Something sweet and deadly for your eyes only!

Azurth Adventures Digest Issue 1 is a 5e D&D supplement from Hydra Cooperative and a silver best seller on drivethrurpg. It explores the land of the Azurth, featuring islands, encounters, random tables and a mini adventure called the Candy Isle. So let’s give a better look at this looney-tuned x D&D style zine.

Disclaimer: We were provided with a free digital copy of this product.

Content

At the very start, we are greeted by Cogburn Steamalong, a former commodore in the navy who is now a steam-powered construct, as we can see in his stat block and his Boiler Breech skill. Cog is also our personal guide in the material.

I will not go into great detail as this is not the purpose of this review, and honestly, I believe it is part of the fun to explore the contents of the supplement. My goal is to give you a taste of its flavour (pun intended), but it’s up to you to discover the magic. It begins with a map of four different islands, the Motley Isles, an archipelago that serves as a haven for pirates. Here you will find (or not) Frogacuda, a predator that lives in the Prismatic Hole, a rainbow colored lagoon. The only settlement in these isles is in the Polychrom isle (and yes, all the isles have colourful twists involved, which I find awesome), and they govern themselves by consulting a magic black sphere.

These are followed by notes on the chain of fools, an archipelago with a very promising name, and an unknown location, and the Iron Leviathan, a massive mechanical fish. The Candy Isle is part of this chain, and we will explore it in the following paragraph.

The Candy Isle is, as you can probably tell by its name, an island where everything is made of sweets, yes, even the inhabitants (I got One Piece vibes here). The supplement gives you some ideas about how your party arrived here: by accident while exploring the sea, following rumours about the mysterious Confection Perfection, or something involving pirates and kidnapping. Confection Perfection is a divine pastry, or should I say *the apotheosis of all sweets* and is considered a gift of the gods. But what does it look like? The answer is a konpeitō, a Japanese sugar candy, with a spherical shape and a bumpy surface that resembles a star. Now, what happens if you take a bite? It will heal all damage and give a sugar coma. What if you eat some more?

Eating a significant portion would like cause the consumer to ascend to a higher plane, permanently.

The inhabitants are called The Candy Folk, but don’t be fooled, as these candies can bite and will definitely sacrifice any outsider!

Encounters

In the Motley Isles you have frogacuda’s statblock and two random table generators: one for motley pirates with names, occupations, notable traits and trinkets, and the other for pirate captains (all having a colour in their name, vibing with pirate queen Black Iris, an NPC of these isles), including names for their ships, what they are known for and exotic booty. And although mentioned above, there is Cogburn Steamalong’s statblock too, which is followed by 10 weird encounters at sea to spice up any game that involves marine life.

In the Candy Isle, you can encounter Ribbon candy centipedes (yikes!) and giant gummy snakes, sugar stirges that drain blood sugar instead of blood and the horror of Goo-Gum, the candy mummy king.

You can see that every name and description is a work of creativity. However, if you’re a GM who cares deeply about statblock precision and formatting, you’ll notice some inconsistencies. Some statblocks are missing details like ability scores or using non-standard formatting. They’re just in need of a little fixing and improvisation, but not drop in game ready.

Layout & Art

The layout is clean, bright and colourful, totally complementing the playful tone of the zine. The illustrations are equally charming, adding to the vibe without cluttering the pages, making it feel like flipping through a fantasy magazine. Oh, and a note here. The PDF doesn’t include bookmarks or read-aloud text for game masters, meaning that a little prep is required before running the adventure.

Extras

As for extras, there are two NPCs with statblocks and illustrations, the pirate queen Black Iris and first mate Rarebit Finn, that you can use as premade personalities to drop into your game.

Final Thoughts

I totally enjoyed writing this review because of its flavour. If you are looking for ways to enchant a nautical campaign or just want some inspiration, then Azurth Adventures Digest Issue 1 is what you need. A nice blend of colour, sea and candies with a playful spark and brilliant ideas. If you enjoy improvisation, like colourful settings, and don’t mind fixing a few statblocks along the way, you’ll find a lot to love here.
#NicoleRecommends ? Of course I do! 

Stay crafty and sweet,
Your new favourite author.

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