Underworld Speculation - The Review

Operating as secret agents for the Lords of Waterdeep, a promising lead takes you deep into the world of the Xanathar, but what will it take for you to return? An adventure for 1st - 4th Level Characters by Christopher Lindsay.


My review is based upon the product's original version, as of the 10th January 2018. For a full list of disclaimers please scroll down to the very bottom of this review post before you continue. But if the thought of all that arse covering bores you... then please keep on reading!

Underworld Speculation is an Adventurers League product which is clear and easy to read. The author, Christopher Lindsay is welcoming in his tone of writing and assists the DM with ideas on delivery throughout. I would say that this adventure would fare better in the hands of an experienced DM, if only for the promise that this storyline may frustrate some players and potentially implode. This product costs $2.99, and is the first product I've reviewed so far that I do not recommend going out and immediately buying. Please read on to find out why.

For this review I will be breaking my thoughts down into the following topics of discussion: Cost (value for your dollar, compared to existing work), Appeal (Aesthetics. Is it a pretty or professional looking product?), Usability (ease of use for a DM), Originality (how exciting, clever or creative is it?), plus an additional topic Story (how epic, immersive or fun will it be for the players and the DM?).

Cost

This is the first Adventurers League product which I have reviewed, and they all are tightly controlled with regard to price. Generally they are priced between $1.99 and $4.99. From a simple visual inspection of the latest 30 titles, the preferred price point looks to be $2.99, for an average of 30 pages of content. It's common place for Community Content to charge around 10 cents per page, so it's a similar price. Underworld Speculation has 19 pages. Therefore a price of $2.99 puts pressure on it's content to be of a higher quality than normal; let's see how that works out. The author, Christopher Lindsay suggests that this adventure will fill a single evenings worth of entertainment, I can't argue with that - looks about right. This adventure also comes with 7 (half) pre-generated characters. I say half, because for the life of me I cannot understand with the wealth of personality traits, bonds and flaws etc. in 5th Edition D&D and of course the new 'This is Your Life' category in Xanathar's Guide to Everything; that no-one thought to flesh them out with some random 'quirks' or history to help with roleplaying. The rather nice presentation that US has to be taken into account as it really does add to the overall appeal of a product like this one, and it helps it to standout. As a result I'm happy to award it a ★★★★☆ (3.5 stars). It's good, but for $2.99 I've seen more finished content, plus extra pages of it. Banquet of the Damned, by Benoit de Bernardy* for example. 

Appeal

I mean, it's Adventurers League content. So Underworld Speculation has immediate appeal, and that should never be underestimated. US also has a professional quality to it and the producer obviously spent time and effort replicating XGtE's handsome page styling, which is repeated throughout. That was a nice touch, well done guys. And the maps? They're all by fan favourite - Dyson Logos, so what's not to love there. It's hard to find fault the package in truth. Well apart from the lack of an interesting cover or internal artwork to get our creative juices flowing  ::sad face::  ★★★★★ (4.5 stars). Underground Speculation is very easy on the eyes. 

Usability

So here's where we talk about how easy it is for a DM to use the content provided. The author Chris, has interspersed his work with helpful reminders on how to have more fun, or advice on playing as a Dungeon Master. I like all of that, and it's not overbearing at all. I'm quite an experienced DM, but I still read it and made some mental notes on his advice. Chris also went the extra mile and recalled underused rules which are specific to this adventure, for example: underwater combat. This is a clever move and not having to hunt it out in the DM's Guide is much appreciated. I noted there was a handy little adventure overview which primed me for the content to come, again very useful. Chris and his team have likewise included a print-friendly version too - HOORAY!! And they listed all the monster stats blocks and magic item descriptions for our convenience... I feel full marks coming on! If only it was that easy...

It's a few small things, but they had me scratching my head. Firstly, the fish tank map. I'm an

Engineer and quite competent at deciphering technical drawings, but I was thrown a little bit by Dyson's merger of the small scale tunnels drawing with the larger scale fish tank plan. In the end I had to read the map with the encounter text to fully appreciate what he was showing me. Perhaps the 'blowing-up' convention could have been a shade clearer? SecondIy, underwater tunnels? Yeah this adventure is set in an underwater environment, but there are trip wires and falling net traps. This had me reaching for the map, and comparing it to the text. For a few short minutes I was actually convinced that the tunnels were air-pockets! But alas no, trip wires and falling nets underwater, which have a 50% chance of attracting the attention of nearby Sea Spawn. Did I say it was underwater? Yes of course this is all possible, however I feel more time could have been lavished on making this trap believable. How about attaching heavy rocks to the corners of the net so that it sinks fast and without warning? Also the trip wire could have been positioned diagonally across the tunnel, thus creating a safe passage for the sea spawn as they swim by. On a successful perception roll, perhaps the weights dangling from the net would have been noticed along with the trip wire. Then by cutting off the rocks it would have made the trap less effective. Sorry, I'm rambling and traps are my thing. I like traps. ★★★★☆ . Blinding effort! Some great ideas here, which could have easily earned full marks. If it wasn't for some confusion on my part.

Originality

Ok, shrinking down your PCs is not an original idea - but what is nowadays huh? In all seriousness though, this part of the review is mainly here to discuss how pioneering the design, intent, and delivery is, oh and the feelings it evokes in us as DMs and purchasers of a product like this one. My initial instinct was that it felt 'samey'? There is no attempt here to break from convention, however that was one of it's earlier strengths - mass appeal. For me, I think US suffers from a lack of excitement. It's obviously a railroad, as there are only 3 possible endings. A TPK, 'some party members dead', or 'soon to be dead' at the hands of a beholder. The adventure feels like filler, or a preamble to more shenanigans with the Xanathar. In it's own right - that is quite an original concept, no? Or am I clutching at straws here? Ok, to the scores. ★★☆☆☆. Nothing much new to see here, move along please. Move along.

Story

Warning! I have NOT play-tested this adventure yet and I'm using my imagination and experience to draw some conclusions.

The theme of this discussion is closely linked to all the other topics, and acts as a glue which binds them. Let's face it, a good story in 5th Edition is probably THE most important element. I might even forgive low marks everywhere else if the 'story' was liberating or immersive. However, more ::sad face:: I'm afraid.

As mentioned before, this adventure 'feels' like a prelude to something else. But I don't know what that something else is yet, so why buy it? The back story for the events which lead up to our heroes involvement is quite short and sweet, no shame in that. However, this detail is forever lost since the main NPC, once an Aboleth, now a magical orb called the Dawn's Beacon, is quite resistant to questioning and stubbornly follows it's own scheme; which is to escape and have it's revenge on the Xanathar. One thing about an Aboleth is that they are evil, and Divine Sense is a thing. Trust me, it's a bloody thing! I'm not sure that the author mentions any protection against this or any other divination magic... so err... they will probably sense that it has the 'pungent odour of evil' about it, then ultimately be convinced to attune to it in order to survive drowning in the cave, when it eventually floods. Maybe I was too harsh on this adventure, there's something here to get your teeth into. However none of this is mentioned by the author. So good luck. Let's move on.

Bottom line is that the PCs (unless they are inexperienced) will have no reason to trust the orb, until perhaps they are drowning in a well-timed cave flood. Then they are 'force swimmed' through tunnels full of sea spawn which were once adventurers like themselves, who are now controlled by the orb, that wants to escape the tunnels and ultimately leave the fish tank behind it. So this is all an elaborate test. Which gets harder and harder the more adventurers that fall into its trap. So why doesn't the orb just teleport out of the tank anyway, with any-old party of first level heroes? Then one by one, turn everyone the heroes love into 'fishy-uggers' until they do it's bidding? Meh. I think you can tell I'm not convinced. This is a railroad which explodes on contact. It's an adventure that supposes the players will tow the line, but when they twist and turn off the 'hook', they will either become sea spawn (die), or drown (die), or end up doing something they probably will regret for the rest of their very short lives (die).

I see glimmers of hope for this adventure though. The 'reveal' that they are all in fact tiny tiny people, when the adventurers first enter the fish tank proper, if played well, might be worth all the tears and frustration they are soon to face. There's also a nice introduction to the adventure where the players are invited to add backstory to help ramp up the buy-in from the party too, I liked that. Word to the wise though, it seems to overrule the authors original intentions to drop the party right into the action though. I do appreciate that this whole episode seems to revolve around 2 things; introducing your party to the Xanathar's pet fish Sylgar, and setting up a future face-off with the Xanathar. But it could have been done with more thoughtfulness towards a party who wish to remain immersed and as alive as possible. ★★★☆☆. This might just work. Needs lots of help from the DM and Players though.

In Conclusion

If I were you, I might hold off from buying it, at least until you've seen how Underworld Speculation segues into the follow-up Adventures League adventures. Like I mentioned before, there are glimmers of hope here if you plan on abusing your party's trust in you as a DM. Plus if you simply wish to run a 'starter' one-shot type adventure, then it won't take you long, there are (half) pre-generated characters and some laughs to be had here. Plus the maps are cool! Final score is ★★★★☆ (3.5 stars). A few too many holes in the story and removes much of the players agency. But a fine 'one-shot' to be sure.

Please enjoy this product responsibly, and let us know what you think to our review. See you next time.

★★★★☆

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