Review: Isle of Endless Fog Adventure

Grab your torch, and be on alert. This spooky review of the Isle of Endless Fog adventure is about to begin! This 5e adventure is from the Cities of Myth campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons, written by Realmwarp Media. If you’ve never heard of Cities of Myth before, hop on over to Drive Thru RPG to get the Cities of Myth Campaign Primer absolutely free! Without further babbling, here is the Isle of Endless Fog review.

Isle of Endless Fog Adventure

The Isle of Endless Fog is an 80-page full color PDF adventure. And the first that will jump out at you is the layout. The source book is easy to read, with appropriate spacing, fonts and colors. The artwork for this book was carefully chosen in both placement and quality, perfectly setting up the Isle of Endless Fog. One thing that I think Realmwarp Media really excelled at is flavor text. In a few short sentences, players will immediately feel the sense of danger and dread. This will immediatly draw the characters to the direness of the situation.

The adventure is designed for four 1st-level characters, and brings them through the 4th level. So it will definitely last you through a few sessions at least! There are three sections to this book covering the exploration of the island, the settlements that inhabit the island, and the final battle. But let’s dive a bit deeper.

Exploration

Fans of sandbox campaigns will love the setup of the Isle of Endless Fog adventure. Over the course of the adventure the players will need to explore and discover the secrets of the island. Depending on how fast or reckless the party is travelling, and where they are headed, their chances of encountering dangerous creatures increases, making smart exploration key to the survival of the party.

This is probably my favorite part of this book. Unlike having a straight-forward path to success, the characters are made to explore this island of dangers, ranging from trickster fae and Cornish Giants to the undead Sluagh that infest the land. The legend unfolds at their pace, with their route. They also included a skill challenge for outrunning hordes. And I’m a complete sucker for skill challenges. *furiously scribbles mental note for future article*

Settlements

The settlements section is the largest portion of the book. There are 4 unique towns called Douglas, Ramsey, Gansey, and Derbyhaven. Each settlement having their own government, cast of characters, and intrigue.  It’s through the interactions with the towns that you will uncover secrets of the island. It’s hard to detail these settlements too much without giving up some spoilers. But suffice it to say, there’s a lot of information there for you when you’re ready.

The settlements are each set up with a loose flow of events and interactions for the character. However, the actual order is entirely up to the players. Whether they complete everything or not is up to their actions. The setup of these settlements gives a lot of freedom to the characters by arming the GM with all of the information they would need about the town to give the players the optimum level of agency.

When player agency is just right
When player agency is just right

The Tower

The tower is the final leg of the Adventure, and is a full session in itself. Unlike the loose formats of exploration or the settlements, the tower functions much more like a traditional dungeon crawl towards the climax. It has full battle maps, set dangers, and fights. This section has 26 distinct areas, all with their own spin, keeping it fresh. In the premium package, there are a number of maps perfect for virtual tabletops for this section, if that’s your jam. Be ready, because this is what it’s all been leading up to.

Final Thoughts

The Isle of Endless Fog is a multipart adventure that will take the sting out of planning your first few adventures. If you’re a group that enjoys sandbox adventures or want to experience one for the first time, then I would highly recommend the flow and format of Isle of Endless Fog. The exploration and settlement functions of the book are the perfect starting point to learn the ropes of letting your players set the story.

The Isle of Endless Fog is available on Drive Thru RPG for $9.99, however if you use a virtual tabletop, you should look at their Premium Map Pack for $14.99.