Welcome to The Shadelands

The Red Opera by Rick Heinz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


First, there was the album from the band DiAmorte. Seriously, that's how I found this, a symphonic metal album based on D&D. Intrigued, I backed the Kickstarter, because I'm a sucker for setting books and I like the Warlock class. This was a very good idea.

The Red Opera is a magnificent book. Beautifully bound with a glorious cover. But what's inside is even better. Set in the Shadelands far to the north of pretty much any setting you can imagine (it's easy to drop in anywhere that there's a northern land with access to the sea) the twin cities of Yon'Cath bask in the ever-shifting light of the Elemental Dance, close by the Well of Souls, the place where the barrier between worlds thins to a fine edge. The Sahdelands is the place where Warlocks come to break their bonds, renegotiate terms with their patrons, or find new masters. All under the eyes of the Accursed King in his Impossible Tower.

Sounds good? It only gets better. The campaign is set out in eight chapters, each a complete scenario that will determine the fate of the region. Each chapter is extremely well written, with plenty of options and potential side quests to keep things from being a linear railroad. My only complaint is the characters are followers in most of these stages, aiding one or another of the cities great leaders. But it works as a narrative. Fully played out, this can be a game-changing mini-campaign for a group. characters will come out changed. Very well done.

There are new spells, Warlock options and Patrons, and several magic items. All are of high quality and add to the feel of the setting. We get a race of elves whose natures and powers change with the seasons, and a race of bear people who feel complete, and not just like people in bear suits. But perhaps my favorite bit is an essay on being a Warlock in D&D, and the nature of Patrons. It really encourages the player to consider who his Patron is, and why both the character and the Patron made this deal to share power. Reading this comparatively short section filled my head with good ideas.

The setting itself is great. Yon'Cath feels like a Gothic horror of a city, and while not detailed heavily, there is enough sketched in terms of important places and notes on different districts that any good gamemaster can really make the city his. The rest of the Shadelands are given enough love to make setting more scenarios in the area a real possibility.

All in all, this is one of the best books I've purchased for D&D5e. I will warn that the campaign is skewed to more experienced parties (in the second scenario, there is a Challenge Rating 17 encounter) but that shouldn't stop anyone from using the Shadelands earlier and allowing the characters to come into the book campaign in their own time.



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