Dungeon Masters Guild
Browse Categories
$ to $















Back
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e) $2.99
Average Rating:4.3 / 5
Ratings Reviews Total
5 16
3 16
2 3
1 0
0 0
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Click to view
You must be logged in to rate this
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Hunter S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/09/2023 01:54:19

This was a really fun module - Good mix of RP opportunities, combat and problem solving. I was really happy with how it ran and the entire table had a great time. I will give a few pointers below for stuff I did a different points which helped smooth out gameplay and keep the party on track and on time. SPOILERS BELOW - If you are a player stop reading now - DMs continue below -

I ran it for a group of 6 players - APL was was over 3 (mostly all level 3 and 4 with good mix) - but we had 1 level 1 sorcerer. I had to pay particular attention while DMing that I didn't instakill the level 1 player - this module has a couple encounters that can go very badly if the party doesn't take the enemy down fast - even for the level 3/4 players. I ran it as a Very Hard encounter.

SPOILERS

This module awards are really great for tier 1 - one Rare level magic item with a lot of great uses, up to 3 healing potions, some other healing kits/herbalism kits and what accounted to a large amount of gold for tier 1. So the rewards are pretty top notch.

Timing - we finished under 4 hours - we had exactly 4 hours to play and got started about 10-15 min late after everyone showed up and did a round of introductions. In order to keep it to 4 hours I did have to speed a few things along at points - see below

  • Traveler's Cloak intro/hook - kept to about 15min and pointed them in direction of the House of Suffering. Really drove home the idea about finding a way to deal with the guards in a way to raise as little supision as possible and avoid killing anyone (especially any priests - which se basically said she would not support them if they killed a priest). After the hook, where I mention that the whole reason she is looking for outside help is because all the locals are corrupt and in someones pocket, players already were considering bribing the guards as a way to get her out - which Zora responded that it would likely work well as she thinks most of the city guards are on the take and very willing to be bribed. (they actually didn't end up trying this, which I found funny - but their other idea was pretty clever as well to act on official business to move the woman and for the guards to remain there until they returned with her)
  • Travel through the streets was mostly narratated as the party did some stuff to make themselves less obvious, but it was clear they were raising suspision along the way.
  • Upon arriving at the home - we had a very light RP with Zora (especially when one of the brought up that if the Hawks were to notice the woman gone missing, would they know to come looking at her house - Zora asked if they were followed, and they didn't know for sure but suspected that they were not very inconspicous). She let them know that she would have her guards on alert. I then had her say goodnight, tell them they did a great job and she would reward them with some extra gold in the morning, they were free to stay the evening in any of the upstairs rooms (each room I said could hold up to 3 people). One character decided to take first watch in the room with the woman and the rest sleep - 3 and 2 in other rooms. After a few hours the encounter started, the player on watch ran out of the room - shouted down the hall to wake the party (which I had them roll for to wake them) and he ran down to see what the breaking glass and noises were all about. They all went down stairs and left the woman alone - so the "rescue/kidnapping" was easy since they didnt go to check on here until after the second enounter.
  • Encounters I ran - The Library encounter (1st-medium to gauge group combat), the Parlor encounter (2nd hard but moved to dinning room), and Upstairs Office (3rd hard). I ran the Flameskull kind of easy - as soon as the encounter started I let anyone who was close enought to see into the office role a history or arcana check to see if they knew any information about what this creature was. I didn't come right out and say FIREBALL but I indicated this creature is some twisted undead creature of pure fire and you can expect that it knows how to cast devastating fire related attacks. Additionally (mainly because I was worried about insta-killing my level 1) I played the Skull as a ticking timebomb. When initiative started after the first player went, I said that they notice the eyes start to glow with more and more flame and the heat coming off the skull is starting to intensify, you get the sense it is building up to unleash an explosive attack. I am all but saying if you don't take this thing out fast it is going to cast fireball on itself creating an explosion in this tiny room. Luckily, (for the PCs), they were able to take it down the first round and the Level 1 PC was smart enought to back far away down the hall.
  • Some of them knew about the Flameskulls (1hr ability to reappear) but none of them had a way to deal with it, so they took the skull outside away from the house and buried it - someone else's problem for later.
  • They spent a good amount of time using Prestidigitation mainly to put out small fires all over each of the rooms as they went, so even though the module says that you just add time to when the house collapses, that contradicts the extra reward they get for preventing the house from burning down - so I allowed them to put out the fires if they spent time doing so. I did mark many small fires in each room with encounters so they could remove them as they fought too if they didn't have another action to use at the time.
  • The Cleric wanted to get Zora to a temple while the rest of the party was busy getting the rest of the fire out. I kind of flubbed this - but basically resolved it in that as he got her outside and away from the house, she started to come out of her sleep on her own.
  • My players didn't think to capture anyone, but they did cut out a flame symbol from the robes of the Cult Fanatic in encounter 1. After showing this to Zora, I had her point them in the direction of the Zhent Gheto where she has herd about a cult with that symbol operating from, but she doesn't know exactly where or what they are up to.
  • The RP in the Zhent the next morning was pretty fast to get them to the temple quickly as we were starting to run behind on time. They looked for a young street urchin to approach and one of the PCs basically bribed the kid with a bag of coins if he knew of anyone wearing the symbol he showed them. The clothing description for the cult members and the symbol they cut out was very useful in helping to lead them down this path. They boy pointed them toward some old crumbling temple no longer in use and said he thought he saw some dressed like that near that area.
  • Secret Password Door - this door doesn't have a way in module to solve it, so I added one (also because I really need to give the PCs a shot at bypassing the encounter due to time) - The Giant Runes in the basement room of the temple I had translate to "The eternal flame", "prince of elemental evil" and "All Consuming Flame" for anyone who knew Ignan or Primordial - luckily the storm sorcerer level 1 PC did. DC 12 Religion check would reveal these are all references to the Arch elemental Inix, who you suspect this cult follows. Then I described the obsidian door and after an Investigation of it, while they seached the door with their hands, I have the voice do the annoucement and If anyone responded with "Inix"-anything then the door opened. The Sorcerer did just that and they felt really good about knowing they just avoided some dangerous situation and YES language was actually valuable here.
  • Final encounter - I ran a very hard, but I added 2 more regular cultist and even with 2 fanatics, 2 cultist and the Azer it was still pretty easy for them. The Azer really needs probably aboud 60hps and I recommend bumping him up to that. I had one PC with a wand of Magic Missles - upcast at level 6 all at the Azer for max damage of 40 and oneshot him.....ugggg. The fanatics did get a hold person off and some crits in afterwards, but concentraction was quickly broken. This encounter is probably harder once the group is softened up from the one in the first chamber, but still I feel like the house encounters were harder for them. My recommendation might be to make Very hard as 2 fanatics, keep the 4 regular cultists, and the azer bump hps to 50-60.

Overall the players had a lot of fun but I think DMs need to be a little careful about how hard they go - particularly with the Flameskull. The module probably plays a bit better if you have 5 hours to do it in - you don't have to rush through the RPs opportunities as much, but even at 4 hours the PCs got a decent amount of opportunity - the one they wished they had more of was to actually talk to the woman they rescued more - even when she was jeering at them for being so dumb and laughing at them in the final fight. They still wanted to RP more with her since they had invested so much of the adventure into her safety. Reading all the details they find in the journal was really eye-opening to the group - they were shocked and loved the twist.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Paul H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/20/2022 11:31:20

An interesting module that requires players to take on many different roles: bodyguards and dungeon delvers among them.

The Module focuses much more on Exploration and Combat, with only a bare nod to Social (unless the Players make much different choices than my players have done!)

There is one combat that fire props might prove to improve the feeling of danger, as the locale is in jeopardy of burning down! This adds a lot of dynamism to the fight that might make low level PCs feel overwhelmed, but such is the adventures life.

There is a series of CCC's that would be more interesting to PCs if they played this module first - the connection between the narrated destruction of Elmwood and seeing it's revival and possible destruction later may add a little conviction to the PC's morning meal. (BMG-16-Sage of Cormanthor; 17-The Lost Sanctum; 18-The Battle of Elmwood)



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Francis B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/11/2020 21:49:12

Excellent quality adventure, with engaging role-play and combat. In multiple run-throughs, I’ve found that players quickly get into the plot and become very engaged in the storyline. Run-time was usually almost exactly at 4 hours. A few tricks I like for DMing this (SPOILER WARNING): First: Once they’ve rescued the survivor, I find it can help lull the players into a false sense of security in the mansion if I emphasize that she may be able to answer questions in the morning; ideally, this sets them up well for the sneak attack. Second: The trickiest part for DMing is where the players need to “lose” by having the survivor be rescued or escape. I’ve found that most groups are actually very focused on protecting her. Making sure the fight(s) downstairs are challenging downstairs can help, and don’t be afraid to aggressively use the guards’ weapons coated with slumber resin. Although I haven’t had to use it, I also feel that if needed the DM could run a backup plan of allowing the party to prevent Ravia’s, and have her spill that she was part of a cult that is about to unleash an Azer on the city. The plot would then continue the same, with the players seeking the Chapterhouse of Eternal Flame in order to stop the cult.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Greg T. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/30/2020 16:34:40

Substantive and memorable. Embers of Elmwood presents the sort of content you'd hope every Adventurer's League entry could be - a substantial story combining investigation, combat, conversation, and a memorable set-piece encounter. The characters introduced here are developed and used later in the season. There's a real sense of importance and high stakes. Mulmaster is used well, with key areas and locations introduced. Encounters are dynamic, with good reasons to move around the physical space and interact with the environment. And it lays out some sense of a plan for the season overall. It loses points only for the main plot being a little over-complicated, with no clear way for players to learn or understand some key parts of it.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Thomas B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/18/2020 07:41:53

a direct and compelling tale of betrayal. has some rough bits where players must fail for plot reasons, making it somewhat difficult to run, but it is a otherwise solid adventure.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Michael K. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/13/2018 22:39:03

Embers of Elmwood was the first AL module I ever ran as a DM. Looking back, there's some writing goofs and the part where you're required to make the NPC escape despite the players making all of the right choices is a bit lame. However, the mansion layout and that entire part of the module is fantastic. I've run it four times, and each time was a totally different game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Summer Z. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/14/2018 01:01:34

After having played through this once as a player and twice as a DM, I can honestly say this module is a crowd pleaser. I just ran it again tonight and the adventure went completely off the rails once the players decided to double cross the double crossers! Great fun was had by all each player got to use some of their strength. Make sure you read through this one very well! You want to be clear on what should be happening where during the main event. Rosealine Culkin's manor is massive and so is the Chapterhouse. Make sure you draw the maps beforehand, if possible.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Nicolas U. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/29/2018 12:24:42

This adventure has a good balance of combat and roleplaying. It also does a very good job of giving the players direction without forcing them to act in one particular way. How a given player or group gains access to the "survivor," or reacts to the night attack will vary heavily based on playstyle and priorities. It also has a sense of immediacy that some AL adventures lack. It doesn't feel like a video-game quest where you could go to another city for a month and pick up where you left off.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Drew J. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/27/2018 14:54:38

A good adventure for tying into PotA players to give a bit of scale to the events. The mysterious woman and the questionable abduction make for some interesting plot dynamics. Works ok for low level players.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Alessandro L. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/24/2018 09:13:42

Very good module, all three parts are interesting in different ways: the first to favor roleplaying and inflitration, in the second it is interesting the setting of the manor house and the surprise (even if my group was expecting a lot) and in the third the final twist



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Brian M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/02/2018 21:36:38

The group I played this with had a interesting time with it. Planning to extract the witness and carrying her out were simple enough to where they over-prepared for the raid and not only put up a fight not only with me but also let the house burn after rescuing their employer and 'punishing' her servant while waiting for the cult's minions to come out the front doors. Such a treatment has tarnished their reputation, consequently, though I think giving the survivor a better/higher stat block would improve gameplay as my party one-shotted her before she could even start gloating.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Joel M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/07/2018 00:23:21

Embers of Elmwood is really good at getting players to think of inventive ways to sneak past guards and use skills and social to overcome challenges. Downside to this adventure though is that it gets them too heavily attached to the NPC, and thus the 2nd half is difficult as the PCs wont let her out of their sight. You will need some DM trickery to ensure you can pull it off without sounding like you are railroading them.

I highly recommend just picking encounters based on the PCs actions - create a flow chart (if they do this, this encounter happens, if they wait and regroup, this part occurs) for the manshion. Keep the pace up and dont give them breaks between the encounters, the Cult has enough fire power to throw a lot at them to get what they want.

The final section is difficult (not combat wise) for the fact that if players dont correctly guess how to handle traps and puzzels, can increase the play time. As its still an early module in the season, you want to set the scene of the Cult, so the more thematics the better.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Christopher S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/27/2018 19:57:09

This one starts with some nice roleplaying in the hospital and then it shifts to combat for the remainder. One problem I had is my players were super obsessed with the "victim" and no one left her out of their sight the entire time, so it was a bit of a hack when I ended up making her disappear when people got..distracted for no reason. The final chapter seemed particularily brutal as there is a lot of AOE flying around and a melee heavy group can have problems (depends on your healing i guess)



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Paul C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/21/2018 22:31:08

I ran this recently, and I must say, this Module deserves its excellent reputation. Rare among modules, it places a lot of emphasis on roleplaying, but still manages to provide a strong combat experience. I'd say the balance is as perfect as any I've played, or perhaps moreso.

On the roleplaying side, Zora Culkin and Dawsom along with the visit to the Hospice provide for amazing interactions among the characters. At the end, they managed to save Zora, and the Dwarven Wizard accepted her sponsorship with the Cloaks! What a fantastic story award!

In terms of combat, the Manor was a wonderful surprise for all of my party members. I provided a layout of the mansion and asked them where they settled in for the night. The assault scenario provides the perfect opportunity for DMs to tailor their encounters and provide a lot of dynamic challenges. It was incredible, and probably the most satisfying experience I've had as a DM. The players beat a hasty retreat, just before the mansion collapsed.

My only criticism is not really a criticism in truth. As others have noted, the final battle is a bit weak. However, after the mansion encounter, I let this encounter proceed as written, giving the party a satisfy bit of revenge against the cultists. It worked perfectly for me. However, if you want to drag it out a little bit, throw a Salamander in there, or swap out a couple regular cultists for Fanatics, or maybe a few more Azer.

Overall, I highly recommend this adventure. Please note, it runs pretty long if you let the roleplaying flow naturally.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
DDEX2-02 Embers of Elmwood (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Artem T. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/26/2018 17:17:21

I really enjoyed DMing this adventure. This is actually first adventure i've DMed for AL. It gives enough opportunities to players for RP and enough combat. It took a bit more than 4 hours, around 4:20.

Final combat is okay but not very challenging for players. I run table for 7 players 3-4lvl and picked very strong option in adventure but still it was not enough.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Displaying 1 to 15 (of 35 reviews) Result Pages:  1  2  3  [Next >>] 
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif Back pixel_trans.gif
0 items