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DnD5e – “Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus”
I have to say, when I first heard that the next adventure setting was going to take place in hell, I wasn’t all that enthused. I was not looking forward to going to such a place. I mean, I usually play clerics, so I guess everything there would be my enemy, so I should have been stoked to play, but I was rather unenthused. That was at first. After watching several videos in a playlist from D&D Beyond which touched a bit more on the characters involved, and I got my mind around the lore that was involved, I was ready to ride the crazy train to hell at the first opportunity.
I will try and keep this as spoiler-free as possible for those of you who are also looking forward to playing in a campaign based on this module.
First, some links to some information relating to my review. Besides the great playlist I linked to above, I invite you to watch a Fantasy Grounds run playthrough with DM Drake PD, and players:
Rob2e
Mattekure
Diablobob
Marbanya
Sven
Their game is hosted on Rob2e’s Twitch page at: https://www.twitch.tv/rob2e
I participated in a spoiler-free One-shot with DM Founder Laerun where we had some items pertaining to the module, but the storyline was homebrew. You can watch our YouTube video of our game, which featured players:
Lady Shel
Marmus
Lon Del
bullheaded
Naresh
CJ-Omega
You can view this video at: https://youtu.be/ChFeiY-t70A
On Sunday, September 22, 2019 the All About Fantasy Grounds stream, which is hosted at https://www.twitch.tv/rob2e had “Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus” as its topic. Two copies of the adventure were given away to those lucky enough to be on the stream. DM Drake PD was the guest on the stream, as he is the DM of the “Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus,” which I mentioned above. If you missed the stream, you can watch the YouTube version of the show at: https://youtu.be/odJA5lnPfEw.
Lastly, the official Fantasy Grounds Fridays stream talked about “Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus” on their show, and you can watch the YouTube Vod of this show at: https://youtu.be/q02tSXl9RAw
Now, on with my review.
There are two modules that are part of “Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus.” When you load up your table after installing the module, you will find:
D&D Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
D&D Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus Players
The first module is the actual adventure, and one for DMs eyes only, while you can let your players access the Players module which includes the new Background: “Faceless,” and some Tables your players can roll on to help create their character. Both modules include reference manuals, which make reading them just like having the physical book in front of you.
The adventure has two parts. Generally, you will be starting as a party in Baldur’s Gate, and something will then lead you to have to venture down into the Nine Hells to Avernus, which is the first layer of hell. I won’t add any more so not to ruin anything for players who haven’t played this yet.
Probably the thing you want to remember is that Hell is not a fun place to be. Not for good aligned characters, or evil aligned characters, and not for the Demons and Devils that are involved in the Blood War that rages on this level.
Some interesting things that I learned that you will find in the game are:
Who is Zariel, and how did she become the ruler of Avernus?
Who is Lulu, and what connection does she have with Zariel.
What is the difference between Devils and Demons, and do you want to take a side in their war?
What are infernal war machines and how are they powered?
What is unique about the River Styx?
There are a lot of moral dilemmas you will have to face in this game. Whether your character is good aligned or evil aligned neither of them will be easy choices to make, but a fun time is pretty much guaranteed as you try to come up with clever ways to achieve your goals, and perhaps be lucky enough to see your home again, and most likely kiss the ground and never want to leave again. Enjoy! Purchase the Fantasy Grounds module version of: “Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus.”
Below, I’ve shared some screenshots of the “Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus” One Shot Laerun DM’d for a small group of us.
We at Fantasy Grounds College are fans of the Fantasy Grounds program, and advocate its use in playing D&D and other RPGs online. We are not affiliated or officially endorsed by SmiteWorks USA LLC or Fantasy Grounds.
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