If you'd asked me before "What would it take to craft the perfect introductory module?" I don't think I'd have answered, "Some of the most rigid three-pillars of play structure I've ever seen" but it turns out, that's a really good idea, and it results in Into the Border Kingdoms into nearly the perfect intro-to-D&D module in Adventurer's League.

The whole story is very well divided into pieces with clear goals and styles of play. It begins in a tavern and there's a shifty guy to investigate, a curious crew of other characters and a clear signal to the players: Social play. Then undead attack, and importantly, they're undead — No reasoning with them, no social possibilities. Only one way out: Combat play.

That combat ends and it's back into a quick round of social play, then another round of combat, but this time with multiple enemy types, environmental hazards and more tactics. In some groups you'll have just enough time for one tricky moral question (What to do with the amateur necromancer?) before launching into the bonus objective, with its own clear play style: Exploration.

Basically, this adventure doesn't ever force the players to figure out how to play, just how to approach this particular scenario. As such, it does dictating their play style without quite holding their hand.

If I did have to criticise, I'd argue that 3 hours is a very disappointing run length as it means in AL you would not level up after finishing it, but I wonder if that's more a product of the shift to Season 8. Either way, this one is great and should be pre-prepped and left at every AL game store in case you get a flux of new players. 4/5, highly recommended.

I found this to be a very solid adventure. It was an easy adventure to DM and a good adventure for first time gamers to play. I ran this at my LFGS this past Tuesday and had three new players at my table...they all had a great time. It is a simple but solid adventure!

Got this on the review and high recommendation of Merric Blackman, and glad I did. This is extremely well written and would be very good to run for beginner players. There is a couple of misspelled words (most notably pages 14 and 15, though there are others) but this didn’t effect the flow of the adventure nor my overall rating. Well Done! Look forward to seeing more from this writer and hopefully the series.

I ran CCC-GHC-BK1-01 at a table top convention recently and my players and I enjoyed it. It's a straightforward and quick module; it gets to the point confidently and includes all three pillars of player. There's enough content in here to give new players or returning players a taste of roleplay, exploration, and combat. Though, the exploration part is mostly up to the DM as the module doesn't do a great deal with the overland travel between encounters. A missed opportunity if you ask me.

It escalates quickly enough for the party to feel a sense of danger and excitement but is still easily controllable for the DM.

Definitely recommend it as an introductory module not just to the Border Kingdom's but to the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons as a whole.

This is a module intended for both new players and DMs, and it shows.

The module's flow is quite basic, but one shouldn't expect much variation in a module that you'd want to keep within two hours, and it isn't too hard to hide the rails. Enough detail is given for the characters to bring them (and Hawker's Cleaver) to life, without swamping the players (and DM) with too much information. Fittingly for a starter module, the villian is petty and venial, while still hinting at more sinister forces that might be using them for their purposes.

The enemies are simple and recognizable, with no confusing gimmicks^ that might bog down combat. The maps included with the module look gorgeous and are easily printable for quick use, while still being simple enough to be copied onto a reusable gaming mat if you wish to save paper. One thing that wasn't really worked out (and might have to be improvised) are lighting conditions for the last fight - the villian (and possibly the players) lacks darkvision, and this may change up their tactics if the encounter takes place at night.

Overall, a good way to ease your table into the Border Kingdoms.

^: Certain monsters refusing to die when they are killed aside. But those are always funny.

This was a quick and simple adventure that was very easy to run, especially with the included to scale map. New players weren't overwhelmed and more experienced players were still challenged by the combat, especially if a certain type of enemy refuses to stay dead.

The bonus objective felt too much as an aside if included at the end. It may feel better if set before the final encounter, though that does require some additional work.

Very good introduction to the story line. It takes a little more than 2 hours to run it, but if you push to 3 hours you have enough time to run the bonus objective. There is a chance to give players inspiration if they decide to save/protect/heal the NPCs despite it not being critical to the story. Think of raising the difficulty if there is one ore more cleric in the party, as they tend to get rid of undeads a bit too easily.

Very fun and entertaining little module. Fairly straight-forward story that eventually folds up the threads by the end of the main story line. Good composition and funny cast of NPCs.

Great backstory for the main villain, which opens up for more action in the other CCC-GHC-BK modules. Looking forward to playing around a bit more with the setting in the Border Kingdoms.

Spoilers ahead: Funny interpretation of the AL rules concerning the handout of the bonus objective "magic" item. Seems like a loophole, but if it's accepted by the AL Admins, I'm cool with it :) It made my <= season 7 players very happy with skipping the unlock shenanigans and instead opened up for fighting over an item :) If this is AL legal, keep it up! :D #bringbackseason7rules :P

Very good writing style and formatting, can only recommend this for new and experienced players alike.

Into the Border Kingdoms is a nice little adventure that runs well in the allotted two hours. It has roleplaying, combat, and a little exploration (if you use the bonus objective). I liked the inclusion of a common magic item, but for me, the printable maps really put it over the top.

This module was everything you'd want in an introduction to a storyline or a region. First, it's starts in a tavern, as all campaigns should (I say this in jest!), and second it gives the characters a clear and distinct reason to be heroes and to work together right from the start.

It's a solid 2-hour adventure that feels complete at 2, but also feels organic with the bonus item added. I hate it when bonus stuff feels "tacked on" and this didn't at all.

Bonus: There are a TON of maps included with it, making this module a must if you're going to run this storyline.