I gave 4 out of 5 stars MAINLY because of the maps. It seems like the maps were created in hi-res, but then then rescaled and shrunk to low res to keep the package small. The rescaling of the maps is wrong. Squares on Westfir map say 10ft when they look to be scaled at 30ft. The Enemy camp says the squares are 5ft when they really seem to be 10x10ft. On top of it all, the maps were generated at low-res, then saved at hi-res in the package. The means you get a hi-res map of a low-res image. If you print the maps to scale, they are pixilated to the point it is hard to utilize the obvious detail put into drawing them. The scaling confuses everything.

Well designed Seige Adventure.

If you compare this to Seasons 5's "Parnast Under Seige," this adventure is the better of the two (if played as a stand-alone). Why? The Seige mechanics are focused and straightforward. Where in Parnast you had to accumulate Seige Points to effect the seige of the town, then spend those points during the combat waves, here you simply roll attribute check that have very direct ramifications for the town of Westfir.

Example: Want to make sure the enemy does not burn town buildings? During Seige Prep, roll an attribute check. Either you succeed or fail during that time and work. Success means enemy wastes a turn trying to set buildings on fire that are quickly put out (because your prep), or enemies DO set building on fire and players must waste turns putting them out while in the mist of combat.

The simplification allows players to clearly digest the ramifications of their actions (good or bad) and respond. In Parnast, decision paralysis has a high rate of occuring because you have to decided what to do, roll multiple checks through out the days to do it, then spend points in combat. The compleication bogs down the session and kills tension.

The Cornflower Hive gets the same results with less mechanics, making this adventure possible to finish in 4 hours while keeping tension and excitement. Players loved the town fight and having to decide what centers of action to fight in and how to approach the fight.

The second act of the adventure is a bit less polished ... but for difference reasons. Attacking the enemy camp in the swamp can go wrong very fast for players because of encounter "set-up". If things go wrong, the players are swamped with enemies that are weak, but their sheer numbers can take the brisk pace of the adventure to a snail pace. Attacking the enemy camp is fun at first, but if you don't find some way to sneak in and complete your objective, your combat can quickly turn into a hour long slugfest ... or your players just straight up get murked. I feel like my players would have appreciated more indication that sneaking and completing the objective was an option. The Adventure DOES state that it is ... but the way that the enviornment and set up is designed, it begs players to underestimate the danger. Plus, the adventure doesn't present really any information on how to treat sneaking into the camp and eliminating the threat ... but a lot of thought seems to be put into what happens if you confront the enemy head on.

The third act was ok. The battle is fair considerig a short rest is given. BUT ... the disabling of the alchemist set up can TPK if players are not careful and don't really make sure they understand the order of disabling the planar devices. The Adventure is a bit muddy in what is required, but a DM reading it a few time before play will be able to over come this. Just expect players to give you confused looks on a first explaination.

Overall, good Adventure ... players enjoyed it ... maps need to be repackaged at a higher res ... can be completed in 4 hours if a DM skips some unessential segways and makes sure the party knows what to expect in the second act.