Tomb of the Warlock King by Sean Tadsen is a role playing game supplement published by Wizards of the Coast through the DMs Guild Community Content Programme. This is an adventure for four characters of levels 2-4 for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition and is published under the Open Game License though, as it’s Community Content, it perhaps shouldn’t be; DMs Guild can be unclear on the matter.
The supplement is available as a 24-page PDF from DMs Guild for $4.95 but was obtained at a reduced price thanks to a special offer. One page is the front cover, one the front matter, half a page is Acknowledgements and About the Author and just under three pages are the Open Game License. A zip file has a jpg colour map of the tomb.
The Adventure Outline starts by explaining that this is intended as a one-shot for parties with an average level of 3 and isn’t tied to a specific setting. There is also a content warning. The adventure’s synopsis is given, then three hooks. The background explains that a would-be tyrant knows as the Warlock King was defeated and his crown broken up, but a group of disciples remained. A sidebar explains that there is no map of the village or the surrounding area, as the village has little impact on the adventure; the important points are mentioned.
The adventure itself starts with Chapter 1 – The Refugees. The characters will encounter the survivors of a bandit attack on a caravan, with three suggested locations. Once the characters are filled in, they can proceed to the next.
Chapter 2 – Wreck of the Caravan has the characters proceed to the site of the ambush. There they can find out more details about what happened.
Assuming the characters discovered everything needed, they can progress to Chapter 3 – Exploring the Tomb. The tomb is where the bandits are laired up and where the final confrontation will happen. There are divisions amongst the bandits; the characters could gain temporary help.
Conclusion wraps things up, including potential future hooks, experience and what happens if the characters are defeated.
Appendix A – Creature Stat Blocks has the single main creature.
Tomb of the Warlock King in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and is long enough with enough different sections that these would have been useful. Navigation is poor. The text maintains a single column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are no internal illustrations bar a labelled colour map of the tomb. Presentation is okay.
There is only one stat block given in the adventure, which saves space, though it might have been worthwhile to note where the stat blocks for the standard encounters, such as the bandits, could be found, as not everyone may know. This is a pretty linear adventure, going to A then B then C, but it wouldn’t be expected to be anything different, given its nature as a simple one-shot. Various bits of information players might need or could find are nicely presented as bullet points, and there are a few sidebars giving additional information. Tomb of the Warlock King is a decent and simple little adventure and it can be found by clicking here.
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