It's rather bizarre to review a major DLC before finishing the game proper, but Varnhold's Lot functions both as a standalone story and one integrated into the main campaign itself. There is a sweet spot in Kingmaker when you're supposed to tackle it as intended. Having said that...

What we have on our hands is a rather short parallel tale. After all, Baron of the Stolen Lands wasn't the only one proclaimed as such by Jamandi Aldori after successfully defeating the Stag Lord. There were two others, and Maegar Varn is one of them. Employed in his service as a general and working in newly conquered Varnhold, you create a brand new character. Working alongside the man himself, his co-leader and wizard rival, as well as members of your own choosing, it falls onto you to tackle the problems in this new barony. There is no Kingdom aspect to contend with since you're not the baron, after all.

There are a couple of differences in Varnhold's Lot that set it apart from the get-go: your character starts at a higher level, and you're unlikely to make it past level 10, turning this into a rather brief guided tour experience as opposed to a massive campaign, and the fact that provided companions are, well, BAD. Cephal Lorentus and Maegar Varn are a cut above, but you also cannot count on them in the DLC's finale. Which is this game's subtle way of directing you to create four brand-new characters. According to some, this may be a problem unto itself since creating one character is sometimes too much. I personally enjoyed the Icewind Dale flashback and having more freedom. You don't have to get fancy or anything as long as your bases are covered since you're looking at about five levels worth of consideration.

If you're playing on Normal or Challenging, you'll notice these encounters are a bit more raunchy than what you've experienced in Kingmaker up to that point. I would say a lot of that lies with sub-optimal stock characters and is something you can remedy, but it's also difficult to deny you're facing more magical beasties and arcane enemies swimming in BABs. It's something of a shock if you've become accustomed to fighting kobolds, bandits, and trolls. I'd be lying if I said the last section in the ruins didn't drive me a bit mental as the game starts throwing encounters at you like crazy. Usually after luring you in with loot... death to oozes and mimics!

Would I recommend Varnhold's Lot? You have to fight the DLC a bit, literally at times, to experience it properly, and the story was a bit bite-sized for me. Decent combat encounters to go along with it, but the entire affair really drags itself to the finish line. For such a short DLC, that last dungeon felt much too long, not helped by the fact I didn't especially like any of the endings. It equates to a dubious yes.

It's rather bizarre to review a major DLC before finishing the game proper, but Varnhold's Lot functions both as a standalone story and one integrated into the main campaign itself. There is a sweet spot in Kingmaker when you're supposed to tackle it as intended. Having said that... What we have on our hands is a rather short parallel tale. After all, Baron of the Stolen Lands wasn't the only one proclaimed as such by Jamandi Aldori after successfully defeating the Stag Lord. There were two others, and Maegar Varn is one of them. Employed in his service as a general and working in newly conquered Varnhold, you create a brand new character. Working alongside the man himself, his co-leader and wizard rival, as well as members of your own choosing, it falls onto you to tackle the problems in this new barony. There is no Kingdom aspect to contend with since you're not the baron, after all. There are a couple of differences in Varnhold's Lot that set it apart from the get-go: your character starts at a higher level, and you're unlikely to make it past level 10, turning this into a rather brief guided tour experience as opposed to a massive campaign, and the fact that provided companions are, well, BAD. Cephal Lorentus and Maegar Varn are a cut above, but you also cannot count on them in the DLC's finale. Which is this game's subtle way of directing you to create four brand-new characters. According to some, this may be a problem unto itself since creating one character is sometimes too much. I personally enjoyed the Icewind Dale flashback and having more freedom. You don't have to get fancy or anything as long as your bases are covered since you're looking at about five levels worth of consideration. If you're playing on Normal or Challenging, you'll notice these encounters are a bit more raunchy than what you've experienced in Kingmaker up to that point. I would say a lot of that lies with sub-optimal stock characters and is something you can remedy, but it's also difficult to deny you're facing more magical beasties and arcane enemies swimming in BABs. It's something of a shock if you've become accustomed to fighting kobolds, bandits, and trolls. I'd be lying if I said the last section in the ruins didn't drive me a bit mental as the game starts throwing encounters at you like crazy. Usually after luring you in with loot... death to oozes and mimics! Would I recommend Varnhold's Lot? You have to fight the DLC a bit, literally at times, to experience it properly, and the story was a bit bite-sized for me. Decent combat encounters to go along with it, but the entire affair really drags itself to the finish line. For such a short DLC, that last dungeon felt much too long, not helped by the fact I didn't especially like any of the endings. It equates to a dubious yes.