I'm a little underwhelmed by this adventure for two reasons:

1. The setup feels too similar to DDAL10-00. The adventure pretty quickly diverges but getting past that point with a group who have already played the initial entry point just has too much cognative dissonance.
2. The plot seems to happen to and around the PCs; there's almost no agency on their part. That can make for a great horror campaign, but the DM needs some tips on how to make it feel natural rather than narratively forced. As is, there's no nuance for newer DMs to employ, just "this thing happens no matter what the party tries" over and over.

This is a fun adventure with enough content to fill several hours even if you split the party across multiple tables to complete each section simultaniously. The authors do a great job of setting the tone for the larger campaign but could spend more time fleshing out the NPCs so that they connect in to the world more clearly. As is, the DM has to do a lot of work to line this up with Rime of the Frostmaiden if they are also running that, even though the cast has heavy overlap.

I purchased the hardcover and have been using it for over a year now. I really like this supplement. It's easy to read and use, has great art throughout, and balances well with default options. Having said that, I cannot rate this five stars since each of those points have caviates.

Easy to read and use: The sections are laid out in a logical way that make flipping through the book easy whether it's your first time reading it or you just need to review a rule. There are some editing errors sprinkled in though and there's no good way to separate player and DM sections. If the PDF also came in two parts, that would make using the book at the table much easier. There's no real way to do that with the physical book.

Great art: This is 100% true. Unfortunately, most of the art comes from Rime of the Frostmaiden and does include some spoilers so keep that in mind if you let your players read it.

Balances well with default options: I feel comfortable when comparing these subclasses and spells against those of the PHB. There's nothing here that will break generic game balance. Having said that, there are quite a few things that can trivialize Rime of the Frostmaiden hazards and encounters. There's also a subclass that just tonally does not make sense. The campaign makes it clear that chardalyn is no good, very bad. Having a barbarian powered by chardalyn or spells that create it just doesn't match. The adventures included in the book also don't line up super will with the plot presented in Rime. It's not that they don't work, but they would really need to be undertaken by different characters than those used for the campaign for the timeline to match the level requirements.

All-in-all, I enjoy this book but feel the need to moderate the content a bit in play for the campaign it's designed to accompany. I'd probably implement it wholecloth with a homebrew plot.

This is an excellent suppliment. I'm honestly surprised that WotC didn't lean in to the Cult of the Shattered Peak themselves in the adventure module. Pitting the Arcane Brotherhood against the cult provides a clean way to tie the final act into the previous sections and makes for a dramatic race to Ythryn.

This PDF is laid out to be easy to read, easy to cut up between player-facing and DM-facing material, and easy to run alongside Rime of the Frostmaiden.

For players: The subclasses and group patron information are great. I especially enjoy the fighter option. They can be used in any campaign, not just Rime.

For DMs: There's plenty of background here to run the organization in any campaign--Rime or otherwise. It's not really a cult-it doesn't meet any part of the definition of a cult actually-but it is a fun faction to include. There are a couple points where information for NPCs is scattered through the text instead of neatly collected (example: the goliath NPC's backstory is kind of important but isn't in her intro blurb) and the leadership structure in Icewind Dale is a bit convoluted (it appears the high-ranking up-and-coming agent is reporting to a low ranking veteran?), but those are exceptions. Overall, this is the best faction document I've read for any campaign.

Into Wonderland is absolutely beautiful. True, the art is evocative and whimsical, the graphic design is clearly lovingly curated, and the typography is carefully chosen. More importantly though, the whole adventure is designed with me, the DM who will actually run the adventure, in mind. This book is a great read, but more than that, it's a great run.

I have a confession to make: I'm a nerd.

Shocking, I know. Who would expect that from an RPG player? Really though, I'm not just a fantasy nerd, a numbers nerd, or even a storytelling nerd, I'm a read-style-guides-in-my-spare-time nerd, a debate-if-words-should-be-compound nerd, a how-could-you-put-a-space-there nerd.

And I greatly enjoy this little title.

There are so many wonderful little things that are addressed here. Things I notice when reading and wish that publishers did as well. It's wonderful.

Also, it's free. Give it a go; improve your DMs Guild products. What do you have to lose?

This is an excellent resource. I started using Darren's Versatile NPCs when he posted the first set on Reddit and ever since, almost half the humanoid NPCs my players fight are taken directly from this excellent set. The Monster Manual and Volo's Guide are a great starting point, but I was constantly tinkering with stats to keep from one-shotting my characters with a powerful mage or overwhelming the map with a million guards. His characters fill the CR void with solid, memorable stat blocks that I can use again and again in any setting. At this point, I can't imagine running Tier 2 games without this PDF.

I purchased both the pdf and the printed copy of Monsters of the Orient. The book is layed out well with clear information, useful monsters--whether your campaign is set in the orient or not, a nice selection of beasts and NPCs, and gorgeously detailed artwork. This is true for both versions, although the ink runs a little dark on the printed copy, so some of the details are lost. (The "Oriental Sea Life" image is my favorite, but the top half of the page loses much of the depth shown in the pdf.) Nevertheless, the book is beautiful all the way through and the monsters will definitely show up at my table.

These are amazing. I can't imagine using any other sheets now.