I've been running and remixing the DDAL04 Misty Fortunes and Absent Hearts adventure series of modules as a single campaign for a group of players via play by post, so certain things don't translate fully. The big thing being I forshadow the hooks for the modules ahead of time as I built the village of Orasnou for the players and the runtimes of the modules don't matter as much in PbP.

What I liked: Overall a fun short little adventure. There's a mix of roleplay (I expanded a lot on the two Vistani families in my campaign), combat, and the twist with Lela is fun.

What I didn't like: Even though it's 2 hours focused on level 3 PCs, it feels like the combat is too easy. I added way more zombies, and a few ghouls/ghasts and that helped. I also brought Alina and the wolves back from DDAL04-02 the beast because the module references wolf tracks, and then forgets about them. This felt like a copy editing error.

Overall: Pretty fun, I like the idea, I changed things up significantly to meet my needs, but most of that was particular to my campaign and not a fault of the module itself.

Unless you are going to run the majority of the season 4 molues I would stay away from them becuase of the barovia season issues with being stuck and the downtime cost for leaving. easpecially given that you only earn downtime when you level now and so have much less downtime

This module had cool interactions with the Vistani. There was some detective work but it was pretty obvious. The final battle with Lela was tough but not particularly interesting. There's an opportunity to get some so-so story awards. The module as a whole was reasonably done, but my favorite part was the role playing with the Bogaravs in part one.

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.

I thought this module was great because it showed a fantastic example of just the variety of ways that living in Barovia affects different people. It was also a great insight into the Vistani lifestyle (as opposed to just painting them as generic "gypsies"), while showing an interesting thematic power struggle. The last fight was also interesting, mechanic wise, but still fun as a player.

Recommend Purchase: Yes. XP Range: 635-850

The overall story woven between all fourteen modules is called 'Misty Fortunes and Absent Hearts' and is relatively strong overall, but suffers for a couple reasons. The final module probably wasn't written at the time the first was released, so they couldn't or didn't want to spill some of the meta information that DMs would have LOVED to have. In the early modules things would occur 'deus ex machina' and even the DM wouldn't have a clue as to why.

If you're planning on running these, i HIGHLY recommend buying the bundle, reading the DDAL04-14 (The Dark Lord) Adventure Overview on pages 7-8 to see where everthing is heading ... and then reading each module's Overview in turn before running everything. This will help you greatly.

If you start with the first module you'll have enough XP to level up, stay within the module tiers and make it all the way to the 14th module. Afterwards you could always play a few chapters of the Curse of Strahd Harcover and then leave Barovia behind.

Before running any Season 4 module, you should download the following content:

• dndadventurersleague.org/barexit-escaping-the-mists-of-barovia/
• dndadventurersleague.org/curse-of-strahd-backgrounds/
• DMSGUILD: DDAL04 Expanded Dark Gifts Table [OPTIONAL CONTENT]

Season 4 initially couldn't leave the Demiplane of Dread until the very end, but the Admins later introduced the 'Barexit' mechanic.

This is an ok module. It has some nice lore about the Vistani, some nice interactions with their way of life, but the story itself is kinda forgettable. The final combat is nice, but once again the story as a whole is a bit... meh. It's kinda just Romeo and Juliet with a twist.

Great adventure!!!

The adventure has plenty of social interaction, a fun bit of lore that introduces the characters to the Vistani people, and some interesting combats that make for an engaging experience for the players and the DM.

My one issue with the adventure is that the insentive the PCs start off with is very small and they don't have too much of a reason to pursue the quest. This, however, is easily remedied through use of RP.

The adventure can be easily done in 2 hours (designated time) and states it's for APL of 4 but it's more like a 3.

Enjoy!

This was a fun adventure where the players have a chance to interact with and learn more about the Vistiani.

Overall, I felt there could have been a little bit more explanation about how these Vistiani fit in the storyline a bit more. Regarding the metaplot, if Esmae had appeared here, or some of the Vistiani here had a more memorable role later, that would have made this story stand out more.

A fun romance adventure with a dark twist. Should be done humoriously in the vistani camps to contrast the horror and curruption of the final battle. It's good for a hoiliday event like halloween or valentines day.

If you can DM this with a little bit of humour involved then you should be alright.

My players really thought that this ended up like some emo goth vampire scene which was hilarious.

The story is well produced and characters quite fitting and fleshed out for the adventure. Previous modules where there has been an emphasis on NPC continuity have felt a bit forced I'll exclude Aya Glenmir and Jenny Greenteeth.

The combat in the adventure is fair enough. It fits and thematic so I really am not going to say anything bad about the encounters.

If the players felt inclined to really really flesh it out, then you could play in 3 or 4 hours. However I can understand a table who nails the mod in two hours.

Worth a purchase for a one shot.

An interesting module with some good horror elements. Makes for a nice capstone for tier 1 in season 4.

being able to reveal more of the lore of the vistani to the players makes this modual worth it, if nothing else. But there are other great points to it. the romeo and juliet angle with juliet having a dark side makes it a great, if not predictable, twist.

The Seer is a short adventure that tells of a story about a man in love. It sort of reminds me of Romeo and Juliet when I read and ran it. Wasn't too excited to run it but the twist that the adventure offers is actually fun when you see the look on your player's faces when it happens or when they figure it out. It is set in Barovia, where the adventures are more of horror and have a lot of twisted things in it. So all in all, this adventure suits the setting perfectly and it is easy to run and play.

The Vistani have always been integral to Ravenloft, so it was nice to see them get a moment in the spotlight. The previous modules, despite having a darker tone, could really have taken place anywhere-the Vistani are clearly inside the Mists. Prastonata or Doroq are definately hightlights, and the romantic sub-plot is timeless (albeit cliche).