Welp. Another time travel adventure. Seems like an odd choice for a season storyline, but at least this one stays in Waterdeep!

I actually enjoyed running this one a bit more, because it stayed in the titular city and I could give the players a chance to be part of an epic moment and connected to one of Waterdeep's epic characters. It was also a bit more direct in what needs to be accomplished.

There's a decent variety of puzzles to the various encounters, which was nice to see, and some social bits as well, and a capstone combat to bring in the third pillar. However, this also means that the adventure definitely favors players who enjoy puzzles.

(Also, I would have been perfectly content to have this whole trilogy be time travel through Waterdeep's key events, and just... jettison... a certain Ar... creature's... presence and arc. It just feels a bit forced.)

Some spoilers in this review!

Welcome to Waterdeep! Just kidding; you're... time traveling and headed somewhere else? But not really?

The usual challenges of temporal mechanics present themselves: Something about the Blackstaff's magic means that you can't alter the past (woo!), and yet you can... bring stuff back with you? And interact with people there freely? I suppose you end up in a causality loop such that you were always going there?

Anyway, the adventure has the usual features of Season 8 adventures -- which often feel like a lack of depth of detail and DM help. It definitely seemed like it would be harder to run cold, but could allow a DM that loves making up characters and such thrive.

This adventure wasn't my favorite because, while I can see how they were trying to use Artor as connective tissue, I was disappointed to see that we just up and left Waterdeep. With so much going on in the city itself, it seems like there would have been lots of possibility to mine there and to really dig into urban adventures (like, say, Rats of Waterdeep); instead, we go somewhere (and somewhen) else entirely.

As a minor negative/caution, the dynasty in question has a name that sounds rather like one of Waterdeep's potential villains -- but doesn't seem to bear any connection to them? I could see players getting a bit confused and needing to help them disambiguate.

Overall: The adventure itself is a fairly interesting one; I just wish it hadn't been written during season 8! Without the Waterdeep connection and with more depth / detail for minor NPCs and context, I think I would have enjoyed it more.

First standout: I believe these are, to date, the only tier 2 mini-mods we've gotten.

Do they actually keep well to the 1 hour timing? ... well... probably about as well as other 1-hour mini-adventures? On the bright side, these include adaptation notes to make things go faster/be less dragged out.

Positives: A good variety of adventures/encounters, and relatively compact. Really nice (flavorful) story awards from some of them. Gives some solid lore/insight/background/flavor to Chult and its creatures/dynamics.

Cons: Nothing major! An overall very positive buy.

However: No vanity pet: that is always a sad day. The usual challenges of running multiple largely-disconnected adventures. No permanent magic items.

Spoilers for mission-specific details/comments:

• The map in part 1 doesn't do a great job of demonstrating how things move for other things to open. I'd recommend treating it like a wall made of 4 concentric parts, with each part moved by a corresponding trigger.
• Also, part 1 is a puzzle; be prepared to help players through this / give checks/hints/reminders if the descriptions don't tell them what they need.
• Part 2 is interesting, and involves an element of diplomacy and trust, or else things might get bogged down in violence.

This is an ambitious module for tier 1 - it includes a wide variety of encounters and adventure play types, it connects to a number of seasonal storyline moments, and ties in a rather deep backstory and character development.

Does it accomplish it? Well... there's a reason it's a Gold bestseller!

It has a lot of positive notes going for it: the aforementioned points, plus an interesting Story Award, a well-flavored magic item, and so on.

Negatives? Well... some of the DM-facing writing seems a touch heavy-handed -- but the counterpoint to that is that, unlike a lot of modules, not too much is left to you to "extract via interpretation and guesswork." There are also some minor editing/grammatical errors/oversights, but nothing that compromises the ability to understand what's going on.

Overall? A solid pick, particularly for DMs / players that enjoy being part of a bigger story.

A simple, cute, easy to run adventure with a non-combat bent, Fuzzytale Farm seems like an adventure that would be especially appealing for running with younger players. Unless you go looking for it, the adventure largely eschews the combat pillar - which is fine by me, but fair warning to those who thrive on it.

The guidelines for making it more frightning generally seem to lean more "spoopy" than "spooky," however, reinforcing the "younger players" vibe. That plus the Harengon NPCs, the generally feel-good theme, and some of the other flavor make it feel a bit more like an Easter adventure than a Halloween one.

I also feel that there was a missed opportunity to include a fun flavor reward - a trinket, or perhaps one of the titular goats as a noncombat/vanity pet.

Don't get me wrong, though - those things said, it's still a fun little adventure, and there's enough room left to flex some creativity in it as well (especially for a table that enjoys the spooky).

Many positives for this one -- interesting setting; interesting gameplay / carnival options; neat, unique and flavorful magic item rewards.

But, while it's definitely a good starting point for a sustained playthrough of WBW, I wouldn't recommend it for a drop-in / one-shot game or for anyone else that won't be playing through the full, actual hardcover. The Lost Thing mechanic is in play here, with even fewer ways to escape it than the good ole' Season 7 Death Curse. It's a shame, because the character creation section, the focus on developing your character and you backstory, and so on would be great for new players, but... then you just... can't get Inspiration, ever? Unless you recover your lost thing? It sort of shoehorns you into playing the HC or missing one of the core mechanics of 5E. It doesn't seem to be a Story Award that would be limited to in-season adventures, either. Seems like a frustrating thing to have happen to a player that isn't expecting it...

Speaking of Story Awards: There's a strange editing flub here. On page 3, the Story Awards heading reads: "At certain points in the adventure, you may see this glyph along with an entry that describes how the specified story award is earned or impacted by the story." But... there's no glyph. Not there, or anywhere else in the adventure. There's also one one Story Award, and it only comes at the end of the adventure.

Overall, a good adventure, but be warned... when they call it a prelude for WBW, they really mean it.

It's a great 2-hour extrapolation of the story hook, and without the requirement of the lost thing, would also be a fun way to introduce new players/characters. But... there doesn't seem to be a way to escape it, and it seems questionable as to whether DM empowerment would allow you to leave it out.

Short and relatively simple! This adventure clocks in at about 8 pages of actual adventure text. No magic item reward, but a story award that may be well-enjoyed by players (I'd certainly be happy getting it over another uncommon that's easy to find). Has some season 4 vibes, and seems like a good adventure to slot in during a spooky, rainy autumnal evneing.

Strong atmosphere plus relatively simple structure/mechanics might put this one on my "cold run" list. Somewhat unclear on whether the story award goes to all players, but it doesn't specify one, and since it's the nonmonetary reward, I'm inclined to give it to all of them.

There are, however, no mechanical rules for acquiring the right gear to protect from the environmental effects; additionally, while there's a time threshold listed for those effects, there aren't really any specific time durations given for travel, encounters, etc... so, perhaps it's just there as a penalty for idling too much or not moving with purpose?

Overall, a decent, mid-range adventure, with a bonus point for a fun Story Award.

This is a solid, enjoyable adventure! It has a nice dungeon crawl structure/setup, but translated to an urban environment. Puzzles, traps, combat, and having to backtrack to get the full experience and context - it's all there!

The flavor is solid, as are the encounters - though many of them feel like they have the potential to be highly-lethal with small or inexperienced parties, so you might need to keep an eye on that and tune it on the fly. Structurally/conceptually, it feels a bit like a "White Plume Mountain for Beginners" in the variety of encounters and elements.

The ALCC suggests that this works best alongside WDH when dropped into chapter 2. I haven't run it as anything but a standalone, and I think it really shines that way -- an isolated dungeon feels a touch at odds with the Ch. 2 "getting to know the city" vibes, but since it's still in Waterdeep, and it does connect to certain important NPCs, it does still make sense/further that purpose. With the eventual macguffin and the choice at the end, I think it could also work as an extended scene for one of the keys required later on (Ch... 4?), especially as it adds a touch of the "heist" vibe that is, perhaps, weaker in the main hardcover.

Telegraphing the "phrase order" puzzle might be helpful, as well - perhaps handouts of the elements as they're found that can be physically moved around? I might also broaden the trigger for the statue to being directly addressed, as well as the listed one, if characters are struggling a bit.

Reward: The rewards are decent for a 4(-or-more) hour T1 adventure. They mostly lack flavor, though -- only 1 of the 5 MIs has flavor; I actually found, when playing it, that the trinkets you can pick up along the way are just as, if not more, fun. Still! 2 Uncommons and a top-tier common with choice make this a solid adventure. Note that, perhaps because it's classed as a hardcover, there is no Rewards handout/summary page, so make sure you're tracking it as they go.

Well, like most intro mini-mods, "1 hour each" might be optimistic.

=== MINOR SPOILERS WITHIN! ===

Parts 1 and 3 are decently straightforward and simple, have good maps, and can be run cold fairly easily. Definitely points in favor.

Part 2... The Miller. A fetch quest... with another, multi-part fetch quest nested within in. Fetch quests that take time and have risks, when the overall goal is to evacuate refugees. Fetch quests to satisfy an NPC that doesn't actually seem to want to leave. Oh, and the NPC isn't particularly likeable. Yeah... you're going to need to put on your DM-creativity-hat for that one....

Oh, and if the party decides not to do their fetch quests? Well... somehow they have to come anyway. So they can die in the next quest, which is a murder investigation. That whole NPC's arc feels a bit ham-fisted, overall; it seems like it would have been easier to make them a non-quest-objective NPC, and instead just have them be part of the caravan that the characters interact with.

(Also, there's a whole thing, maybe, with a Pegasus? That foreshadows something the characters likely won't be able to piece together, and likely won't even be able to start until 09-02. Also tied to that NPC.)

But, overall, this is still a fairly solid module in spite of that NPC, especially if playing through the Season 9 arc. It gives decent presence to all three pillars, and doesn't rely on "identical" gameplay/structure across the quests.

It is, however, missing the most important part of a set of one-hour mini-adventures, or of the seasonal intro mod: There is no vanity pet. None. VERY disappointing.

Cats. More cats. Yet more cats.

Cat-themed adventure with cat-themed rewards.

Fun, flavorful, feline... 5/5; it's flawless.

Actually, the only part that isn't perfect is... [MINOR SPOILERS FOLLOW!] that the Story Award requires you to fail a save that you don't seem to be able to voluntarily fail.

I try to ask the players ahead of time whether they, or their characters, are cat people, and also ask them what kind of cat they would be. This lets me try to match them up with a few different choices for their bonds, and also helps me guess a little bit at how... aggressively affectionate... the cats should be. I've taken full advantage of DM empowerment to decide when players have Adv/Disadv. Did you try to pet the cat? Disadvantage. Feed the cat? Disadvantage. Merely acknowledge the cat's existence, even barely? Disadvantage. Hey, it's how the cat would see it, isn't it? The mod does make it a bit tough to "convince" the players that the cats aren't the threat, too.

Beyond that, the adventure has a pretty clear through-line, though I would probably generally skip bonus objective B as it doesn't really seem to fit in well; other reviews suggest that it's perhaps intended to link further into the Border Kingdoms adventures?

I've run the first 3 mini-adventures from this set. As with many of the 'intro' mods, they can easily (in my experience) run long.

===== minor spoilers follow ====

Overall, they're fine adventures; fairly solid, and capture the vibe of ToA, though I find the 'assemble five pieces of the macguffin' is a touch 'meh' as far as objectives go. Then again, it's hard to cram a lot of depth into one-hour mini-mods.

The first quest is, of course, the best / most important, with a non-mechanical / vanity pet -- though, because the pet is a Story Award, and there's only one, be prepared for grumbles if more than one person wants it!

Oh, quest two is a race, and uses the "complications table" approach also used in chases. Like chases, I find this predisposes it to feeling stilted or mechanical -- not only do players need to figure out all the actions they could use, but then they / you need to remember to roll on the table, and they have to resolve that. It's not the fault of this module -- chase scenes in general seem to have the opposite effect on making them feel thrilling and energetic.

Oh, yeah -- and they're better now that the Death Curse doesn't apply!

I've run this one a few times; it's become one of my staples for "introducing new players to AL around the winter holidays" (which... has happened more than once?).

The carnival games can be quite fun, and open up some space for roleplaying and/or creating "story moments" for characters, depending on how they do. Worth noting that some of them have repurcussions for some of the others, so it's definitely helpful to track which of them each character has done.

I do find the "big" encounter benefits from a little extra telegraphing (but that's also likely because I prefer the positive outcome / want to make sure the players don't miss out on the opportunity, even if they don't take it) -- I tend to let them get close enough to the hole to see a little bit before they get shoved away, especially when running for a smaller party. I've also found it tricky to incorporate the lore dumps organically -- might be worth giving that part a bit of a think ahead of time (and, actually, as I write this review, it occurs to me that making it the plot of a stage performance/reenactment might work and fit into the carnival theme well... something to try next time!)

The rewards are flavorful, as well, which I always appreciate.

Oh, there is one editing glitch, whereby the MI rewards appendix lists "(any)" instead of "(any light or medium)" on the Rewards page (which is the correct one, it seems).

This adventure kickstarted my DMing practice in earnest!

I had a lot of fun running it, and my players enjoyed it as well. Running for a large table was... perhaps a bit overly-ambitious, as a noir investigative mystery can be difficult with so many people trying to do things at once, but that's not a reflection on this adventure. (I'd probably recommend a smaller/average table size -- 3-5 players -- for this one, to keep table management running a bit more smoothly). We also definitely did not manage it in 4 hours - I think we ran closer to 7 - but that was with a large table, a few new players, and a novice DM.

The puzzles were quite wonderful (though, see the comments for other folks' feedback on whether a couple need edits), and the NPCs and their stories were also great. The adventure is well-written, the story is solid both in plot and in mechanics, and there's a pretty heartwarming undertone to it that I really enjoyed. It definitely benefits from solid DM prep, though, since there's a lot of different things going on (locations, puzzles, interconnections, etc.).

Watchman Locks is a well-written sidekick, and I played them as full-noir as I could manage. For inspiration, I drew from FO4's Nick Valentine; I also leaned in to the Fourth Wall-breaking a touch. Seemed to go over well!

Hmm... Maybe it's time to run it again....

This adventure checks a lot of boxes for things I enjoy in adventures: a holiday/celebration theme; well-flavored magic items; a fun story award; and an upbeat / optimistic ending.

It has a relatively simple plot, encounters, and maps, which helps it stick to time and helps DMs running it cold (... see what I did there?!).

It might benefit from a touch more heavy-handed telegraphing of the misdirect, and there are a few minor details that didn't quite gel for me -- the overturned statues, for example, given who is responsible -- but prepping with the villain's motivations in mind might help with that, and they don't really detract from the overall story.

If running for children: I think this adventure could do well for a younger crowd, though I might suggest omitting the Reindeer encounter, or otherwise modifying its presentation and resolution a bit, as I thought that part could slide toward combat as a default assumption on the part of the players.

Overall, highly enjoyable on both sides of the screen, and I definitely hope to run it again!

Seems great for adding life to travel within the City, whether as encounters, or to draw inspiration for what the characters see as they go. Only used 1 as an encounter so far, but it spun off into a fun scene.