Today I'm going to take a look at another DMs Guild product. It's Hellturel, an expansion on the Elturel section in Baldur's Gate, Descent into Avernus.
This one is a bit of a tougher sell on me, as I am primarily only interested in the pure Nine Hells stuff in Descent.
Right off the bat, one thing that I notice in here is the layout. Most DMs Guild products (mine included) tend to imitate the official D&D "look." You know... parchment-y backgrounds, coffee stains, all that stuff.
This book goes for more of a Pathfinder look. It looks very professional. Check it out:
The basic idea here is that a bunch of demons who serve Baphomet have taken over a tavern. The heroes can go in and clear them out.
This is a tavern, so it amuses me greatly to see that there are 3 drunk minotaurs in the common room. I'm sure players will do all sorts of hilarious/horrifying things with that scenario.
There is a holy avenger in here! Dang.
"A barlgura lets out a loud, pungent belch as it guzzles a barrel of warm brine labeled "PICKLES."
A very cool NPC lurks in this place. I don't want to spoil too much, but I love it when D&D spells are used in a logical manner.
This scenario is good. It could have been boring, but the author came up with a bunch of fun things to mess around with in there.
Chapter 2: Helm's Shieldhall
There are citizens in the hold of this building. Devils are trying to get at them.
"The gates held until a few hours ago when the devils teleported an infernal war machine into the city..." Awesome! The bad guys literally crashed a war machine into the front gates.
There's a really good trap in one area. A character could lose their head!
The armory is loaded up with fun stuff for the heroes to use, including five silver bombs "which function like fragmentation grenades" that are in the DMG. I think it is a really cool idea to re-skin some of the modern weapon stats in this manner. So many times, I forget that there's some cool little thing in the 5e DMG that could solve some problem I am having. I almost feel like I need to re-scan the DMG every 6 months to remind myself of all the things that are in there.
There's ANOTHER awesome trap. Again, I don't want to spoil it, but it utilizes a magic item in a very cool way.
A nice variety in this chapter. This could be placed in almost any campaign as a building over-run by devils.
Chapter 3: Dragoneye Dock House
The heroes might check out this house for a variety of reasons listed in the book. It is home to a deathlock - an undead warlock who draws power from Zariel.
"Twin half-elf girls of about eight years of age in matching, bloody, pink dresses sit at a child-sizes wood table and pretend to have tea with a gagged and bound human..."
There are also bad guys who sleep among the bodies of their victims. Yikes!
Wow there is another epic trap here, too. Don't want to spoil it, but it's a rough one!
There's a chest full of new magic items, which are listed in an appendix in the back of the book. "Celestial caltrops," a "devil catcher," and more.
Looking at these items... they're perfect for my Dungeon Academy campaign. My group is linked up with a big church of Umbra, goddess of good, and they could definitely get their hands on these before the heroes make their excursion into Avernus.
Chapter 4: Owlbear Butcher Shop
No, they don't sell Owlbear meat. The shop is named in part for the owner's pet owlbear, who would join the ownerand go out into the woods to hunt exotic animals. You could probably run a whole campaign off of the idea of heroes hunting exotic monsters to serve as expensive meals at their restaurant and to sell parts as components for potions, spells, and magic items.
There's an owlbear with orange eyes that burn! An infernal owlbear!
Overall
Is this worth $5? Hell yes! This book has a big pile of good ideas that you could use in whatever you happen to be running. Very useful stuff.
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