Let me begin by saying: I hope you take this review as constructive, because while I will be pointing out a few problems, it's because I hope they can be addressed in updates and for the finalized printed product.

First off, this does a great job taking aspects of Fartherall, as seen in The Gamers and Journeyquest, and giving them all D&D mechanics. It's also great that some of the profits are going to support those series. As a longtime fan, I'm impressed by all the effort and thought that went into this. It's clear that a lot of work went into it, drawing from the material shown on screen as well as the published material that expands on the world.

With that said, it really could have used another set of eyes, because just perusing it I found several issues that I hope can be addressed before the physical copies get printed.

And I completely understand that there were a lot of difficulties along the way, including a Pathfinder-to-5e converter just disappearing on you. So none of what I'm about to say is meant to say "this book is bad and you should feel bad," just pointing out some things I caught while looking through it, because hey, these things happen and I hope this feedback can be of help.

• Right off the bat, there's a typo where it should say "Welcome to Fartherall." It says "Welcome to Fatherall" instead.
• The backgrounds as written don't match up with how 5e backgrounds work. D&D backgrounds are supposed to give two skill proficiencies, a tool or language proficiency, a background feature, and some starting gear. These ones either give one to two skills OR a mechanical trait and the starting gear, which makes them objectively weaker than existing backgrounds by virtue of what they lack. With that said, I do like how several backgrounds are race-dependant, creating more of a connection to the cultures and societies they come from.
• Is the new class Alchemical Hybrid or Alchemical Demon? Because first the book refers to it as hybrid, then demon.
• The Knight of Melancholy paladin refers to features, like an alignment aura, that exist for Pathfinder paladins and older editions, but aren't a thing in D&D 5e.
• The concept of follower feats for deities is really neat, and I like it in theory. I'd just recommend giving the feats actual names instead of "First evangelist boon" so it's easier to mark them down on character sheets and recognize what they do. (But that's pretty minor overall.)
• There are references to weapons that don't exist in 5th edition. For instance, the Sword of Ogre Decapitation is a bastard sword, which is just a type of longsword in 5e. Similarly, falchions are mentioned, but they're not specific weapons in 5e either.
• Two Moon Elf requires having a score of 18 in an ability at level 1, which is impossible for anyone using point buy or standard array for stats, since those would cap out at 17 at the very most
• Each of the races gives a +2 to two different stats, whereas 5e typically gives +2 to one stat and +1 to another. That's in addition to the Fartherall races just generally having a lot more racial traits than 5e races tend to get, even if it's average for Pathfinder.
• I don't mind too much that there are a few races in here that are just different takes on ones that exist in the D&D player's handbook; they can be viewed as Fartherall-specific variants of the usual versions. But I'd suggest comparing them to their existing versions for balance; for instance, the Fartherall gnomes have a slower walking speed (20 ft vs 25 ft) but a WHOLE lot more abilities.
• Dark Half-Elves have an incomplete section. Under "Seducer," it says "You also can cast the charm" and then ends right there.
• Occasionally it'll refer to saves that don't exist in D&D 5e, like Will Save instead of Wisdom Save.
• Just for the sake of organization, the list of spells under the certain keys should probably be a bullet list instead of just listing them out separated by commas. Easier to read and search that way.
• Conjure Milk is missing the rest of its "At Higher Levels" text.

And that's just from a quick skim through. I think this could really benefit from another once-over from an editor who's experienced with the mechanics of D&D 5th edition, because you don't want this to go to the printer as it is. Still, I'm looking forward to bringing more of the Fartherall flavor to my campaigns, and if these issues can be fixed, I'll be beyond happy to change my review to 5 stars.

Again, while I am pointing out a lot of issues, it's not out of spite or to shoot this down. I truly hope that this feedback is helpful, because I want to see this book succeed, and I completely understand that circumstances beyond your control made things like conversion from Pathfinder to D&D more complicated than they needed to be.

I was torn between 3 and 4 stars, but I went with 4, because overall this is a good product. There are just several issues that I needed to address.

Let's begin with the good! First of all, I love the concept of Dungeons & Doggies and Cats & Catacombs. I've bought all the miniatures sets, and the designs are great. I like how they worked them in to D&D mechanics and a world of adventurers. The character types let you turn any kind of dog or cat into a proper character by use of the different sizes and racial traits players can choose, so there's some great character flexibility.

Gullet Cove itself is a location with a lot of thought put into it. Everything from the design to the setting to its inhabitants are well thought-out and developed, and there are a ton of great characters. I'm particularly fond of the Witcher-inspired dog.

Also, the artwork is fantastic. There are more than a few different artists, but every single animal that appears is adorable. I could just flip through, look at a random image, and smile.

The book also contains a few small adventures DMs can use to get their players invested in Gullet Cove. I look forward to running them as one-shots for my friends and building on this world.

Now for the criticisms. While it's great from a worldbuilding perspective, mechanically there are several issues.

Sometimes it's a matter of terminology, like talking about "tests" instead of "skill checks" or providing mechanical benefits for a skill check that doesn't actually exist in the rules as written. Sometimes it's just a matter of wording, like "nominating" a character to get advantage on a certain check instead of just using the Help action for one of those skill checks. While these are easily adjusted, consistency with the game rules is important.

There are also issues with balance. I feel like some of the race and class features were chosen with more of a focus on how they work thematically than mechanically. For instance, there's a cat racial trait that lets you add your proficiency to any charisma-based skill. So does that automatically grant proficiency in four skills (which is a lot for a racial trait just by itself), or if you're already proficient does it add the proficiency again, like Expertise? What if you have Expertise in a charisma-based skill - does that mean you add your proficiency all of three times?

Similarly, there's a first level cleric feature that just grants advantage on all charisma-based skill checks. No limit, just infinite advantage at level 1. There is no reason for any and every bard to not take a single level in that cleric class to gain advantage on every single charisma check they make from that point out.

I'm aware that these are the same in the Dungeons & Doggies or Cats & Catacombs rules, but I had the same concerns when I read them then.

There are also a few magic items that need revisions. For instance, there's one or two that talk about using charges to cast spells but don't specify how many charges each spell takes. Others seem entirely underwhelming, like a sword with legendary rarity that... deals an extra 1d6 damage on every other attack.

So while I do like the D&D/C&C world, and Gullet Cove itself is very well designed, I feel like this could have benefitted from an extra set of eyes looking over everything in terms of gameplay, consistency, and balance.

I hope you do not take this as an attack on the book, because overall I like it and wish you success. These are just issues that I noticed and wanted to bring up so they can be taken into account for future work. I hope my feedback has been helpful.

I seem to be in the minority here, but I ran this adventure twice and both times my player enjoyed it greatly.

Keep in mind that this is a roleplay-heavy adventure. If you're the type of DM to just speed-read through the narrative content and try to rush into combat, this is not the adventure for you. And frankly, I wouldn't want to be a player at a table like that anyways.

The players will have to choose who they talk to, what they ask about, and how they pull off the heist. Be prepared to improvise - let them roleplay, bring the NPCs to life, and be ready to work with whatever plans the party comes up with. It's important that the players learn all the information they need, but in an organic way; don't infodump, but let them converse with the NPCs to get the info out of them. Knowing how to nudge players in the right direction without railroading them is important.

If you have a party that enjoys the roleplaying elements and planning out a heist, you'll have a great time. Be prepared for things to go wrong, then let the players respond accordingly. If they're clever, they can pull it off.

With that said, I still can't give it five stars due to the bonus objectives. The first one gives a debilitating story award that can only be avoided by making some major character sacrifices that no one would be willing to do, while the second is a chase scene, which I'm simply not fond of. In fact, it often feels like the price for any deal is too high for players to even consider.

With those issues aside, I still liked this module a lot. I enjoy adventures that are more RP-driven than combat fests, so this kind of adventure is just my style.

A fantastic (unofficial) expansion for the module. If your players haven't spent enough time around the Moonsea, or you've run Where Can She Be so many times it's getting old, this adds on some great new stops along the way that maintain the spirit and structure of the adventure. There are some gags in here I wish I'd thought of when writing the original adventure; highly recommend.

Overall an enjoyable mod, with a few small hiccups.

First of all, I love the variety of options for the rooms players can encounter. It helps keep things fresh each time and lets the DM alternate between exploration, social, and combat as they see fit.

With that said, a few of the rooms were less than grand. I like the idea of the room with all the pools in them, but there's nothing that would possibly knock a player into one and no reason for them to touch any of them, just a bunch of floating rocks. Needs more of a hook.

As for the room with Ubtao's aspect of anger, he was a lot of fun to roleplay. Definitely enjoyed bringing him to life. But what if the players don't have any wishes, or they wish for something like a bunch of candy? It also needed to be made more clear that leaving there undoes all the wishes, otherwise jerk players may create some bad blood.

With that said, there were some great ones too. Elisande is back and trying to get a giant goat? Now that's a great one.

I also like how the previous adventures do come into play in providing the players with tools they need to succeed, and how the time they take has a clear effect. Making everything a step in a lich's plan was good, and I was tempted to have him reveal the facade early on just to taunt the players with the fact that they HAD to do it or else the world would end.

The final battle against the Red Wizards is way too crowded, though, between the wizards, their multiple zombies, all the different ongoing spell effects to remember, the teleporting sigils, and the damaging glow each round. It got bogged down by all the various things to track. (And I know the maps are really just there as a guideline for the DMs, but boy is this one just sketched out.)

Fighting Dendar is great, though, if the players don't seal the gate in time. It definitely made them struggle, moreso than previous challenges too. So even if they don't seal the gate in time, they're gonna have fun.

Lastly, I feel like there should have been a better reward. Best-case scenario, they get a magic item and a story reward that reminds them how they got used by a lich. Most parties will be permanently drained of at least a few hit dice too. There's a big sacrifice and they saved the world from ending, couldn't they get at least something more for their troubles?

With all that said, I did enjoy this adventure, in spite of all my critiques. It's imperfect, yes, but still provided a lot of entertainment for my players, and is a great conclusion to the season. So I hope my criticism feels constructive, as it's intended to be, because it's still good.

One of the better tier 4 modules I've run. The fact that Dagon is the boss is a fantastic addition, and he gave my players a run for their money even at their levels, so that's always good at higher level play.

If the players know or figure out how to bypass most of the encounters, they'll clear it in well under the four hour timeframe; my players got it done in two and a half at most, thanks to plenty of Greater Restorations and the occasional bribe. Though I did find that the encounters that are easiest to bypass are also the ones they'll bother fighting because they can clean them up so quickly.

I mean, we have adventurers who can and have stabbed gods in the face, a few Nalfeshnee mean nothing to them.

But the saves and skill checks were high enough difficulty to give them some trouble, and the stacking exhaustions were pretty nasty. The final battle also proved fittingly epic, with Ubtao granting them a magic item to battle against Dagon.

Fantastic choice for a magic item, by the way. I made sure to print out a high quality cert for my players just because it's that worthwhile.

Overall, good challenges, good mission, great magic item and final boss; the only thing keeping this from five stars is the lack of threat from the 3/5 of the demonic forces to encourage players to think smart about bypassing them. But this is definitely a worthwhile t4.

It's a pretty linear adventure, with a simple concept. As far as the overarching tier 4 story goes, it's another step ahead with no shocking twists but a good build towards the eventual conclusion.

However, the challenge levels are simply too low for any tier 4 party not just hitting their stride. A large quantity of low-challenge saves (banshees, heat exhaustion, etc) can't compare to a few high-challenge saves, and with a paladin or two in the party, the DCs are negligible. Similarly, most of the combat encounters don't take much time or effort at all; even the final boss wasn't all that high a challenge; if they roll low on the initiative, they're pretty much dead in the first round if the players drop some high level spells on them.

That said, the way the corruption causes mutated creatures to attack is neat, and some of the environmental challenges are decent. If the players DO get into combat with the bosses without getting an early kill, it could be more fun (watch out for those 20s).

Not the worst tier 4 adventure, but still needs to work on providing more of a challenge. Still, it works as far as the story goes.

This was my first time running a tier 4 mod, and after experiencing the crazy way players can overcome obstacles in tier 3, I went in a little nervous, but left feeling pretty pleased with how it went.

The dungeon itself is pretty straightforward, but being able to dip in and out of the ethereal plane made things more interesting for the players, who'd search each room twice. Not too much in the way of obstacles, but the combat went well enough.

Turns out Polymorph + Divine Word can be a really scary combo.

The Orrery proved more time-consuming than challenging, but the golems being healed each turn still added a good level of challenge and urgency. The save DCs for the other effects were a bit low, though.

The Red Wizards have some cool abilities, and the Thayan Knights give them more survivability, but in the end they still died really quickly, since the players were smart enough to focus-fire and had three characters capable of counter-spelling. But while they died too quickly, the true final boss gave them a run for their money, thanks to how quickly it can eat them.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with how my first foray into tier 4 went with this mod.

A few spoilers ahead.

Overall a good adventure to wrap up the tier 3 series. Plentiful traps and a decent boss fight, plus I could finally put that Beholder mini to use. A few thoughts:

• Some very fun traps in there. I feel like the gravity-reversing spiked ceiling one needed a little more explaining as to the order in which everything goes off and what triggers it, but my players found a way around it anyways.
• The riddles were really not tricky at all; I could figure them out before I was even done reading them during my prep.
• It's good that things were placed far enough away that Mage Hand couldn't reach it, but players who can fly and cast Mage Hand had no such difficulties, which I suppose is fair
• Nice lair and legendary actions in the final fight; actually killed a player with the lair action, so that's fun.
• Loved the Portals. 'Nuff said there.

Definitely one of the better tier 3 mods this season. Good job!

When the mod recommends you read through and prep thoroughly, it's not kidding. This is one of the more complex adventures to come out this season, and the first tier 3 to actually take the full four hours, if not more.

Some of the puzzles and traps are rather good, taking a little clever thinking to figure them out. Although the players might need more of an indication that they'll have to find the books first then go back to the lower floors, and that they can't leave until everything is disabled.

One thing it could benefit from is a little flowchart of what the players will need to do in what order, for the DM's sake to guide them properly. Otherwise it might be a bit unclear at first.

Overall, though, it posed a good challenge to my players, and nearly even got them a TPK from too many traps before combat. Which is good.

Overall, a fun, holiday-themed adventure. It's mostly roleplaying a skill-check heavy, but the one combat encounter it has really packs a punch against lower-level characters. And since it's free, I absolutely can't complain; it's a great holiday gift from the AL team, so thank you for that!

A few pros and cons:

Pros:

• The narrative really sells the holiday theme, even in Chult. The characters it introduces are likable, and the description of the Snowmens' uniform is an amusing touch. I love the lumps of coal acting as animated rocks, as well as Slab's friendship with Smoll.
• The Midwinter games provide plenty for players to do outside of combat, which is always appreciated. They offer a wide variety of skill checks, so pretty much everyone will be able to do something.
• Common magic items, yay!

Cons:

• Could have stood a bit more proofreading. We're supposed to narrate "as the characters pass through the gates," at one point it asks for a Diplomacy check instead of Persuasion (which, I admit, I still sometimes ask my players for; I blame 3.5 and Pathfinder)
• Feels a little like an extended cutscene at times; DMs who or those with players who dislike lengthy narrations may want to abridge a lot of it.

Other: Setting a Midwinter-themed mod in the tropical Chult is an interesting choice; one would typically go with a northern, frozen town, but it makes it work. Good job tying the holiday theme into the current AL season!

Spoilers ahead

I was hovering between three and four stars, but I decided to go with four, if just because it gives a lot of something previous mods have been lacking: actual puzzles.

One of my players described this as "the dungeoneist dungeon he'd ever dungeoned." That's because it's pretty much nothing but puzzles, traps, trapped puzzles, and traps with puzzles in them. One room leads to the other, and each one has a new puzzle to solve.

The difficulty varies from room to room, but some of them (particularly the one with the scrolls carved on the walls) need to give the players a little more in the way of clues for what they need to do; the few hints they're given are way too subtle, even if they can translate the Ancient Netherese clues. There were also many times when the players came up with a solution the mod didn't anticipate, and I honestly had no idea if it was supposed to work or not.

I like Kelvan as a character, and his way of talking made for some fun roleplaying; I ended up giving him a Russian accent, but that's neither here nor there. Except... "mwahaha," really? There are several more dramatic ways to shift to the reveal, rather than just bursting into the most cliched villainous laughter in the books. That's my only complaint about him, though.

Yet I must raise another point, as this is supposed to tie into White Plume Mountain, yet instead it really just connects to the Epic. That's all well and good if you get to play the Epic, but that's a pleasure many of us will never get to experience, thus making the whole story with Kelvan just... end abruptly. Other players experienced the Epic before this mod even came out, so they're playing it completely in reverse.

Of course, players will want to chase after him immediately into White Plume Mountain, but that story has nothing to do with Kelvan himself, and instead requires searching for three legendary weapons. The mod doesn't set up those weapons at all, nor the mission to retrieve them for the players' factions, so anyone who does try to play this as a lead-in to WPM will want to rush in after Kelvan and find themselves stuck in a completely unrelated adventure.

Overall, there's plenty that I enjoyed about this. I liked the Clockwork Wyverns, the rooms had plenty of nice puzzles, traps, and challenges outside of mere combat, and it's fine story-wise. There are just a few things that made this less than a five-star adventure for me.

Everything flows together well (the players didn't need any nudging by me to immediately follow the map and search for traps), and the quantity of kobolds plus their hit-and-run tactics are just enough to keep the players on edge and challenged without overwhelming them. Facing a boss with Fireball while in tier 1 can make the last fight dangerous for low-level characters, but I see that as a plus, so long as the DM doesn't go for a 2-turn kill.

The item it gives is a very nice one as well for tier 1, my players were quite pleased with it.

On the downside, the different cavern rooms did get a little repetitive; fight kobolds, they flee, search for traps, repeat. I'm fairly certain my players have had their fill of kobolds, winged and otherwise, though it does make perfect sense from a story standpoint, since it is a kobold's cavern, and I honestly can't think of how one would mix that up aside from the different types of kobolds it offers.

I'd have liked it to connect a little more to Forge of Fury, rather than "This is what happens on your way to it," since it is billed as a lead-in adventure.

Overall, though, it ran smoothly and my players enjoyed it, so as far as low-level mods go, there are worse ways to go.

(Spoilers in the review)

I have some mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, it features a nice moral dilemma, a good conclusion to the tier 2 storyline, high stakes, and a rather epic (albeit optional) mid-boss for players looking for a challenge.

At the same time, I'd have liked for the players to have a greater role in the final battle. Instead, not only do they watch from the sidelines while the real epic fight goes on, but the only real boss battle action they get is when a giant decides he should kill them sooner rather than later. Doesn't really feel as involved that way. The hobgoblin may add some spellcasting to the battle's mix, but overall my players had an easier time with them than they did the first encounter, since that one had the exact same kind of giant plus three ogres.

The magic item is a bit underwhelming as well. I don't know anyone who focuses on using daggers, and it's not something that the players got as a reward for their bravery, it's just "Oh, this seems to be stuck in my shoulder. Here, you can have it." For a season tier finale, something a bit more desirable and plot-important would be better, in my opinion. None of my players even took it afterwards, leaving it to turn to dust.

Those two critiques aside, the mod does have a lot going for it. Bringing in Hartkiller himself is huge, and ties it all in to the mythology of giants more. I love how the characters have to decide what the right course of action is once they learn about his plans for a new Ostoria; I really hope future adventures will be impacted by the decisions players made (my party opted for the Beast of Talos mid-boss, so Ostoria will rise again, but they asked Hartkiller "Please don't trample smaller species under your foot and rule us all with an iron fist").

Overall, while I feel there are some things that left my players underwhelmed, story-wise it has a lot going for it, and I hope to see its resolution echo into future adventure modules.

Excellent way to wrap up the Parnast story. I love how all the different stories connect together, and how you can find characters from past mods to help with the defense. It almost has a "Seven Samurai" feel to it, or "Magnificent Seven" if westerns are more your style.

That said, I'd like a little more DM guidance on running it as a mini-epic. I love that we can do that, but some tips on table coordination, dividing up tasks and combat, and so on would be really useful, especially for players who've never been part of an epic before.

I also kind of feel that the Mud Mephits from "Beneath the Fetid Chelimber" could have joined the defenses too, but I don't know how much help they'd really be. So that's a really minor thing. I also had no idea sparing Kagrota Threeteeth was even an option, I've never once seen her left alive.

Definitely challenging combat, so it makes the players work for their win, which I'm totally good with. Really nice item drop as well.

Overall, nicely done, ties together and concludes everything in Parnast very well. (How do things go with Wallace and Elspeth after it's all said and done, though?)