Review for DDAL 08-06 Purging all the Blood

If you are reading this review I recommend that you buy this module to support AL

TL;DR- It is an okay mod. There is nothing extraordinary about it. But it touches all the main notes required for me to have paid five bucks. My players liked it. Three out of five stars.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The entire theme of the mod is an urban vampire hunt. Artor Morlin, our Calishiite anti-hero vampire send the adventurers on a mission to seek out the spawns of another vampire. After some investigation, they find and exterminate the vampire spawn and find the lair of their master. It is a pretty straightforward plot. During their investigation, they also find a cult who worships a wrinkle in the weave. The adventurers thus complete the overarching mission of the trilogy and successfully return to the present time.

I will list all the good things first. The NPCs were fleshed out quite nicely in this module. They were a joy to present to my players. The author deserves kudos for the effort she put on adding flair and complexity to her NPCs. She conveys each and every character in clear and precise language that the entire mod was quite a pleasant venture to prepare. Another high point in this module is its plot. Even though it is linear, it doesn’t get boring anywhere. The players were engaged enough to conduct an active investigation and find the truth about the vampires. The fights were pretty tough as the magic item economy currently favors hoarding of treasure points. My players never went near the weave tree, so they never got to see the vision that would have foreshadowed the events in the future.

Now here are the bad parts. The two things 1) the vampire hunt storyline and the 2)Weave cultist storyline stays like oil and water. There is enough foreshadowing to introduce a new vampire villain, a cage created by the wrinkle’s energy in the Undermountain and about something that ‘Ahghairon had waiting’ for the characters. But they look and feel forcibly bound. Since I was running a one shot and not the trilogy, it felt a bit out of place. There are questions abound.

1) Should the characters destroy the tree? It is not an evil existence by itself, to be frank. 2) What will happen when you destroy the tree? Will the Wrinkle 'straighten out'? 3 What is the connection between the cloak and the tree? 4) what is the connection between the clock and anything that happens in the module? 5) Who has the cloak in the module? 6) If the wrinkle is destroyed How can Ahghairon use it's energy later to create the cage bars? 7) If history cannot be altered as described in the first module, How does Artor/Malacar /Ahghairon remember the characters? 8) History itself was actually altered in the sense that there is something waiting for the characters from the time of Ahghairon. How is it not a paradox? 9) If going back to history and altering it was an option, why didn't Blackstaff look into the death of Khelben Arunson? why didn't she alter any of the big historical events? If she is afraid of aletering the present why in Moradins beard did she let level 1-4 adventurers run rampant in a different timeline?

With time travel, you can write yourself into a dark corner, just saying.

This module shines when running with the other two parts of the trilogy. But for players who had different DMs for different parts may struggle to grasp the intentions behind the time travel. Hence three stars out of five.

About the story arc- Someone up in the AL totem pole had an excellent idea- a really good plot for a movie. Why don’t we let the characters travel back in time and meet all the founding members of Water deep? It is nostalgia, fan service, and self-gratification bound into one soggy soapy mess. But when it came to execution it hit the usual snag- Presentation paradox. Should the players be spectators or should we let them be actively involved in changing the history? That was left it up to the DMs. Just like Star Trek explained all paradoxes related to time with the term ‘quantum’, here the authors and story coordinators hide under general umbrella terms like “DM empowerment, DM’s Choice, Customized World Building so on and so forth. Seriously, you can’t defend ‘bad writing’ by hiding behind those terms. What is next? You guys give me an outline of five sentences and a magic item, and tell me that I am empowered to make my own story around it if I pay fifteen dollars? .This feels a lot like a Huckleberry Finn trick.

TL; DR: This is one of the most exciting and fun-filled AL adventures I have ever run, as a DM. I rarely give five stars for a module. This one deserves it. I highly recommend buying the mod and running it. It is a professional product that the author keeps on updating. FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!!!!.

I have been looking around to run a good Tier 2 module for my players and this one came highly recommended. Since Michael Zhang had designed it, I had very high expectations and I have to say that this one surpassed my wildest expectations. I loved prepping and running this module. My players loved the flavor and the witty/ dry humor laced into it.I can say this unequivocally - the mod is perfection in itself.

A lot of playtesting and fine-tuning has gone into the designing of this mod. I, highly recommend that all the authors of seasonal and CCC mods should use this one as a point of reference and standard for their own work. This is the kind of hard work and attention to detail that one would expect from an author towards his work. The author was always a step ahead of me and had anticipated my needs as a DM and I found the information right where I wanted it. All the plot holes are covered and all the plot points have been raised to the level of perfection that I would call this a truly professional product- a first of its kind in DMS guild. The evidence of my claim is in the fact that the author has already updated the module multiple times to reflect the changes of season 8. How many other authors can claim the same?. Such dedication to one's product is what is expected of AL authors. Kudos to the author for his dedication to using the best feature of the online book- Editing to keep on honing and updating his finished product.

One of the highlights of this module are the NPCs. It was a thrill to present such exhilarating characters like the Pasha Razim, Ameera Kessara and even the lowly salamander whose unfortunate job is to proclaim the arrival of the Pasha at every doorstep. The setting – the sun-scorched palace in the Plane of Fire- itself is just the icing for the module. My players enjoyed their stint in the plane of fire and they had a great time overall. The most exciting part was the puzzle using the Tarokka deck, which was laden with traps and miscues. The puzzle itself required a bit of preparation from the side. And I have to say that I didn’t do justice to it when I ran it the first time. Because there are three versions of this puzzle, there is a lot of value in replaying this content.

If you are looking for a good Tier 2 module, I wholeheartedly recommend this one. I would recommend that the DM do a trial run of the puzzle once before hitting the table. I guarantee you that your players will enjoy the challenges the author had braided into this excellent piece. Let the raging fire consume you.

Review of DDAL 08-05 The Hero of the Troll Wars

I recommend that you buy this mod. TL; DR- It is a good AL mod and is somewhat worth the money.

The module was a breeze to prepare. It was simple, straightforward and concise.

Let me list the good things first. A lot of research went into this mod. The author has put in a lot of effort into the mod to bring out the Waterdeep of Yesteryears. The characters were fleshed out quite nicely and it requires a minimal amount from me to bring them to life. Full kudos should be given for the effort and research that the author put into this mod. The mod is fizzing with lore and the effect shows. Thank you for your hard work.

The plot is well thought out. There is an urgency of purpose and the characters are dropped right in the middle of the action. The plot then escalates pretty rapidly. The narration style is beautiful and the author has a sense of pragmatism in his/her writing. The puzzles are well thought out and executed. Even then the author has left something for me to take it up a notch or to play it by the ear, which I appreciate very much.

The bonus objectives are integral parts of the mod itself. This is a welcome change to the tepid ones that we have seen so far. Both objectives have splendid hooks that I can work on and around (not gold; thank goodness). The second bonus Objective has an ethical dilemma based on the classic ‘trolley problem’, which will complicate the plot somewhat.

Now let me list the problems. When the Blackstaff, performed the ritual she had explicitly said that whatever they may do, the history will not be altered. This problem dials down the motivation of the characters. Even if, they were unaware of the phenomena, once they return and find out the truth, the characters are bound to feel useless. The player agency is sacrificed in this mod as well. The first problem pops up because of this ‘time skip’ problem. Malacar seems to remember the characters (even after 800 years) when that shouldn’t have happened as history is unaltered. (players are not locked into this altered timeline- unlike Ravenloft) This becomes an issue when this mod is played as a four-hour standalone event. It can be explained away when all three mods are run as a sequence on the same day.

Elaborating on that vein of thought let me say this; the question does seem to pop up pretty often. What is the motivation of the characters to stop the fire/solve the puzzle/rescue the sisters/kill the troll/appease Umberlee? Regardless of what they do, nothing is bound to change. The only positive thing about this mod is that the characters got to meet Ahgairon, the first open lord. It feels more like ‘fan service’ rather than a serious attempt at storytelling. I am taking a star off for that.

The other problems are minor. The plot is a bit too simplistic. There are not that many complications to make the story more complex and interesting. The Eladrin puzzle has a ‘chicken and an egg problem’ If Summer gets killed by Winter’s sword slash, the rest of the sequence wouldn’t have happened and the whole point of the story is moot. But it can be argued as being an allegory or metaphor or their deaths were slow enough- but it still is shoddy writing. On the other hand, if the deaths were slow and deliberate so that it gave enough time for all characters to kill off each other (or that they were entombed as eternally dying; then this would have been a grimmer and interesting tale. Similarly, the Gnomish crypt puzzle states that it has thirteen doors. In the main description, the doors become archways. It needs correction. The intelligence check to calibrate the ward is DC 18, Which I think, is a bit high for Tier 1. It will be a problem with parties who have no wizards. A DC 13 is good enough for 2hr play and DC 15 for four hours. Also, the ‘do it once or fail eternally ‘ aspect of ward calibration felt like an artifact included as an afterthought- a bit of dull mechanics. It doesn’t give players any creative leeway to solve the conundrum. Also, the wrapping up session of the mod says ‘back to the Future’ but does not have any mention about going back. The final wrap us does not have any information on what was the main achievement by playing this mod was. What information was uncovered? How is the ring connected to the sequence of events that the characters witnessed in this mod? Why is the ring resonating with the wrinkle of the weave in present-day Waterdeep? There are no clues as to which direction the plot will take or what benefit the characters gained from going through such a séance session in ancient Water deep? Hence one more star is docked.

Overall a good mod which suffers from inherited rather than inherent problems.

I would recommend buying this mod for supporting AL. The review is intended for author modifications and DM feedback.

TL;DR- Bad. Can be good, if corrected.

This mod is not just bad; it is incomplete. The author was presented with such a good era, where the rich Calimshiite lore had already been woven out for him/her, that all he/she had to do was to flow with it and knit a masterpiece out of it. Unfortunately, whatever the author had in mind; neither has it been transferred to paper, nor has it been conveyed to me. Just like that lone staircase that leads down to nowhere in the map (page 15) this mod directs me and my players through a wild goose chase, where the goose is literally absent. The laziness and incompetence in authorship and editing have reached such a nadir, that I am requesting the admins to conduct a second playtest after the final rewrites. Please.. how hard is it ever going to be?

Once again, I have this feeling that the editing process killed the mod. The plot is nonexistent because the characters have no part in it. The episodes are missing the ‘Wrapping up’ section where minor/major plot objectives are resolved. All the creative input from the author has been cut out from the narrative. Overall a single star out of five for the lack of effort.

If JK Rowling were to have the power to travel back in time and fix the Harry Potter Universe, the first thing she would have done is to delete the entire Time turner arc; or so I believe. Even the great authors have had problems in handling time travel. The current trilogy deals with time travel and its problems.

Plot: It is a ‘going back in time’ saga. But this time, it is only a spectator sport for the characters. The Blackstaff thinks that a particular ring is resonating with a wrinkle in the weave surrounding Waterdeep. That something significant must have occurred around the time of the ring’s creation that could explain the anomaly. So she casts a spell on characters to project them ‘mentally’ into the time of Shoon III. She tells them that no matter what they do, they cannot rewrite history.

Problems:

1. For the most part, this mod is just a 2 hour/4 hour railroad movie where the player agency takes the worst hit. There are many lingering questions.

2. Why would Blackstaff want level 1-4 adventurers for this séance session if nothing can be changed? Either she or anyone of her apprentices could have done it. Why can’t the Blackstaff tell the characters that she is going to cast a high-level spell (Chronomancy) on them?

3. Is the characters/Blackstaff aware of the fact that it is DR 130? Do the characters know that Shoon III is about to be murdered for good? What if they decide to prevent it? What if they don’t?

4. If nothing can be changed, What is the motivation of the characters, if any, to rescue the guests or retrieve the head chef’s journal? If this is just a projection, why would Artor/Gost/ Ahgairon remember the characters in later episodes? (This has info about later mods)

5. Shoon III was known to be paranoid. Why would he even host such an event? How can the characters just walk into Shoonach palace like that? An archwizard like Hilather didn’t recognize the high level chronomantic magic cast on the characters? Why is Shoonach palace, known to be a fortress, guarded by a measly number of guards? Why isn’t the map of the Shoonach palace labeled?

6. Why is the Shoon III murdered at two places (his bedchamber and the throne room) depending on what section you read?

7. If the ‘significant event’ is during the creation of the ring, Why send them to DR 130? Hilather says later in the mod that he had already made the ring. What information would the characters perceive by questioning Hilather? The objective states that the characters meet up with Hilather and Artor at the end of Episode 3 to conclude the plot. Where is that section? What happens? What information can be gleaned from talking to them? What is special about the ring? Why is it resonating with the weave in present-day Waterdeep, when the past is in Tethyr/Calimshan or the place and time of the creation of the ring are unknown? Isn’t Objective B incomplete then?

8. Why would Shoon IV ‘hide’ evidence in a locked chest in the palace library, of all places? Every Tom Dick and Harry- Malacar, Hilather, and other palace guards seem to have access to it. Even the head cook seems to keep his own family heirloom Journal in the palace library. That being said, why would the Head Chef be an important character in this plot at all? The Calimshites seem to have a weird penchant to keep top secret documents right in the library where anyone has access to it. Where are their private quarters? Please put a bit more effort into writing and editing.

9. Can the characters die? Or will they get unplugged if they die? Or is it like the Matrix universe, where you die in real time if you die in the Matrix? Please add more rules.

10. Mod design: The player-friendly version is not ink friendly at all. The art needs to be removed completely from the document, to be of any solace to my toner.

I humbly request the author to rewrite and republish the mod. As it is, the work looks like a botched first draft. If corrected and edited properly, it has the scope to be a rich and vibrant mod that would keep the players engrossed. There is much to be done to this work to get that kind of shine on this rough stone.

My Review for DDAL 08-03 Dock ward Double-Cross

If you are reading this review, I highly recommend that you buy the module. It is quite good. Truth to be told, I was not looking forward to reading and prepping this module, as the previous two had been complete letdowns. Since there is much to cover, I am splitting this review into two parts. 1) About the content of the mod 2) The design of the mod.

1) The content of the mod

To be precise, I would call this mod a well-written piece with a multitude of rich cinematic, dynamic and complex aspects stitched into it. I was very impressed with the way the plot escalated. The ‘rising action’ is handled particularly well. The plot escalates pretty rapidly. There is a decent climax and an expected falling action/resolution component as well. It is really worth the money.

As soon as I read this mod once, I decided two things. 1) I will not run this mod as a two-hour version. 2) I want to run this as a 5-hour mod. I will not be able to do justice to the intricacy of the plot that the author had weaved into it if I run it in two hours. The bonus objectives are crucial for the correct escalation of the plot in this scenario. I don't want to miss the Hitchcockian DejaVu of the red headed lady. Moreover, I think that, if you want to present the climax well- Episode 3 at the Ship’s prow needs at least an hour.

The mod has decent adventure hooks, even for the bonus objectives. No more ‘random thug’ returning to ask if players would help him find his wedding ring. An immediate threat to characters life is a good enough reason.

I have to say that the rich lore about Waterdeep, especially, the Dockyard finally came to life in this mod. The NPCs presented in this mod are well thought out-even the minor ones. What is exhilarating is the minor details that have been braided into the narrative- an example- the Sussur tree reference.

There is a map of the dockyard and thanks for labeling the battle maps..Makes like much easier.

2) Design of the mod

The mod murders toner ink. Even with grayscale printing, eco mode and all ink saving shenanigans I ended up losing a bit of ink. I went to FedEx and made six photocopies right away for future use. No Textboxes means no quick prep and runs. Much has been said about this and hence I will rest my case.

The current design of the mo forces me to re-read it multiple times to assimilate relevant information. Most of the time, these breaks kill the thought train completely. The narrative is murdered and then cremated, raised again and re murdered through the implementation of the new design. As time trickles by, DMs will get adjusted to this new normal, but currently, it is bloody murder. You guys understand that DMing is a hobby and not our Daytime jobs, Right?.

Please make sure to note if the Pistols are unlocked / NOT unlocked in the mod. I am pretty sure, there will be arguments in the table.

Overall I give 4/5 stars for the mod. I took one star off because of the design elements and not the authorship. I will update this review as soon as I run the mod.

My review for DDAL 08-02 Beneath the City of the Dead

If you are reading the review, I recommend that you buy this mod for supporting AL. The review is meant to be informative to publishers, authors, and DMs.

Since there is a bit to cover, I will divide this review into two parts. 1) Problems with the authorship 2) Problems with the design (which is beyond the control of the author)

1) Problems with the authorship- To be precise, this is a module that has been conceived, written and presented poorly and lazily. It feels like the author was given an outline and was asked to build around it. This module lacks independent thought, creativity, and freedom of expression. It is as if the author is being throttled by a rigid set of plot outlines laid out for him/her for the main objective. On the contrary, the bonus objectives present a more little bit more interesting and creative narrative which reflect a wholesome feel. As a DM, I can run the bonus objectives only and have a happier set of players.

a) The first problem that this module has, is the lack of a proper adventure hook for the main objective. This problem is something that has been transferred from the first module- A treasure hunt. Since season 8 has removed the aspect of treasure seeking from the AL world, DMs are in need of solid adventure hooks that would appeal to the best or the worst part of their personality- sympathy, empathy, chivalry, cruelty. psychopathy etc. The author failed completely and miserably to provide a decent adventure hook for the players for the main objective. Most tables are running like ' Okay this is a Quest and it is interesting to you, because the author says so. If you don’t want to do it, the mod is over and you don’t have playtime'. Such a scenario eats up the player agency and reduces what could have been a serious and complicated adventure to a mind-numbing dungeon crawl. Surprisingly, the bonus objectives in this mod do present better adventure hooks. As a DM I can appeal to chivalry the players to be of service to Waterdeep's dead denizens and the city itself. I can appeal to the sympathy of the characters to assist a dead young child.

b) Bonus Objective A: A sheepish request is written and developed very poorly. It feels as if, it was an important part of a story- a connection which the author failed to communicate properly. Do the characters Keep the handkerchief? Who are the Stonebridges? Who are the Dankils? What is their connection/rivalry? Any details about these aspects could have been presented in a couple of lines could have created a more wholesome narrative for the mod. As it stands, it is incomplete, incoherent and inept.

c) Where is the plot in the module? Characters go down a crypt and meet a boss. That is it. No plot escalation or resolution is present in the module. Just a statement of what happened in the span of three hours. Did it have to be a two-hour saga? I think, no. The whole plot of the mod, as meager and trivial as it is, can be presented, played and concluded in an hour.

2) Design Flaws - I will list it.

a) The mod kills printer toners. I can understand that, if the art is taken out, the whole document can be printed out in three pages. Asking for five dollars, for such a shoddy way of presenting a module is daylight robbery. But so is, filling the module with art from hardcovers. The admins and authors should understand one thing. If this was a season independent CCC mod, this would have sold like 25 copies before the customers start complaining and the authors are prompted to correcing it. I am sure that this current mod, DDAL 08-02 , will go into platinum status, uncorrected, just because it is a seasonal mod and NOT due the class or quality of the product. Please remember this. No matter how it sells, this is snake oil salesmanship.

b) During the growth phase of AL, there were many winger DMs in FLGSs who took on the task of running a session on the fly instead of playing the mod. What helped them do that was the text boxes. Let me remind you that it was these winger DMs who absorbed the extra players who showed up on game days, and made sure that everybody got to play AL. The current design is quite unfavorable for zero/minimal prep runs. Being Thankful is a propriety.

c) A linear map with no markings, several factual errors, contradictions (adventure primer says no TP for bonus objectives, but awards section says otherwise) leaves much to the imagination. I can't get rid of this feeling that this is a great mod that was ill-edited and mal designed and thereby cremated till death.

d) Who has the magic item in the module? As per AL rules, the characters have to get it from someone. Who is it. Did Artor give it to them? Details..Details.Please.The devil is in it..

A final point- Being a good author/publisher means presenting your best work to the customers. If there is a simple sentence which all the DMs would like to tell you, it is this “What a disappointment” and no matter how you moderate the social media venues- you can’t hide from it.

UPDATE; If you are reading the review, I recommend that you buy this mod (by all means). This review is meant to be informative and to warrant change in the document. Even with grayscale printing, this document eats toner like a glutton.

I had a policy, not to write a negative review for an AL module as I didn't want anyone to refrain from buying it because of me. But there is a limit to this ridiculousness. Here are some existential questions to the designers. I hope this will let you understand what DMs expect of you .

1) Do you actually believe that combing together four different vague outlines and plagiarizing some art work from previous WOTC books would make your ‘creation’ worth five dollars? You want me to run a mod with no story development whatsoever and a Peter Jacksonish (hobbit movie) stretched out plot? A DM will have to spend at least two days to prep for this run. You should be the ones paying the DMs to run this mod. 2) We DMs print these mods out. 50%of these pages are a waste. Where is the text version?

3) What if the characters roll an insight /investigation/perception 20 to see if the map is fabricated/ deliberate? What if they decide that it is not worth it? Where is the hook? Just because they got a treasure map, you want the adventurer’s to loiter around a house in waterdeep? You want them to enter an art shop (full of paintings and inspect a tiny speck on a single painting). And for what? Treasure that goes poof? What is the benefit? Tale for Duric? Seriously?

4) Where are the text blurbs? Why would we pay you, if it was up to us to determine that?

5) While writing this module were you ever under the false notion that DMs can actually see what is in your mind? Unless you write it down how do we know?

6) Why do you expect every DM to know every alley, sewer connection or ward in waterdeep? Isn’t this supposed to be a standalone AL module? For a new DM , he or she will have to read at least three sourcebooks and six novels to understand and comprehend what you have described so casually in this.

7) You want to superimpose the treasure map with that of a map of waterdeep. Where is that waterdeep map which has the same scale to the treasure map in the module? Should I buy another map pack for that? What about scale? Where is the southern ward?

8) ”Improvise brief roleplaying scenes for the working adventurers. While on the job, complications arise: A patron accidentally begins choking. Pigeons fly in the kitchen creating droppings. A disruptive argument happens at a table.” Seriously? 9) Is there anyway I can get my five dollars back?

TL;DR- Highly recommended - Buy it..Five stars

-Have you ever gotten assigned to a project where you have to decipher the nuts and bolts from your colleague's lab note book or project work book? Imagine going through the intricate scrawls and complex formulas; not to mention the random thoughts and ideas scrawled in the margin space using minuscule alphabets. Well this mod is exactly that. This is one different beast. This is the second AL product that deserves a full five star rating, mainly, for the amount of work that has been put on the creation of this module. Just by the sheer scale of it, this is in stark contrast to the usual measly fare that is available in DMG AL. If you haven’t, please buy it because it is priced way less than what it should have.

This is not a run-of the mill AL mod and we as the DMs should spent time digesting the sixty five page narrative to wrap our brains around it.

It is rich and dense. Infact I had a two-tylenol headache, the first time I read through it. This is not a mod that you can run with just a cursory read-through. You will have to read it at least twice and run it at least once to understand and recreate the intricate setting that Alan Patrick has written and rewritten into this mod. After a hundred play tests, I believe that the author has thrown everything sans the kitchen sink (which, I am sure, he must have held back for some other nefarious purpose) into it to make the players bleed. There is some neat art work in this mod that complements the narrative.

Looking Plot wise, you will notice the lack of one right away, as this is more like a haunted-house horror show. Fresh, first time players will be fairly thrilled and excited, because, preserving the freshness through-out the narrative is what makes this an excellent mod. Full immersion role play with a Tier 4 party (6 member APL -Strong) took me 7 hours to complete, while another run (no rp/ moderately paced) with a Tier 3 party (all repeaters-APL Strong) took me 3hours and 45 minutes.

There is one thing that I can guarantee; As a DM you will have a great time running this mod; more so if the players are fresh. There will be a lingering but pleasant aftertaste of this mod once you have finished this as it raises more questions than answers. Please buy it, prep it, learn the lore thoroughly and run it in your LGS. It will be a big hit.. http://www.dmsguild.com/product/200609/DDAL0001-Window-to-the-Past?src=newest_in_al

Do Bugbears dream? Can they have ambitions? Can they harbor notions of greatness? I am writing this because I fear that a brilliant work will get lost in the deluge of mediocrity, available in the DMG and I believe that the painstaking work that the designers have put into the mod must get the praise it deserves. In my opinion, CIC-1 Vault of the devourer, will be the first ever AL product that deserves the full five stars. I have read and ran almost all AL mods but rarely have I encountered characters fleshed out like this.

I was pleasantly surprised by the maturity of this mod. The level of detail that went into the design of this mod is tremendous. It is a straightforward dungeon crawl with a straighter plot line (add fight then boss fight) that takes us back to the inception of D&D. But I think this deceptive barebones-simplicity and its throwback feel, is what makes it an excellent mod that a DM will appreciate running. It does evoke the feeling of guilty pleasure that you feel when you sink your teeth into a home grilled juicy burger while on a diet.

I am an ardent supporter of CCC (convention created content) but was very disappointed. Each mod, with its glaring mistakes and tasteless and featureless presentations, was screaming at me that I have been scammed. But this one I say is a standard that we can look forward to. Rather than the drab pages filled with bland characters, some of the NPCs just jump out like that. It has excellent artwork that complements the narrative. The well edited conceived and delivered product is well worth the money.

As an appreciation to the work the designers have put into this mod and the respect that they expressed towards my money, I have decided to buy the mod every time I run it from now on. I mean why should I waste my money on other claptrap when such works that keeps the standards I expect, exist?

I bought this mod to run in-store and online. I have only done a cursory reading and would like to inform the authors about some editing artifacts. In page 7 Under section VAmpire of the mists, it is clearly stated that the Doomguide is shrouded in mists and has resistance to Sunlight (direct and magical) and to Turn Undead. The archmage also warns the PCs of this curious mists. But in his stat block, Sunlight hypersensitivity is still present. Most DMs use Stat blocks and rarely look at the body of the texts for features like this. Please add 'resistance to Sunlight (direct and magical) and to Turn Undead' to his Stat block itself so that the DM has a handy reference. The second one is a minor one. The written matter for both 'Adventure background' and 'Adventure Overview' is one and the same. I will update this review as soon as I run the mod....J