This was my first game running a Tier 2 adventure and I found a little confusing at times. The beginning is good as it immediately puts the characters at the shrine, though I found it odd when the the monsters said "We're enemies". Since fire is more common than acid, I suggest switching their regeneration to be fine in fire, instead of acid. In my adventure, a swashbuckler had a rapier of wounding, making the encounter faster as it practically shut off the trait. From after the enounter to the end of Part 2, Sari is as useful as the ghost in the Marrionette. She is great for pushing the story along. Part 2 can be skipped if short on time, but if possible, run at least the first per the module. It can provide some comedic fun in this sad setting. In the encounter outside the temple, play the monsters as if they are smart (e.g. dropping prone to creature disadvantage on range attack rolls and spread out to reduce/eliminate the chance of fireballs). If you knock out a player and are able to charm another, have the second carry the first into the temple as a sacrifice. This creates urgency, forces them into the temple ASAP, and takes it into a rescue mission on top of surviving. The Naga Bones encounter can be skippeed if pressed for time. Though if possible, you can run it and instead of combat happening, 2 Bestow Curses and 2 Lightning Bolts can go off as if they were traps if the party fails their check. The last encounter is interesting as the Visitor's stats show that he doesn't fly dispite his identity. I defintely suggest any DM to use the Visitor's Fog Cloud ASAP to make the rescue more difficult. I also found this magic item an odd choice. Since he has a spellbook, it would make more sense for it be either be something that increases this spells potency (e.g. wand) or allow him (or his minions) to have blindsight. Overall, a good adventure, but could use improvements.

This adventure is interesting as it can help you (and more importantly your players) tie up a few loose ends if they follow the story. In the first part of the adventure, you can easily skip the ogres if you have a large party or the webs encounter takes longer than expected. Due to Jeny Greenteeth's role in spellcasting services, it was obvious that my players wouldn't attacker since they party was tasked to look for her despite any indications of her torturing/killing people. The last encounter is more interesting if you proceed with the ritual. If any of the previous antagonist escaped, this is a chance to bring them back as zombies for an epic fight in place of the written zombies (for me it was Lela and Glovia). Doing this didn't impact the overall goal and allowed those who went through the previous Season 4 adventures with you to feel some sense of closure. Due to the Barexit rules (which came out after this adventure), there is no reason for any character to use the story reward to leave. Overall, it is a good adventure that can be trimmed, shows some world building, and interacts with two main characters from the storyline. I'll definitely be running this again.

Though this adventure is linear, the combat encounters are difficult and deadly. Without knowing the reason for the bears in the beginning, the encounter can feel out of place. It is good that they are driven off after three rounds, making it a game of whether they can take just one down. The Vistani groups are good as they show that they do not have just one identity. It would be nice if they or at least the captain/chief had a mysterious power that lets them survive in Barovia. The investigation, should quickly inform the characters of undead. The final encounter is deadly to first level characters due to Evil Eye. I quickly noticed that this ability can insta-kill 1st and 2nd level characters who are in a normal to very strong party. That said, I still suggesting doing so, due to the Dark Gifts being available. It also shows players the importance of Charisma Saving Throws, which rarely happen. You can simply alter the gift to make the newly undead PC immune to the Evil Eye as both the final boss and PC are now blessed by the Dark Powers. Overall, it is an okay adventure, though very challenging.

This is a very fun, but long adventure. The hook can be pretty weak, especially if player’s haggle. This free gold adventure is good since they meet with the medicine woman before their vision quest. The vision quest is really fun since you can play with the variant skill rules and are in a powerless possible surrounded by horror. The simultaneous encounters immediately after the vision is difficult and interesting if the party splits up, even more so, if they are under madness, such as a spellcastering being unable to speak can’t perform spells with verbal components. The mansion is interesting and ghost girl is a great guide. The most exciting encounters before the last two encounters are the little girls on the ground and the theater on the second floor. Both provide a creepy atmosphere that makes you either feel sorry for the victims or uncomfortably waiting for the dolls to attack due to the hostage. Due to time restraints, I was unable to use the basement. The encounter with the robo-zombie is awesome as it brings a Frankenstein feeling. For the final encounter, I couldn’t find anything bad to say about the final boss. She was prepared and calm. If you play here like a smart villain, beating her is very difficult since she can teleport from the second floor to ground floor outside. The ghost possession also helps here, especially if you use it on their tank, who the party will typically put at the front of the door entering the room. Overall, this is a good adventure with a likable villain and would run this again.

This adventure is not easy to run if the beginning is not handled correctly. During the information gathering, it is possible for the characters will choose to skip the Burgomaster’s house if they find the Burgomaster is gone. If this happens, the house and store can be swapped before the final encounter. The Burgomaster’s house seems standard and not too exciting since there is nothing special about the house beyond the basement. The shop is interesting, but can steer the party away from the threat if they try to get a confession out of the shopkeeper. The final fight can be made interesting if you through in NPCs for the party to save. Overall, this adventure will feel more hack and slash and can be confusing with loose ends a character didn’t play the last adventure.

This is one of my more enjoyable adventures to DM. The patron’s request to search for a couple truly pulls at good characters since one is close to giving birth and with the knowledge of time being against the party, they have a sense of urgency to hustle. During the first encounter, all but the bandit one seems relevant to the story, due to the furs that they have with them. A combat is better here than exploration since it makes the party nervous, if not paranoid, during the encounter after the campsite. At the campsite, the elves are slightly out of place. It is possible to ignore them, if the party find enough clues, especially the wolf tooth and dagger. For the second encounter, either combat or exploration is good. If short on time, exploration is definitely better. My favorite was the old woman, as the party will likely expect a combat due to paranoia, even with high insight rolls. The final encounter is good. Since the Dark Gift is present, you don’t need to pull punches with rolls. If a character becomes infected, the Dark Powers are a great way to get rid of that if they die, making the encounter flexible. The epilogue is excellent, especially due to the moral dilemma give to Lawful Good characters. The grimness of the ending truly makes this world feel different. Overall, I find this an excellent linear adventure.

This is a good and straight forward adventure that is easy to run. The beginning choice on if the party will tell the gnomes of the danger is easy to miss for them, but can be a good oppurtunity to allow inspiration along with the extra reward. The lizardfolk and wasp can be very short if the party is willing to talk. I ran this game where one character was a lizardfolk, making the whole part easy. I recommend removing the fungi in the cave entrance. One the party is told they are purple, they will assume it's suspious and attack them. The gray ooze with the mud mephits is a good encounter as it can emphasis the importance of magical weapons and armor. For the final fight, a large party can wipe them out if given a surpirse round. I recommend having at least the devourer's aware of the party's arrival via mud mephits deaths and the monks spread out to avoid an anti-climatic sleep spell. The devourer is a good addition to the fight as it introduces the possibility of instant death. If someone tries to metagame against it, I suggest having the devourer run away as there is little that can take the excitement out of it. Overall, this is a good adventure and I would run it again.

This adventure is straight forward, but the setting can be forgettable. Having the party starting already on the journey is a good way to get them already in the story with a goal. The combats are good, but can lack depth as once the party finds each treasure. When I ran the game, the party would move to the next room if a treasure couldn't be found with an investigation check. I recommend removing all the treasure and having them kept with the aquatic elves, who could have gathered the treasure beforehand, offering it to the party for the return of their prince alive. If the elves die, the party will never see the treasure. If the party is keen on killing the cultists onsite before even taking to them, I suggest turning them into normal commonfolk looking for buried treasure, not just an act. In my game a character (lawful evil) killed one of them once they made an insight check to show they weren't telling everything, creating some party tension and heavy RP moment. For large parties, I suggest having the last two encounters set with the priests fully aware of the party arrive (e.g. divine foresight). Otherwise, the party will gang up on the priest immediately. If a quarter or less of the party has been downed against Karsev and his men, I recommend making the encounter with the merrow back to back with Karsev's, either by having the aquatic elves dive into the maelstorm or the maelstorm immediately expand and drag in the party. This helps keep the flow of danger up, making the final fighter harder, but more satisfying. Most of the Downtime options aren't great due to them being Crashing Wave related. The ancient treasure options can be interesting especially with the metal scroll, which can be used in a real WOTC event. Overall, this is a good adventure, though the setting can be forgettable.

This adventure can fun, but can be devastating if not careful. At the beginning of the adventure it is good that the module established that some of the officials are corrupt enough that the PCs will agree to the adventure. The hospice is a good chance for RP to overcome a normal fight inside. During the burning house, the flameskull can be a perform a TPK easily if the party has to go into the room due to Fireball. E.g. A 7 person table at very strong party with 2 PCs at level 1 WILL kill them and can down level 3 character with a high damage role (I’ve seen this actually happen). It would be good if the module specified that the Fireball was used to create the whole it came through. In the temple room with multiple magmins, it is vital that at least the appropriate size of the room is made. If the room is smaller, the explosions alone will take down characters. In that situation if the fight is won but most of the party is down with no healing available, the rest won’t advance on their own (without metagaming), despite the magic item being right beyond the door. Overall, this adventure can be good, but must be handled with care of the space available and damaging being dealt.

This is a very linear adventure that can easily be run without a grid. It has a good mix of problem solving and combat. The little girl and goat is a nice cameo to the previous season, but can be skipped as there is no reward for the party. The shard creatures with their charge attacks are great if the party has no way to get cover. I would have been better is stronger ones were further in the tunnel or in the final fight. The acid pool is great since most characters won't be able to see the end and it give players skilled in "adventuring" a chance to shine (e.g. Champion's Remarkable Athlete or Tabaxi cllimb speed). The specter and shadows are great additions since they can blend or move through walls and be idle until one character goes near the battle. I suggest have the party have no prep time and just come in as the culists are worshipping due to the difficulty above optimal. Unfortunately all the combat encounters are easy at "very strong" especially if the characters have a round to set up. The final fight can be trivial if there are two or three 3rd or 4th lvl characters that can one shot an enemy. The cultist should be provided more hp especially since he can be looked upon as the leader in the final encounter.

This adventure was very enjoyable for myself and my players. There were however a few moments that could be inproved upon.

At the beginning of the adventure, there wasn't a reward for the adventures. This tied in with the end where I (as the Sergant) told them there wasn't a reward for the job, offering only adventure and whatever they found. The first encounter with the other adventurers is a good RP moment that could be used to award inspiration if the characters are selfless. The sink hole in the first combat encounter is good to have as a surprise. The skull with the helmet could be changed to that of the lost dwarf to close the loop with the previous adventurers. Laal is a useful good informat to too trusting adventurers. Meeting with the cult provides the GM a chance to determine if the party needs a short rest or not. The betrayal of the cult after the troglydytes may be too much for a party, if they use all there resource or a few go down before then. An easy solution is Laal to suggest the cults untrustworthy when they first meet them and during combat with teh troglydytes. The fight with the water wierd is not difficult and has no adjust block to it. The room it was in could be a puzzle only and the water wierd could be in the pool of water in the inner vault. I tried this with the party and I asked them for feed back on this encounter, which they all agree it was more satisfying, especially to those who played this adventure before with different characters. With the last encounter being a potential underwater fight, it made my players want more of these types of fights. The magic item obviously for warlocks only, but unlocks warlock multiclassing RP for the character who get it. This could, however, also be disappointing if no characters are able to multiclass (e.g. less than 13 CHA) or have no intention to. Lastly, since magic isn't subject to Mulmaster's laws underground, casters a chance to shine within the city without risks. Overall this adventure was fun to run.

This adventure is interesting as it can easily be run via theater of the mind. Since a good amount of time of the adventure is about planning for the final chapter, this gives the DM a change to test out splitting the party in non-combat situations, especially when they know they're heavily out numbered. This adventure gives the party a chance to explore, discuss strategy, and cleverly apply rare tool proficiencies to the overall game (e.g. Cook's Utensils and Playing Cards). Choice paralysis by the party can be solved by introducing one of the several NPCs who could relate to a faction assignment. During fights, space can easily be narrated since most areas of combats can be open rooms and fields. The best part is that there is a chance of failing, but with the possibility of getting out alive with rewards. This is great for parties (like mine) who had consistently bad dice rolls in combat. Giving the party the option to run with partial rewards instead of dying kept them fighting. Most situations avoid combat so long as the party don't openly act hostile. Lastly, I found the Incubus a great addition as it makes the situation tense if it can charm a main damage dealer, though it would be nice it if could hit harder to become a larger threat. I recommend this for DMs who want to try a whole session using theater of the mind AND practice splitting the party effectively for exploration.

This was my second adventure ever DMing. Unlike the previous adventure that was straightfoward, this one was more about puzzles and problem solving. Half of the first floor existed only to give the players a glimpse of the next, but did have any immediate rewards for solving the it. The rest of the room was fine and gave the opportunities for the players to experience the unknown. Unfortunately, players who didn't know how to respond to rooms kept triggering traps. On the second floor, the wording of the trap was confusing to understand as my players found a contradication between the player handout and my reading of the rooms. The final fight wasn't great even when I challenged the party of six to a very strong encounter. The monsters attack bonus and AC are too low. The two wights couldn't touch characters with high ACs. Additionally, the hallways to the final fight allowed support characters to buff the front characters with zero threats. I recommend having the rooms either magically trapped shut during final combat or threats coming from both sides of the halls to surround the characters. As is, I don't recommend this for new DMs. This adventure may be for more experienced DMs.

This was the first adventure I ever run as a DM ever and I found this suprisingly easy to run. I found this adventure easy to run because there was a clear pathway. This can ultimately consist two map locations, three NPCs, and a minimum of two combats. There wasn't a lot of NPC dialogue and was more of a hack and slash adventure. This is good for new DMs like me who need more time to get into character. The first fight was really useful for me to gauge the party's strength, which was definitely higher than the recommended. Due to time restraint, I found the option to skip some combat really useful, especially since I also had a new player at the table. The final fight would've been too easy if I just went with the recommended and should be higher to make the combat feel like a TPK is possible. Since the goal of this adventure was clear, my players got the feeling of being conquerers of the marsh without having to worry about being unknowning used by another. I recommend this adventure to anyone new to DMing as the adventure is straight foward and can be extended or shorten depending on the pacing. It is a good introductory as the DM doesn't need to know much about the overall story of the season.