The Darkest Dream

lready do an amazing job at covering ever needs for every type of player (assuming the GM can roleplay half bad) and then you get all the handouts. I purchased all of it, literally.
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and after talking with Alphinius at DragonCon I thought let's do this. Since then I have starting running four different groups and I have fallen in love with the Red Star Rising. As the storyteller, I love how immursive this module is right from the beginning with an entire family of NPCs (think X Men meets The Greatest Showman) as well as other NPCs from other areas of the Wy’rded World of Zyathé. There is so much already at the hands of the storyteller!!! So much content that I have started my last two campaigns a day earlier just to give the PCs more time to explorey this amazing Blue Veil Carnivale. I have played and ran probably five or six systems and ran a game shop, and I put the content of what Gooey Cube does as one of the best, if not the best I have purchased. I am excited for the fourth module coming out.
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ever come to your table, the book reads easily and runs just as easily, every part of the chapter has been thoroughly designed to make the Game Master's life easy. After just a single read through the chapter you're ready to run it. I love GMing, but currently, I have little free time, and with this module and the other chapters I am able to run quality games and focus on the best parts of GMing while not having to devote hours and hours each week planning and preparing. For those who love to adjust modules and put in their own parts, this chapter is easily adjusted for additions and adjustments. If you want to see the future of high-quality TTRPG modules, look no further, it's here.
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help but not want to be of this Wy’rded World!!! Additionally, the GooeyCube personnel and their community are absolutely amazing and genuine people. Come take a look for yourself! Be warned though...you too shall become stuck in the amazement of the Goo!!!
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ops for brand new RP players using the not so random encounters and small sections of the story. This actually turned put to be a 10/10 idea. Thw new players get to fight some formidable foes and the list fantastic scripting really enhances the experience. 10/10
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ventures forever!
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e and GM Reference books being spiral bound so you don't have to break the spines to keep them open. Oh and yeah the split the adventure into two books, one with the story and exposition and the other with the stats and more technical information about the campaign. This allows one to keep the place in the story so that when a fight is finished the GM can pick the story right up. This is the first time I have run a campaign where I have not had to have my players wait while I found my place again. There is so much more here I could rave on as a GM but I think I will finish with the art, the art in this module is so well put together, beautiful, and cohesive that is continues to draw my players in session after session. If you are considering the Darkest Dream you won't regret it.
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. Overflowing with beautiful art, from the maps and handouts to the item cards and character portraits. Super high production values on everything. A delightful sandbox of an adventure that introduces the party to the Hanataz, the Blood Touched, and the world of Zyathe.
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out more, and so we delved deeply into the lore of the world, and he into chapter one of Red Star Rising, as he is the GM for our group. We genuinely could not get enough of it, as the setting is so different from anything we’ve played in before using the 5e system, or perhaps any system. Zyathé is a vibrant world full of intriguing mystery, wondrous landscapes, and experiences that will lift your heart or chill you to the very core. It has a rich history with no need to search through mountains of lore to find a specific thing as it is all fresh and laid out cohesively with no contradictions. Through the community around Gooey Cube (and I urge you to find the Gooey Den on Facebook and their Discord) I have found many GM’s and players who have been deeply inspired by Zyathé. So inspired in fact, that they have contributed to the world through Gooey Cube’s contributor’s program, which is something wonderful and unique that lets the consumer be a part of the product’s future. Now, if there are any two points that are important to know off the bat about Red Star Rising, it is that levelling is slow and in real-time. The first chapter takes place over the course of one day and a party may take five or six sessions to complete it. The immediate realization here might be the fact that a party will not get a long rest in this whole time. You may also only get one or two short rests. This may seem daunting, however, Gooey Cube’s philosophy provides additional resources to cope with this. Level one characters are a little tougher than normal and have extra HP and some extra spells or items to help them. In fact, they are quite close to being on the power level of a level two character. This makes the experience of being level one easier to cope with, as these first few levels can be a little slow or boring to many. This definitely caused a shift in thinking on the part of our party, and I suspect many parties, as those used to 5e will often skip the first two levels and start at the ‘fun’ level three. However, I will tell you that at the point of writing this review our party has gone through perhaps a week of in-game time, eight months of real-time (playing once a week), and are still level two, on the cusp of level three, and are in the third chapter. And we are having a lot of fun with it, despite our initial skepticism. The Philosophy of Gooey Cube definitely emphasizes the story over leveling. It’s not simply about bashing the monster of the week and racking up EXP. The adventure is almost like being the characters inside an epic novel, complete with dramatic script, incredible art, and immersive maps. There is so much packed into the box of each chapter to help the GM run the game and to help the players really buy into the tale being told. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it, as a usual adventure provides more of a skeleton framework and relies on the GM to fill in the gaps. Red Star Rising gives you everything needed and more besides. There is a handout for everything, from NPCs, to location artwork, monsters, and items both magical and mundane. It does everything possible to really show off the world and the adventure so that the party becomes immersed in the tale. Now, the story is certainly on-rails, however, it is done in such a fashion that the party has a lot of choice in the direction that the story goes. Each chapter has massive areas full of options for the party. For example, chapter one has the Carnivalle, with many stalls and tents to explore in whatever order the party desires, with events thrown in along the way that the GM can use as they please. Each one of these has associated NPC’s who are brilliantly written so that the GM knows exactly how to play them. The area around Carnivalle also comes into play, with the party being able to explore locations that include a couple of dungeons or even a nearby town. There’s even a quest board of sorts outside a nearby inn with all sorts of intriguing notices that can provide interesting diversions. There is a massive amount of choice given to the players so that the rails are barely seen, and yet at the end of the day, or rather the next morning, the Carnivalle will begin to pack up and the party will hit the road on to another chapter. The story itself is very rich, and so well done that it really draws the players into the mindset of their characters. From the outset, it is important to understand that the Hanataz (the travelers) are considered family to the characters, with each of them having two or three closer NPC’s as parental or sibling figures. The characters accept and do ‘quests’ not for money or fame, but because they want to help their family and keep them safe. This helps with the buy-in to the adventure and sets the theme for the entire adventure. The characters, and players, feel a real sense of urgency when the troupe, or a troupe member, is in danger, and feel a real need to resolve the situation at hand. Now, the story can get quite dark at times, as the horror builds up and puts emotional stress upon the characters, and indeed the players. There have been scenes in the story that the players cannot help but really feel the emotions of their characters, and that’s an amazing thing to accomplish at a table. There were certainly a few tears shed at ours! In all, the adventure is challenging, fun, immersive, and unlike anything I’ve ever done before. I would highly recommend it, even if you feel a bit skeptical about certain aspects like the slow leveling. I honestly think you’d be missing out if you didn’t give it a try because it’s such an amazing experience that I consider myself lucky to be a part of!
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ld NPC portraits, maps, detailed pictures of locations, events, and monsters, actual pictures of clues and treasure items... *fangirling* Let me tell you, role playing with a picture is way more exciting than role playing with a DM screen. Much fun has been had because of this. 2. Not so random encounters. Basically everything that happens during our sessions is related to the campaign. Yes, there is still room for random shenanigans that make DnD so fun, but because the GM has so much material available to him (including "random encounters" that point players back to the ojective), everything feels so cohesive. Gah! It's so good! 3. Incredible storytelling, descriptions, and just darn good ideas. Gooey Cube is a collaborative company, where a ton of writers, artists, and game masters get together to create the fabulous happenings in the world of Zyathe. A single person could not create something this awesome. I've never seen anything quite like this, but I am all over it. If you're a GM, BUY THIS. Your players will thank you. If you're a player, BUY THIS. Find a GM who will run it for you, or run it yourself as your first campaign! Seriously, I love this campaign.
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nique properties add excitement and interest, while in some ways simplifying a DM's job. For example, the "blood-touch" system enables GM's to create "one-off" PC's instead of having to invent and implement an entirely new race into the world. It has most of the classic races, and several new ones too. The printed images add a dimension to the game that my players really seemed to appreciate. I can't help wishing all the other sessions I play in had such vivid art. The staff and the community is young but very vibrant and positive. If you have a question, there's a bunch of friendly folks willing to help. I'm looking forward to running Chapter 2!
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ou need, from backstory and world lore, to monsters and challenges, and even character dialogue if you like. It handles all the annoying, time consuming parts of GMing, all the writing and planning and plots twists. When I use this module, I can focus on my favorite parts of GMing, like planning out character interactions, and adding fun moments for each of my players individually. Plus, it turns my session prep from a full afternoon or more of writing and planning to just a hour or two. So much less work for no loss of quality. If you want to run a fun, roleplay rich campaign without any of the hard parts, buy Darkest Dream and the other Red Star Rising chapters. You won't regret it.
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e a teenager being trained to take over adult duties for the group you belong to. Maybe you are shy and awkward to begin with, but your adventures will bring out your personality. Fighting. Role playing. Dungeons. Monsters. Humor. Drama. And, of course, a mystery. You never need to have played any game before to find your way through this game. Beginners will have just as much fun as seasoned players.
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r stories, the creatures so gloriously done. You literally fill like you are there. It is so immersive and inclusive to all walks of life via the characters presented. Not only do you have so many pre-generated characters to choose from, but the masterpiece handouts, that the game master has available to him along with the NPC portraits allows the GM to tell a story that not like anything I have experienced before. Gooey Cube you have truly created an amazing product for the world to enjoy. I could go on and on, but I hope you give this game a try and you too will be hooked.
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there is something exciting to do or to uncover.
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ook back to fondly as you dive deeper into even more of the good stuff. With secrets waiting to be uncovered at every corner, The Darkest Dream surpassed my expectation in every way with it's excellent writing, extensive handouts and the sheer volume of great additions to your standard D&D game. It's like dipping a toe into the deep pond that is the amazing world of Zyathé and a great adventure for players new and old.
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