Just came out of a in-person game run by the author at a DDAL event yesterday. As described by the author, it's the third installment in a loosely connected series of Spelljammer titles that are all set in the Echo system. The adventures are in each of the three tiers, and don't connect in a sequential way. The Echo system is a remote Wildspace in the Astral Sea that contains long lost treasures, hides ancient secrets and harbours deadly foes.

The game was incredibly immersive and one of the most thematic adventures that I've played. The DM's own style obviously played a part in this, but the adventure itself reflects the author's cinematic bent on the whole D&D experience.

Place yourself in a Spaghetti Western, where you reach an remote outpost, the occupants destitute, barely surviving the combination of the isolation and harrassing attacks from marauding evil doers. Are you there to right the wrongs of the lawless wilderness and impose a sort of vigilante justice? Or do your eyes have the glint of someone who's just one step away from finding the wealth they always dreamed about?

There's a little bit of setup for the players to work out what's going on, and then get a sudden interruption along the way. But once the main part of the adventure kicks in, the players are at the wheel of this story, and it's all eyes on the prize. It's all incredibly risky, you are at the mercy of a commoner name Roscoe, and you really don't know what lies ahead. "Every gun makes its own tune."

You find yourself face to face with the rival gang. You ask yourself, are we any better than them, or are we just all playing the same game? There's only one answer: "Mmmm, yeah, but I've got six more bullets in my gun."

There's a final showdown that demands the accompaniment of The Ecstasy of Gold - L'Estasi Dell'oro by Ennio Morricone. "When You Have To Shoot, Shoot. Don't Talk."

This popular "heist" adventure creates an exciting and challenging experience for you and your players to enjoy. There are plenty of moments of comedy, opportunities for the DM to roleplay interesting NPCs and a real Mission Impossible moment for your table.

Running the Game. I had no trouble finishing the adventure in the allowed time of 4 hours. Beginning the game on the Rock of Bral is a great starting point for your players, and after a Spelljammer journey, the real adventure begins in Wildspace upon a solitary asteroid. There your players encounter the challenge: complete the heist before the time runs out, don't die and don't get caught. Really, really don't get caught! In the final scene the PCs run for their lives in a hilarious chase sequence (personally the highlight of the adventure).

What's in the Adventure? You can read all about the contents on the adventure page, but I think what's important is that the adventure communicates the setting and the characters (including their roles and motivations) of the adventure very well. You get the chance to understand the plot before you get to the game. There are useful item and rewards handouts, and all the monster stats that you need are included.

Take Home Message. Have fun with this adventure, enjoy the comedy of the Dohwar NPCs, and the excitement of a really engaging heist.

DM Review: My experience in running this adventure is that it hits the mark of a well rounded and relaxed adventure. The crew of the ship give the DM the opportunity to voice several interesting characters. The mission aboard the ship gives the players clear direction and focus. At no point did the players get stumped or were lost for what to do. The action unfolds before them, providing plenty of opportunity for each character to shine. The situations that the players encounter are not confronting, daunting or confusing. Every episode of this adventure is clear, and provides the engaging setting of a voyage through the Astral Sea. The players enjoyed the mix of situations that they encountered. We ran two combats which provided some variety. The players weren't quite sure when a combat would occur, which is a good thing. The combats were interesting and lasted several rounds each.

What it's not: The adventure is obviously not wall to wall combat, and none of the encounters are overly challenging. There is no horror here or deadly traps.

Module Review: I found plenty of scope for improvement with the writing, but this did not detract from running the adventure, so I won't deduct any stars for that. There has been work put into this module, and there are positive and helpful aspects that support the DM. Rolling on the d100 salvage table is a fun aspect of the module. The character reward sheet is very useful as a handout. The module is missing content warnings, for example, slavery is one.

Thanks for a great adventure and a fun game!

NEVER EVER TRUST A WIZARD ... EVER! Our green adventurers, ability scores hastily scribbled onto character sheets moments before the game, are marshalled onto the equivalent of a SpaceX transport. Riza, the Spelljammer Elon, seems to be legit. But something's wrong, the weather conditions on the destination planet are going to make completion of the interstellar voyage interesting. Some "improvisation" will be required to amend the plans, Riza explains as he launches the adventurers on their journey in Part 1.

If that alone is not enough to raise the hair on the back of your sci-fi neck, then wait till you see what the adventurers find as they seek to track down the distress signal. A false alarm perhaps? A gruesome discovery unfolds in this science facility where disaster has struck. OK, cross off false alarm. Clues need to be uncovered to reveal the extent of the calamity in an investigative Part 2.

In Part 3, the adventurers come face to face with the cause of the problem and the reason why they were sent on this foolhardy mission. Were they expected to return alive? Let them return back to Riza and report back on their findings. Or, they could keep exploring and continue their adventures in the final encore.

The adventurers had a chance to escape at the end of Part 3, but of course their Uber will have to wait. It seems that they were foolhardy enough to venture into the Call of Cthulhu point of no return that is Part 4. At this juncture, picture if you will, fake blood splattering across the camera lens ... well I guess those players who tore up their character sheet could play one of the rescued NPCs? Riza goes on to buy Forgotten Realms Twitter. The End.

In this adventure, your players will meet renowned scientist, Professor Lucius. The adventurers are hired to protect Lucius on his scientific expedition. Whatever happens they should stick to their duties, and definitely do not accept a test tube from him! On the journey through the Astral Sea, the DM has access to an encounters table which gives the DM plenty of scope to shape the adventure as they see fit. It is at this point that gazing into our crystal ball reveals a potential game night in the wilds of Footscray that far outlasts the promised two hours!

Betrayal! Someone was not who they said they were, and horrific crimes against science and nature are about to occur. Well, of course that is why we have hired the adventurers as bodyguards - that and to prevent Lucius from getting himself into trouble again!

Plot twist! Nothing except for an in-depth obsession for sci-fi movies could have prepared the players for what happens next. The final scene of the adventure plays out like a DM party trick, saving the players from potentially missing the last train home. Steven demonstrates his command of game design and extensive experience DMing and writing for DDAL with this final scene, giving the DM a sentient being where there should be just pink gas. Pure delight for the creative DM, and a master stroke of adventure writing.

More adventures from this author are available for the Plague of the Ancients, Wild Beyond the Witchlight, and now Spelljammer campaigns.

No Lucius - no more test tubes!

Putting together a two hour DungeonCraft is no mean feat and the author has nailed it with this one just like a Sharpshooter (which is a mean feat) would. This module has come out not long after the official guidelines were released, and off the back of the Feywild adventure Red Door, Black Heart.

With your purchase you'll also receive a couple of ship design maps upon which the mayhem and chaos of the encounters will be unleashed. Your players will be frantically plotting their manoevers on these maps or rapidly adjusting their hit points depending on how the story plays out.

The magic begins with the astral elves, their mystical homeland evocative of Greek mythology. Then a dramatic space journey ensues, two ships draw into combat, and a final foe threatens to turn the tables just when everything was quiet again ... too quiet obviously!

In summary "probably flawless'. The astral elves are still checking ...

I ran this as a 3 hour introduction to Mist Hunters at PAX Aus Online for two groups of five players each at this Australian event. Many of the players had not played Adventurers League before and some had not played D&D before. So not only was this an introduction to the Mist Hunters campaign, it was also a much broader introduction for some of these players! It was a perfect introduction in my view both because I enjoy the setting and the style of adventure, but also because of the setting and the challenges within. I feel that this adventure would suit new players more than most modules I have seen previously including my own adventures I have written. I ran A Rat's Tale at PAX Aus 2019 at an in person event, and this module has a similar feel in some respects. That was also a good adventure to run for beginners. Furthermore, this adventure is ideal for online gaming, offering the potential for both theatre of mind style of play, and digital content as well through your VTT (though some research and preparation is required for a more multi-media intense game).

How did I run it?

• I created pre-generated characters for the players to choose from. No messing around with character generation, no discussions over what characters you can bring. Just pick a character and begin the game. I used all the character options in the hardcover book for these pre-gens. I gave each character a background, personality and reason for being in the setting. I included relevant art for each character.
• I used Tarokka Deck cards at the start as inspiration tokens, and yes I awerded DM inspiration to all the players at the start. If it's an exciting game, players will be desperate to use their inspiration and having that option there, especially for new players adds something to the game.
• I omitted faux pas rules and the NPC Basil.
• Players needed to find three clues in part 1, then visit only 1 location in part 2. Then part 3 can be run to fit in whatever time you have left.
• I used Lines and Veils at the start of the adventure to set expecatations. This means players know to expect some horror, and they play an active part in choosing how much horror they will experience.
• I used Stars and Wishes at the end of the game. This provides a more satisfying complete game experience. I needed a few minutes after the game to do this, but all the players were able to participate. This was the best opportunity to receive feedback and understand how the players experienced the game. I highly recommend this approach to generate a more positive experience for both you and your players.
• I omitted level ups.
• I used maps, art and audio tracks as much as possible (including art by @bird#7653). I created additional PDFs including Alanik's letter and the invitation.
• I provided an X card tool and the safety kit.

What did I like about it?

• I very much like the setting. I haven't read or played any of the other MH adventures. Until I ran this adventure, I struggled to see how I could engage with this setting, but now that I have enjoyed the experience so much, I really can't wait to run the rest of the games of this campaign. I like the hardcover book, I think it crosses so many aspects of the game, that it is very useful and engaging for the DM. I often think of Doctor Who when planning and preparing for this setting, and that inspires both the horror and the comedy aspects of the game. I feel the setting information available in the hardcover complements the DDAL game very well, unlike experiences in other DDAL campaigns which at times have felt jarringly awkward alongside the hardcover books.
• The role playing theme of the grand masquerade is delightful and enjoyable. I much prefer this style of game to the "keep hitting the 1000 hit point boss till he dies" style of game.
• I like that it leads into the next adventure. The players enjoy this plot hook and are looking forward to getting a chance to play the game again to discover the next chapter. It's a great cliffhanger and "page turner".
• I like the MH campaign rules for DDAL. I've always wanted to play in the Eberron campaign, but never had a chance to. This setting with its more flexible rules has provided me with the opportunity to discover a more immersive setting.

What else would I like to see?

• Optional rules for Tarokka deck cards to be used within DDAL games, and not just in character generation.
• More adventures like this in DDAL!
• The option to contribute DDAL adventures for this campaign.

A note about comedy: In the hardcover, I really dislike the note on page 14 which advises to limit comedy. Don't do this. Instead refer to page 9, where the "Cultivating Hope" sidebar refers to "moments of relief, comedy and fortuitous coincidences." While everyone's style varies, I feel that the latter approach is in my experience the one that will lead to more enjoyable and satisfying D&D.

OVERALL: A fresh look at Season 10 AL which brings in new concepts for the players to contemplate. Crafting, fetch-quests and a "highlights" tour of three important locations from the Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign book create a new feeling that bridges across to the locations and themes of Icewind Dale in an enjoyable and satisfying way.

GAME EXPERIENCE:I ran this game last night with six players, all of whom had played at least several of the Season 10 Tier 2 adventures. Wyrmdoom Crag and LT Prook provided a familiar starting point for the crew. They chose the Lost Spire of Netheril first, aiming to collect the Chardalyn last. The encounter went well, and one player experienced with the hardcover used the replicator to create some interesting things. This created a diversion for the party which took up time unexpectedly. They were able to create the two potions using the recipes quite easily, and didn't even ask for any clues. Next was Sunblight and the Vestibule is quite a distraction. At this encounter I realised I was going to run out of time. I needed to cut short the fight in the third encounter, and abbreviate the final crafting scene using a shortcut in the fail safe procedure. In the end we ran over by 30 mins which was about the length of time added by extra fun with the replicator. I feel this could easily run to two or more hours over time. One thing that the players didn't like were the traps, which were sort of "ahah gotcha" type moments rather than hazards to be overcome. The players didn't mind the extension of the "are we still building that dumb bomb?" story arc (I was worried they might so I added some explanation of this). The game feels unusual and is certainly something very different to the others in this series.

PREPARATION: I created new maps for each of the three encounters, and also for the final workshop scene. I used existing maps of Icewind Dale and Wyrmdoom Crag. I struggled to understand some of the finer details such as traps and hazards. The Sunblight vestibule and the fail safe procedure are complex to understand. The Sunblight and Ambush encounters can be complicated with a range of features to consider. I found that preparation took a long time for this adventure, due to the complex details such as traps. The overall storyline and the concepts of each location were very clear to understand. Having some content split into the appendices was not helpful.

WHAT I LIKED: 1. Fresh approach to the storyline, 2. Tie in to RotFM, 3. Three interesting locations, 4. Potion recipe puzzle, 5. Final crafting challenge.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE: 1. Gotcha traps, 2. Overly long and difficult to manage the time, 3. Complexity in some elements takes time to prepare. The idea that blowing up an ancient city is a good idea is kind of sad, but let's see what happens in the final adventure.

Overall This is an interesting adventure that breaks open the Season 10 storyline from "you thought you found the bad guys" to "no, here actually are the bad guys" and they are ancients ... though they have recently arrived, and they are inexplicably involved with this strange location. So, the story tries to break new ground, and that just leaves me thinking, what actually happened in the story writing process that led to this development? To say it feels disjointed is an understatement. However, what it lacks in continuity and development, it does gain in novelty and surprise value. The writer is new to AL, and though he is a talented writer, the adventure suffers in a couple of points because of this. Experience in AL should not be undervalued by the team, and if it's a new writer, then some effort needs to be made to bring in some experience perhaps as a co-writer.

How did it play out? I had a good group of seven experienced players, and ran the game to time at 4 hours. I prepared everything pretty well, with the exception of the final component which I underestimated. I got into the character of the Giff Lieutenant, and he adds a new element to the dwindling numbers of Goliaths. Jumping straight into the first encounter with a couple of classic D&D creatures is a fun start to the adventure. Entering into the ancient city, this needs some guidance by the DM, but it is fun to build up. Then you have the second fight, which just comes out of nowhere. Finally the chase which the DM needs to manage carefully. I had one player who had low stealth and high constitution, and so I allowed them to "Forrest Gump" out, but there is no specific rule for this.

How did it feel? In terms of the Goliath story, they seem to suffer a lot of losses despite whatever the PCs manage to do in their adventures. I feel this is a little overstated in these Tier 2 adventures. The first encounter can be used to introduce the foul nature of the Neogi and to generate some tension and pressure on the PCs. The second part builds up the interaction with the ancient city, but I don't feel it's direct enough about either the Dragonborn or the current inhabitants of the city. There is little background to help the DM. The middle section feels very strange to run and disjointed. The optional encounter does very little to develop the story, and should not have been included. By the time the third section happens, players and DMs alike are lost as to what is going on here really. Finally, the chase scene highlights for me what a waste of time the chase mechanics of 5e are, and the configuration of this section is particularly awkward. This can become a very tediious or pointless component of the adventure if the DM doesn't manage it well.

Feedback to the writer The adventure is a pleasure to read due to the writing style, but the game play and game design is lacking. More story development should be provided to create a more logical structure to the adventure. These are critical to an AL adventure which the writer is clearly not experienced with. Compared to this, 10-05 provides a much more effectively developed story and game play which runs much better in AL. I would have given this 3/5 except for the technical quality of the writing which bumps it up to 4 stars.

Overall I ran this game last night for seven players. In the preceding three weeks I had run the earlier Tier 2 adventures in sequence. As we are now waiting for 10-09 to drop I can look back at these four adventures. I've enjoyed running all of them and engaging with the story that they present. The introduction of the Giff in 10-06 created a new plot line and NPC for the next three adventures which continued into this adventure. The quality of writing, game play and story telling is outstanding in this adventure. I felt that this adventure progresses the season storyline very successfully.

How did it run? The new goliath NPC was introduced, and then we jumped into the story. We had only one PC who could knew Draconic, and that PC was played as immature and impulsive, which made translations and outcomes each time quite hilarious. Each episode led well into the other, building tension at each turn. The second episode starts to build the ancient lore into the story. The Echoes of Xorvintroth is a further opportunity to reinforce the lore aspects. Then the spelljammer section is a welcome diversion. Finally the mini-dungeon at the end is a nice way to solidly complete the adventure, with the final encounter potentially being the most challenging out of the last four modules.

Minor Quibble While the title is fitting, the blurb is misleading and should have been rewritten to reflect the actual nature of the adventure.

Message to the Writer Well done on a brilliant adventure, this deseves a five star rating! I hope that you continue to write for Adventurers League.

Overview Written by the Gold Ennie Award winning AL author of Stygia Untamed, Electrum best seller A Dragon's Breath, and DC Battle winner A Wolf's Whisper, this adventure has some fun and enjoyable moments that we've all come to enjoy from this writer. Our table of five players had fun, were suitably challenged with different types of encounters, and got to use a wide variety of skills.

How did it run? The structure of the story delivered by this adventure is pretty nice, and the character of Tree-Eye gets involved. I found the lair based mechanics awkward to use in the first encounter. I gave Tree-Eye a key role in the second section of the adventure. i don't much like the weather based challenges as they are a bit over-used in Season 10, and so I focussed on the social encounter aspects that are part of this second section. The third section is interesting, while for the last section I used the dragon encounter because dragons are fun to use.

My Impressions? I felt the text was a bit awkward at times, and the lair mechanics really need to be clarified in the first encounter. The use of acid in the lair doesn't make sense. The gather quest components are not necessarily going to work well exactly as written, and so it's better to combine them into the shop/chwinga combination and make the most of these two social encounters with the aid of Tree-Eye. This avoids this section from becoming tedious.

Overall The design of this adventure makes for a very fun experience for the players, with some shortcomings in the details of the mechanics, and in the writing style. The DM should focus on making this adventure as fun as possible, as the next one in this storyline is quite serious. With this in mind, the players should be able to enjoy the adventure as much as the others by this writer. I would have given this five stars, but I've notched this down to four stars due to the aspects noted.

I've had the opportunity to run this twice. Once with some shortcuts over three hours for six players, the second time for five players over the full four hours.

What I like about this adventure:

1. Two heroic battles in desperate and dramatic situations with powerful dangers in both scenes.
2. Immersive Goliath clan storyline.
3. Intriguing history and lore from the Netherese times with a puzzle to get you into it.

How did it run? In the first game I made it shorter by making the puzzle easy to solve, and by avoiding the Alchemical Sludge. Still a fun game, and sometimes it's better to run shorter if it's a late night. In the second game I ran the full content and it ran to time. The pacing is good. I allowed a 10 minute break after the Frostclaw fight. No PC died but battles were challenging and awesome.

What did I change?

1. I changed the puzzle from five to four pieces.
2. I made the polar bears friendly at the end after Feral-Tongue dies, there has to be something nice in all this mess.
3. Kaskur must die. He doesn't seem to play a part later in the storyline.
4. Feral-Tongue starts in bear form, and gives his speech at the end. Then he dies.

What was good

1. Old Goat and Kaskur: brilliant writing!
2. Frostclaw coming to life wreaking havoc with legendary actions? The best! The Chardalyn Growths? Much fun and mayhem on the battlefield.
3. Netherese Lore is cool.
4. Alchemical Sludge is fascinating.
5. Final battle with the chardalyn effects, and Feral-Tongue raving on about the "end is nigh" is very dramatic. Great battle and a fitting escalation from the Frostclaw fight.

What was hard?

1. The puzzle is quite hard to explain and for the DM to understand, it would be better if it were spelled out exactly in the PDF. I still don't understand why there are five and not four pieces that are chosen. However, it is a great moment to explore a little Netherese lore and mystery with the players if you enjoy that. The picture doesn't illustrate the pieces very well, but it is a nice piece of art which I enjoyed.
2. Story Awards are problematic with this series. No one knows why or when to use the story awards, you have to wait for the right moment, and you have to be aware of what the players have and when to use it. It's too much to handle, and beyond the capacity of most players. Most players don't remember what story awards they have, or what they are called. The DM is busy at the moment when the story awards are called on, and it's just too much paperwork to make it practical. I think this system needs to be redesigned for next season. Players love the Goliath storyline, that works well without the need for the story awards which are dependent on very specific circumstances.

Suggestions for DMs

1. Use Madam DM's map pack available on this site.
2. Have fun playing the Kaskur character annoying the players.

Suggestions for the Writer This is actually really well written, and I want to give the writer five stars for this. What I found is that the second half of the module when things get more complicated it is harder to follow including the puzzle, and the Feral-Tongue stuff. I think it would be better to make it clear exactly what is supposed to happen and why. It's not the time for sidebars or complex layout. Just make it simple and logical. So I knocked it down to four stars for this. However, I read this adventure with a lot of joy, and the games were a blast so kudos to the writer you made me a very happy DM.

How did the game go?

My three players (APL2, average party) played this adventure last week, and experienced a really fun adventure! The game finished early, as I didn't spend the required time running the mini-games. The players liked the sense of challenge to discover the secrets of the crimson star. It seems as though almost every page has a reminder that you can continue the adventure in the next episode, and if that's what it takes to get your players to come back for the next game, that's OK by me! The prep-time is easy (once you understand the core freedom vs. loyalty plot), though I enjoyed finding some fun tokens and maps for use in the game.

What I liked about this adventure?

I enjoyed running the first tavern scene which has the combination of chaos, impending fantasy prophecy and urgency. You'll get something similar in the opening of the sequel to this adventure. I liked the first encounter that follows the opening, in particular the five orphans. I used the characters from Inside Out to give each orphan a different personality and motivation. There's a nice sense of engagement with the story at this point. The middle section of the adventure is totally whimsical, reminding me of stories such as Alice in Wonderland and Charlie and Chocolate Factory. The mini-games are a nice diversion, but I simplified them during the game. The novelty of the NPCs is really fun, and the final fishing scene should strike fear into the players' hearts. I feel that the author is not a fan of fishing!

The story of the wolf is the heart of the adventure, and combined with the children who helped him, deliver a very powerful message for everyone who gets a chance to enjoy this adventure. The wolf is prepared to give up his freedom in exchange for the realisation of his loyalty. For this reason I feel the adventure has a lot to offer, and I'm looking forward to running it again soon.

The original cover illustration is delightful and evocative of the story's theme, a really nice piece by the artist. The presentation of this adventure is very high quality.

Finally, as this is the first part of the crimson star trilogy, the connection between the adventures is a strong point. I've just run the sequel shortly after this adventure. While the story does develop across the two adventures, the author does not give anything away in terms of the overall storyline.

Room for improvement?

The mini-games use up too much time, and I don't think can be run as written without annoying some players. As a DM that's up to you to know the mood of your players and what they will enjoy. The background information didn't really provide the necessary support the DM needs to run the adventure - this has to be picked up by reading through the whole thing.

Overall

We had a lot of fun playing this adventure, which brings in whimsical elements with a deep emotional plot at it's heart. It is something different that may not appeal to old-school AL players. It will definitely appeal to families and young kids. Note that the sequel includes a dungeoncrawl, so expect something completely different in Crypt of the Mind Flayers (DC-PoA-GSP01-02).

A story with loyalty and sacrifice at it's heart - A Wolf's Whisper is a special adventure!

Game Play Experience

Setting up this adventure in Roll20 was easy. There's just one map for the dungeon, and I loaded it with grid off and fog of war enabled. I added a map for the first encounter from Neutral Party Patreon. I used a really cute token for Nuno to give the impression that he might be interesting to talk to. It took some time for me to understand the lever trap puzzle in preparation. It is an elegant puzzle inspired by the light bulb scene of "Alice in Borderland". The key for the DM to understand is that the answer is the simplest option. The main NPCs that I relied on to tell the story were the Town Speaker, Chief Hammers, and Nuno Dirtmound. The background material provided for these NPCs is excellent.

I had four players (APL 3, average party), one of which had played the first episode of this trilogy in the week before. That player really enjoyed the first adventure, and was interested to find out how the story developed. The players were all used to playing Season 10 adventures, particularly the DC community adventures. One PC got stuck in a skull-door for a long time which killed the mood of the game for a while (that player missed out on the next five rooms). The players solved the lever trap puzzle really quickly even without finding the clues.

We ran about 20 minutes overtime, which would guide me to get the story moving faster earlier in the adventure next time I run this. There is a lot of content in Parts 3 & 4.

What Did I like about this Adventure?

This adventure has popular demand to run due to the success of A Wolf's Whisper. Just like in that adventure, there is chaos at the beginning that demands the clear heads of some experienced adventurers to resolve. Beyond that the similarity ends, as the party begins to be drawn into the dark secrets of the plot. Firstly an encounter in the snow sets the scene for danger, and then the party comes face to face with the crystal on page 8. This is a great introduction to the dungeon crawl that is to come next. As mentioned, you have already got two great NPCs involved in the story.

What comes next is the ominous terrors of the dungeon level, which provides an array of different options and pathways for the party to explore right away. The players really felt like they had some choice here (even though some options lead to the same place). Meeting Nuno early in this level makes a lot of sense and helps the party get involved in the story here.

The combat encounters are well balanced and interesting, and the dungeon level really faces the party with a clear mission and goal, and then places challenges and obstacles in their way. That is great!

The skull-doors are a great idea, and it was a really great moment in our game when one PC got trapped.

The story of the illithids and their creepy crypt is very interesting and macabre, the sense of something interesting going on here is very real.

Room For Improvement?

• Handout 3 should be provided earlier in the story, so that it's provided before any skull-doors are encountered - maybe Nuno has it?
• The lever in room 7 is only mentioned in room 5 - that description also should be included in room 7.
• The debris in room 4 is described twice, just only need one description (p11).
• Page 13 typo - refers to handout #2, should be handout #3.
• Page 10 typo - "chockers" should be chokers.
• Monster stats not in alphabetical order.

Overall What Did I Think?

Overall this is a really full adventure which is going to give you great value for money. It does require some serious preparation to understand, and since the dungeon level is non-linear, you need to be flexible to be able to respond to the changing situations. You cannot expect to just read the box text and successfully run this mod! It's an adventure that will run better for me the next time that I run it, since my understanding will be more complete. Unlike Wolf's Whisper, I don't recommend this adventure for families/young children, though young teenagers would love it!

This is an intense dungeoncrawl with many strong elements that keep the players engaged in the story.

The Game: A party of six brave heroes APL2 gathered for a two hour game that turned into 3.5 hours of epic D&D adventuring.

What Made this Game So Amazing? The story brings to life the town of Termalaine and also builds the horror of an unknown dungeon, creating the two sides of adventuring that I enjoy so very much. Additionally, there are a number of amazing key elements to this story, 1) Kobolds. There is endless fun to be had with these scrawny creatures, who strive with their little claws to make a futile living mining deep underground. Yes they do need help, and so they expose their cute and helpless side, seeking pity from the adventurers. Who can resist? 2) Something Sinister. The fact that the kobolds found a scary door is one of the most interesting starts to an adventure that you can find. Who can resist finding out what lies behind the door, and why is it so scary? In fact, it is something sinister as the title suggests. As the anticipation builds with the party approaching this portal, the players' imaginations start to run wild, all kinds of theories as to what lies behind the door start to build in their mind. Speculation leads to intrigue before they even reach there! 3) The Dungeon. Created in chardalyn, the most mysterious substance that has been introduced to us during Season 10 is an excellent dungeon, laid out for your adventurers to enjoy. They can explore the whole thing, uncovering mysteries, puzzles, traps, secret doors, chests that you should not open, and eventually unleashing a nightmarish horror that your players must confront or whatever it is that they want to do. There are at least four libraries for your party to read their way through, and plenty of stuff to smash for the not-so-bookish barbarians of the group.

My Experience as a DM: Several of the players contacted me after to say how much they enjoyed the game, and while I completely lost track of time, I had a lot of fun exploring the world created by this adventure.

In Summary: Enjoy this adventure for as many hours as you like, because it's filled with the wonder and amazement that every D&D game should contain. Have fun!