Updated 4/1/2020: I mistakenly deleted the first 3 adventures in the review! They’ve been added back in below (and exist as a separate post, as well). My apologies to Melanie Black, Awkward Bard, and Jessica Marcrum for the oversight!

This review is coming in two parts: you can find Part One here.

Unique among one-shot adventure collections in that Uncaged has a tightly unifying theme gloriously realized through adventure scenarios that often feature tough moral dilemmas, Uncaged Volume I is a triumph. It is beautifully laid out with several tools that make it incredibly easy to navigate it’s 26 adventures, many of which feature new monsters, magic items, and encounter maps. With the exception of maybe one or two missing references that might affect gameplay, the editing is incredibly consistent, making it a joy to read. If you’re looking for one-shots that are more than just dungeoncrawls, there might not be a better release out there.

Rating: Content 5/5 and Form 4/5

Buy Uncaged Volume I here at the DMsGuild!

Read on for the full review!

We’re covering only the Tier 2+ adventures in this review; part one covered the rest. Here’s the spread:

Tier 2 adventures = 7

Tier 3 adventures = 4

Tier 4 adventures = 1

Credits

Narrative Designers: Alicia Furness, Alison Huang, Annabeth Lennon, Asa Wheatley, Awkward Bard, Bianca Bickford, Catherine Evans, Deirdre Donlon, Elise Cretel, Emily Smith, Jessica L. Washburn, Jessica Marcrum, Jessica Ross, Judy Black, Johanna Taylor, Kat Kruger, Kelly Dayton, Kristina Sisto Kindel, Luciella Elisabeth Scarlett, Lynne M. Meyer, Lysa Chen, Ma’at Crook, Maryska Connolly, Masha Lepire, Mellanie Black, Natalie Wallace

Cover Art: Samantha Darcy

Art Direction and Interior Layout: Ashley Warren

Original Interior Art: FlourescentWolf, Gwen Bassett, Hla Rosa, Jen Vaughn, Johanna Taylor, Kayla Cline, Liz Gist, Luciella Elisabeth Scarlett, Ma’at Crook, Wouter Florusse, Sammy Ward, Samantha Darcy

Cartography: Annabeth Lennon, Catherine Evans, Dyson Logos, Elise Cretel, Emily Smith, Jessica Washburn, Kristina Sisto Kindel, Luciella Elisabeth Scarlett, Ma’at Crook, Natalie Wallace

Editors: Dr. A. Kelly Lane, Alex C., Ashley Warren, Brent Jans, Christopher Walz, Dani Roanoke, Hadeel Al-Massari, Hannah Rose, Jeff Ellis, Jessica Washburn, Jessica Ross, Joe Nehmer, Liz Gist, Michael Haney, Stephanie Lee, TK Johnson

Disclaimer

I purchased the hardcover and PDF bundle with my own hard-earned cash.

This review will contain plenty of spoilers.

Content 5/5

Let’s tackle each adventure in order.

Shadows and Talons

By Melanie Black; levels 5-6

A harpy attack convinces the town of Cragwatch to hire outside aid against the menace. But the truth of the harpy’s origins may prove the enmity to be a simple misunderstanding.

While the challenges presented in this adventure don’t really suggest levels 5-6, the roleplaying opportunities afforded in this adventure definitely require experienced players and a DM who’s ready for some delicate scenes. And I mean that in the best way possible: the simple roster of characters in this adventure leads to a very satisfying tale of misunderstood origins and motives. Every step of the party’s actions are accounted for in case they uncover a lie or ulterior motive, which is no small feat in an adventure like this. But in so doing, author Melanie Black creates a story that runs smoothly despite not being focused on mechanics and combat strategies. It’s a great, focused one-shot that will make harpies a lot more interesting than they are as presented in the Monster Manual.

The Guardian of the Forest

By Awkward Bard; levels 5-8

The ancient Guardian of the Forest has been captured by the black dragon Murgyss. The Guardian’s heir, a medusa named Petra, leads the party on a quest to save her patron before its lifeforce is drained!

This is a picture-perfect, straightforward dragon-slaying quest, something you see way less in Dungeons & Dragons than you should. Especially executed as a great one-shot, as is the case here. Despite not having a map, the set-piece battle at the end is awesome. The Guardian is hooked up to life-draining crystals…

…that the dragon can activate to heal itself. Or, the party can target them to save the Guardian, which is a fun-as-hell skill challenge-like scenario! The final fight is deadly, but with two possible NPC allies (the medusa and an ogre), it’s much more doable for the party’s expected levels. Petra’s gaze attack is going to be a major component if she is positioned right, as it will force disadvantage on enemies who don’t meet her gaze…and therefore the PCs can really exploit that with sneak attacks and similar tactics. That’s partly why I’d argue harder for a map, but in theater of the mind this will still create an exciting, strategic battle.

The rest of the adventure ain’t no slouch either: there’s a great mix of encounters. There’s a puzzle, a potentially friendly ogre named Fiona(!), and a reasonable dragon’s hoard that won’t break game balance while still feeling like a major haul.

A Family Reunion

By Jessica Marcrum; level 7

A yuan-ti queen foresees the deaths of her monstress children and has the party track them down and bring them to her. If they succeed, they’re invited to a celebration feast and richly rewarded. If they fail, they are in for a fight!

This adventure straight up feels like a play, or a live action scenario. Which is funny because there’s a theater scene in it. But seriously: it’s got ton of character agency and roleplay opportunity, yet the resolution of each scene is (by design and logic) very specific; i.e. attending the play in one scene. The adventure relies heavily on skill checks for resolution, and gives some advice for modifying things based on approaches. This gets things right by utilizing skill checks in place of combat, but I take an issue with these not being a bit more complex, such as in the form of skill challenges, or leveraging more of the complexities found in the Social Interaction rules (Dungeon Master’s Guide, Chapter 8). Some of the DCs are necessarily high (more than one starting DC 25!), so that’s something I have trouble with. But in the form of a one shot, and in the theme of keeping things simple for such an adventure, it does all work. And remember, the resolution of each scene is spelled out, so if you pass or fail, you’ve got the results clearly detailed. It’s not like an investigative scenario where a fail halts the adventure; quite the opposite here! It could mean the difference between a wonderful reward and a pitched battle!

Maidens of the Weave

By Emily Smith; level 7

A drow matriarch’s daughter has disappeared after neglecting her warrior studies in exchange for magical ones. The party goes in search of her and discovers she’s joining a cult of driders dedicated to preserving the magical Weave. But there’s a schism in this group, and she may be a target of opportunity…

This is a great adventure that fully leverages Forgotten Realms lore, and predicates itself on the PCs being a part of (or willing to work with) drow society. This highlights Menzoberranzan (but only as the initial setting), and would work well in an Underdark campaign of politics and roleplay. There’s plenty of combat possible, but the adventure does assume the players (a) won’t just kill everything in sight, and (b) have an interest in investigating the somewhat weird societies of Underdark creatures without immediately aligning against them. Which I love, but murderhobos won’t like…which in fairness is true of all the adventures in this collection, and I’m all for that. That said, it also looks like there’s not a lot going on in the Maiden’s Sanctuary part of the adventure until the ritual begins; DMs will need to lean into the opportunities provided for some exploration, world-building, and lots of roleplaying with Vexalora to understand her reasons for being here. If the hook is “find my daughter,” that’s going to play a lot differently than “bring my daughter back.”

The final battle during the ritual is a well-staged, but DMs need to be aware that potential friendly driders are involved in a ritual and can’t join the fray. The adventure sets up the possibility of using yochlols or other minions, and you’re probably going to have to resort to that. Otherwise, the tactical situation is somewhat one-note.

Those are all things to be aware of; they don’t detract from the adventure, and it’s clear that writer Emily Smith is aware of these things. The set up is all there, the lore is fantastic, and the plot has interesting ramifications in the form of the cult of not-so-evil driders. I’d maybe subtract a point or two for the inconsistent monster bolding in the text, and the fact that one of the early scenes depends on a skill check to progress, which I hate. But the DC there is 12, so it’s pretty much assumed the PCs will pass it at these levels.

Appalling Morass

By Ma’at Crook; level 8

A Zhent shopkeeper in Elmwood was rebuffed trying to make a deal with a coven of hags, and now seeks revenge. He plans to turn the village against the hags, even though they aren’t your typical “evil witch” coven. More importantly though, they have proof of shopkeeper Dar’vo’s lies.

Notably, this adventure has a bunch of minor tie-ins with some Adventurer’s League modules in the Bleeding Gate series (Amalgamation and Lineage). It also features a format where each encounter has a section calling out each pillar of play and how it works for that pillar. I’d argue that gets a little too strict for some of the encounters, but it’s a great skeleton on which to hang your encounters: thinking about all three pillars, all (or most) of the time is a shining best practice for DMs new and old.

I have a few issues with the editing: monster numbers in the encounters are regularly missing, and there’s a need to rely on Dar’vo’s employee list that doesn’t appear until late the adventure (Chapter 3, p162). But those aside, the adventure is really strong. In fact, it has one of my favorite moments in the entire collection, featuring a number of hag-made cleaning supplies with amazing puns and plays on modern cleaning brands with a D&D twist. The adventure rewards any approach you take, too, with story awards at the end that can have long-lasting benefits. “Dar’vo’s Word” is a great way because it gives Zhentarim faction agents a really nice boon.

Heart of the Goddess

By Elise Cretel; level 10

The PCs, with the goddess Ma’at by their side, advance through a veritable gauntlet of trials of the Duat, facing the god of chaos Isfet in order for Ma’at to regain her heart.

This adventure is a perfect example of a cool idea but ends up too railroaded in execution. The clever twist is that the party effectively drops dead at the front of this temple, and then goes on this journey in the afterlife (without knowing it), and are key to helping a goddess resurrect herself. It’s actually an idea I’ve used as a campaign once, and it’s brilliant. But in this adventure, the phenomenal map that accompanies it unfortunately is revealed to be like a theme park ride. The problem is compounded by excessively high-challenge NPCs and monsters; Ma’at is a deva, so when she’s involved most encounters are a cake-walk, but when she’s not directly involved the PCs are facing critters well above their ability to tangle with within the confines of the dungeon.

Lauma, Forest Hag Variant

By Johanna Taylor; challenge 6 creature

As a challenge 6 hag, Lauma is a great higher-threat hag; I’m a fan, as being the developer behind The Hag’s Hexes should attest! The lore of the Lauma is amazing and creepy: she earnestly believes she’s a motherly protector of the woodland realms and the folk that enter her neck of the woods. But yeah…she’s still a hag, folks! In this case a Chaotic Neutral one, so there’s a lot of great opportunities to use her as something other than a direct villain. She’s a capricious and yet loving trickster that gives off a macabre feel.

The stats have a couple issues, unfortunately.

Multiattack references a power never explained (“clawlike roots or branches…”).

Mother’s Embrace and Bramble Trap both read much more like Lair Actions than as standard monster actions.

With another round of editing and balancing, I think this monster would be a perfect addition to the repertoire of hags. As it stands, though, it needs a little work to be playable.

Galateya’s Will

By Luciella Elisabeth Scarlett; levels 10-12

A necromancer is stealing women’s souls and placing them in constructs to create “the most beautiful” object of his affections. A deva named Galateya is sent by the goddess Sune to stop him.

Fantastically creepy encounters abound in this adventure, and even having a deva working with the party will not guarantee the party’s success (or even survival, if things go sideways). My favorite part is the ever-shifting moral dilemma throughout, and how it plays out — and is spelled out — in the tactical considerations of the encounters. There’s a lot of room for this to be almost purely roleplay and investigation, but the adventure covers all the pillars expertly.

Assuming the party makes it through the harrowing climactic battle against the necromancer, Galateya still has to make an ultimate decision about the remaining constructs. What she chooses is likely to be a heartbreaking, poignant moment for the characters, and does a great job of showing how an angel might fall in D&D.

Legend of the White Snake

By Lysa Penrose; levels 11-16

Xu Xian was given a gift by spirits called the Four Winds, but misunderstanding it, he cast it into the river. It was eaten by a snake, who then became Lady White, and thankful for the gift from Xu Xian, she fell in love with him. But her origin was eventually revealed, alos misunderstood, and in that shocking moment, she was imprisoned. Now, four NPCs stand ready to discover or reveal their true nature to a party of unsuspecting adventurers.

This adventure features one of my favorite aspects of replayability: the DM starts by rolling to discover which of the four major NPCs is the true antagonist. I love that, and even better, the rest of the adventure is a beautiful, lyrical scenario of truth, lies, love, misunderstandings, and quite possibly, cold, bloody revenge. On top of that, the end-game of the scenario forces the party to reveal personal truths or dark secrets about themselves in order to progress, giving this scenario a very personal edge to it. I really can’t say enough about how much I like it!

Madness of the Valkyries

By Asa Wheatley; level 12

Unknowingly hired by Odin, the party is sent to destroy the last of his traitorous valkyries, Skuld. The party enters a mountaintop hall, where they face off against loyal shieldmaidens, a clever trap that reveals the backstory, and then finally Skuld herself. Which, oh by the way, might trigger Ragnarok!

This adventure sings with absolutely amazing atmosphere and lore, and the fact that the centerpiece trap early on forces the players to engage with the backstory really helps that out. Notably, the trap is intentionally vague: this can make pacing things so the party feels threatened but still learns from the lore of it a bit difficult. But that aside this adventure is an absolute blast to read, and seems like it would play great. If there’s any complaints, it’s that I wanted more: the ending is necessarily brief because of the page count, and therefore is framed as a shock reveal. It really could’ve done with a few different angles to present negotiation or other types of fallout, but alas, there’s not enough room for that.

Ghastly Grins

By Judy Black; levels 13-15

The party comes to a town where a recent election has replaced the old with the new. But on the evening of Brix’s election, she’s nearly beheaded by the Dullahan! The party follows the scent of betrayal to find the ex-mayor, Andes, is in control of the headless attacker.

This is a very moody adventure that would fit in right at home in Ravenloft. Overall it’s a brief exploration/investigation matter, but it’s handled well, and with one solid twist that can be expanded or left minimized for play time, which is nice (it’s the part about “who is actually controlling the Dullahan”). It’s also a very tough adventure: the Dullahan is challenge 20 and Andes is challenge 18, but defeating Andes stops the Dullahan, too. They are both spellcasters of no mean feat, either, so running the battle could have done with a bit more tactical advice; it’s going to be rough working through what spells are best for these two to cast at any given time! But like I said, the adventure is incredibly atmospheric, and with just a little strategy work from the DM, will be a great dark adventure to play through.

The Tale of Two Sphinxes

By Jessica L. Washburn; levels 17-20

In ancient times, two sphinxes held the keys to reshaping the world. But one became possessed by the idea of controlling the item they held rather than simply protecting it, and the two sphinxes came into conflict over their lonely, unforgiving task. Now the party happens upon the site of their guardianship as well as their tragic battle.

This adventure brilliantly applies the principle of the Five Room Dungeon to the five stages of grief. It does so by providing several great puzzles, each one tied to a stage of grief, and illustrating the effects of the conflict that overtook the two sphinxes. These puzzles are great, really nailing the subject matter and dropping lore to bring the situation alive. I’d say First Room: Shock could have used some more descriptive text about the tiles and how or where they are placed, while Second Room: Denial needs a few consequences for not using the boats; such high-level PCs will not be constrained by normal movement modes very much!

But again, the puzzles do their job expertly, and there’s some fantastic opportunities for problem solving, teamwork, combat, and roleplay. Of course it’s all very tragic, so it’s some pretty heavy subject matter to deal with, but that’s what Uncaged does best, and this adventure nails that.

Appendices & End Matter

The book ends with a few appendices that are great resources: all the monsters with page references (whether from the Monster Manual or for the new monsters appearing in this book), an appendix of player versions of the maps, and finally the wonderful acknowledgements and bios of the creators behind this tome. Give it a read, and follow these folks: they are absolutely some of the adventure writers and game designers on the Guild (and in the indie roleplaying game scene)!

Form 4/5

This doesn’t change from the previous review: it’s a fantastic looking book, cleanly laid out.

Conclusion

Content 5/5, Form 4/5. This averages to 4.5, and as always with D&D, we round down for a final result of 4! I love it!

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