as a list of game world idioms, which really make a difference in generating a unique atmosphere.
Spoiler-free plot review of The Dream Prison
The structure of the adventure is quite simple. In fact the main goal is a rescue. The PCs are engaged and pointed in the right direction, then journey, information gathering, dungeon, and ending. We are talking about a rather clear railroad that leaves little room for variation. Most of the adventure is experienced outside the Material Plane, in very special places. The imagination and the wealth of details allow a pleasant journey and the status quo that is created by the end of the adventure can be a good excuse to continue to explore the possible consequences in play.
In my opinion, the only significant flaw is the lack of any real climax in the finale. As a player, I like to get a shock from time to time, whether it’s a twist or the expectation created by an event or a clash that gradually approaches. Reading The Dream Prison I had the impression that I would have enjoyed playing it a lot, but at the end I would have missed a quid before the conclusion.
Art and layout
The layout is standard, both in the two-column format and in the management of fonts and text boxes. But the illustrations are not a strong point. The full page images are cute, with their light and color palette they help to effectively invoke the world for the storyteller. As for the rest, they are fillers more or less related to the text without shame or praise. On the other hand, this is an adventure to be played, not a manual to leaf through.
Maps are provided along with the adventure, in double jpg and tiff format (to have the drawing on a transparent background). There are also digital tokens, a detail always appreciated, especially under these circumstances, when online role-playing is almost a necessity.
Final considerations about Dream Prison
Dream Prison is certainly a good product. A simple texture has been greatly enriched with many original details. There are well-balanced explanations – without being boring or pedantic – that can help you understand situations. It allows you to experience an adventure with a context and environment different from the usual ones. It provides the Game Master with notions and tools to create beautiful backgrounds in broad brushstrokes and, interesting ideas with little effort. Compared to the excellent price of the physical version, I find that of the PDF alone a bit high. Even at this price, however, the overall quality justifies the expense.
If you liked this review, keep following us to be informed about other products like The Dream Prison!
Mi è arrivato fresco fresco un Kickstarter che ho sostenuto a maggio. Avevano messo come stima dicembre 2019. Non so se riusciranno a farcela con il cartaceo (io ho fatto solo il digitale), ma la copia digitale è arrivata il 27 novembre. L’avevo sostenuto perchè il progetto era presentato veramente molto bene: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/massifpress/lancer/description L’art sembrava davvero ben fatta e l’impaginazione pulita ed efficiente. Il manuale da 430 pagine che mi è arrivato corrisponde a quanto promesso. Bello, colorato, con illustrazioni molto belle e un’impaginazione chiara. Di che gioco si tratta? E’ diviso in due: il tema comune è ruolare piloti di grandi mecha e si suddivide in un gioco più narrativo per le parti fuori dai robottoni e uno tecnico per il combattimento vero e proprio. Non mi dilungo perchè la Massif Games permette il download del manuale pre-release, senza art ma ricco di contenuti a questo link: https://massif-press.itch.io/lancer-core-book
I have been sent a fresh new kickstarter I backed in May. It was told to be ready on december 2019. I don’t know if they will manage to respect the deadline for the physical copy (I only pledged the digital PDF), but the final PDF arrived yesterday 27 november. I backed it because the project was presented very nicely:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/massifpress/lancer/description
The art seemed really impressive and the visualization clean and efficient. The 430 pages manual I got keeps that promises. Beautiful, colorful, remarkably illustrated, clear pages. What is the game about? It’s split in two: the common theme is roling mecha pilot and it’s divided in a more narrative game for the out-of-mecha parts and a technical game for the combat.
You can learn by yourself because Massif Games lets you download the pre-release manual without art but full of contents at this link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/massifpress/lancer/description
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