Rocky Cape (5e) by Ken Spencer is a role playing game supplement published by Frog God Games 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. This is an adventure for Tier 1 characters, starting at 1st level, and is also available in a Swords & Wizardry version. The adventure is located in the Lost Lands near to Bridgeport and Loagwater in the Principality of Olduvar.
The supplement is available as a 45-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $7.19 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, one the front matter, one the Table of Contents and one the Open Game License.
Rocky Cape gives an overview of the local baron’s problem – people have been disappearing in larger than expected numbers – and of the adventure, with details on how to run it. There is a small hex crawl and some challenges that are likely suicidal at 1st level, as well as a couple of small dungeon crawls. There are suggestions for how to involve characters and instructions on how to get to the region and a list of all the missing people and which village they were from. The baron will make the characters an offer, and will also arrange for goods to be shipped to a nearby town for sale, as the area lacks the ability to buy and sell most goods.
Welcome to Rocky Cape gives a brief overview of the various points of interest, followed by weather tables and land and sea encounters.
Rumours and Tales has d8 rumour tables for each of the four main settlements, which vary in truth. The various different locations around the cape are then detailed, which include a number of places to explore, several to get slaughtered and various things the characters could get involved with.
Appendix A: New Monsters has new creatures encountered in the region, most from the 5th Edition version of Tome of Horrors but one from Fifth Edition Foes.
Appendix B: New Magic has new magic items to find as well as an extensively detailed drug.
Appendix C: Player Maps has player-friendly maps of the various locations.
Rocky Cape (5e) in Review
The PDF is bookmarked, but only major sections are linked. The Table of Contents is to a similar level of depth and is hyperlinked. Navigation is okay. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. As well as the colour maps, there are a number of colour illustrations that appear to be custom, and some monocoloured illustrations. Presentation is decent.
Although this adventure does have a specific aim – to find out what happened to the missing people – it does not have a linear flow. Characters can travel around the area, speaking to the locals and investigating the region trying to find out what is going on, as well as investigating a number of locations. The characters’ patron does expect them to solve the problem at some point, but they can go about it their own way. Characters can also end up in areas where they could easily get wiped out; there are some dangerous creatures around if they’re unwary. Rocky Cape (5e) is an interesting little miniature hex crawl and it can be found by clicking here.
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