The Siege of Castle Rend is an adventure for the fifth edition of the world’s first roleplaying game, suitable for five 5th-level characters. It takes place over four parts, and each part can be completed in one or two sessions of play, depending on your group’s playstyle and how long you like to play in a single sitting. If all goes according to plan over the course of this adventure, the player characters will expose an usurping lord, fight orcs, acquire a stronghold, defend it from an invading army, win the admiration of a town filled with potential vassals, and make political connections within the Barony of Bedegar.
Of course, no adventure goes according to plan. The PCs will invariably throw these well-laid schemes into chaos, and they’ll have to improvise. But if we know
how things would have gone if the PCs never showed up (or are cowards), it makes it easier for us GMs to improvise when things go off the rails.
Published by MCDM
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danielolobo has played this adventure and would recommend it.
Good hooks, multiple ones! You infiltrate a castle, can bargain with orcs, get a castle then defend it!
Xylock has played this adventure and would recommend it.
Enjoyed the adventure immensely. It really hooks the players into the systems established in Strongholds & Followers (the book this adventure comes in).
Be warned though: In my experience this adventure does much better with a party that’s had at least a quest together. I found it difficult to run this as a starting adventure since the PCs have to be motivated to rescue the NPC and invested in the local area to protect it from the siege. A lot of the cool content and plot points also assumes that the PCs have valuables to trade with the NPCs, to either buy boons or negotiate with. These plots don’t hit very well with a just formed group of campaigners with not much cash or magic items they don’t have any attachment too.
I had a much better experience running this adventure again slotted later in a campaign to better hook the PCs to care about the locals enough to take a stand against the siege at the end. Your mileage might vary though.
The_Icelander has played this adventure and would recommend it.
A really well written and robust short adventure with lots of good ideas to steal from even if you dont end up running it entirely by the book. The possible routes the players might go down are also really well supported and the castle itself is very fun and full of interesting encounters. I also really like its take on the different orc types, as they added a nice splash of variety.
Jafarside has played this adventure and would recommend it.
This adventure, unlike most, was a pleasure to read and prepare for. In addition, it was easy to run, intuitive, colorful and I felt like it carried itself despite myself. It gives you everything you need to run it well, so you almost can't go wrong.
JumaJuiceTime has played this adventure and would recommend it.
A wonderful adventure that will leave your players wanting more. It provides fun role play and combat encounters. The included magic items ooze character, and prominent NPCs are memorable. You can easily alter this adventure to fit your setting. All in all DMs will find it straightforward and enjoyable to run.