This module seems to be designed to be punishing to players. Essentially it boils down to any module that says, "Do you have a Paladin? Yes = Easy, No = Near Impossible" is just not good.

[Spoilers]

To get to one of the shards, you are required to go up a tower, making 4+ DC18 Con saves, or gain a level of Exhaustion. Halfway up, there are flying grappling specialists (that you may have disadvantage to oppose due to Exhaustion), that drop you down... not for 20d6 damage, no. 40d10.

The final fight starts with a high DC Wis save that compels you to a really high Con save DC... or you're out of the fight. And maybe quite dead.

This adventure has an amzing setting and theme - but you are left to haphazardly encounter it.

The Good: The creepy factor can be dialed up high, and Xorvintroth is just cool.

The Bad: Part 2 is just a "here's a city with some weird things in it". The characters are supposed to be on a time crunch to recue the Thuunlakalagas, not explore. I solved this by changing Part 2 from a "wander around and encounter randomly" to a "follow the trail of the goliath party - which leads you to these places". It made a lot more sense to my players after that (ran this four times for a Virtual D&D Weekend). Also, it's very easy to not get the magic item unless you do very specific things.

The Ugly: The chase is just... ugh. With insta-kill for failure. Whoa.

This is a fitting end to the WYC series. Playing this without playing the other two does not really work, as they are definitely meant to be a trilogy. My only complaint is that the "timer" that exists is really, really hard to mess up. There's not much of a threat of going over time. The run through the city is amazing. Modrons! Priestess of Loviatar. And a great ending.

The setting and the lore behind this adventure is incredible. I love the RP potential in this mod. Additionally, the last fight can be arguably one of the tougher fights - if the DM wishes to play strategically. Very fun.

Completely agree with other review by Dennis.

This mod is 100% social and exploration. No combat unless you play the bonus objectives - and the first one gives perhaps the single most punishing Story Award ever, and the second is Infernal Warmachine combat.

If you have a whole party of perceptive, charming, and knowledgeable characters, this mod can be fun. Otherwise, a significant part of the party is just going to sit around and do nothing.

This mod is a bit disappointing, to be honest. It has so much promise.

Flow

• If you don't use Bonus Objective A, then the transition into Episode 2 is very clunky.
• It has several rooms that it doesn't mention how they connect together at all. It could use a diagram of the complex, if not a full-blown map,

Call to Action The Call to Action sets a great tone - but doesn't tell you anything about the quest giver, except that she used to be a cultist. Who she is now, or why she's hiring the adventurers, or why they should be interested in the quest - nothing. The NPC section doesn't really give you any additional information on her.

Episode 2

• This is actually my favorite part of the adventure
• It tells you what people are present, lays out the scene, and exceutes it well. Plus, this is a solid combat.

Episode 3

• This Episode very much just dumps you in a room with no setup, no motives, no... nothing.
• Cool. Hierophant Lucratsio - what is he?
• Is anyone else in the room with him? The adjustments talk about upgrading the "faithful to cultists." The faithful are never mentioned, nor what they are!
• The redeeming quality is that this is probably the one room that is actually well-described.
• Minor Typo - the last line says that when they defeat the encounter to "proceed to Episode 6"

Wrap Up

• Tiny paragraph that doesn't go over well.
• Where is the Unlock encountered or given???

Bonus Objective A

• There are pieces in the room described (altar / door), but the room itself is never described. You don't actually know that there are other people in the room until the last paragraph.
• The door puzzle is not described well. Thankfully the associated document helps the DM - but how are the players supposed to know what the Thayans worship and what their slaves worship - or why either is important?
• In two different places, it describes the inscription on the altar - and they're different.
• Also, this is about a 15 minute bonus objective, while B is easily 2+ hours of content if you do it all.

Bonus Objective B

• Really needs a map to run this. The rest you can get by without, but this, not so much.
• Scene A - run the Optional Best in Show this is amazing
• Scene B - pretty straitforward
• Scene C - same
• Playing the Pillars - Seems to give all kinds of hints as to stuff that's going on in this area, but nothing is fleshed out. If you defeat the Dao ro the Efreeti, the other claims victory... Is there a conflict? Are they otherwise preventing the characters from reaching the worship chamber?

Final Thoughts This adventure actually has a lot of good flavor in it, and it could be a great adventure. It just feels like notes that the author took down, but is relying on their own, personal knowledge of the adventure to fill in all the gaps. If the presentation of this information can be fixed, this will be incredible.

This is one of my favorite Tier 2 adventure trilogies. The storytelling mechanic is great (no spoilers), and acts as a great intro. The only downfall I have with this series is that you really need to play them all. They're not as strong as stand-alone modules. That said, I don't consider that a short-coming, as this is an incredible trilogy.

Ran this adventure last night. I have to say that it is an amazing adventure, and now probably my favorite Tier 3! The characters work well, the story flows, and the challenges are not all in combat. We loved it!

This is an okay module. There are good points and bad.

The bad:

• As a tier 3 module, the base mission is "help crazy elf find daughter lost for over 100 years." My players, at least, did not find this compelling.
• The OG Secret Mission is very "tacked on." It's a more compelling story than the basic mission, but it really isn't integrated with the story at all.
• The crux of the entire module rests on not killing Jafray. If he dies, the adventure stops there. Powerful parties can easily take him out and/or be disinclined to to help the "bad guy."
• The Brain Leeches really should operate like other swarms: have a reach of 0ft and do half damage once it's at half HP.
• The Merfolk Warlocks of the Fiend... nearly all of their abilities are fire-based, which the party has free resistance against being under water.

The good:

• A disjointed mystery, but the clues lead the party to the wreck easily enough without feeling like they were led by the nose.
• I actually like the story here (but again, see my first bad comment about tier appropriate).
• The characters adn setting are flushed out well, and it was easy as the DM to drop my characters into each piece.

Random other thoughts:

• This is a very minor thing, but as a decent portion of this adventure takes place underwater, it may be good to note where the party can get Potions of Water Breathing or a scroll or similar - in case they aren't equipped to handle it.

This is... one of the worst executed DDAL modules I have run.

• Starts with 0 intro, and then a few random encounters.
• Dragon fight where the (under-powered for tier 3) Young Dragon picks a fight, then calls Time Out? I had a hard time not getting players to just want to off the dragon here.
• Weak, weak, weak encounters in the demons. Super weak. I had more than one player say after the first wizard-spirit reveals themselves, "Wait, she was a powerful wizard, but she's hiding from six, 19hp demons??" I feel like you can purposefully under power your minions, but then give them some kind of environmental advantage. This whole module, I could run T2 characters through, and they would be fine.
• Odd traps / environmental effects that do... 7 damage. At tier 3.
• Boss fight that you've crippled, so it doesn't feel like a boss fight - especially once you know its name. No Legendary Resistances, Legendary Actions, or Lair Actions... I'm aghast.

Oh yeah, and above normal number of typos / editing errors.

1. Needs a print-friendly version
2. Not actually a "guide" for how to run Dead in Thay. Just room notes and stats - without descriptions.