A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Spooky, Scary Skeletons

Spooky, Scary Skeletons by Cindy Butor is a role playing game supplement published by Wizards of the Coast through the DMs Guild Community Content Programme. This is an adventure for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition for 4-6 characters of levels 5-7.

The supplement is available as a 5-page PDF from DMs Guild for $1.99 but was received for free thanks to a special offer. One page is the front cover.

The opening paragraphs explain that it can occur in any small town or village and another faction can be substituted for the one included, or a monetary reward can be substituted instead. The adventure also uses Fear Points, covered later.

Part One: Adventure Overview explains that the characters are wanting to join the Trendy Tressyms (the faction that can be replaced), an adventurers’ guild. First, they have to stay the night in the Shiver Shack, a haunted house outside town. The place is home to a flameskull who has been amassing an army of undead; the undead simply want to sing and socialise and would like the flameskull killed.

Part Two: The Adventure describes the house exterior and interior, with skeletons being one of the primary undead inhabitants. The characters must find the flameskull’s lair in order to destroy it.

Part Three: Fear Points explains how these work. They are gained at various points in the adventure and there is a table listing seven, cumulative, effects; a character suffers the effects of all levels including and below their current one.

Spooky, Scary Skeletons in Review

The PDF lacks bookmarks and is short enough that they are not really needed. Navigation is okay. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. Apart from the cover, there is a single piece of modified stock art. Presentation is okay.

This is a simple enough short adventure, although there are some dangerous elements, even though parts of it do come across as rather more light-hearted than scary. Which does make the Fear Points seem irrelevant at times. This doesn’t feel like a horrifying Halloween adventure but a more cheerful one. With dancing skeletons. Spooky, Scary Skeletons does not really have any skeletons that are spooky or scary and it can be found by clicking here.