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 Campaignset 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.
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| The cliffhanger |
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