Dungeons & Dragons 5eRecensioni Tabletop RPGTabletop RPG

[Review] Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

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After three years since the release of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, a new rules expansion manual finally arrived. Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything came out on the 17th of November, and I could not avoid to buy it.
Like Xanathar’s, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything brings to the table new character options for the players and new material for the DMs as well. Being both a player and a Dungeon Master, this manual is a must for me.

The key word for this manual is customization. We have new options to personalize both races and classes to make them right for your character while keeping the game balanced.
Everything is optional just like what we have seen in Xanathar’s, so that you can decide whether to buy this manual or not.

This review will not go much in-depth because I want to focus only on my personal impressions about the new material. More than a review, this article will be my opinions summarized.

Players’ Options

Between new class archetypes and new feats, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything also offers many optional changes for the classes. The one with the most of them is the Ranger, a class which was highly criticized at launch.

The book also suggests of talking with your DM if you have an ongoing campaign and you want to switch a feature you already have with the corresponding one in Tasha’s. And it does not stop there. It also talks about changing entirely your archetype if you don’t like it that much. The key, for both this manual and myself, is to talk with your Dungeon Master and find a solution together.
I think it is very important to show how flexible a character can be, because many players unfortunately aren’t.

The new archetypes are all pretty interesting, especially the ones inspired by the Psionic class (which is available for now only as playtesting material).
I also really like the Way of Mercy for the Monk, the Armorer for the Artificer and the Swarmkeeper for the Ranger. They are definitely the archetypes that I would love to try with my next characters.

Aberrant Mind, one of the Sorcerer’s new archetypes

To finish, we have some new feats which look great if you want a feature from certain class without multiclassing, or just if you want to spice up your build.

Wizard of the Coast has done a great work in my opinion. I can see myself using (almost) all the new options, speaking of all the feats and the new archetypes and all the optional changes for the classes. I am also glad that they reprinted the Artificer and some archetypes included in some setting manuals, like the Circle of Spore and the Bladesinging. Actually, I own both Eberron: Rising from the Last War and Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, but I am thinking about those players who missed some archetypes (or an entire new class) because they were not interested in that particular setting.

As my best friend, and favorite Dungeon Master, told me: “The new player options are more spiced than a spice market”, and I couldn’t agree more.

Dungeon Masters’ Tools and Session Zero

We also have lots of new material for the DMs. The ones that I am more excited about are the Group Patrons, which could give nice plot hooks and developments for the campaigns, and the option of making sidekicks for the players.
In Tasha’s we can also find some puzzle ideas (which are all ready to use and with many difficulty levels), tables about parleying with monsters and random events for supernatural regions, and also new magic items, magical phenomena and natural hazards.

Just like the player options, I am thinking about using all this new DMs’ material in my own campaigns to give my players many more options and interesting events. And just like the players’ material, everything is completely customizable and optional.

One thing that hit me the most is the chapter dedicated to Session Zero and on how to start a talk about soft and hard limits on the table. I think it was really needed because I often read threads about Dungeon Masters and players who cross the line pretty with sensitive themes without having a talk about limits.
I myself had to talk about soft and hard limits when I ran an urban campaign with violence and criminality as the main themes. Even though those were the main themes, I wanted all my players to feel as comfortable as possible.

  • 9/10
    - 9/10
9/10

A Must Have for Both Players and Dungeon Masters

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is a great new manual filled with many options for both players and Dungeon Masters. I personally could not find a weak point in the entire book and I highly recommend it as a nice Christmas Gift for every Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition players.

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Sofia Marotta

Videogiocatrice da sempre, amante dei RPG e con una passione smodata per The Binding of Isaac. Nel tempo libero, oltre ai videogiochi, legge o ricama.

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