To Be or Not to Be a Villain: Adventure for 5e & ZWEIHANDER RPG

Got to play this with a big group using Discord and it worked really well! The two GMs it requires are absolutely needed due to all of the secret player goals and side scenes. I didn't know everyone I played with which actually made it more fun but I could totally see it being a blast playing with people you know really well and trying to use that knowledge to suss out their plans in the game. Would recommend for at least the Director and Playwright (two GM roles) to have played together before because of how they need to juggle the large party.The adventure uses "story tokens" to allow the players to do breakout side scenes away from the main group. It's a cool concept but it's important to encourage the players not to hoard the tokens. My favorite mechanic was the "night actions" though; each night the players can secretly select different actions (including PC specific ones) to try to accomplish their goals or sabotage someone else's goals. This is also when players can scheme with each other the most.Worth noting too that the art is fantastic! The production values overall are really nice. I can't speak to the Zweihander rules but 5e stuff works just fine. Definitely a more story-focused adventure like it says on the tin and it makes it work well.

Both versions of the game included in this book are a fantastically good time, and the two versions are different enough that the same group could play more than once and tell wildly different stories. The book includes everything you need to get started and then some, with beautiful art, detailed hand outs, delightful character sheets, and tons of fun scenarios. All you need to bring is dice and players with as much or as little familiarity with Shakespeare as your group already has (you do not need to know the story of Hamlet to have a blast, and the players who had no expectations had at least as much fun as the theater nerds). This is the upgrade to a murder mystery in a box that you didn't know you needed, and each role is a rewarding and ridiculous persona to slip into for a few game sessions.

Had a great time playing through with my group. We loved the elements staying true to Shakespeare lore while keeping us on our toes throughout the adventure. Highly recommend!

I picked this up on DTRPG and ran the 5e version for 7 players back in May. We had a blast! The module gave me enough info that prep for each of the 5 sessions was quick and easy. The addition of Night Actions and overall plot structure encourage the players to be active participants in the story, shaping it into their own. It does work best with larger groups, and I definitely wouldn't try to run this without the recommended 2nd GM for any player count over 6. My game of 7 was manageable but pushed my multitasking limits. I'm itching to play it again!

Me and my old DND group are boomer gamers at this point, we've been around the block, tried a bunch of TRPGs, board games, card games, the works. Dragons? Slayed em. Princesses? Saved em. Tombs? Raided em. Me and Vecna? Old acquaintances, frenemies even. So naturally, it takes quite of bit of pizazz for us to put aside our busy all-grown-up-now life to schedule out, sit down and actually COMMIT to playing something.And then this little book came along. Hamlet setting? Jaded English major within me's head turns. Two DMs? Eyebrow curiously raised. NINE players? Room for everyone's significant other. It was prefect, well perfect for me, but after some convincing I was able get everyone in on it for a few weekly sessions.The large player count and multiple GM requirement proved to be a hurdle at first but the game works well in the virtual environment, which is how we played.As one of the only two people in our group with GM experience, I, unfortunately, had to fall on the sword, putting any dreams of reciting soliloquys to bed for at least the trial run. In the role of the Director it was my job to be the more or less "traditional" GM, narrating and setting the scene as well as settling any disputes on the table. My friend, the more experienced GM, decided to take the mantle of the playwright, who had the job of orchestrating side scenes between characters outside of the traditional ensemble. This was easily done in the virtual space through the usage of multiple discord channels.It was...interesting running half of the game, and I almost felt like another player myself with the amount of information I didn't know. Though thankfully the game gives you space to think on your feet while staying true to the narrative, which allowed me to stumble through it gracefully while also having a good time. What surprised me the most is how everyone else got into it, sure enough Shakespeare is just one of those things that everyone has been exposed to in life so immediately everyone was able to get into the right headspace for the game. Sure enough it didn't take long at all for there to be a few backstabbing's, seductions and laughable attempts at Shakespearian dialogue. This review is long enough and i wont spoil anything further, but suffice it to say I had a blast with this, and I fully recommend it.

A really unique game. Lots of interesting new mechanics that change it up from a standard D&D session. I'm liking the idea of two GMs with different roles; Looking forward to getting a group together to try it out. The theme of the book is neat and the illustration is enjoyable.