Princes of the Apocalypse Review – A Dungeon Master’s Guide to Elemental Mayhem

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If your players crave sprawling dungeons, cultist conspiracies, and apocalyptic threats from the elemental planes, look no further than Princes of the Apocalypse.

This official D&D 5th Edition campaign book pits adventurers against not one, but four elemental cults — each one led by a prophet wielding devastating power. It’s sandbox-style adventuring with world-ending consequences, and after running it start-to-finish with two separate groups, I’m here to share what makes this campaign great (and what you’ll need to tweak to make it shine).

What Is Princes of the Apocalypse?

Published in 2015, Princes of the Apocalypse is a full-length campaign for characters level 3 through 15, designed around the Elemental Evil storyline.

It draws inspiration from The Temple of Elemental Evil, one of the most famous adventures in D&D history, but expands that concept into a globe-threatening plot where four elemental cults vie to awaken their apocalyptic princes — destructive elemental beings with godlike powers.

Each cult has its own theme, prophet, dungeon complex, and plotline, giving DMs an enormous toolkit to build a unique campaign experience.

The book includes:

A 250+ page hardcover campaign
13 interconnected dungeons
4 mini-factions with distinct aesthetics and goals
A massive sandbox-style map of the Dessarin Valley
Over 40 new monsters and cult-themed magic items

Story Overview and Structure

Set in the Dessarin Valley (also used in Storm King’s Thunder), the story begins with mysterious disappearances, unusual weather, and growing rumors of cult activity. The adventurers are drawn into the chaos and quickly realize that four separate factions — representing Air, Earth, Fire, and Water — are working to open elemental portals deep beneath the earth.

Each cult:

Is led by a Prophet, wielding a legendary weapon attuned to their element
Occupies a temple complex, including outdoor bases, lairs, and vast elemental dungeons
Seeks to summon their “Prince of Elemental Evil” to destroy the world

Ultimately, the party must descend into the Fane of the Eye, disrupt the summoning rituals, and face off against these deadly Elemental Princes before they emerge in full force.

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From My Table to Yours: A DM’s Perspective

I’ve run this campaign twice, and both groups had very different experiences — which is one of its greatest strengths. This book gives you freedom, but with that freedom comes some prep work.

Here’s what stood out to me:

What Works Well

1. A True Sandbox

This isn’t a railroad — your players can travel anywhere, tackle dungeons in any order, and interact with factions however they please. The Dessarin Valley is alive with rumors, plot hooks, and player-driven exploration.

2. Theme-Rich Dungeon Design

Each cult dungeon oozes with elemental flavor:

Air is silent, suffocating, and high-altitude.
Earth is oppressive, with collapsing tunnels and stone guardians.
Fire burns with zealots and molten traps.
Water is full of tidal chambers and slime horrors.

These aren’t just reskins. Each temple feels distinct in both theme and mechanical challenges.

3. Cool Magic Items

The legendary weapons — Windvane, Ironfang, Drown, and Tenderstrike — are cult-themed artifacts tied to the story and the bosses. My players obsessed over them and feared their corrupting influence.

4. Massive Campaign Arc

This adventure can easily take a party from level 3 to 15+. It feels like a full campaign, with enough content to last a year or more.

5. New Monsters and Lore

Elemental myrmidons, invisible stalkers, salamanders, and cultist variants all bring fresh encounters to the table. Plus, the lore expands on the elemental planes and the evil within.

What Needs Work

No module is perfect. Here’s what I had to adjust for smoother play:

1. Weak Early Hooks

The initial inciting events are vague and scattered. I created a personal hook for each character (e.g., a missing family member, a ruined village, a cursed heirloom) to give them a reason to care about the elemental threat early.

2. Overwhelming Dungeon Volume

There are 13+ dungeon sites. If you run them all straight, the campaign will feel grindy. I cut a few or merged their themes, depending on player interest.

3. Imbalanced Dungeon Levels

The cult dungeons aren’t strictly level-gated. This means players can stumble into a higher-level temple too early and get wiped. I used rumors, survivors, and warning signs to signal danger zones.

4. The Princes Are… Too Much

The final bosses — the Princes of Elemental Evil — are CR 20+. They’re meant to be apocalyptic. But if your players don’t feel truly epic by then (or if they burn resources too early), the fight can be one-sided. Consider giving the players powerful allies or boons before the final showdown.

The Dessarin Valley – Your Sandbox Playground

The regional map provided is fantastic: wide open, full of hamlets, ruins, river crossings, and natural features. There’s enough space to:

Add your own side quests
Insert other one-shots (like The Wild Sheep Chase or Sunless Citadel)
Expand player downtime in Red Larch, Summit Hall, or Beliard

My players bought a small keep halfway through and turned it into a base of operations — something this campaign supports beautifully.

Book Quality and Bonus Features

The Princes of the Apocalypse book includes:

256 full-color pages, hardcover
Excellent regional and dungeon maps
Dozens of new monsters and cult-specific stat blocks
NPC charts, handouts, and summaries
Gorgeous art that emphasizes each elemental theme

It also includes an Elemental Evil Player’s Companion PDF (available separately), with Genasi options, new spells, and elemental-themed character options.

🛒 Grab the hardcover here

Final Verdict

If you’re looking for a long-form, exploration-heavy, dungeon-packed campaign full of strange cults, deadly terrain, and epic elemental showdowns — Princes of the Apocalypse delivers.

It’s not an easy plug-and-play module. It rewards DMs who like to customize, improvise, and world-build. But the payoff is a campaign that feels like your own creation, with a structure sturdy enough to support player freedom and narrative arcs.

Final Rating: 8.8/10

✅ Epic scope and length
✅ Excellent dungeon design and elemental themes
✅ Sandbox-style freedom
✅ Cool magic items and monsters
❌ Requires DM effort to personalize hooks
❌ Dungeon-heavy — can become repetitive if not balanced

Ready to Face the Four Prophets?

Terror stirs beneath the earth… in fire, wind, stone, and water.

Will your party stop the elemental apocalypse before it begins?

🎲 Buy Princes of the Apocalypse on Amazon

Adventure waits beneath the surface — and the storm is rising.

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