Is Phandelver & Below Worth it? | Foundry VTT Module Review

So Wizards of the Coast has FINALLY released stuff for Foundry VTT. So I bought it so I could review it for you. We're MOSTLY talking about the Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk Foundry VTT Module, but some of this is a part of their free official ruleset update.
If you want to purchase this yourself, you can do it here: foundryvtt.com...
I also compare it to the Pathfinder Beginner Box, which you can get here: paizo.com/prod...
I HIGHLY recommend that you wait to update though especially if you use a lot of modules.
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Cantrips Media creates handmade notebooks, journals, and stationery products for TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder 2e, and more. It's run by me, Kylie, out of our small studio space near Pittsburgh, PA with the help of my new assistant. I created this channel to help share some of my tips and tricks for D&D 5e as well as how to use some of my creations in your D&D campaigns. Slowly I've started expanding to other TTRPGs! If you'd like to learn more about me or my business, check out our website cantripsmedia.com
--//-- TIMESTAMPS --//--
00:00 Intro
02:18 Character Creation and Sheet
09:48 Macros
11:20 Maps
14:11 Dynamic Tokens?
15:19 Party Token
16:38 Who's This For?
19:51 Other Thoughts
21:14 Outro and Other Stuff
--//-- MUSIC CREDIT --//--
For most livestreams I use this music during my games:
@MichaelGhelfiStudios
michaelghelfis...

[@JohnWeland]

So I can say that ddb-importer is working, and you can use the imported content and manually build a character or import the full character directly into the game. Oh and the other sheets are going to get reworked (npc, monster, etc)

[@CantripsMedia]

Thank you for sharing!

[@roll4stealth671]

also the "scraping" of the DDB site isn't "illegal" it's the built in API that allows developers to do this kind of thing. If it was illegal then foundry wouldn't allow it so they don't get in any legal troubles@@CantripsMedia

[@jackalbane]

Passive Perception is a surprisingly involved (ironic) process. First, players have to make their characters with their Perception bonuses. Then, you add their characters to the party token. AND you have to mark the party token as the "Primary Party". Finally, the only way for the passive perception to work is adding a check for passive perception to a journal. So, you can only check passive perception against a DC set in a journal, not from the party token. Even though that would be easier to check the party token.

[@CantripsMedia]

Thank you for sharing!! No wonder I was struggling with it lol

[@fufu1405]

That's the best looking character sheet I've ever seen. Looks incredible. I hope they start releasing other modules.

[@madjarov42]

The UI stuff is just part of D&D5e version 3, not specific to the adventure module. I'd bet that the main reason for the upgrade was to allow for the official WotC integration. Also the door SFX is standard Foundry functionality. I'd guess there won't be sound stuff from these modules for a while because that would require licencing which might be a big ask from this new fledgling team. (Though WotC did hire a while bunch of devs last year so maybe not). As for the data scraping being illegal: I don't know if it is, and I do take a hard stance against piracy, however if I've already bought something on D&D Beyond I'm not going to buy it again. With MrPrimate's DDB Importer module you can pay like 3 USD once and import all your stuff. It doesn't have dynamic lighting but it's yours forever and you can mix and match with all the other stuff you've created on Foundry.

[@CantripsMedia]

Yeah I mention in the beginning that some of it is also a part of just the ruleset on foundry. The door sound effect I found WAS different than the typical door sfx. (It was like the sound of a stone door sliding) but yeah, not impressive tbh. The scraping, from my standing, is illegal because the dnd beyond website terms of use say it's not allowed. But they aren't stopping it from happening so who knows how serious they are about it.

[@Forge_n_Brush]

Well done. Like most official 5e stuff, it seems underdeveloped. Sad, really. Paizo's stuff is so much better. But anyway, well done on the vid and looking forward to more of your Pathfinder liveplays. Take care... and get well. :) ~Fritz

[@CantripsMedia]

Agreed. They might update a bit but I think with their own vtt coming out it'll be very minimal

[@Grimgariano]

Is there a way to get Dynamic Tokens and Party Tokens outside of DND settings? Anyone know a module for that?

[@CantripsMedia]

I believe updating to Version 12 makes dynamic tokens available to other game systems. But you will want to double check before updating, there's still a handful of modules not ready for version 12

[@Grimgariano]

@@CantripsMedia I'm really scared of updating my FoundryVTT and losing important things on my campaign. Idk if it's worth it, I even did a backup. Any tips? Also, great content.

[@CantripsMedia]

Wait? Lol, I haven't lost any content or heard that anyone lost content, but there are modules still not working that are having major issues so I would do research to determine what if any modules are ones you use and what the update status is for them before you do it. But if you backed it up you can always go back. I know a couple people who did that already when version 12 first released

[@Grimgariano]

@@CantripsMedia thanks, then. Im gonna give it a Go.

[@spooderous]

I agree with a lot of the points you made. Super don't understand why we needed a race and creature type section on the front page. Class/subclass should of been there and mirrored on the feature page or something. They confirmed in the discord the rest of the sheets (npc/spell/item/feat) will get a face lift. As for the module itself, hard to beat Paizo. They're the gold standard.

[@CantripsMedia]

Thank you for sharing! Glad to know they are in the world (though I figured as much honestly).

[@DiscoBarbarian]

Good Critique, thanks for taking the time to look through. Don't imagine I will buy anything from D&D anytime in the near future.

[@CantripsMedia]

I don't think you're the only one. Thanks for leaving a comment ❤️

[@stradzarovich9381]

If I were to buy a module from Foundy I would expect the following - Every bit of text from the module itself - Every battle map from the module (pre walled / lit) - No sounds or garbage music that add bloat. - Working Midi QoL Monsters and Npcs. - Pre generated tables - Art and player handouts Essentially, buying a module off Foundry should be enough for even the most unexperienced DM to pick up and run….and yes i’ll say it… “Like a Video Game” If Wizards wants to get serious about online content, fine. But they need to give us a serious product.

[@zerolv30000]

100% agree with this.

[@CantripsMedia]

So it DOES have all those things EXCEPT the Midi QoL stuff (since that's a module not official foundry stuff, though they are working to update so that it WILL work), and I don't know if it has pre generated tables. I know there were tables in the journals but I do not think I looked to see if they had actual working tables. But I do agree, it has to have everything and I DO feel like it was a little underwhelming compared to Paizo stuff. Who knows if they'll actually do much else to it though since it's not on THEIR future VTT. That's the sorta frustrating part to me.

[@DreamBigBuildSmall]

Great video, I just purchased this module & came in, expecting something similar to the PF2 system, and was disappointed. The automated effects thing was a big part of my decision to buy, but I can't figure it out. Hopefully, they get it squared away.

[@CantripsMedia]

Yeah it's not as nice as PF 2e but this IS their first attempt. Hopefully they get better. We'll see!

[@simonsayz3925]

@@DreamBigBuildSmall if you are playing on v11 go look for baileywikis automation guide for DND. Explains automation perfectly. People just need to know that you need several more modules for real automation. Pathfinder has an edge there because it's officially supported by paizo since like forever which DND wasn't until some month ago.

[@pur3whit3]

Sound review. I was on verge of running Lost Mines for the first time and then this released a few days before the first session. Someone created a great Lost Mines module with all the scenes and whatnot (can’t remember the author). And honestly I kinda wish I wouldn’t have bought this just used the free module. The maps are cooler and animated along with other things. Ah well. The group is having fun so that is what it’s actually all about.

[@CantripsMedia]

Interesting! I wasn't aware there was a free module. I wonder if they'll have to take it down. That would be awful

[@pur3whit3]

@@CantripsMedia Lost Mines by dransky v2. I guess it is just maps and some handouts as opposed to a full adventure, but since the Lost Mines are/were free on DnD beyond it was just so easy to get it running. The maps in Lost Mines by Dransky are amazing.

[@idtent8993]

The Mad Cartographer has all the maps available for free. Forgotten Adventure Battlemaps have some of the maps, also for free. You'd have to fill them yourself, and sometimes they made some tweaks to the original layout, but not by much. They're pretty cool too. You should check them out.

[@roll4stealth671]

PDF version? there aren't any (legal) PDF's for 5E stuff but you can use the DDB importer to import adventures but not will some of the polish behind the official module. WoTC/Hasbro have indicated they will continue to support the other VTT's through license agreements, also note that WotC did NOT make the foundry module this was all done in house by the foundry team.

[@CantripsMedia]

Ah sorry I'm not talking about 5e. Both Drakkenheim and Pathfinder offer pdf versions, either way I'm not a pdf type person. I like to have my vtt for maps and monster stats and my hardcover for everything else. Plus you have to own the adventure on ddb to be able to import it. I'm not buying it another time just for that.

[@roll4stealth671]

@@CantripsMediaI was refering to around 18:13 - 18:20 or so where you were talking about the price of phandelver for foundry and then mentioned if you already had the PDFs and just wanted people to know if they were watching this and didn't realize it that there are no "legal" pdfs for the 1st party D&D books

[@CantripsMedia]

Ah gotcha. I think I was also still thinking this was like the PF beginner box where they do have pdf versions and I also wrap pdfs and dnd beyond in one category (digital) in my head so I was probably confused 🤷‍♀️

[@DmChef]

Me the Ranger is hilarious.

[@CantripsMedia]

Look, names are hard hahahaha

[@readysetmoses]

I think Plutonium is the better option

[@OptimusGPrime]

The maps are in no way high fidelity. They are blurry, grainy, washed out and dull. I was severely disappointed in the lack of effort that was put into them. Everything feels so depressing playing on them. They are so lackluster and empty. There was no attempt at all to utilize the features of Foundry to make them great. You get a couple bits of the same cloned lighting, poorly designed walling, and that's it. There aren't any maps at all with proper doors, roofs, sounds, music, or regions. Whoever designed these was very lazy and sloppy at best. It's really sad, seeing as how high-quality the tokens are. They don't match the quality or tone of the weirdly cartoony styled maps at all.

[@CantripsMedia]

Not to pull you to another one of my videos, but I got the chance to review the Dungeons of Drakkenheim one for free, and THAT should be the standard for maps imo. So well done, but really not that complicated if you know anything about foundry. But it gives the atmosphere of the game so well. It doesn't include music or many sounds, which I think is something they could do if they wanted to step it up a notch, but even without that, the maps by themselves are functional and beautiful. Pathfinder modules follow a similar vein though they take it a step further with sounds, macros and ambience when they can.

[@kpic9054]

Generally speaking good overview, this said I feel like there's lots of nitpicking, and bias against WotC. Which results in feeling like you exagerrated some critique bc it's WotC content.

[@CantripsMedia]

Interesting. I'd be curious to know what you thought was exaggerated. It was all honest and I don't feel that I myself am overly critical of WotC like most people. I do try to reflect what I think is relevant to the audience and the audience is in general pretty critical of WotC so maybe that's it. I'm not sure.

[@OptimusGPrime]

This isn't the case at all. I love WotC and they have been my favourite developer for years, and I 100% agree with this review and assessment. The module had almost no effort put into it. It was lazy, and sloppy.

[@CantripsMedia]

Thank you for sharing! I don't feel that I'm overly critical of WOTC stuff (I have also been in love with a lot of their resources for years) but I also think I have high standards in terms of Foundry resources BECAUSE of all the indie devs and other businesses that have worked in the space and developed some great things. I think, at this point in time, this foundry module has been updated to some extent, so I would be curious to see if anything has improved since this review. I did it when it first came out afterall and that is one thing with digital resources like this, they can be updated more easily than physical books. Either way, I appreciate your insight. Always glad to know if I'm hitting the mark or not in the eyes of the community

[@KevinFlynn]

I really do not like music playing while you talk, especially that style.

[@CantripsMedia]

Sorry you feel that way!