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CCC-SFBay-02-01 Old Enemies Arise
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/28/2019 17:29:53

This is the weakest of the modules in this series, but players still had a good time with the exploration and combat. It's a necessary introduction to Rise of the Ogre King, and it provides some interesting challenges, so it's still worth running.

PRO

  • The locked/unlocked check mechanics in the investigation was an interesting way to stagger the information players could obtain.
  • Most players hadn't encountered Guards and Wards before, and it provided interesting mechanics for the encounter in part 5.

CON

  • Having modified stat blocks in the appendix, rather than standard stat blocks in the appendix and modifications described in running text, would be helpful.


Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
CCC-SFBay-02-01 Old Enemies Arise
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CCC-SFBay-02-02 Rise of the Ogre King
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/28/2019 17:21:59

I usually run for groups that prefer roleplay to combat or exploration, and they loved this adventure. Both groups chose to seek out the dragon rather than deal with the orcs, but a group of combat-oriented players would likely be happier eliminating the orcs.

PRO

  • Great roleplay experiences. The NPCs in Fangjaws Hold are colorful and interesting. I had a good time portraying the different minor and major NPCs.
  • Nice variety of skill challenges in part 3.
  • Character alignment actually matters in the dragon encounter in part 4.
  • Interesting story awards.

CON

  • Players were frustrated that there was no way to avoid combat in part 5.


Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
CCC-SFBay-02-02 Rise of the Ogre King
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Creator Reply:
Great feedback, I'm glad you liked the series.
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CCC-SFBay-02-03 The Risen Minotaur Lord
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/28/2019 17:08:57

This was a great end to this series. The chase through town was tense, and players enjoyed the challenge of the back-to-back mummy/skeleton fights in parts 4 and 5.

PRO

  • Players commented that the final battle was one of the most challenging -- but not discouraging / overwhelming -- fights some of them have ever had in a tier 2 module. The combination of mummy rot and legendary actions that drop players and prevent them from regaining HP quickly ramped the difficulty level.
  • The goristro fight / chase through the town / archmage fight gave us a couple of solid hours of tense initiative sequence, especially when a Haste spell ran out of time in the middle of the chase.

CON

  • Having stat blocks that are already modified, rather than describing modifications in the text, would have been helpful. I ended up making my own stat blocks for several monsters because I realized it would be difficult to run combat when flipping between stat blocks and the adventure pages.
  • Maybe it was just my group's composition, but the INT save DC for the maze seems much too low. My party made 3 successful group saves in a row without any difficulty.
  • The player handout for the chase sequence is somewhat unclear. If I run this adventure again, I plan to make a different handout.


Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
CCC-SFBay-02-03 The Risen Minotaur Lord
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CCC-CIC-02 The Clockwork Laboratory
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/28/2019 16:50:46

This adventure requires a lot of prep work, but it's well worth it. The overall mechanics took more than one reading to understand completely, and I ended up making cheat sheets for each room to reduce page-flipping between room descriptions, trap descriptions, and stat blocks. Still, there is a good combination of puzzles, investigation, and combat -- and, depending on if players can speak Primordial and are willing to hold off attacking the azers, roleplaying.

PRO

  • Players liked the challenge of figuring out the mechanics and identifying the goals.
  • Good set of challenges in the different rooms.
  • High replayability because players don't need to complete all rooms to move on.

CON

  • Requires a lot of prep work.
  • Difficult to run in 4 hours if making all room rolls randomly.
  • If the party lacks at least one character proficient with Arcana, Perception, Investigation, and either Tinker's Tools or Thieves' Tools, this module is very, very difficult to complete.


Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
CCC-CIC-02 The Clockwork Laboratory
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CCC-BMG-21 HULB 2-3 Winter's Sharp Bite
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/28/2019 16:30:30

My players and I enjoyed this adventure, although we felt that some of the combat was lacking. I strongly recommend that you encourage players to join the hunt. I think part 2A provides a much more interesting adventure than part 2B.

PRO

  • Players liked the intensity of the continuing chase. I recommend keeping players in initiative as much as possible throughout part 2A.
  • Great callback for parties that earned an alliance of the Crushing Boar orcs in Winter's Frosty Kiss. Players were excited and grateful when the orcs showed up at a key moment.
  • Players appreciated the variety of skills involved in the curse curing encounter.

CON

  • Starting with a flashback is weird. If there were any other time-travel elements, it might make more sense, but it's out of place in this adventure.
  • Preparing the adventure takes some time because of the randomized hunt encounters. I made notecards for the different encounters and removed cards as encounters were completed or eliminated.
  • Players were underwhelmed by several of the combat encounters.


Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
CCC-BMG-21 HULB 2-3 Winter's Sharp Bite
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CCC-BMG-20 HULB 2-2 Winter's Frigid Wrath
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/28/2019 16:12:05

Most of the adventure is straightforward, especially compared to the previous adventure, but players still have opportunities for combat and roleplaying. The end villain has a good set of spells and was a challenging and memorable encounter for the players. (I took out a healer with Feeblemind and the table freaked out.)

PRO

  • The players enjoyed the tension and mechanics involved in tracking the frigid stalker.
  • My party of heavy roleplayers appreciated the opportunity to negotiate with Nediva and Olvik, rather than fighting them.
  • The final encounter was a good challenge for a group of well-prepared players.

CON

  • Difficult to run in only 4 hours.
  • One of the encounters in part 2 is not necessary and was underwhelming to players.


Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
CCC-BMG-20 HULB 2-2 Winter's Frigid Wrath
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CCC-BMG-19 HULB2-1 Winter's Frosty Kiss
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/28/2019 15:32:21

My players and I enjoyed this adventure, although it took us well over 4 hours to complete. Keeping track of player and enemy locations and effects in part 2 was challenging, and I wish I'd made myself some cheat sheets so I wasn't flipping between so many pages. Still, the adventure moved quickly and the players liked the NPCs, atmosphere, and encounters.

PRO

  • The variety of combat, investigation, role-playing, and puzzle encounters allows all characters to shine.
  • The terrain and thematic enemy choices create an immersive astmosphere.
  • Players found the NPCs compelling.

CON

  • It's difficult to complete in 4 hours without deliberately eliminating encounters, railroading players, or curtailing RP opportunities.
  • The descriptions for partially summoned or fully summoned wendigo appear to be reversed, with the fully summoned wendigo described as more powerful in running text, but the bullet lists of stat changes describing the partially summoned wendigo as having additional resistances, immunities, and skills.


Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
CCC-BMG-19 HULB2-1 Winter's Frosty Kiss
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DDEX2-05 Flames of Kythorn (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/22/2018 00:14:28

This module has its flaws (story hook, villain behind it all, end battle), but I've run it twice and both groups had a great time. Once players are on board with wandering into the tavern, a roleplay-focused group will get to shine. Players enjoyed getting to interact with NPCs and start figuring out something was awry even before the conflict began, and tracking down the culprit gave good opportunities for players to explore and puzzle out the mystery. This isn't an adventure for combat-focused parties, though. The combat encounters are dull.

Pro

  • Roleplay opportunities
  • Exploration and clue-gathering
  • Thematic components and connections to other season 2 modules

Con

  • Weak combat encounters
  • DMs may need to come up with a better hook to get players into the tavern in the first place


Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
DDEX2-05 Flames of Kythorn (5e)
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DDEX2-10 Cloaks and Shadows (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/21/2018 19:10:35

My players and I had a great time with this adventure. The mystery solving and sneaking through town is a nice change of pace if you usually run combat-heavy adventures. Players liked that they had opportunities to pull out many of the non-combat skills they don't often get a chance to use.

Pro

  • Lots of exploration and chances for stealthy characters to shine
  • Good mystery with enough (but not too many) clues for the characters to pick up
  • Replayability from the different encounters available

Con

  • Can be a lot to prep, since players have several directions to choose from


Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
DDEX2-10 Cloaks and Shadows (5e)
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DDAL05-11 Forgotten Traditions (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/20/2018 22:33:49

I love this module. It's a great dungeon crawl with neat traps and encounters and a fantastic challenge at the end battle. I also like that the choices between encounters means that players and DMs both can have completely different experiences when playing or running the module a second time.

Pro

  • Good options for traps and encounters that will challenge your particular party.
  • Opportunities for players proficient with History to use the skill for an actual purpose.
  • Interesting roleplaying with the ghost, and two cool story awards.
  • The players liked the overall atmosphere, including the history/religion and the magic items.
  • Null-magic and wild-magic zones throw extra challenges at complacent spellcasters!

Con

  • Required more prep than a lot of other modules because of all the history flavor text and the options for traps/encounters.


Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
DDAL05-11 Forgotten Traditions (5e)
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DDAL04-03 The Executioner (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/20/2018 22:08:55

I ran this at a convention directly after The Beast, and I was unfortunately given the original version of the module, rather than the revision. (I didn't know there was a revision until I purchased the season pack yesterday.) The original version has some ISSUES, but I've read the revision and it looks smoother. Even so, it appears that it's up to the DM to railroad the players into talking / fighting / breaking their way into the Burgomaster's home, which isn't ideal. However, the revision looks like it'll fix the issue I had with players never actually figuring out who Arik is, so maybe next time I run this, it will go better. The players and I liked that there's very little combat and a lot of roleplay.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
DDAL04-03 The Executioner (5e)
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DDAL04-02 The Beast (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by JD N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/20/2018 21:00:31

I ran this at a convention and we had fun with it, although I definitely recommend running this when you aren't on a time crunch. I had to cut short the roleplay opportunities in Orașnou and with the elves, which was disappointing because RP is my favorite part of gameplay.

Pro

  • Having choices for the encounters in part 2 allows tailoring the module to the group you're running for and the time you have available.
  • Great atmosphere throughout. Players who were unfamiliar with Barovia got caught up in the ominous weather / unsettling landscape.
  • The adjustments for a very strong party in the final encounter work well. Having to save against exhaustion every round made the situation much more dire once half the party took a level or three. If you want to challenge your players, I suggest leaving Alina's stats alone and just inserting the creeping and exhausting fog.

Con

  • Module is difficult to run within a 2-hour time frame. It's doable, but it's tough.
  • Although the handwritten appearance of the player handout is nice, it's difficult to read.
  • Maps for the encounters in part 2 would have been helpful.


Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
DDAL04-02 The Beast (5e)
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DDEX2-04 Mayhem in the Earthspur Mines (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Julia N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/11/2018 15:59:17

This is one of my favorite adventures. It has a bunch of fun elements and particularly rewards clever and forward-thinking players. This isn't the adventure for racing through and killing everything, but if you have a party with explorers and roleplayers, they'll probably have a blast.

PRO

  • fun introductory scenario
  • opportunities for exploration, roleplay, and combat
  • missions are tied in well with the ideals of the factions
  • places for characters with a variety of skills to shine
  • players have some excellent opportunities to make use of the environment (LAVA PIT)
  • a working mine (instead of a long-abandoned one) is a nice change, and the maps, NPCs, and situations in the mine give it a strong sense of place

CON

  • black pudding (my players' most-hated enemy)


Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
DDEX2-04 Mayhem in the Earthspur Mines (5e)
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DDEX2-13 The Howling Void (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Julia N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/11/2018 15:43:17

This adventure requires a lot of DM prep, but my players loved it. Highly recommended. Likely to run long (took us almost 7 hours instead of the offical 4). Definitely suggest running this directly after Eye of the Tempest so players are familiar with the situation and you can get them into the Air Node quickly. I'm definitely running this again sometime. Big fan.

PRO

  • the Air Node has an interesting setup, with unique encounters at each location
  • high replayability because groups aren't expected to visit every location
  • one node has characters switch personalities, which my players had a blast roleplaying
  • good opportunities for negotiation and deception to get out of combat situations
  • once I understood the setup and timeline, the provided DM materials for each were very helpful in keeping myself and my players on track
  • excellent follow-up to events from Breath of the Yellow Rose and Eye of the Tempest
  • very clear ticking clocks in the adventure kept the tension hig

CON

  • there's a lot to prepare, since players have many options and behind-the-scenes activities have consequences that must be applied
  • very difficult to complete in 4 hours, so not recommended for an event or con where time is limited


Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
DDEX2-13 The Howling Void (5e)
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DDEX2-09 Eye of the Tempest (5e)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
by Julia N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/11/2018 15:16:40

This was a solid adventure, but it requires a lot more prep than most because (a) it will take at least 8 hours to run, (b) there are many paths players may take, and (c) the mechanic of the end battle took me a bit of time to parse. That said, there's something for all types here (role-players, investigators, fighters, explorers), and it's a great lead-in to the Howling Void, which was a player favorite for this season. Due to the overland travel portion of the adventure, my ranger player actually got a chance to use her ranger abilities for once (even if not in her favored terrain), which doesn't happen often in AL.

PRO

  • high replayability because of the variety of options players can choose in part 1 and part 2
  • great opportunities for roleplay throughout
  • good mix of threats from the environment, monsters, and humanoids
  • interesting mechanic in the final battle

CON

  • combat-oriented parties will likely get bogged down in the investigation section
  • takes a lot of extra preparation to run smoothly
  • very abrupt end to the adventure (no conclusion box text, minimal summary)


Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
DDEX2-09 Eye of the Tempest (5e)
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