A new life as an adventurer and as you settle in a tavern in a new land the King's men enter. It appears the King is looking for adventurers, and the Captain has chosen you and your companions, along with another travel, and apparently the tavern owners to be a part of it.
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Dark Worlds is a new campaign being released by Petersen Games to be played with the Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos (SPCM) (review link) expansion for 5e. I was given a PDF copy of The Ritual for review purposes.
It is recommended to use SPCM when playing The Ritual because of added elements like Fright and Dread and monsters. It is not required to use the Mythos book because the expansion has been written to be used as its own setting or as an expansion to the setting you're currently using. I also recommend the using the SPCM because it contains added information about the Cthulhu Mythos that would be helpful as this campaign dives deeper into that lore. Whatever setting you're using, however, won't come into play much. The first scene of chapter one in The Ritualdoesn't go quite as planned and the adventures and other guests at the King's banquet find themselves in another place, Yuggoth. The Ritual is designed to take 4–5 new player characters to fifth level.
The Ritual is divided into 4 chapters (1 for each level). This information is covered in roughly the first two-thirds of this 80+ page book. The events provide experiences and encounters I don't think most role-players have come across before. The newness of the encounters and experiences of location is a great addition for role-playing to take place, especially for players who have learned about all of the monsters and locations of interest in the world. The Ritualalso provides a great introduction into the vast other worldly experiences of Lovecraft Lore of the Dark Worlds of the Elder Gods.
Yogguth has a quality separating it from other worlds, the Mi-Go. These creatures operate on a cultural process. Some may say it is warped by where they live and others by the beliefs they hold. No matter what the reason, these are the creatures, and their creations, the characters are soon set against.
The party isn't alone in this alien world. Besides those who are now part of their slightly expanded party there are natural enemies of the Mi-Go; intelligent beings who are willing to help the adventures to return to their home world. The party must survive an alien world and alien creatures while using alien technology.
The last part of the book contains the information on the non-player characters, the horrors encountered, and the items that could mean the difference between life and death.
This campaign series has a warning that this is campaign setting that could lead character death. The risks and challenges are high. This reminded me of when I first started playing role-playing games decades ago. Character actions are important and there is a penalty for making bad decisions—like trying to fight every encounter instead of fleeing to fight another day.
The entire book is decorated with art providing a wonderfully horrific visual of the Lovecraft-ian descriptions.
Overall
This is the second campaign setting I've had the opportunity of reviewing for the SPCM setting. Like Yig Snake Granddaddy, Dark Worlds makes a promise of providing a fantasy horror setting that is easy to use because of the open gaming license. The authors, Sandy Petersen and Matt Corley, deliver on that promise.
I'm a fan of horror. For me the story has to be well written and The Ritual is well written. Here is an adventure that will allow a game master and their players to create a horror story in a setting that designed for just that cause. Each of the 4 chapters are designed to be completed in a single gaming session. And, if using the elements of horror to build and create the story, you will create something that will last well beyond the time of the session.
Act 1: The Ritual of the Dark Worlds campaign setting for 5e is written by Sandy Petersen and Matt Corley. It is published by Petersen Games (website). It is designed for 4–5 characters to play through 4 gaming sessions.
Here are links to reviews of the other products in this overarching setting.
Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos (SPCM) Review (link)
Yig Snake Granddaddy Review (another campaign for use with the SPCM) (link)
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You roll onto your side as you try to get some sleep. It is hard to keep your eyes shut without seeing the horrors that have been chasing you. You try to remember the people and places from your past. Your past. A past that feels like it was months or years past. Yet, you have only been here for about a week.
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| A Mi-Go Drone |
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