This second installment on the Umbral Trilogy has many of the issues and benefits that mark the changes in season 8. It is not an adventure bursting at the seams with combat encounters as some past adventures have been. It instead pushes for other avenues of social interaction and exploration, which I appreciate at lower levels, and look forward to seeing in the tier 2-4 adventures. However, the season specific elements have also caused this up-to-4-hour adventure to be more like a 3ish hour adventure. While only having 20-25 pages to worry about is nice, I would rather have enough material to fill the 4 hours.
This adventure in particular ended on a cliff-hanger that I don't believe works well in AL play. The item that is unlocked doesn't seem to even come up in the adventure, which had me struggling for some other way to explain a new system that is already radically changed. Generally, I would like to see more guidance in these modules going forward. While I appreciate the freedom for DMs that is intended with this new style, it isn't helpful for having to pick up and play in 10 minutes.
Also, to writers and map artists: PLEASE LABEL YOUR MAPS! It makes it so much easier when I don't have to pause the game to figure out which secret entrance is the actual secret entrance. This was my biggest frustration at the table, and it has been a reoccuring issue with AL content.
Overall, a solid product. I hope I ran it the way the author intended. My players were ok with it, but they have also just come from a heavy combat Tier 3 S7, so they are in that mindset.
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