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DDAL04-03 The Executioner (5e)

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The locals are spreading rumors of the emergence of an age-old relic in a remote farming village.

Surely you won’t be the only one to seek it, but can you afford to not be successful in this mission? And why haven’t they claimed it for themselves?

Part Three of Misty Fortunes and Absent Hearts.

A Two-Hour adventure for 1st-4th level characters

We (Wizards) recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.

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Reviews (36)
Discussions (14)
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Benjamin B August 27, 2018 2:39 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I enjoyed this adventure. Yes the flow was a bit difficult to follow and I was required to read it through a few times. It wasn't completely clear to me that the powdered box is never recovered by the players, however with these difficulties my table did enjoy the continued story.
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Jonathan G April 23, 2018 3:17 am UTC
PURCHASER
This is a strange one but is really fleshed out really well. I think if you can manage to do the villagers burning down Lazlo's house down really well it could be "that" kinda scene. It is kinda epic and there are some nice plot surprises.
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Jay E April 17, 2017 5:39 pm UTC
PURCHASER
KINDA SPOILERS AHEAD

If people need a more structured plot, I've done the following when I ran the adventure:

Play up the fact that a rumor is going around that an artifact might be causing the unnatural storm, and that people who are searching for it go missing. Also, the Burgomaster has been hiring people to protect his home while he is away for mysterious reasons.

If they go to the Burgomaster's home first, they find that someone has gotten there before them. One of the crates is open, and they find the hints that lead them to Fillar. If they go to his store, they bump into Arik as he is leaving. Fillar mentions that he's seen Arik over by the old Vaduva Trading Post. As they leave, someone is attacked and Arik's real identity is revealed, leading them to the post for the final battle.

If they go to Fillar's store first, they bump into Arik as he is leaving. Fillar doesn't have anything like the artifact the party is looking for, but suggests that the Burgomaster...See more
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Andrew K May 26, 2016 9:51 pm UTC
WARNING, SPOILERS

NO SERIOUSLY, MASSIVE SPOILERS

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

1: Enter shop
2: Cast Detect Magic to look for any interesting items
3: Notice that "Arik" smells like rot, has a faint aura of necromancy all about him, his hat has an aura of illusion consistent with a level 2 spell, and that box he's holding has a blinding aura of artifact-level power
4: Party gets ready for trouble, one person playfully steals the hat
5: Oh look, a wight.

Approximate time to complete module: 15 minutes
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Kevin M May 26, 2016 11:04 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I can beat that:

1. Enter shop
2. Paladin detects evil
3. Oh look, a wight

Approximate time to complete module: 13 minutes

That is why the adventure has one star.
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Patrick A June 15, 2018 4:32 pm UTC
Kinda late to the party, but the Cap Arik is wearing protects him from Alignment detection.
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Christopher S May 03, 2016 12:56 am UTC
ouch... these ratings and reviews :) better luck next time
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Jerry L April 23, 2016 4:49 pm UTC
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Hey all, author here, these are my official "patch notes" for The Executioner. I'll make minor adjustments as I go along, but for now I hope this helps you run the adventure better at your tables! This was my first AL adventure and despite its shortcomings I think you can still make the best of it with these revisions. Enjoy!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u0j0zeeJEmovCmdRGqHAOR3pKwHLUvETS--DKOvGpsQ/edit#
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Customer avatar
Robert R April 27, 2016 9:07 am UTC
Jerry, sorry some folks on here are being a bit harsh. You have some very interesting stuff in this short adventure "the Executioner".
-----NOTE, Minor SPOILERS BELOW:
I think I would have liked to see some more obvious clues dropped for the PCs about the main antagonist and some better connections between sections. For instance, it would have been great to have more than rumors lead the characters to the Burgomaster's residence. More scrupulous adventurers would not be likely to break into a private residence without good reason... maybe a captive held inside making muffled cries for help would be a good draw for such a group of characters. I ran this adventure for the D&D Adventures League and ran into another issue. The party found the 'item' left behind by the escaping so-and-so; IF a character in the party wears said item they will appear exactly as the person drawing the ire of the village... and it can derail the adventure as well as make the would-be heroes the new...See more
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Paige L May 09, 2016 1:26 pm UTC
PURCHASER
While the story is incoherent, and the DM has no idea how to get the PCs from Point A to Point B or Point C, that's not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is that the players have no AGENCY. Nothing they do changes any outcome for anyone. They're helpless passengers to the plot, not heroes. Lazlo has to get the box to Glovinia, and there's not a thing that the PCs can do to stop him, or even slow him down. The outcome is already predetermined before the game begins. It's like we're in a novel, not a roleplaying game. I honestly thought the Organized Play community grew out of this as we learned the lessons of Living Greyhawk. Kudos to the Admin team though. We're in our fourth season and this is the ONLY adventure that makes this particular mistake!
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Jay E May 14, 2017 3:49 pm UTC
PURCHASER
That's a problem with the other adventures in the series, too: the BBEG needs the artifacts for their evil scheme, so the players never really get a chance to stop them from being captured.
If I was going to run this as a complete non-AL storyline for casual play, I wouldn't make the artifacts essential to the BBEG's plan, but more of an advantage: the ritual is going to happen, but each item the BBEG possesses makes the ritual easier or shorter. One artifact has been turned over but if the players can capture one or more of the remaining items, they have more of a chance to stop the BBEG. I'd tie some of the BBEG's abilities in the final fight to the number of artifacts they possess, so it can range from almost impossible (if the party captures none of them) to very hard (if they capture all but the fourth).
That way the players have some agency in this and the other adventures, and it makes stopping Laszlo meaningful.
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Kerry J May 01, 2020 2:15 am UTC
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Hi Jerry! It has been quite a few years, but I'd like to chat with you about this adventure. My email is dmg<period>kerry<period>jordan<at>gmail<period>com.
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Mike O April 21, 2016 9:28 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I made some minor changes to this adventure, mostly in the set-up, that made it work really well for our table. Here's a link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iE7tFDdgWokajqpe4J6HID-TyPITXPRIV22o9ST4l-c/edit

Hope it helps someone else!
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Kevin M April 21, 2016 3:18 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Last night I had my fourth read through this event, as I was planning on running it with 4-2 in 10 days, in an attempt to try and "mesh/gel/merge" it into 4-2 so it makes some semblance of sense -- and I give up. This plot is so poorly constructed start to finish that there is nothing of value in this event worth playing. I'm probably going to run 4-2 with more random encounters, then cherry-pick a couple of encounters/ideas from 4-3 and just give my players full XP for the event and call it done.

My apologize to the author, as in fact the real criminals here are the AL staff for putting this adventure out there to play. The only thing I can think of that could have made this event playable is to have it and 4-2 be re-written by the same author as a 4-hour event. The fact that I paid $2.99 for this adventure is a travesty. The AL staff should be ashamed not only for putting out an unplayable event, but also by putting the author in such a position as to receive such negative comments.
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Mick H April 17, 2016 6:20 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I agree with Anthony L about the plot gaps and particularly the lack of an interesng hook to get the PCs involved with any of it. There is also an assumption that they will indulge in a bit of casual burglary. The final problem from a plot continuity point of view is how to follow this on immediately after The Beast - you would have to assume at least a few weeks or months between the adventures unless you make wholesale changes (which I will as I'm running The Beast AND the Executioner in a 4-hour slot at convention). I had to book the game slots before getting to read the adventures.
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James E April 16, 2016 4:11 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Do not purchase this module until it is updated by the author (or don't buy it at all if it isn't). This isn't overreacting DMs to a fight that was changed inconsistently in the playtest, it is just sloppy work all over the place.

If you want to support AL, go buy a copy of 4-1 which shows we respect authors who update things or 4-2 to show we like authors who do a great job from the outset.
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Jerry L April 19, 2016 4:28 am UTC
PURCHASER
Unfortunately I have no control over revisions. I am always open to feedback if you could be more specific as to some of the things you found wrong with the adventure. Feel free to reply here, or contact me directly.
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Kevin M April 19, 2016 1:14 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I do agree with James that this module is not very playable, but disagree that 4-1 is a better module because it was updated. The reason it was updated was because of the Gur references and they did nothing to fix the horrible encounter building, editing, and overall play-ability. To my knowledge not one single adventure in Seasons 1-3 was ever restructured (sorry, that's what 4-3 needs, a complete restructure/rewrite) because of issues with how bad it played out.

This is the downfall of "Living" style campaign events today, there is no looking back to fix stuff that is not good (let's say it, sucks), there is only what's next in the pipe and how much money can we tweak out of the community this time around. If AL officials or authors want feedback, read through these and any other comments posted on AL scenarios and speak with convention coordinators. NO ONE I have spoken with thinks these events are any good, and I know several players that are going back to PFS because the adventures...See more
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Brent D April 22, 2016 4:09 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi, Jerry. First, I like the underlying plot structure and the hidden elements. But the hidden elements are...to hidden, and some things need to be clarified. If the PCs are to act, they need sufficient information and, more importantly, they need emotional hooks to motivate them. They need a good reason to break into the Burgomaster's house, and they need a reason to go to Fillar's. The trick is in the setup. Here are my suggestions:
1) In the introductory section (before they start acting) let the players know they've been there for 2 weeks and they've moved to the Seven Tables (they have worn out their welcome with Gregori and the beds are better at the Seven Tables.
2) With the town snowed in they were put to work (Gregori is quoted in 04-02 as saying "everyone contributes") fixing the collapsed roof of an endearing old widow's (I used the name Svitlana). Her husband died last year and was cared for by Glovia, the healer at the hostel. "Poor woman, she lost her daughter several...See more
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Jerry L April 23, 2016 4:50 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Please see: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u0j0zeeJEmovCmdRGqHAOR3pKwHLUvETS--DKOvGpsQ/edit#
Customer avatar
Sven D April 16, 2016 8:28 am UTC
The adventure feels a bit phoned in. It leaves a lot up to the DM, including discovering an important plot point. Also rewards are wrong for a third level adventure.
That said, there is room for a lot of player agency, not as much railroading as is common with DDAL adventures. If players and the DM are creative, there is a lot of fun to be had (we did!).
Customer avatar
Anthony L April 13, 2016 8:10 pm UTC
I had strong hopes for this season, but these AL modules are still horrible. I applaud the idea that this module was geared to be more of a RPG/investigation module, but the plot is so scattered it makes very little sense, and there is practically no reason for PC's to be involved in this adventure. Huge gaps in plots (the wolf left at the doorstep?) sound like this was thrown together in a couple of hours. To ask everyone to pay $3 for a 2 hour module that looks like it was written in 2 hours (certainly wasn't any playtesting involved) is not acceptable.
Customer avatar
Mike V April 05, 2016 8:32 pm UTC
The previews on Adv league are kinda useless as it is the same4 pages about thrilled of AL play!
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Customer avatar
Jerry L April 19, 2016 4:13 am UTC
PURCHASER
I wholly agree!
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