Dungeons of Drakkenheim- Campaign Review

This is my review of the Dungeons of Drakkenheim Adventure written by the Dungeon Dudes, launched on Kickstarter and published by Ghostfire Gaming in 2021. It's now available on DnDBeyond.
I personally have mixed feeling about the campaign, that I figured might help others decide if this adventure was right for them.
#dnd
#dungeonsanddragons

[@WilliamSlayer]

I found the flow chart located on page 9 to be very helpful regarding 'what happens when, and what level should my players be'. As you said, it's a sandbox, so looking to the chart quickly can tell you each encounters difficulty. Hope that helps sir!

[@N0Name_btw]

All the faction information being in one place early in the book is much more useful than splitting that info up between all the strongholds. This reflects the fact that this is a living, breathing campaign and faction leaders and members can be found in many different locations. It's not like a first edition dungeon where the monsters sit in their one room and only become real once the characters kick open the door.

[@Zr0din]

1. Thank you for looking critically at this book and it's organization. 2. WOW- there are like no reviews of this... Just unboxing videos?!? 3. How is this not seen by more people... Now this is beloved by the community. I loved the first series, but didn't watch shadows or fate of Drakkenheim.

[@AndrewStobb]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mattg8262]

I have found this campaign to be less work, and more intuitive than most WOTC published campaigns. I own the PDF version (which is what I think was the originally intended format). The "unfinished" feel I think arises from the sandbox nature of the campaign and a lot of the expectation is that a lot of it can change or be implemented in the moment. There are many tools in the book to help the DM to quickly determine how the sandbox reacts to the players actions. As you said, the factions are the heart of this campaign and they are a DM's dream. They keep the players moving, keep the players engaged, and provide easy to implement and understand NPC actions in response to the chaos that is the player-party.

[@zg9y]

You have perfectly encapsulated essenially all of my issues with this campaign, my players are currently level 10 and I am at the very end of the entire campaign, and getting there has forced me to change and adapt a lot of things from the book in order for things to make sense

[@ADT1995]

I think it does come down to style, because a lot of your qualms make it sound like it's perfect for me. But I also only ever follow the book in a pre-written about 50 percent of the the time anyways (which I will say is way more closely than I follow my own notes for my homebrew campaigns), so the sandboxy nature, the fact that the outline is done but the nitty gritty is left up to you, and the fact that it's organized by factions rather than location are big draws for me (although page numbers would have been nice) I'm not saying your qualms aren't legitimate or that you are wrong in them, just that the appeal is to different DMing styles (or at least different styles of approaching a pre-written module)

[@thelightnomore]

The KZbin algorithm decided I needed to see this I suppose. I agree with a lot of your points on the layout structure of the campaign being problematic and difficult to navigate sometimes. I don't think that's a problem you need to this campaign though because many even WOTC printed campaigns can suffer this problem. Not necessarily an excuse but maybe just some perspective on how campaigns are generally written. I am surprised there aren't page numbers for references within their own material though. As a first time viewer of your channel, I don't think this is really a review. It comes across as more of a list of complaints. You did say you liked a couple things randomly while listing your criticisms, But I don't think you really got into the details that would actually encompass a review of a detailed product like this campaign book. I would be interested to see an actual complete review of pros and cons about the campaign that goes into more detail from you.

[@AndrewStobb]

I get your point, but that'd probably be an hour long video. I hope you check out some of my other stuff, this first video was definitely a bit more scattered and I'm not super happy with it

[@grr-OUCH]

I am planning to run the Dunegoen of Drakkenheim, so thank you for this. I have been copying it all into my notes from the PDF. I hate having to look for things, so by time I am done the organization of the book will be irrelevant as it will be in the format that I like it. I always do this with any published adventure I run, and it helps me to know the whole adventure, finish parts that are unfinished, add or change what I want, and make it all work. I am legally blind so using my notes in One Note (made on my computer but visible on my iPad) in this way is the only realistic way for me to run any game. Sure, it is more work than for most people, but again I learn the material as I read and copy it, and I can wing it better as I understand it better, too.

[@AndrewStobb]

That’s essentially the way I had to run it as well- taking what was written and reformatting and rewriting it into something I could easily parse. At a certain point though I feel like you might as well just write your own stuff and use the book as Inspiration. That way you never run the risk of misinterpreting what the authors intended.

[@cavalcojj]

So I'm pretty sure that Monty is of the idea and I as well to be honest that because of the sandbox there will be times when your players go places that's just too high level and running away is always a viable option. That's the point of dark fantasy You're not superheroes. Besides that I really like your review. You got a great points thank you for this.

[@AndrewStobb]

Thanks! Yeah my issue with that has mainly been that the players are too high level for an area and I have to increase the challenge for them to still have fun. They’ve definitely run away from a few encounters, and honestly I think just making it clear what level an area is balanced for, in the book, would have satisfied me.

[@WarpaintStudios]

@@AndrewStobb if they're too high level for an area then you are levelling them too fast, they shouldn't be higher than level 5 for the outer city encounters, the book even suggests which areas for different levels. i assume you're running it for 4 players as recommended otherwiseyou will have to up encounters bit.

[@cavalcojj]

Still. If certain areas have certain level requirements those should be stated at the beginning of the area descriptions.

[@WarpaintStudios]

@@cavalcojj it's already at the beginning of the book, just like any other dnd campaign book. right in chapter 2: Running the campaign. lol

[@AndrewStobb]

The stuff at the beginning is pretty broad, and an 8th level party can handle a lot more than a 5th level party can. There is a linear assumed progression, but that sort of defeats the whole point of the sandbox campaign.

[@jordanrichards3814]

They literally recommend the players at the end of the session tell you where they are planning to go next so you can plan ahead. Im running this at the moment and its my favourite campaign. Alot of the issues sound like they arent with the book just your dming, the whole point of strike teams being where they are is so they arent just stuck in the stronghold

[@flarelord8425]

I'm a DM with a party currently at level 10, and have been running Drakkenheim for over a year. I've found the book to work extremely well as a foundation as is, but I do not believe it should be expected to be a blind pick up and play book, because you're going to need to adjust based on why your characters go where they go, how their interactions with various factions go, and what their personal quests are. The game is designed to be open on these subjects, and as such, that is probably why you feel it's incomplete - but the material is there to help you shape the existing locations around the events of your game. I disagree with the criticism of the layouts. The faction vs stronghold issue is a matter of taste and DMing style. The faction members and leaders can be encountered and found outside their strongholds, and often should be. Every faction has a presence in Emberwood Village. Having access to that material at all times is ideal. Strike Teams can also be present at various locations in the city, not just at the strongholds, and as such, having the access to the information early is useful, otherwise you'd need to cut to the stronghold every time the faction shows up. So, this is really a matter of perspective and DMing style. As far as the locations of the seals - it's not hard to track them down. There's only one place called 'Cistern' in the book, and that seal is the most hidden of them. An interesting DM can also mix up the locations of the seals. As for the table of contents... I do actually agree that the subsections with same page numbers are a bit needless. Seeing him flip to 'castle drakken, then the back of castle drakken' just tells me he doesn't pick up on the fact that the 'developments section' is always the last section, and it's not really hard to learn the layout of a book like this. It's not hard to look this up. Yes, a Page Number would be 'faster', but what's here isn't unusable and acting like it is is kind of just a personal gripe IMO. The difference between a page number and a reference like so is all of 5 seconds, and you're not going to be unexpectedly surprised by needing the ritual mid-session or anything. The naming gripes I get... but they all mean the same thing. It's not hard to comprehend. That said... the 1 hr/2hr is a minor issue that can be addressed, it's not make or break. Throwing out half the setting conflict and lore throws out major issues that spark factional conflict and is a DM issue. Letting yourself be blindsided about 'where do you want to go? isn't really the way to run this book. Find out where your players want to go at the end of a session, that gives you time to prepare. Additionally, each section has a set of reasons or concepts for why your players or someone else may need your party to go to a location. The book is actually very well written for building a campaign around your player interacting with factions and NPCs, but I would agree it's not designed for 'we randomly decide to go check out this place' . because there's structure here for intentionally going to particular locations. As a DM who is also not the best at improvisation, I feel you. I need prep time, which is why I structure my sessions to get that preparation time. And there are sections in the book that I've built a lot of my own material for, both for working in player backstories as well as making sections that weren't as interesting more interesting, by changing what's going on when the players visit, etc. One of my favorite changes was having the Queen of Thieves doing something at a location while the players were also there and pursuing a goal of their own - and they even became briefly aligned. Any game that's being run straight out of a book with no adjustment is going to be potentially dull. I've found that this book creates a fantastic toolkit to enhance the locations as suited for your players, party comp, and characters' stories. But it does require some effort, so if you're looking for an out-of-the-box no-thought DM experience, this isn't it. (and that sounds incredibly boring)

[@FIM71103]

Some time ago, I heared about this campaign and - as a aberration and mostruosity fan - was really exited. Now, I'm a novice DM (only mastered LMoP, started with a TPK) and I've read few chapters, but I feel like everything it's too general and my fear is that the players (If not united since the start) will go in different direction, with different allience. Also, if my party (all novice) died in they're first dungeon in Phandelver, the possibility that they survive to this campaign (who seams really hard to me) are practically none. (sorry for english)

[@skirk248]

I'm an older styled DM and am used to players dying often. I heavily suggest taking your time during combat to help your players out with the fundamentals. Seth Skorkowsky has a really good combat basics video on KZbin that could help them

[@AndrewStobb]

Yeah it’s probably not the best starter adventure. Something I’ve covered in some of my more recent videos is (hopefully) how to change the way you run so that your game doesn’t result in an unintentional TPK.

[@aidandunne5978]

It's actually designed for the players to not be united: there are going to be arguments (in character), because the party doesn't agree what they should do. One thing you HAVE to understand about Drakkenheim is that it's far more of a political intrigue story than Eldritch horror, though it has that too. The point of this campaign is to emulate real people and real problems, where everything is in the gray. This ultimately means that this campaign is not necessarily "fun" in the traditional sense, but it absolutely is "fulfilling", if you are in to the moral gray storylines. TLDR: DO NOT play Drakkenheim as is if your players don't like real world style stressors. DO play Drakkenheim if you're party likes to deal with morality, exploring what they would do if they had power, and the costs associated with victory.

[@1hirek]

Crimson Countess has Thunderwave because you are supposed to encounter her while scaling up the tower. It also has added effect of knocking characters prone, which means flying characters fall to the ground. Chain Lightning is just damage, I wouldn't say it is more dramatic than falling down 200 feet.

[@AndrewStobb]

I also had her use Thunderwave as a Bonus Action each turn- and several PC’s plummeted nearly to their deaths. My real criticism was that she had Thunderwave (a 1st level spell) as a recharge 5-6 ability, which is pretty weak sauce in my opinion.

[@psteer2002]

As someone who has recently bought and started running DoD I've found the structure and organisation of the material excellent. The chapters occur in the order you need to read and understand them. This isn't old school DnD where you list the monsters beside the location; the chapters focus on laying out the key material you need to run the campaign and the detail is pushed to where it belongs in the Appendices. Spending half a review nit picking says much more about you than the book...

[@benjamin_burke]

Hello! I found your video interesting - I agree with some points, disagree on others. I'm curious, would you be interested in having a longer-form discussion / interview regarding Drakkenheim? I'm the creator of a substantial guide on running the campaign and an outspoken voice in the Drakkenheim subreddit.

[@baumpilz9765]

First, big thank you for the video! It really influenced my oppinion on the book. Second, i was hoping you would talk a little more about the adventure itself (but this could be my definition of a review.) Liked and shared!

[@AndrewStobb]

Glad it was helpful! I did consider talking about the substance of the campaign, but I decided that I would talk about that in a possible follow up video.

[@grr-OUCH]

Regarding wizards being more like sorcerers, that is how a lot of settings have always done it. Even Harry Potter does it. It is a lot more common than just being trained to be a wizard, which had always seemed boring to me.

[@mschmidt2105]

The High Flamkeepers Phylactery is ter Phylactery of St vitrovrio...it is both a seal of Drakenheim AND a relic of St vitruivo, hence 2 names..if you really think DoD is poorly orginized, dont ever play Cyberpunk Red or Modiphis Star Trek.

[@Sirvantir]

What a shame! I was looking into it because I was pleasantly surprised with Call of the Netherdeep and how great that was as the book was well laid out and easy to follow but the overview you gave tells me Drakkenheim is more work than it's worth, guess I'll be skipping it then.

[@AndrewStobb]

Yeah I don’t know if the version on D&DBeyond is better, but the version that I got, especially the physical book, was pretty badly laid out.

[@mattg8262]

I don't agree with his take. I've been running the adventure for several months. This campaign is for DMs, from DMs. It is (in my opinion) the best campaign book available. If this book looks interesting to you I urge you to look at it yourself. The factions help create a unique campaign everytime you run it, and make figuring out the actions your NPCs take easy to plan and understand. The lay out of the book is actually much better in PDF format. The reason so many of the area headings lead you to the same page are because it was designed as a hyperlink PDF that takes you immediately to the appropriate page.

[@Doncergio]

Not adding page numbers is hilarious. Seems like an easy fix.

[@AndrewStobb]

Yeah that really baffled me as well. Huge oversight.

[@pgb8000]

@@AndrewStobb Actually, I think that is a lot harder than you imagine. I am guessing you have never worked in publishing? When starting out producing a book like this, generally speaking you don't have the final artwork. That includes sidebars, letters, etc. The text is completed way before. Adding artwork, sidebars, etc and moving it around/ resizing to look good on the page is an artistic job, done nearer the end of the process. Any of these things can shift chunks of material around by a page or two, and suddenly any page numbers inserted in text are wrong. Big editing job to check for this if lots of cross-references were added - not something small publishers have the resources for. The searchable pdf (and now DnDB version) fix all of this for me. I've just started running this, and am hardly going to use the physical book at all.