A Most Potent Brew by Winghorn Press is an excellent level 1 adventure for new or experienced DMs looking for a something like a one shot to show the players the ropes. If you Google around and check Reddit and other sources you will frequently see A Most Potent Brew and the Wolves of Welton recommended as great starter adventures. I have run both, and here are my thoughts on why A Most Potent Brew is a good look and some tips on running it.
If you’re a DND Player and hope to experience this adventure some day, stop reading now and ask your Dungeon Master check the adventure out.
Drop A Most Potent Brew into Any Setting
The booze supply chain has been interrupted! Someone help! What?! Rodents of unusual size in the basement!? Get in there!
When expansion work beneath the Wizard’s Tower Brewery uncovers long-forgotten ruins, the brewery’s owner, the gnome brewmaster Glowkindle, finds his workers driven off by “rodents of unusual size.” Unable to run his brewery, ale supplies have been interrupted. Will the party accept this obvious quest? Players will experience many elements of D&D in this adventure. Roleplaying with NPCs, dungeon exploration, combat, traps, puzzles, and magical treasure. If you are planning a longer campaign and are looking for a way to get your players from Level 1 to 2, this should fit right in.
One of A Most Potent Brew‘s greatest strengths is how easily it fits into an existing campaign. The adventure isn’t tied to a particular setting or storyline. It’s simply a brewery with a problem that is affecting customers. Every adventure includes a town with a tavern, all you need to do is say that Wizard’s Tower Brewery is their source and run with it. The consequences of the problem are immediately visible. Empty kegs, frustrated innkeepers, and disappointed patrons create a believable reason for the townsfolk to care long before the party accepts the job.
Suggested Hooks
The adventure gives a classic quest board suggestion. That can work fine. When I run it, I usually link it to the “you meet in a tavern” trope. Here are some ideas.
- Tavern’s Out of Ale: While in the tavern, the host comes to take the party’s orders, and leads by saying unfortunately they are completely out of ale due to trouble at the brewery the town sources its ale from. When they players ask about the trouble, the host tells them to look for Glowkindle at Wizard’s Tower Brewery Co. and provides directions.
- Add Journey to Brewery: As written the adventure puts Wizard’s Tower Brewery a mile or two outside of town. If you want to stretch the adventure out over a few gaming sessions, consider placing the Brewery a days travel outside of town. This can also help explain why the towns militia doesn’t handle the problem themselves. Perhaps fixing a simple ale problem doesn’t warrant sending the town militia on such a journey.
- Sidequest Idea (Wolves of Welton): Consider throwing in the Wolves of Welton into your campaign, and foreshadowing it by having the party encounter some oddly intelligent wolves during their journey to the Brewery. This encounter could end with the wolves fleeing after harassing the party in a few combat rounds. The party may begin to think that the cause of the ale interruption was the wolves, but you can have Glowkindle at the Brewery shut that rumor down by explaining he hasn’t even been able to attempt shipments to the town because his supply has run dry.
Things to Watch Out For and Prep
- The Stairs in Area 1: Think about how you would run combat on and off the stairs. Questions like reach and elevation might come up. If the players retreat back up the stairs, would you have the attackers follow? Up to you but might be good to consider in advance.
- Mosaic Puzzle: You’ll need to dream up some detail for how the trap works. Is the blade coming from the floor? The ceiling? Is it swinging down attached to a beam? The adventure does not specify. Know how far your players can jump. Think about what you would do if the players attempt to disarm the trap as this isn’t described in the adventure.
- Consider tracking dungeon time somehow, and if the players spend too much time staring at the mosaic have some more rats run in to attack. Perhaps some of them will trigger the trap again, giving the players more information.
- Consider tracking dungeon time somehow, and if the players spend too much time staring at the mosaic have some more rats run in to attack. Perhaps some of them will trigger the trap again, giving the players more information.
- The Well Room: The adventure involves a 50 ft. well that a player might be dragged into. Look up grappling rules, pushing and pulling, and fall damage when broken by water ahead of time. Have rules for surprise handy.
- Rememeber this was written for 5e, but no significant changes need to be made to run it in 5.5. Just get the new rules, statblocks, and item descriptions.
The Puzzle is Just Right
The Brewery cellar (the dungeon) also includes a puzzle that works well. I recommend printing the puzzle image that is included in the adventure (or drawing it) and placing the indicated dead rat on the indicated area. I also recommend printing out the included poem in large font and giving that to the players as well. Let them puzzle it out while you take a breather. In my experience the players will figure it out. Even if they don’t, the damage they take from triggering the trap won’t be game ending, and it won’t completely stop progress.
Cool Custom Boss Monster
The adventure will also teach players that not everything they encounter in the world of Dungeons and Dragons will be straight out of the published books. The Giant Inferno Spider is custom, and really fun. Your player knowledge is useless!
The Wrap Up
Completing this adventure should leave the party with something more meaningful than gold and XP. By saving the brewery and restoring the flow of booze to the town, the characters can gain some local fame. Free booze for life! Next time there is a problem perhaps the townspeople will know to go to them. Perhaps the brewery will create a brew named after the party? THe possibilities are endless! Now the party is more than anonymous adventurers passing through, they’re a ragtag crew that solved a problem everyone in town was talking about. That small amount of local fame can provide a satisfying conclusion to the adventure and serve as a foundation for future adventures.
Run A Most Potent Brew by Winghorn Press! It might be fun!