Today we are pleased to offer you the review of Bed, Bath, & Behemoth, an adventure compatible with D&D5e. First of all, let’s thank you Menagerie Press for sending us a digital copy of this product published under the OGL of the most famous role-playing game in the world. If Menagerie Press’s small galaxy of self-contained adventures intrigues you, you will find many of them reviewed on our site; between these The Black Lotus of Thalarion, The Dream Prison It is Adûl, City of Gold.

If you are interested in purchasing Bed, Bath, & Behemoth, you can find it for sale on Drivethrurpg. The digital copy costs $8.99, while the physical softcover copy goes up to $13.99. As with other Menagerie Press products, be careful; the PDF is not included with the purchase of the physical manual, but the bundle that includes both is discounted at the same price as the latter.

Volume Review of Bed, Bath & Behemoth

The manual has a foliation of 41 pages. Karrin and Pôl Jackson are the authors, assisted by a large group of artists who worked on illustrations and maps. The layout and design of the manual, by William Murakami-Brundage, follows the dominant standard on the market which Menagerie Press follows: parchment effect page bottom, double column and text box to highlight some passages.

There aren’t many illustrations, considering the team of eight artists. However, they are pleasant and perfectly in line with the product. The text boxes would have benefited from a greater contrast with the bottom of the page, and better management of the titles of the paragraphs and subparagraphs would certainly have improved readability and, above all, quick consultation during the sessions. We are talking about non-crucial problems, which however would have taken little to stem.

An Adventure for Higher Levels

Bed, Bath, & Behemoth it’s an adventure designed for a group from the seventeenth to the twentieth level. It supports three to seven players, but it’s optimized for a party of five characters. It’s about a rather quick adventure, which can easily be concluded even in a couple of game sessions.

The fifth edition of the most famous role-playing game in the world lacks some adventures for characters of such a high level; Bed, Bath, & Behemoth try to satisfy this need. Of course, this creates some inconvenience. First of all, the battles end up having an unpredictable duration, risking ending too quickly and unsatisfactory for both the DM and the players, or on the contrary, becoming frustratingly long. But this is intrinsic to the game at these levels.

The other risk is the ease with which the characters can skip entire sections of the adventure, having at their disposal powers and resources that may be unpredictable to the authors of the adventure. In this case, Bed, Bath, & Behemoth does not provide the DM with real tools to solve the problem. It must be said that it would still have been difficult for such a short adventure without specific references to a campaign. The author’s suggestion is to always be ready to use the adventure as a framework, taking into consideration the beginning and the epilogue and exploiting only the intermediate passages consistent with the narrative. An operation that is not always possible, but the manual contains various small suggestions that help manage the flow of events in a more “modular” way.

Adventure Review of Bed, Bath & Behemoth

Bed, Bath, & Behemoth takes place in four distinct acts, plus a short (perhaps too short) paragraph of conclusions. Three appendices close the volume: a compact bestiary with creatures created specifically for the adventure, an artefact and a brief overview of the game region. As usual, our reviews are spoiler-free. However, we will try to analyze the adventure to be able to give an idea of ​​the possibilities and ideas it can offer to gaming groups.

Events open with the characters’ arrival in Billowing Steam, a village known for its hot springs. Here they encounter a behemoth, a gigantic creature created especially for this adventure, named Xardax, who occupies a hot spring bath. The authors suggest a serious tone for the adventure while inserting some “comic relief” to lighten the atmosphere. It must be said that this first scene could be so surreal that it doesn’t need it, and could already push you to smile.

The manual suggests not to hesitate to “shoot it big” to involve the characters in the adventure. Moreover, given their level, it is very difficult for there to be issues of a certain calibre that escape their attention. If everything proceeds linearly, it will be very easy to direct them on the right path, literally following in Xardax’s footsteps.

In the Heart of the Action

To get to his lair, where the behemoth’s personal story intersects with a wide-ranging plot, the group will have to face two very different areas, full of difficulties. Each of these presents a main adversity, which must necessarily be overcome, and a series of small, minor encounters that can be managed more freely by the dungeon master.

The first one is a wild area, a rather dense forest in which to face wild creatures; the second one is an underground area, with creatures suited to this environment and an entire city of undead. A great advantage of Bed, Bath & Behemoth (as for many Menagerie Press adventures) is that violence will not always be the only method of conflict resolution. Indeed, the DM is pushed to encourage diplomatic or generally creative solutions.

Conclusion and Extras

The final confrontation is also not as linear as one might expect. The last chapter presents a series of complications that the characters will be able to manage only by using their heads. Let’s be clear, this does not exclude the possibility of there being a healthy dose of combat during the adventure. The resolution, moreover, can easily lead to an open ending: a short paragraph suggests to the DM to exploit these events for a new phase of the campaign. Perhaps it would have been more interesting here to have a broader and more in-depth series of ideas, but what is there is still a useful starting point.

The first appendix of the manual presents some new monsters, including the behemoths of the title, and unique creatures: four in total. This is followed by the description of the Godrest, an artefact with a wide and varied series of abilities, including that of giving substance to its user’s dreams; the Godrest acts as a bit of a trigger for the events of Bed, Bath, & Behemoth. Finally, the last appendix presents a brief description of Lynbad, the village built in a thermal area from which the adventure starts.

Final Considerations of the Review of Bed, Bath & Behemoth

Bed, Bath & Behemoth occupies a vital niche in the panorama of products for D&D5e, an easily spendable high-level adventure. As mentioned, this type of supplement certainly has inherent problems. In his defence, many of these are directly the result of the typical abilities of characters at this level. One cannot help but notice that with a few paragraphs, more could have been done to provide the Dungeon Master with a more extensive “network” of suggestions. Despite this, the general framework of the plot remains perfectly readable and enjoyable.

Adventure is recommended for all those groups who want to continue carrying out their campaign at high levels, but take a moment’s break from the main plot. A further alternative is to create a second, subsequent or parallel, strand, continuing after the end of this one. A good DM can also use it as a starting point to introduce a completely new threat, even within an already perfectly established group.

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