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abe25's review against another edition
4.0
It’s a ok book, but not a reader if you know what I mean.
snazel's review against another edition
4.0
Okay so this is a well-done adventure, but really not one I'd choose to run myself. The amount of ways player characters can die in this is truly, terrifyingly, high. Every location in the jungle has at least four ways players can die, at LEAST, and that's not even including the random encounter tables, which when they're not ways to die, are reminders of the fact that other people have died recently. It's a ticking time bomb of a game that is also a meat grinder. I was reading a lot of this going "ahhh who would want to play this, this is an ENTIRELY different style of play that I'm used to" until I got to the temples at the end, that are full of traps and puzzles, and it finally clicked. "ooooo, this is an Indiana Jones-Style adventure, racing to save the day despite horrible peril". And then I read the final dungeon, where my face did this the whole time.
Let me just say, that I've read the descriptions of some pretty gothic horror type dungeons, creeping dread, etc. Those are bad. This one seemed to be pulled directly from some back corner of my nightmares? Just so many terrifying things, so many ways to die, so many ways to be reminded of everyone who died before you.
So yeah, if you're more of an AD&D player, really interested in the overall puzzle of the adventure, you really want to feel like you survived your DM throwing EVERYTHING at you, you have no issues with dungeons designed as actual nightmare fuel— this may be a great game for you! I'd be really interested in hearing the story of how your story went! If you're really attached to your characters, or want to feel like you have a fighting chance with most challenges you face (cause a lot of these there's just like, so many ways to insta-die of poison, or fall damage, or torture), this may not be the best game for you.
Let me just say, that I've read the descriptions of some pretty gothic horror type dungeons, creeping dread, etc. Those are bad. This one seemed to be pulled directly from some back corner of my nightmares? Just so many terrifying things, so many ways to die, so many ways to be reminded of everyone who died before you.
So yeah, if you're more of an AD&D player, really interested in the overall puzzle of the adventure, you really want to feel like you survived your DM throwing EVERYTHING at you, you have no issues with dungeons designed as actual nightmare fuel— this may be a great game for you! I'd be really interested in hearing the story of how your story went! If you're really attached to your characters, or want to feel like you have a fighting chance with most challenges you face (cause a lot of these there's just like, so many ways to insta-die of poison, or fall damage, or torture), this may not be the best game for you.
ericsherwood's review
5.0
Great adventure. Explores themes of death and life. Might be a bit tough on brand new players, but it's fun, nonetheless.
apostrophen's review
3.0
I've been making my way through some 5e books since last summer when I got to play with [a:Brandon Crilly|8442285|Brandon Crilly|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], [a:Evan May|5887146|Evan May|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png], [a:Marie Bilodeau|2967960|Marie Bilodeau|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1305224728p2/2967960.jpg] and [a:Kevin Hearne|4414255|Kevin Hearne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1493661647p2/4414255.jpg] as the party sailor/cleric in a Saltmarsh campaign, and I'm hoping to return the favour to DM so the wonderful Brandon can play a character.
I'm really liking the flow of 5e, and the simplifications from 3.5e (I skipped 4e after one session); as a player, it felt way more streamlined toward role-playing, but without turning the crunch into feeling like a tabletop version of a video game (ahem, 4e).
I'm definitely going to stick with something pre-published, rather than home-brewing, but this one, which is aimed at middle-to-higher-level characters, has a lot going on, and I think I'll tuck it aside for when I'm more comfortable with the mechanics. It didn't read as accessibly as [b:Waterdeep: Dragon Heist|40366280|Waterdeep Dragon Heist (Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition)|Wizards RPG Team|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532458805l/40366280._SX50_.jpg|62649304].
I'm really liking the flow of 5e, and the simplifications from 3.5e (I skipped 4e after one session); as a player, it felt way more streamlined toward role-playing, but without turning the crunch into feeling like a tabletop version of a video game (ahem, 4e).
I'm definitely going to stick with something pre-published, rather than home-brewing, but this one, which is aimed at middle-to-higher-level characters, has a lot going on, and I think I'll tuck it aside for when I'm more comfortable with the mechanics. It didn't read as accessibly as [b:Waterdeep: Dragon Heist|40366280|Waterdeep Dragon Heist (Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition)|Wizards RPG Team|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532458805l/40366280._SX50_.jpg|62649304].
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