Now in its seventeenth year, Free RPG Day for 2024 took place on Saturday, June 22nd. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Thanks to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day.
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Not A Drop To Drink is a scenario for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. It is published by Loke BattleMats and a preview for publisher’s The Calendar of Many Adventures 2025, which like last year’s The Calendar of Many Adventures 2024, presents twelve maps and twelve associated adventures, one pairing a month. Not A Drop To Drink is designed to be played with four Player Characters, each of Second Level, and completed in a single session, two at most. It opens with a quick ‘5e in 5 Minutes’ guide before giving an overview of the scenario, a possible hook for the Player Characters, and suggestions on how to make it easier for smaller or lover Level parties or more difficult for higher Level parties. It takes place in a region known as the Amber Vale, best known for its verdant fields of wheat and the blessings of the river goddess, Quellia. Unfortunately, this green and pleasant land has been beset by a harsh drought as the wells have run dry and the farmers of the vale are at a loss to explain it. Quick investigation will suggest that perhaps a curse has befallen the land and point the Player Characters in the direction of the shrine of Quellia, following in the footsteps of a trio of labourers who had gone to investigate themselves.
The first sign that there is more to the drought than a curse is the discovery of smashed well at the shrine and the desiccated body of the shrine keeper. With the help of a Agear puppy being raised at the shrine—Agear Hounds being sacred to Quellia—the Player Characters can push up out of the vale and into the Greenwind Caves, where they can confront the villains of the piece. This takes place in a Dammed Wellspring as cultists attempt to sacrifice the parents of the Agear puppy to a god of famine! In order to reach the cultists and their leader, the Player Characters must cross the floor of the cave which is marked by mud-covered rocks between which runs quite deep, but definitely muddy channels of water. The cultists have laid planks from one rock to another in order to get across, but if the Player Characters follow this route, they will be under fire from the cultists.
The first sign that there is more to the drought than a curse is the discovery of smashed well at the shrine and the desiccated body of the shrine keeper. With the help of a Agear puppy being raised at the shrine—Agear Hounds being sacred to Quellia—the Player Characters can push up out of the vale and into the Greenwind Caves, where they can confront the villains of the piece. This takes place in a Dammed Wellspring as cultists attempt to sacrifice the parents of the Agear puppy to a god of famine! In order to reach the cultists and their leader, the Player Characters must cross the floor of the cave which is marked by mud-covered rocks between which runs quite deep, but definitely muddy channels of water. The cultists have laid planks from one rock to another in order to get across, but if the Player Characters follow this route, they will be under fire from the cultists.
As you would expect from a publisher of battle maps, Not A Drop To Drink includes two good maps. One is of the Greenwind Caves, done in a much rougher style than is the norm for Loke Battle Maps. This does not mean that it is a poor map, rather that the style is different to that used by the publisher for maps intended as encounter or battle locations. The other map is of the Dammed Wellspring and has nice sense of space and swirling waters. It is also accompanied by a full set of counters to use for the Player Characters, the NPCs, and the monsters in this last battle scene. The scenario includes four pre-generated characters. They consist of a Fighter, a Druid, a Halfling Wizard, and a half-Elf Ranger. They include full stats and background as well as a decent thumbnail illustration. There are stats for all of the monsters and NPCs and dogs in the scenario.
Physically, Not A Drop To Drink is well presented and written. Coloured text is used to indicate that the Dungeon Master refer to the monsters and NPCs and magic items. The two maps are nicely done.
Not A Drop To Drink is quick and easy to prepare and run. The players and their characters should be able work out what is going on quite quickly, so preparing them for the final confrontation in the Dammed Wellspring. Not A Drop To Drink is good for a single session’s worth of play, whether that is as a one-shot or an addition to a campaign.
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