The adventures themselves are very compelling. I am however struggling with the writing. I find that there are a lot of forward references to places, characters, or events that have not been properly introduced yet. I'm constantly searching to figure out what is going on. This is annoying but workable in digital form. I can't I imagine what I would do if all I had was the print edition.

[Spoilers beyond...] Intergrated this into a Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign. Works well before or after Isle of the Abbey but before the Final Enemy. Used it to give the PCs some much needed XP and to start ramping up the Sahuagin threat. The homebrew Eel Folk found in this adventure can be pretty much swapped one-for-one for Sahuagin. Although it's about the length of a typical one shot or Adventurer's League module there are several interesting NPCs here with opportunities for social interaction/conflict.

The author is known for a light weight yet effective presentation style that makes prep easy and quick and it mostly works here. The adventure is lacking a map of the island to tie everything together and help the DM visualize the situation fully and there may be a couple of errors (like a 10' ladder that can be used to climb down from the roof of a 40' high chamber).

Quite frankly this book is amazing. I have recently read half-a-dozen or so books on everyday life in Europe during the middle ages and I don't think that I have learned anything that isn't already written in this book. Even if you're just a history buff that doesn't play RPGs you could get a ton of value out of this book. The amount of research that has gone into this work is phenomenal. If you want to run a campaign with a strong foundation in historical accuracy there is nothing written that comes even remotely close to being as helpful as this. There are newer editions available but I purchased the first edition several years ago and conitunue to use it so I am placing my review here for that reason.

A previous reviewer indicated that this adventure plays like a mini-sandbox where the PC can move from one area or NPC encounter to the next in whatever order works for them. If DMed well, I agree that this could be the case. However, my problem is that the adventure is really not written to support this and so it requires either a lot of work upfront to re-organize it into this format or a DM that is really good on the fly. I also felt that there were logical inconsistencies and stock monsters used whose behaviors did not fit with the standard MM descriptions/motivations. A DM would have to want to fundamentally change these monsters or create additional motivation for them to behave this way. I very much liked the premise of the module and it could be great but would require quite a bit of work to get it there. As it stands I think it is useful as an adventure 'seed' for a DM willing to spend the time to develop it.

I very much liked the premise of this module both in terms of the story and the intent (to teach first time players how to play 5e). However, as a DM, I found that it lacked detail and I had to fill in a lot and change it quite a bit to make it actually work. The maps are stock, which is fine, but they didn't match descriptions given in the text. It would be better, albeit less professional looking, if the author had just sketched out their own maps by hand on graph paper and included them. I redrew the maps myself based on the text description and what I thought would work based on the game mechanics they were intended to demonstrate. Although I appreciate the monster selection made by the author the combat encounters, if played 'well' by the DM, would still totally overwelm a first level character. I found myself adding detail to cripple those monsters and give the PC a fighting chance (rather than just play the monsters poorly). One of the of the 'puzzles' was of the sort that you either get or you don't (which would terminate the adventure in frustration). I felt compelled to rewrite that puzzle so that it included more adequate hints to guide the PC to the right answer. The module is interesting and has some nice ideas, but in its current state requires a DM that is strong on improvising or an upfront rewrite.