DM Travis

I would say that Doc's biggest strength is his ability to tell a heckuva story, but it's more than that. Doc values telling stories that include everyone at the table. He's a writer at heart, and sometimes that can come with a temptation to tell the whole story yourself - but that is not the case here. He's feverishly interested in collaborating on the story, juking and jiving depending on who does something with it, and delivering a polished masterpiece complete with betrayal, heart, and drama. If you like to roll up your sleeves and collaborate on a story - Doc's for you. It's also worth mentioning he has a firm grasp on the D&D 5e ruleset. He respects the rules as they are written, but knows when to throw them out the window to reward a player's creativity and/ or showcase the rule of cool.

Ghosts of Saltmarsh is less of a traditional campaign module that we’ve come to expect, and more of an anthology of classic and modern naval and pirate-themed adventures mashed together with freedom given to the DM to glue it all together into a cohesive story. This can be a blessing or a curse depending on your style (if you’re a DM). Each adventure is tightly knit and themed well, but the locations are wishy washy due to the setting agnostic approach the designers chose, and a fair amount of prep work is needed prior to adventure start to decide where on the map each location should be, or which map to use at all! The resources and extra rules concerning naval-based mechanics are a boon and should not be ignored. End of the day, with a somewhat lacking availability of naval adventure attention from WotC, Ghosts of Saltmarsh definitely fills the void and gives you the freedom to really make the adventure your own. Now bring me that horizon!

Rime of the Frostmaiden is a D&D adventure served cold. And this is the primary theme here - Icewind Dale is freezing these days! You will have a veritable arctic blast as you trudge through the tundra of Ten Towns (and beyond) searching for a way to stop the Frostmaiden’s Rime and provide relief to region. It’s a good mix of railroad and sandbox throughout the campaign, but does require a DM who has read through it and has “fixed” its “problems” prior to starting the game. The game is at its best when the survival horror component is embraced rather than ignored. Icewind Dale can be brutal or trivial depending on how in depth the DM wants to get with inventory tracking, meals, extreme cold, getting lost, etc. End of the day - Ten Towns is going through it, and you can save it if the frost doesn’t kill you first.

Dungeons and Dragons found me in middle school and never let go. There is a special magic in the collaborative storytelling experience that’s made possible by its ruleset, community, and lore. That of course, can speak to any TTRPG - but there is just something about D&D that’s persistent for me. Maybe it’s adventure modules like Curse of Strahd and Rime of the Frostmaiden. Or it could be the nostalgia of flipping through the latest book release and getting inspired by the new monsters, art, or heroic stories. Whatever it is - it’s there. And it has been there for decades. D&D has had its share of controversy, corporate disconnect, and criticism, but at the end of the day, it continues to provide an experience we bond with (and over) - facilitating epic stories and friendships alike. Grab a set of dice and pull up a chair. You’re home.

Like most official D&D adventure modules, Vecna: Eve of Ruin is a deep collection of lore, set pieces, characters, and potential that can leave you breathless in the hands of the right DM. This adventure leans toward the railroad side of the spectrum, but lets you explore so many incredible campaign settings along the way that I’m inclined to give it a pass. The other huge positive to this one is that it begins at level 10, which makes it a solid candidate to act as a continuation of most any 1-10ish adventure that might precede it. Gotta hand it to Wizards for giving us a terrifying Vecna story that will leave you sleeping with one eye open until the credits roll…