Downtime Destinations: The Kelpie’s Hole by Jess Pendley and Keith Pendley is a role playing game supplement published by Underground Oracle Publishing for use with Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available as a seven page Pay What You Want PDF from DriveThruRPG. One page has a large illustration of the tavern, one page is Special Thanks and one is the Open Game License.
The Kelpie’s Hole is a seedy tavern and one that’s a bit unusual. The tavern itself is constructed from scrap, including some from some nearby ruins, and is far more solid than it appears. The place operates on the borders of legality; as long as any trouble inside it doesn’t spill outside, the guards look the other way. This is a rough location.
The three primary NPCs are then described; the tavern’s owner and two former adventuring colleagues. All are getting on in years but this doesn’t mean they are easy marks. No true game stats are given but some overview details of their personalities and their classes are covered.
The tavern is named after a water-filled hole behind it which people are dared to go into. The hole is infested with a local parasite, which makes going into the water extremely unpleasant.
The only game stats given are for the parasites, and a tonic that is sold that can cure the effects of them.
Finally, there is a list of rumours that can be heard in the place.
Downtime Destinations: The Kelpie’s Hole in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and has enough different sections that these would have been appreciated. Navigation could be better. The text maintains a two-column colour format and appeared to be free of errors. There are colour illustrations of the three NPCs and the tavern, and another, that appear as if some or all of them are custom. Presentation is very good.
The tavern is nicely detailed and is a useful location of the sort. Although it is aimed at D&D 5E, the two items that have stats could be tweaked and it wouldn’t be hard to use it with another system. It can also be dropped into any suitable marshy settlement without difficulty. Downtime Destinations: The Kelpie’s Hole is a nice little supplement and it can be found by clicking here.
Leave a Reply