Adventure Scents provided us with samples of scent packets to review their Adventure Scents product. Angela Murray wrote up a review and took incredible images for those without video, while Matt Neagley, Darcy Ross, and John Arcadian took part in a reaction video.

 

Angela’s Review

I’m a firm believer in the power certain smells can have to evoke memories and certain feelings, so I was definitely intrigued by the ideas behind Adventure Scents. Heck, I catch a whiff of a particular artificial peach smell and I’m instantly transported back to the age of 13 and riding my bike up to the drug store to buy X-men comic books. Capturing that kind of power for a game would be amazing.

What Was In The Box

  Dragon’s Cave was distinctly earthy and a little musky. Sandy Beach did make me think of an ocean, but not quite the beach. Tropical Rainforest actually reminded me of a local conservatory with a section for tropical flowers. 
The box I received contained three ScentFX Jars, five Scent Packs, a small draw string bag, and one of the lockets. Upon opening the box, I was hit with a cacophony of scents. It was a little overwhelming at first, like walking into a candle shop or sitting in a small room with several great aunts all wearing different perfumes. Everything was packed well, though, and traveled well. There were a few stray scent beads in the bottom of the box, but nothing majorly askew. I do wonder what the mail carrier thought upon delivering the box, since it smelled quite unique.

The three ScentFX Jars I received were Dragon’s Cave, Sandy Beach, and Tropical Rainforest. Sniffing directly from the containers was a little overwhelming, but I could get a bit of what the creator was going for with combining those scents together. Dragon’s Cave was distinctly earthy and a little musky. Sandy Beach did make me think of an ocean, but not quite the beach. Tropical Rainforest actually reminded me of a local conservatory with a section for tropical flowers.

While I chose the scents I received in the ScentFX Jars, the Scent Packs were all a surprise. The five I received were Treasure Vault, Volcanic Jungle, Mayan Temple, Pirate Ship, and Putrid Sewers. Yes, you read that right. Putrid Sewers. It was distinctly putrid and deemed the most realistic smell by the friends I had take a whiff. These were a fun ‘taste’ of the various scents offered. I was particularly intrigued by the hint of cocoa in the Mayan Temple, while Pirate Ship reminded me a little of cologne I couldn’t quite place. Each bag contained enough to get the scent across, but could be a little tricky to open without spilling the contents.

How They Work

For a GM looking to bring a little flash and theatricality to the table, these could be a great addition. I could easily see slipping some of these into a table set up for miniatures, to give that subtle support to the verbal descriptions of the scene. LARPers would probably also find these incredibly handy to add to their arsenals. While LARP isn’t exactly my cup of tea, I have several friends who go deep into prep to give their players as immersive an experience as possible. Heck, even cosplayers could probably find a use for these. I could see a Steampunk costume accented by a locket filled with something vaguely oil and brimstone scented.

One caution I would give, though, is to be mindful of your audience. Not everyone responds to smells in the same way, so your mileage may vary with these products. My gaming group contains two guys with absolutely dead noses and one gal who can tell if someone is sick just by a change in their scent. As awesome as these scents are, they’d be wasted on my nose dead friends, and if applied too liberally, would probably give my super-senses friend a headache.

All in all, I think Adventure Scents offers an intriguing product that could give a boost to a variety of gaming experiences.

What are your thoughts on using scents at your table?