I preordered the Dragonbane campaign book, "Path of Glory." I did this because I am extremely fond of Dragonbane, and because the other two hardcover books in the line (the Core Rules and the Bestiary) are two of the most beautiful physical books in my entire RPG collection.
That said, I will be happy to own the Path of Glory book because it seems to carry the same high quality aesthetic as the other products in this line. However … There's very little between the covers of this "campaign" that I feel like I can use.
Because I preordered the book from FreeLeague, I got access to the PDF version of the campaign book early. I've been reading through it, and I admit to being a little disappointed.
Path of Glory is a reworking of a classic set of three adventures from Dragonbane's past. It is set around an isolated region known as the Dead Forest. The players are tasked with recovering an ancient artifact and must contend with the machinations of three powers vying for possession of the artifact.
Isolated region? Three factions? Does this sound familiar?
It's just … my initial impressions are that Path of Glory feels a lot like the Secret of the Dragon Emperor campaign included in the core box set.
So, what if you didn't own the boxed set and just wanted to start your campaign with Path of Glory? That would work, right?
Sadly, no. The Path of Glory campaign is meant to be played by an experienced group of adventurers. It is designed to be played after the Secret of the Dragon Emperor. Maybe I am reading too much into the "similarities" between the two campaigns. I don't know. Their structures feel very "samey" to me.
My other issue is that Path of Glory doesn't seem to offer me anything beyond its function as a set of adventure modules. I didn't find any neat new things in here to steal and transplant into a homebrew campaign.
Your mileage may vary, but personally, I was underwhelmed by Path of Glory. It reads like just another adventure with nothing new or interesting to distinguish it from the Secret of the Dragon Emperor which I already own. I will probably be looking to 3rd party offerings in the future for more variety and innovation.
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