D&D Beyond

Fantasy Grounds

Roll20

Princes of the Apocalypse takes place across the North of Faerûn in the Forgotten Realms.

Where does Princes of the Apocalypse take place?

Princes of the Apocalypse is set in the year 1491 DR in the Forgotten Realms.

When does Princes of the Apocalypse take place?

Princes of the Apocalypse will see players go from levels 1-15 as they explore it's story.

PROS:
-The scope of this module is really great, a true classic save the world from evil style adventure.
-The maps and art are a lot better than other similar modules. More color, more detail, etc.
-It has a lot of dungeons and locations to pull from.
-It fits great with a specific style of play, what some might consider call "old-school dnd" (i.e. navigate dangerous territory, kick bad guy butt, and be heroes).

CONS:
-It cannot feasibly be played as written without a huge time commitment. If you try to play it as written, there are effectively 13 dungeons that players need to get through in one way or another to complete the main quest. Granted, some dungeons are smaller than others and it's possible to bypass certain parts of the dungeons depending on player choices. When you consider that's the bare minimum for the main quest, not including travel, additional plot events, exploration, character development, or anything unrelated to the main plot...it's a lot of sessions.
-In my experience, it requires a great deal of customization to keep it fun and engaging. For the aforementioned reason, it's easy to feel like a slog when fighting through and traveling between so many dungeons.
-The key villains and NPCs are very one-note in terms of both character and abilities. Other than the bosses, most enemies do not have as much elemental power/flavor as you might expect.

For context, I'm still on my first time running this campaign. I intentionally managed to skip several of the dungeons, we're at 100 sessions, and we are ALMOST done. I look forward to running it again with what I know now. As it stands, I cannot imagine a way to run this without circumventing a lot of what the module prescribes and/or adding a lot more flavor/pizzazz to keep it interesting.

Ace the GM

The first signs are always small: bandits on the roads, pirates on the Dessarin River, monster sightings throughout the Sumber Hills - all too close to the lands of civilized folk. Are these events all some bizarre coincidence, or is there a deeper reason behind them?

Working through its prophets, the Elder Elemental Eye has emerged to spread chaos across the Forgotten Realms. How will the adventurers prevent absolute devastation?

Princes of the Apocalypse

Dungeons & Dragons 5e

Why wait for magic items when you can build your own? The Artificer makes use of tools and science to make magic. This gives you a grab bag of abilities from healing to damage dealing to quickly making a necessary tool. Artificers can enchant normal items to take on magical properties, outfitting their team with powered-up gear or giving themselves a fantasy Iron Man suit. 

Artificer

This one’s for those who love to play the undying tank in video games. Barbarians use their rage to perform great feats of strength and halve incoming damage. You can also channel the protection of the world tree, bond with animals, or just kick butt like Grog from Vox Machina. It’s a simple but rewarding playstyle, one that’s perfect for new players who don’t want to get into the complexities of magic. 

Barbarian

Your inner theatre kid probably brought you to the Bard. This class uses a variety of performance styles to cast spells and inspire other characters. Let your imagination run wild as you unleash your power through dance, song, spirit calling, or sword dancing, to name a few. You’ll be charming enough to talk your way out of a fight, but tricky enough to hinder opponents once the fists start flying. 

Bard

MMO players might see Cleric and think dedicated healer, but that’s not the case. While a Cleric can harness powerful healing magic, their full suite of abilities depend on their god. As such, they can wield damaging radiance, craft illusions bestowed by trickster gods, or become the hammer of a war deity. Clerics end up with a nice balance of damage, utility, and sturdiness. 

Cleric

When you gotta have an animal companion (or twenty) in every game, Druid is for you. Druids draw upon nature’s fury to heal allies, bind enemies, and transform into animals themselves. You can also summon a pet or many deadly pets at higher levels. Become a feral freedom fighter by playing a Druid. 

Druid

If your power fantasy is being the big guy with a big sword, look no further than Fighter. This classic DnD class gives you all the weapons and straightforward rules for using them. Just hit the bad guys a lot. If you want to get tactical, some Fighters can use fancy maneuvers or magic. Whether you want to be swift like Legolas, strong like Guts from Berserk, or versatile like Link from Legend of Zelda, Fighter’s got you covered. 

Fighter

The martial arts fantasy is alive and well in the Monk. While Fighters often rely on heavy armor and lots of weapons, the Monk is meant to move swiftly and strike with many blows. DnD Monks wield an inner power that’s not quite magic but still lets you perform all sorts of gravity-defying maneuvers. As more abilities unlock, you can become a shadowy assassin, heal with your hands, or wield all four elements like the Avatar. 

Monk

The image of a knight in shining armor is iconic to medieval fantasy, and the Paladin delivers with magical flair. They wear armor like the Fighter and can heal like the Cleric, but pack an extra punch with their signature smite. This attack lights your weapon up with divine power and lets you roll extra dice which always feels nice. You can design your Paladin as a holy warrior of justice, guardian of nature, or tortured warrior of vengeance. 

Paladin

Become a lone warrior of the wilds, a wandering blade that protects the fringes of society from evil. The Ranger commands nature magic with pure survival skill to guide the party on long journeys. In battle, they wield weapons with precision to hunt down targets. With level ups, you can boost your Ranger’s abilities with fey powers, shadow magic, or give them a beast companion. 

Ranger

A good stealth character can tear enemies apart from the shadows or discover secrets that stop the battle before it even begins. The Rogue is where you go to get that fantasy. You can choose from a variety of skills to customize your Rogue, such as poisoning your blades to become an assassin, learning magic for illusions, or just being a crafty thief. 

Rogue

The Sorcerer class leans into the glass cannon build popular in video games. Their health is on the lower side and they don’t wear armor, but they cast some of the most powerful spells in the game. Sorcerers also have magical mutations that let you empower your spells beyond those of other spellcasters. You also get to choose the source of your magic, be it eldritch mystery, pure chaos, or the blood of dragons. 

Sorcerer

If you like your magic creepy and mysterious, check out the Warlock. These characters get magic from a patron, which can range from a demonic pact to an unknowable elder god. This unique approach to magic grants warlocks a few spells that they specialize greatly in. When a Warlock takes their turn in combat, everyone notices. Warlocks are also fantastic for roleplay as they have a built-in storyline with their patron. 

Warlock

The original spellcaster, and the one who gets all the spells. Wizards don’t get divine help or a mysterious patron, so they have to learn magic the old-fashioned way: by reading. This allows Wizards to gain more spells than any other class as long as they can find books. Wizards can come to the rescue in almost any situation, as their magic can save allies, fool enemies, boost physical abilities, learn secrets, and blow things up. 

Princes of the Apocalypse

Frequently asked questions about Princes of the Apocalypse

D&D Beyond

Fantasy Grounds

Roll20

Find a Princes of the Apocalypse group and Start Playing today!

Princes of the Apocalypse

Frequently asked questions about Princes of the Apocalypse

Where does Princes of the Apocalypse take place?

When does Princes of the Apocalypse take place?

What level is Princes of the Apocalypse?

D&D Beyond

Fantasy Grounds

Roll20

Find a Princes of the Apocalypse group and Start Playing today!