“The Tales of Cormyr: Revel in the Hullack Forest” – an adventure full of intrigue to the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons

A word from the creators

The Tales of Cormyr: Revel in the Hullack Forest, as the creators themselves inform: “An original, entirely Polish-language RPG campaign with accompanying organizational rules. We hope that thanks to it, the Polish market will also benefit from the success of the latest edition of the first RPG system. Our idea is not a carbon copy of Adventure League solutions. We know that players in Poland like to be more involved, more empathetic. Therefore, the scenarios will give certain conditions – what decision of the players at the table will contribute to the advantage of which of the noble families. Sometimes it will be big decisions – should you save the village from being burned down, evacuate the villagers, or condemn the entire population? Sometimes these will be small decisions – do we drink in moderation until the morning, or go to sleep before work, kill the mosquito, or let it buzz? Sometimes they will be fully conscious choices sometimes unforeseen consequences of a trivial whim satisfied in affect … Regardless of the scale of the problem – the MG will know what the effect is. After the session, he will add up the advantage points and, by registering the session in the system, he will check the result in the appropriate box. And this is how the actions of players from all over Poland leading their heroes through the Forest Kingdom will be turned into points, which the system will summarize by giving us a signal which of the families will achieve their goals at the end of the first season – and who knows, if Tymora smiles – it will be he played first violin in the next one. ”

Power struggle

The Last Tavern also has a copy of the first adventure The Tales of Cormyr. We had the opportunity to play a game and see what is happening in the Hullack Forest. This is where the struggle for influence is taking place. Six mighty bloodlines, Wywernspur, Huntsilver, Crownsilver, Truesilver, Marliir, and Huntcrown vie for power in the area. The fight between the nobles, however, is not about killing. They all play a specific game with each other. There are intrigues between fake smiles and courtesies that ordinary residents have no idea about. In order to show the superiority over others, even a forest festival was organized. To the delight of the public, there is a lot of beer, singing, games and artistic performances. However, there are inter-family disputes between the idyll. And it is in the middle of this extraordinary event that the players, or rather the heroes, are thrown. Their task will be to choose which family they will help in the struggle for power.

All clear?

Tales of Cormyr: Revel in the Hullack Forest is an adventure designed for first-level characters. Of course, experienced players and Game Masters can take part in it, but laymen should also be able to handle it. The rules are clear from the very first page, and the developers help the host of the game. So we get a summary of the adventure, hints about the behavior of the NPC or the sounds surrounding players, the consequences of the choices, enemy statistics and maps with hexes on it to make it easier for us to transfer events to the mat and reflect the battlefield. If the lecturer has no experience yet, he will also find fragments describing the festival, nature and artists’ performances ready to read. Everything is almost served on a tray and helps you learn the game. This is definitely a big plus.

Another very important thing, of course, is the scenario itself. After reading it and then leading it, I can say that neither novice heroes nor those more experienced will be bored at the table. Hullack Forest Festwill give us a few hours of great fun. As described by the creators, everyone will have the opportunity to empathize with their character and show their most important personality traits. Thanks to numerous intrigues, you will also have to think carefully about who and how we want to help, and whether it is worth joining the game played by the nobility at all. There are also puzzles that will require a lot of thought before a solution is found. Of course, all this is enriched with numerous fights, during which you will be able to test the combat properties of the team. So there is everything we expect from an RPG.

Before you sit at the table

The Tales of Cormyr: Hullack Forest Revel is an introductory adventure to Faerun that should please old stagers and help laymen learn Dungeons & Dragons . For the latter, it is worth adding information that it is not enough for you to start the game. The Game Master must first obtain the Player’s Handbook and read it in order to create characters for his players, but also know the rules of combat or weapon statistics. It is also worth getting acquainted with the history of the region in advance and learn about the laws in force in Cormyr. A set of dice from four to twenty-sided and pencils are also required as standard, and chips will also be useful. However, thanks to the descriptions of the enemies in the adventure, you won’t need the Book of Monstersand great descriptions will also make the Dungeon Master’s Guide unnecessary.

Time for an adventure!

If you have no idea for your own adventure or are just starting your journey through the Forgotten Lands, the Tales of Cormyr is a scenario worth investing in. An interesting idea from the creators will make you have a good time, and clear rules will guide you through the festival and help you understand the rules of Dungeons & Dragons . The Hullack Forest Revel is only the first part of a larger story, so you can be sure that your actions will have an impact on the future. By the way, you can always move the events to another place, modify them according to your needs and still have fun. So I recommend that you face the family’s intrigues and wait for the next part of this story.