Odyssey of the Dragonlords Mega-Module?

"Odyssey of the Dragonlords" by Various. Published by Arcanum Worlds and Distributed by Modiphius. ISBN-13: 978-1-912743-40-7 -- 478 Pages.

There was a great deal of hype about this book, which led me to purchase it. The Friendly Local Game Store that I usually shop at included the separate map.

I must say that I was a little disappointed by this book. I'm a big fan of making material for RPGs that are set in the Greco-Roman period. This book is set firmly in the Grecian period. In its thirteen chapters, and seven appendixes, it covers almost all of the Grecian myths, including several I knew already, and a couple I had never heard of.

Strangely enough, the Introduction is basically an overview of the world of Thylea, its Gods, its structure, and many other parts of describing why this world is different.

This book is basically a mega-module allowing the characters placed there to have seventy adventures in the area.

This is the section that I did not care for. The way I see it is that to me, this book is a huge step-by-step module designed to take characters from about First Level to about 12th to 15th Level. What was wrong about this was that the flow of this book seemed very linear. The GM takes you by the hand and you have your adventures in the order in the book. There are a few side quests, but this book =almost- reminds me of the old "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.

Starting at the first chapter, for instance, the book has six mini-adventures, each one with its own few paragraphs about what must happen in that area. For example, the "Heroes of the Prophecy" section is the beginning of the book, and then a section called "The Poet of Mytros" with the GM reading aloud the parts which give the PCs a place to rest for the evening, and a place to purchase things that they may need.

The second mini-adventure begins when the PCs hear the rumor in the barroom about a Wild Boar near the small town. Some of the patrons of the bar are all talking about this, and it has injured a couple of farmhands and destroyed crops. With info from the bar's patrons, the PCs should go kill the Wild Boar. Don't forget to use one of the townsfolk to tell them about bringing the beast's body back.

After whatever happens, once the Wild Boar is killed, the PCs are asked to sacrifice the boar's body to the local Gods. If this occurs, the PCs could receive either a blessing or a curse depending on which God they offer the beast to. In order to do that, though, the characters must take the body to the nearby Temple of the Oracle, which is the next adventure in the book.

The Temple is the last part of Chapter One. It seems almost impossible to reach the temple, as there is a large river in their way which is boiling hot with many unpredictable boiling hot geysers within it. They will eventually reach the temple, and manage to get by the few guards in the temple's chambers, and guarding the grotto beneath the temple. Once the Oracle is freed, she will give the PCs a prophecy and tell them of a few mini-adventures nearby.

I have given this summary of what occurs in the first chapter to indicate the flow of these adventures continues in the same direction all the way to the 12th chapter. The side quests that are given are good, but the focus is on completing the Odyssey of the Dragonlords. This book would be very useful to a beginning GM, but I found it boring. But, then again, I've been GMing for about 40 years.

Although the FLGS gave me the accompanying map, it is sold separately. The Map of the Land of Thylea is on one side of this nine-panel map, and the city of Mytros on the other. Should you decided to purchase this book to use as a campaign, the map is almost invaluable.

Despite all of it's shortcomings, I'd be willing to use this book as a complete campaign lasting several sessions. I can recommend it.