This is an excellent product for new players and new DMs. It is my opinion that one of D&D's shortcomings in 5e is that their products do not contain enough training resources to instruct people who want to (or are forced to) DM. Defiance in Phlan successfully provides training to new DMs by providing a series of 1-hour "mini-adventures" which both provide a broad scope of the different kinds of basic and interesting scenarios which the DM could run--and it also provides specific instructional training to the DM for each adventure. I ran this with my two brothers online during the COVID pandemic with the idea that we would rotate the DM spot every new adventure, and this worked out really well for them, as neither had much DMing. They both did really well, and I contribute this to the excellence that this AL advnture provides to training DMs how to run the scenario.

All five mini-adventures contain interesting situations, and if a DM feels like an adventure is not quite what they are looking for, they are encouraged to either skip the adventure or edit it if it simply needs a couple of tweaks, which is a commonly useful (and commonly forgotten) skill for a GM to utilize. For example (Spoilers), the first mini-adventure involves participating in a black market trade that is about to get interrupted by a third party. It can go off without combat depending on player choice, but if combat erupts, it is indicated that the primary foe blcoks the doorway by stepping into melee. I noticed the stat block had a heavy crossbow attack and wanted the third party to feel more like mobsters than thugs, and so I adjusted the scene so that the NPC slammed down an automatic heavy crossbow and provided a "covering fire" attack, requiring a DEX save from any characters caught outside of cover on his turn. This kind of adjustment again is encouraged by the module, and does not lessen the value of the product (this actually made the first min-adventure easily my favorite of the five, with the goblin den coming in dead last).

Overall, Defiance in Phlan is a great product if you are looking for a condensed D&D experience to either train new DMs with or have an enjoyable hour when the group doesn't have enough time to commit to the normal 3, 4, or 8 hour game night. It is easily $3 well-spent.

As a player: This was a really nice introduction to Phlan that seem to figure a lot in the earlier Adventurers League. Many factions and local groups to balance. I got intrigued by the Kelemvor-followers in Valhingen, I don't see much of the faithful otherwise; as I played this as a retrospect for my Season4-character it helped me settle on Kelemvor as my main diety.

The five encounter partition is a good idea to get shorter intro games going.

Great intro adventures, run them for new groups all the time. Just skip mission 1, its the flop of the pack.

So I ran this and a Great Upheaval for my sons' book club as an "intro to DnD" for two different groups of five kids. I think "Great Upheaval" worked a little better for the kids, but this is a very solid group of adventures. Also the world building between this and some other adventures helped me move those five kids through other adventures (Shadows Over the Moonsea, eventually Tyranny in Phlan) so that they felt as though their charecters were charecters in books they were reading which was kind of cool.

Very solid. Would reccomend for new players.

We all have to start somewhere, and, if you’re just getting into playing or DMing Dungeons and Dragons, “Defiance in Phlan” by Shawn Merwin is a good place to start. The adventure packet links with the Tyranny of Dragons book and offers five simple but exciting adventures for Tier I players, all centered in the town of Phlan. Your adventurers will hand off a magical artifact, rescue some kidnapped folx, slay undead, and locate a magical item. Each adventure gets progressively more difficult and explores the multiple levels of play in DnD. They also give you monster stats, magic item stats, and simple but effective maps.

I’ve played a few of these adventures several times, and I find them quite easy to implement and explain. They have enough action in them to keep most players interested and are just fun. However, I would say the adventure packet’s strongest point is that these adventures are really, really good for new DMs and players. The explanations are clear and concise, and the adventures offer anything you’d need to run them. They do a good job of introducing DnD as a system to players, and they get you interested in the world as a whole. Honestly, the packet is one I go back to again and again for newbies, and it’s always a hit.

So I would say if you need some simple, easy-to-run adventures for new players, give “Defiance in Phlan” a shot. They aren’t the most innovative adventures, but they’re solid, and the price is right for five one-shots.

The first module I ever DMed and still a favourite to start campaigns off with and introduce people to DND. I DMed this for a bunch of first-timers and I saw their eyes light up during the first adventure involving the trade-off with the dragon egg. I think this was because it challenged their idea of what DND could be. Here they were expecting a fight with some goblins in a cave and instead they found themselves in a scene more reminiscent of a crime-thriller.

The format of five separate adventures has it's pro's and cons. It's a great idea for sessions with first-time players because if things take a little longer than you thought you can just choose to skip one or two of the adventures rather than abruptly end the session without any sense of closure. It does lack narrative cohesion though, and any first-time DM running this might want to read up a bit on the city of Phlan and it's history while doing prep.

The bite-sized quests are perfect for new players who are learning the game! DMing them was super simple and they were easy to modify to how I wanted them to play-out, as well as being versatile for differing amounts of players. Would recommend and will definitely play again!

Good introductory adventure. Too bad some maps are not included (e.g. an inn, the barn)

NON-ADVENTURER'S LEAGUE EXPERIENCE

A perfect way to start an adventure with new players, by letting them learn about the game through smaller-sized, self-contained adventures. It was a real hit and a "safer" way to start at first level than some of the introductions by official modules. It also allows the party to start more organically than "you all know each other and you're in a tavern". Also, the way the factions appear can help spoon-fed their information instead of suddenly dropping it all on them.

Best part of the five segments is there seems to be a little bit of everything of the game: it really shows some diversity into what the players can do.

Cool scenarios...with different kinds of challenges in each one. Really loved the first episode...love whole premise.

Excellent set of short missions wrapped into one adventure. Well written and clear, would be excellent for both new and experienced DM's and players. Good variety of mission types and easy to modify to fit into any campaign.

My first experiance as a DM and they 2nd time only playing DnD and I decided to get this whole set. Only one of my players had done DnD before and they enjoyed it as well. This starting set of missions is perfect for a brand new DM and new players and gave me confidence to start working on my own Custom adventure. I highly recomend it to anyone starting out.

As a new DM, this was easy to run, and my school group of new players had lots of fun. Good for demonstrating different kinds of encounters.

Exellent scenario for first-time players and DMs. The plot was really basic, but it works well enough without any chance of misinterpretation.

Spoiler Alert! This adventure really helped me set up that a multi colored dragon was going to be the end boss. I emphasized the colors in the adventures.