A solid introduction to organized Dungeons and Dragons. Some of the modules are much stronger than others. If you don't have time to take new players through the Lost Mines of Phandelver, which is a more immersive and complete experience, this module offers a taste of D&D's various 'modes'.

The first bit has the players try to pull off a con (which usually ends in a combat), kill some goblins to rescue peasants (a rite of passage), go into a catacomb to stop a cultist (the secret 'doors' are pretty cool), rescue a halfling from corrupt guards (this one is pretty dark), and roleplay through a puzzle in an inn (lets more social players flex their acting muscles).

Wouldn't choose it as someone's foremost D&D experience, but most people I've ran through it had a good time.

DDEX1-01, Defiance in Phlan, is the first in a long series of published adventures for organized 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons play under the banner of the Adventure League. It is a series of five miniature advenures that are designed to give the players a taste of what it is like to play a tabletop RPG and what Dungeons and Dragons is all about. Over the course of these short modules, players will get to experience the main pillars of gameplay in a tabletop RPG: Combat, Exploration, and Social Interaction.

Overall, the adventures accomplish this goal remarkably well. Each module is more or less tailored specifically to one of the three listed pillars of gameplay. Exploration and Social Interaction do suffer a little bit due to the limited nature of writing an adventure that is meant to be completed within a single hour, but considering that time restraint, the modules still hold true to that. In addition to this, some players may feel left out in one module or another. The combat focused player will not shine in a Social Interaction module and the roleplayer might become bored in one that centers on combat. With this in mind, it would be good advice for the DM to read all five modules ahead of a session and select at least three that will focus on one of the three pillars. Then try to run them back to back so that all players can enjoy the session and have their fifteen minutes of fame.

One criticism would be that the adventures are too simple and do not have enough intrigue, twists, etc. Instead of that being a weakness though, it is in fact a strength. These adventures are fantastic for convention play where a DM might have multiple new players who have never played Dungeons and Dragons before, or even any kind of tabletop RPG. These adventures will allow newcomers to sit by side by side experienced players and not feel completely lost in the game. The short nature will also permit the newcomers to get a taste of the game without having devote an entire evening.

Pretty standard ddexX-1 module. It introduces the characters to the seasons story line. this is the first storyline so also introduces characters to the various factions. As usal each one takes an hour to an hour and a half to complete with only the highlighted faction getting reknown.

Review contains spoilers, and DM tips.

This is my top recommendation when running a game for new players. They're relatively simple to set up and run. The maps and tokens required are minimal. It's even possible to get through one or two of them without combat. They do run a little long, roughly 1.5 hours each.

Dead at Highsun is my favorite. This adventure has it all. Good opportunity for RP with Brother Keefe. And lots of tension building as the characters prepare to open the sarcophagus. A nice puzzle to solve, followed by a mini dungeon crawl. DM Tip: when the characters inevitably attack the honor guard statues, either let them knock them down (and have them reanimate later when triggered) or have them animate then and there.

In the Meeting at Deepnight, the players seem to easily lose sight of the real objective: placing the pin on the seller. Remind them of this if necessary. And make placing the pin easier if they come up with a plausible explanation for how they're doing it. Give advantage on the Slight of hand and/or reduce the DC. Players often want to place the pin in the bag of diamonds, bypassing the skill check entirely. This makes the enconter too simple, IMO. Perhaps head that off by having the Harper agent explain that won't suffice.

The Screams at Dawn can be deadly for level 1 characters. I prefer to run this one 4th or 5th, so the characters are level 2 and less squishy.

Shock at Evenfeast - the logic behind how the lightning moves is really difficult for players to figure out. Make sure the players split up and have a chance to meet all of the potential targets before kicking off the action. You may need to be really obvious in your descriptions to get the clues out there.

The Danger at Dusk - It might be helpful to portray this as a sneak and rescue mission, and discourage the characters from fighting or killing the guards.

At the time I write this review many seasons have passed and quite a few players don't know where it all started. Getting this module and playing through the season 1 content really puts how we play D&D currently into perspective. This adventure sets you in a town that is unknowingly close to takeover from outside forces. The players get to take part in fairly safe level 1 & 2 mini-adventures that really let you get a feel for the city. Most of the people you meet in this module become important in other adventures throughout the course of Adventurers League.

Pros

• Fun for new players
• Easy for new DM's to get behind the screen
• Safe for younger players to start

Cons

• Not much EXP for the time invested
• no permenant magic items

5 individual smaller quests that provide some insights into the larger story line of Tyranny of Dragons. Each quest has a different nature to another, a mix between RP & combat, giving the players some idea of what DDAL modules are like. Diverse enough to give the players (and the DM) a taste of everything and keep them engaged, not too different that they don’t know what they’re doing.

There’s also no given sequence in which ones you need to run first, so personally I make sure I run the ones that correspond to the faction my table’s characters are in, just so they don’t miss out on their faction renown.

Oh and RP-ing as the different NPCs as a DM was a lot of fun. One of my table’s character got flirting with one of the five daughters in the inn… the rest is history. ;)

A few things that could have been better:

1. The module opens up a lot of opportunities with respect to RP and combat, but it’s difficult for new players to fully grasp all the potential. At times it almost felt like there’s too much for them to do.
2. Time. Although they are made to be 1-hour per session quests, most of the time it runs longer than that, because you’d want to give the players enough time to interact with their surroundings, especially in the RP heavy quests. (Or maybe I’m just horrible at keeping track of time lol)
3. The combat is a bit more challenging than I’ve expected. Almost wiped my table at the Goblin Lair fight. Adjust the difficulty of the combat on the run might be needed. (Because I really didn’t want to kill them on an introductory mission)

Defiance in Phlan is a good intro to AL and 5e as a whole, but, like all early AL mods, the writing leaves something to be desired in the way of DM guidance. Not many RP opportunities, but good, albeit difficult for newbies to gaming, combat. The five mini adventures are great to break up the session if need be. I'd recommend this product to a new DM or to play for a first timer to AL or 5e, but as an experienced DM or player, it's a skip.

A great introductory adventure if not the introductory adventure. Both players and DMs will get a feel for how the AL is structured. These 5 mini adventures also offer and introducton to factions. They are literally introduced in this module. Each adventure gives renown for a certain faction rather than 1 point being given at the end of the 5 game module. It is not necessary to play this game before playing other Season One adventures, but it does a great job laying the groundwork for the party's "homebase".

A great introductory module, both for Adventurer's League and D&D 5th Edition. The only one of the five mini-modules within that in my opinion needs a bit of modification is the fourth "A Shock at Evenfeast". Running this the first time, the initial setup just leaves a few too many open questions as to how the contact knows the item is here but knows nothing else about it, who has it, or why it may be dangerous. I recommend a change to that initial setup and giving the players plenty of chances to notice the possible "connections" that eventually solve the puzzle as for some groups it may otherwise get frustrating to figure out what could be going on once the lightning starts.

Loved it overall and recommend for a 1st level party running 1, 3 and 4, then 2 and 5 if you're looking to gradually increase the risk and challenge.

All five together allow many different character types and playstyles to play a role and cover all the AL factions nicely. I've run it twice and look forward to running it again.

4.5 / 5 Stars

This is a good adventure that touches on all three pillars of plan and is ideal to run as a new DM or as a DM new to Adventurer's League. The first mission offers nice opportunities for roleplaying and a challenging combat. The second mission has less roleplaying but is a simple rescue mission that involves a basic lair raid. The third mission features a puzzle for the party to solve, in addition to exploration elements, and a dynamic combat encounter. The fourth mission is pure roleplaying and puzzle solving with no combat but can be very fun if the players get into it and the DM is able to bring the NPC's to life. The fifth mission is probably the weakest of the five but involves another rescue mission with lair raid.

Although I had to encourage the players to come up with tactics to place the pin in the first adventure along with intimidate as a group after killing the bandit's boss, it did allow the group to expand their options and acheive more as a group. A definite play-again, though at another time as I wish to try out other modules of this set.

A fun pile of 5 quick one shots. A great way to introduce new players to the game. The module with the wild magic is a lot of fun.

A fine bundle of short adventues perfect to get people started or somthing to do after a resent TPK.

I have run this once in a home setting. My players loved it. Each of the 5 mini-adventures required a different skill set and variable ways to solve the problem. This group has not fallen in love with role-playing but certain adventures here really opened the group up and they really enjoyed themselves. Part of the scenes just seemed to run themselves which is unusual for a low level adventure. High recommendations.

It is a good intro to the city of Phlan and to how AL modules are written. The five mini adventures keep it short and make it easy to have players new to 5E and AL sit in on a quick game or two to see if it's something that interests them.