I’ve been lax about keeping up with our foundry nights, so we have a lot to cover today!
The Stolen Dragon Egg by Zachariah92
An entry into the Cult of the Dragon foundry contest. You’re sent as a guard for a caravan heading to a city in the far north. After some eventful nights guarding the caravan along the way, you and your employers make it to the city and relax in a tavern for the night, perhaps even flirting with some of the merchants. Then the Cult of the Dragon strikes, and you must earn your pay by rescuing your employers — if you can — while defeating the Cult and their traitorous leader.
This adventure starts off well, with an emphasis on story… until it hits the dungeon, where it’s kill x groups of enemies, then move on and kill x more groups of enemies, ending with a boss battle that is… kill x more groups of enemies. The author notes that he has worked on the ending somewhat. I gave it five stars, the rating I give to all “in review” quests I play.
Adjusted rating: 2.69 stars, according to Neverwinter.
That Man Stole My Pen! by jenkinss123
A spoiled noble has lost his best pen! Perhaps the villainous staff of the inn in which he spent the night is responsible. You must, no matter what distractions may arise, recover this pen as soon as you can.
Arriving at the inn, though, you discover that there’s been a murder… one that has been planned, perhaps, for centuries. And nobody is who they appear to be. You must solve this murder while also keeping an eye out for the missing pen. Could these two seemingly separate tasks be somehow related?
You won’t find out here, as the mystery continues into the next quest. I rated it three stars, “just okay”. Adjusted rating: 3.51 stars.
Dragon Cult Cathedral by vic1ou5
Another contest entry. The Cult of the Dragon attacked Protector’s Enclave, then vanished into a strange barrel! Follow them!
At the other end of the barrel is a cultist double agent who hands you the keys to their underground cathedral. Your job: take teleporters to each wing of the cathedral and kill everything you find. After a bunch of that, the quest finishes.
Just a simple combat grind. Kasul wondered if this was a foundry that had been repurposed for the contest. I rated it three stars (wasn’t in In Review). Adjusted rating: 3.02 stars.
My foundry quest, Fire Sale, is just 3.06 stars, adjusted, as a comparison. So, you know, stolen pens > cultists.
Snow White: The Real Story by morgrimthunder
Sure, you saw the Disney cartoon, watched every episode of Once Upon a Time. You think you’re pretty up to date on the whole Snow White story.
You know nothing, Ms. Snow. Those weren’t dwarves — they were elves, caught in a mystic struggle with an evil, demonic queen! I think!
Given the quest’s premise that you don’t know the REAL story, I kinda expected the author to reference the original story in some way. Instead, it’s just a riff on the Disney version. No dancing in red hot iron shoes until the evil queen dies!
My rating: 3 stars. Adjusted rating: 3.05 stars. Not quite up to lost pen standards, I’m afraid.
Tomb of the White Dragon by Winin
Another contest entry. An explorer on the search for dragon bones has gone missing. Can you find the explorer and stop the Cult of the Dragon from getting their hands on enough dragon bone to raise a new Dracolich?
More story based than combat based, the quest even allows you to dress up as a dragon cultist and bypass a lot of trash fights. With lots of optional objectives and nods to classic RPGs, stopping the cult before they can complete their nefarious goal has never been more fun.
Adjusted rating: 3.22 stars, making it the rating winner so far.
Chapter 1: The Prime Material by drakedge2
The first in a campaign set in the realm of Planescape, that region of the multiverse where all realities crash together. I just played this Tuesday, but can barely remember it. I do remember that names were a little weird, and that at the end, it turns out that you, the player, are the Chosen One, and that angels have been sent to guide you on your path to greatness. Except that the NPCs standing right next to said angel think you are worthless scum. Kind of a mixed message going on.
The maps were generic. The plot places a little too much emphasis on horses, given that the players likely have horses of their own, leading to things such as getting off my horse, and then stepping on a stool to get on one of THEIR horses. As a means of traveling to the next map, of course. In typical fashion, some horses are named, some are just generic “A Horse”. Some guards are named, some are just “A Guard”.
Given the plays (over 18,000!), this was probably featured at some point, and with an adjusted rating of 4.22, takes the lead.
Dreamfall: A Beginning Career by groshie
You’ve started a new job as a sort of worker at large. Given a shared room, you have to wake up each morning, get ready for work, check the note under the door for your new assignment, complete it, and return home to await another day.
Unfortunately, your nights are disturbed by speaking cats. And your occasional roommates are really annoying — lutists and exercise nuts. And occasionally there are bears.
Your daytime jobs, meanwhile, run the gamut of magical device repairman, to marathon runner, to evil eliminator (as in the picture above).
Kasul and I both thought this quest was hilarious. The maps are custom made. Though the whole thing with the cats will have to wait for the next foundry to get answers, this was a decidedly new kind of foundry for us.
I rated it four stars, one star taken away because there was no real story here. Adjusted rating: 3.59 stars.
The Warlord’s Tomb by Kathrian
The sequel to the druid lust quest we played a couple weeks ago, this continues the tale of the druid whose curse turned the husband of the woman he loved into a monster.
In this installment, we find out a bit more background to the curse as we hurry to find the components to help the druid break it. Custom maps, different pathways through certain parts based on your class, and a very well put together dungeon made this a joy. The conversation trees are deep, and allow you vast leeway in how you approach your tasks. You can accuse the wife of encouraging her lover. Or you can be sympathetic to her plight and the rekindling of her love for her husband.
I gave it five stars. The adjusted rating is 3.89, but it was the high point of the night for both Kasul and I.
Until next week!
