I recommend reading this module at least twice through before you run it as it has a lot of people that you need to remember. If the rest of the trilogy doesn't take place in Dynnegal i'll be annoyed, as it took a lot of effort to prep for this town and a one and done is going to be a lot of wasted effort.

That being said, the group enjoyed the module - which I was kind of surprised at since this module is pretty heavy on roleplay/mystery and the group of people I ran it for are more into the...beat it with a stick until you win type playstyle. Some of the things that stood out:

• No plot armor for the big bad (hooray) - I really dislike modules that are more interested in telling their story than letting the players do things (for example, the DL-VOTU-03 module is also a mystery and, although I haven't DMed or read it - only played it, it feels like the middle of that module is just a time sink where the bad guy is protected by plot armor and nothing the players do really matters). In MOON-MD-01 however I think it'd be fine if the players figure it out as there are lot of ways to fill in the rest of the time slot (hide in the ethereal plane and send fey assasins after the characters to soften them up for example).
• All 3 pillars - while the standard approach to this module is going to be explore/roleplay I feel like there are tools (the random encounters) should the players get frusterated and just want to bash things. You could have night come early and turn your murderhobo group loose on anything that moves in the night

One thing I disliked was the suggestion that if your group had a lot of skill monkeys that you should increase the DC of ability checks. This just feels punitive on players who focus on skills and so I ignored this suggestion.

Great module overall and I look forward to the rest of the series.

I was not a huge fan. It basically plays like bad horror movie. Horrifying creature comes in and kills random NPC during a cut scene that players aren't supposed to interupt. If the players try to chase the creature then it disappears via plot armor! Search for tracks? Nat 20! Too bad - plot stealth. After the first NPC death a few of the players checked out realizing that they were just passive partipcants and that their actions didn't matter. Also, after the big bad fight at the end, the BBEG runs away, regardless of what players attempt to do to stop it or follow it. "The module is over and you won!" is not the victory the players are looking for.

I realize not all of this is the fault of the author. There's a 4-part series where the BBEG is a reoccuring character and they can't die. I just wish it didn't destroy player agency to accomplish this. While I do like the concept of an overarching plot for the series, i think a better way to accomplish this would be foreshadowing over plot armor.

If you are a new DM this module has a lot of tips on mechanics that are used. Some were helpful (the exaustion chart for quick reference) but others seemed a bit over the top (describing what damage is and how to apply it to a monster).

Finally I'm not a huge fan of the new intra-story awards. They add confusion to the module. Why does the warrior die at the end of part 2, then potentially again at the start of part 3, and once again at the start of part 4?

This was a good module. It hit all the pillars (roleplay, exploration via tiny dungeon and combat). It definitely hits a silly vibe (singing animals) so if that's not your thing maybe pick something else. Even if it's not I'd suggest giving it a try - especially if you cant sing. There's nothing more glorious than belting out offkey songs and having your players howl in pain.

This is a pretty good module. One problem I have with it is the fight at the end. The module is supposed to be APL5 but the golem is immune to non magical non ada weapons. One of the bonus objectives can help with that but it's still a pretty rough fight when you throw in the vampire, er i mean mage. Also, the scaling suggestions turn it into a slog. Non magic weapons + slow spell + increase in max hp makes the fight long and boring. I'd suggest adding extra easy mobs instead of scaling up the golem.

Also, the characters fight against Stonebone Skeleton but there is no stat block for them.

This is a great mod. I've run it twice now. It's a nice classic dungeon delve with mostly traps and puzzles. The bear trap room is particularily brutal. I think it should probably read that anyone moving above a speed of 10/round needs to make the dex check...otherwise you're looking at many many checks just to get across the room to the 2 halls, plus back...

If your players are more into social interactions then this is probably a good mod to skip.

In general I liked the module but there was a bit of a problem with "how far do we go to satisfy Artor"? Some groups wanted to go into the Vampire lair (not necessarily realizing it was going to be the lair) only to be blocked by the meta-wall of "ok you guys did what you needed" vs other groups terrified to go into the temple and wanting to just "report back to Artor".

DMs: I ran this a few times and found that players would often explore all the houses and then focus on the main objective (the Tespers) which ended the module prematurely. After that I made it so the Tespers weren't home until the bonus objectives had been completed.

This module seems to run more to the investigative/social end of the spectrum, though there are a good number of fights so you could always just focus more on those aspects if investigative/social isn't your characters cup of tea.

Of the time trilogy this was probably my favorite. I'm a fan of puzzles and this one concentrated on puzzles more so than other pillars. The Eladrin Tomb though feels like there are missing clues. Players had a problem getting the solution right the first time (like what is the lock of blue hair supposed to signify? No one had blue hair...). There's also no penalty for getting it wrong. Maybe this was intentional? Regardless, they can just start swapping the last few they weren't sure of...

There's also a bit of a disconnect with Bonus Objective A. The dryad protects the plants because they're not mature. If they're not mature then they don't have seeds worth harvesting...how are the Priests releasing seeds at the end? (I ended up trying to rationalize that the heat from the fires prematurely dried them out (though I doubt thats how it would work...) or maybe it wasn't the seeds the players rescued?

DMs: If you have players who dont like puzzles you might want to avoid this mission. There was a lot of sitting around letting players figure things out. Some players loved this, some hated it and required some coaching to move things along..though really the module runs fast so players have lots of time to think out the solution (unless they're getting frusterated then it's best to move it alone).

I had one group that failed I think 4 of the 5 rune attunments (they had a wizard with arcana-really bad rolls). I think the DC was probably a little high on those..though the group had a lot of fun with the explosions and failure (sometimes failure is more exciting than success).

I liked the concept (you had me at time travel) but the module didn't have enough for me to build a story around. For one the plot was really weak. The characters are told that they cant affect the past so where is the motivation to save imaginary people or rescue a cook book that doesn't really exist? I ran this a few times through and after the first run I didn't bother to tell the players it wasn't real. This helped them engage in the story (now it was all about saving/fixing or changing the time line).

There is also no real conclusion. Did the players go back to the future after the first episode? Where's the wrap up?

To DMing running this: I'd suggest making up a few NPCs other than those presented and give them backstories of some sort. If you don't then this module is going to go really fast and the players are going to wonder what just happened.

I've run this a couple times as well as the 08-01 - 08-03 trilogy and I have to say this is my favorite. Letting the players decide how the module runs is quite novel (they pick the villian, an interesting character and a plot twist before the module begins and the story has paths based on what they've voted on to control the flow of the module). It makes for great replayability but is definitely hard for newer DMs who may not have any improv skills. If you're newer to DMing, just pick a specific path you want to run and ignore the voting system if that scares you.

I think this module is great to introduce players and DMs to Waterdeep.

So i've run this trilogy a few times. I preferred running it with most of the side quests stripped out and running the entire session as one long mission. While the first two parts of the trilogy do fine without the side missions I really think this one should be run with the bonus missions. They add to the fight and make the story line more epic. The one time I ran it as a 2 hour module it ended way too quickly.

This module runs pretty fast. The two side quests don't take an hour each. The players seemed to enjoy this mission more than the first one. I think it's just because this one is so much more straight forward (go in, explore, kill stuff) than the first of the series. I think this style of play works well for the middle of the trilogy as its just go in and get things done.

Some thing's I'd suggest to improve: Label the maps. I didn't like the fact that you'd have room A text but then you look on the map with no key. Some of the rooms were obvious but a few at the end it'd have been nice to have a legend/key on the map so you knew from a quick glance which room the text was refering to.

New Design: I really like the look of the modules. The color pictures are really nice even though they're just taken from the hardcover. I can understand how some people might hate this (I use digital so my printer doesn't care). I think moving to the unlock cards/story awards is a good idea. People like certs. I found the new style a bit difficult. There's a few things that will take some getting used to. The lack of block text is probably going to be a problem for some people...especially newer DMs or those who dont have time to properly prepare the module. The box text is a crutch though so I'm kind of glad it's gone, as it forces me to ad-lib more. I really like the 3 pillars section.

The actual module review: The players seemed confused about what to do. They map looked linear, so they figured they had to get to the basement of trollskull and then go through the sewers. Even after getting the 2nd clue they wanted to go back to the first location thinking they missed something. Next time I run it I'll need to figure out a better way to indicate that they're collecting clues, not following a path. Perhaps if the map didn't link the 3 original locations in a line? Another thing I found odd was the connection to wedding ring. (1) random bandit they scared away comes back asking for help (2) random bandit doesn't offer payment (3) random bandit wants them to rob a stranger. It's a bit of a stretch and short of "DM gave us a hook, lets go" it felt like it was placed in the module just to add a checkpoint. Finally, they were disappointed that the module ended so abruptly. They expected to complete the mission and the cliff hanger threw them for a loop. I guess their disappointment at not finishing the mission showed how much they enjoyed the mission though...

Overall we enjoyed the module and I'm looking forward to running the rest of the series.

Suggestions for DMs: Overprepare. The new style doesn't really lead to skimming before and and running cold.

I've played this twice and DMed it twice. I think everyone had a great time with it, even though one time ended up in an almost TPK. The time we almost TPKed was long and epic to say the least. A common trip up on DMs I've noticed is they read the dragonchess "treasure" section and let it slip that the potions are potions of poison (they read the text like its a textbox for the players). It might be advisable to rewrite it to say there are 2 potions (then in parenthesis say they're poison but appear to be healing).

DM advice: That first fight scene can go very different depending on the group and which set of creatures the DM decides to pick. The double flame skulls with double fireballs? Ouch! 7 players and low level could easily wreck a group. Be careful as the DM as to which you pick! Can easily run in less than 2 hours.

Overall I liked the trilogy but thought this was the weakest of the 3.

Problem with the module as written:

• The kids are above the group and fish out items...then its a chase scene. How did the characters get on the same level as the kids? Players got confused there.
• The bag shop went well until they needed to leave. Basically they felt it was their only clue and had no where to go after....and the next clue doesn't show up until they step out the door.
• Our friendly grung offers his services because he wants some extra coin...but then ends up paying them with goggles of night?

The fights were light so if you've got players just interested in combat this one is probably best to avoid as it was more about an investigation, and traversing through the jungle.

There's a lot going on in this one. It can definitely run long if players hit all the investigation locations. The combat is dispersed through out the investigation and then its a small dungeon at the end full of delightful "traps". I ran this with 6 level 5 characters and the ending was brutal, even when i ran it very weak (techically they were weak). A gorgon with a cone blast doing petrification is murder on level 5's with no way to remove it. The ceiling collapse at the end made things super bad. I'd avoid running this one with low level characters.

Also one point - i thought the reuining between Alyed and Cassyt ended oddly. They're fighting and suddenly the embrace? It didn't read right to me.