Review: Mysteries of the Moonsea
Filed under Reviews on August 9, 2006
Keywords: books, Dungeons and Dragons, Forgotten Realms, Moonsea
I finished reading this over the weekend, but have been so busy getting ready for GenCon I was afraid I might not get to posting my thoughts. I considered breaking it up into parts, but due to time constraints, I’m just going to say it all today.
This book heralds a new format for Forgotten Realms regional source books. Rather than being a pure lore dump, MotM mixes tidbits of lore with several mini-adventures set in different areas all around the Moonsea. Of course, not everyone likes change, and MotM has stirred up its share of controversy over at Wizards and Candlekeep.
Wizards was clear from the start about the format, so I didn’t expect anything like Unapproachable East or Shining South. As a busy DM, a product that provides ready-to-go adventures that could be strung together with a little creativity is very appealing. Unfortunately, I was left with the impression that MotM tried to be a little bit of everything and ended up falling short of my expectations.
Melvaunt and the north
MotM is broken up into four sections. Each section centers on a major city of the Moonsea and its surrounding environs. As you progress through the chapters, the adventures are designed for characters of higher level, a concept I don’t like because it seems a little unnatural. (Is there really nothing for a first level adventurer to do around Hillsfar?) The chapters start with some lore about the area, then discuss NPCs and conclude with a series of adventures. Chapter one covered Melvaunt and was written by Wil Upchurch, and contains adventures for PCs of levels 1-6.
The lore in this chapter conflicted with information about Melvaunt’s leadership as presented in the Sons of Gruumsh published adventure. The NPCs were poorly used, with only one playing a prominent role in any of the adventures. I also noticed that the NPCs in this chapter did not include a Gather Information section–facts or rumors about the NPC that PCs could learn based on a skill check–as found in the other chapters.
The adventures set in the city possessed a common theme, as did those in the surrounding environs. However, there were no links between the two groupings (this was the case with all four chapters). The “outdoor” adventures would dovetail nicely with the Sons of Gruumsh adventure after some minor tweaking.
Hillsfar and the south
This chapter was written by Sean K. Reynolds and features adventures for characters of 6th to 12th level. The lore in this section has perhaps generated the most complaints. MotM was released around the time of the final book of Richard Baker’s Last Mythal series, which includes some major changes to Hillsfar. While MotM is set prior to the novel in the FR timeline, many fans are upset that the lore is more or less obsolete.
This was my least favorite chapter, and that has solely to do with the adventures. This chapter lacks the “hook” suggestions for each adventure found in the other chapters, and none of the adventures have a tie-in to each other or the adventures of the previous chapter.
Mulmaster and the east
Chapter three is written by Darrin Drader and contains adventures for PCs of 10th to 15th level. It is perhaps my favorite chapter. The adventures contained good hooks and tie-ins between the adventures in the chapter and from chapter one. Darrin also revealed at Candlekeep that he is writing a web enhancement for MotM that will feature Phlan.
Zhentil Keep and the west
Thomas Reid wrote chapter four, which contains adventures for characters of 15th to 18th level. There are some vague references to the adventure plots of previous chapters, and a couple of adventures have lead-ins to each other. None of them really piqued my interest, however.
I’ll get some use out of MotM, and already have ideas for a campaign that will include material from the first and third chapters and Sons of Gruumsh. However, that defeats the purpose of the product, which was to provide a series of adventures that could be used as a campaign with minimal work. Fortunately, I bought it for a good discount off Amazon. I think WotC might be better served to go back to the regional lore books and produce a second, softcover campaign similar to Red Hand of Doom set in the region.
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