As you prepare the camp for the last night of Carnivalles by the town of Nevermore you know your welcome is reaching its end. But you want this to be a good night. This will be your last stop before winter sets in. There is more that weighs your thoughts as you approach the new year. Next year is known as The Year of Dark Dreams.
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The Darkest Dream is Chapter One of the Red Start Rising Campaign
set in the Wy’rded World (Zyathé). The campaign is written by Alphinius Goo and
AJ Martin and published by Gooey Cube. I met Alphinius at SaltCon 2020 (website) and was
invited to participate in a game hosted by a professional game master (GM), Dax
Levine that introduced us to Zyathé through the opening of The Darkest Dream (review
of game session). I was given a copy of The Darkest Dream for review purposes.
The Darkest Dream is an in-depth
set of materials. This product is not only setting up the adventure, and the
first chapter of Red Star Rising Campaign,
it provides material to compliment the material for the Wy’rded World as an
alternative game world for your 5e fantasy gaming.
The
authors of The Darkest Dream know
they are giving a lot of information. This packet includes an Adventure Booklet of over 50 pages, a GM Reference Book of over 60 pages, 20
pages of additional reference material, 60+ 8 ½ by 11 visuals to be used during
gaming, 40+ non-player Character (NPC) Portraits,
24 pre-generated characters, and 2 decks of card for Gooey Rewards and Special
Items. (I feel like they were shooting to complete their own Christmas
carol.) Everything you get is useful in building the immersive experience Gooey
Cube wants to create.
A
GM should have a good understanding of what is contained in this material
before beginning the campaign. Alphinius and AJ have written plots and subplots
throughout the main adventure and the side quests included. GMs are made aware
at the beginning they are setting the ground work for future adventures with
the events that unfold during this chapter. Events that will come to fruition
as the entirety of the campaign unfold and enfolds the players. The number of
gaming aids supplied not only benefit this individual game, but later ones.
The
world of Zyathé is a unique place (review
of the Cylcopaedia) and The
Darkest Dream brings player into particular aspect of the world. This
campaign is also written for heroic characters. Because of these aspects there
is a wide selection of pre-generated characters for players to use. It is
recommended, and I agree, players choose one of these characters to play. The
added benefit of using the characters provided is there are storylines for each
of them included in the adventures. They each have individual information that
will come into play as the story advances. Along with the specific campaign
being played here, they give a means of being introduced to the world of Zyathé
in a way that will not require complete knowledge of the larger setting. And
since they are travelers, I think as the campaign continues the broader aspect
of the world will be presented.
A
main aspect of The Darkest Dream is
players are part of the Hanataz culture. This would be relatable to the
Traveler or Roma cultures. This is another reason for using the pre-generated
characters. It also gives players an opportunity of exploring a cultural
difference they may not be regularly associated with. As we played our
characters this was an aspect that brought forth wonderful role playing and
story creation.
There
is so much material available it is hard to go through all of it in a limited
amount of space. I will attempt a summary of the rest of the material. The
handouts and portraits provide great visuals at the table. The
characterizations also provide a summary of information on the back to allow
for a refresher, or quick reference to the NPC without needing to flip through
the reference books. The decks provide additional quick and easy reference for
what characters have and can do. The Gooey
Rewards are designed to heighten the role-playing experience by allowing
players to a particular action or adjust minor aspects of play.
The
gaming experience was centered on role-playing with enough combat to maintain
the threat of physical damage. From the first part of play, as people were able
to take the information from the characters’ backgrounds, The Darkest Dream was
about who the characters are and the situations they are in. This game is
written more for that than the strategy of how to defeat an opponent. Groundwork
is being set for long term play of the characters, and the NPCs they are
encountering. It is clear there is going to be more interactions that lead to
deeper story.
As
the adventure ends the players and their characters are left with a major cliffhanger
to draw them further into the story.
Overall
The Darkest Dream,
Chapter One of the Red Star Rising Campaign is a great adventure for players
and GMs who want to have an immersive experience in the story they are
creating. It is more than an outline of what should be happening as the
adventure unfolds. It has a number of storylines, with hooks and promises, of what
is to come. This adventure, and campaign, requires more from the GM than many
other adventures I have read, played, run, and reviewed. This preparation pays
off for everyone at the table with greater ability to create the story, get
into the personalities of characters and NPCs, and create memories of games
that will be stories to be told in later days.
You
can find out more at Gooey Cubes website (link).
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The night of Carnivalles comes to a close. It is a time for rest from the long day. Because for you have seen The Night has just begun.
 |
| The cliffhanger |
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