Dungeons and Dragons Adventurer Magazine, a Baker's Dozen

Last time I told you that I'd bought my last issue of Adventurer. However, I needed a new set of dice (a present for my son-in-law) and they had a copy in at the local newsagents. The cover price is close to that of a decent set of dice and I didn't have to wait for delivery.

So here we go, a bonus review.

Sage Advice

We have a second article on time. This discusses how different movement rates affect distance travelled and the differences between fast normal and slow travel.

Curses looks at a few of the ways that characters can become cursed. Given the wide variety of curses in the game, the effects of a curse are glossed over. Importantly it also addresses common ways of removing curses 

Character Creation

This issue introduces a new character, a Dragonborn Barbarian. Last issue we had an introduction to the dragonborn race (though no rules as such) this time we have the standard introductory page on the class and a page each for first and second level features. As is standard, any potential choices have been made for the pre-gen character.

Better Roleplay looks at adding quirks to your character and how different drives can influence how characters interact with the rest of the world. This is good advice, though as a DM I shudder at the thought of every player choosing an 'amusing' character quirk

Lore

We have a page on The Weave, which is where magic comes from in the Forgotten Realms setting and a page looking at the pantheon most commonly used in the Realms. This latter is intended to give players some choices for their characters to follow. It very nicely suggests how characters in a world with many different gods with different portfolios might interact with them.

Freebies

The dice are a nice silver and blue and come with their own dice bag. There are also character sheets for the barbarian at first and second level. As an extra bonus freebie there's a large sheet of card printed with a dungeon floor texture on one side and a plainer texture suitable for outdoor encounters on the other side. This is 21 squares by 25 squares, and is the same thick card as the map in issue two. This is an excellent addition to any DMs equipment, though actually using minis and floorplans has yet to be covered. Personally I'd recommend photocopies to allow a DM to cut out individual rooms or perhaps some form of laminated sheets for using whiteboard or dry erase markers.

Conclusion

This is certainly one of the better issues. The articles continue to gradually roll out the rules, and I've expressed my understanding of that necessity and my frustration already.  That said, there are some good points, such as a character's relationship with multiple gods.

The encounter is another very good one too, more details below.

The extras really make this issue. I'd looked on both Fauxhammer, to see what the freebies were and Hachette's website to try and work out what the articles and encounter were likely to be. None of that mentioned the dice bag or the floor plan.

Encounter Chasing Shadows

As hinted last issue, the party have left Phandalin behind them and are on their way to Neverwinter. 

This encounter gives them the opportunity to foil a nasty little scam which is well presented. Bonus points for suggesting that the villain should try to escape if found out, and there's even mention of including them in future adventures.

Definitely one of the better encounters, and another that I'm going to steal.