This is one of my favorite modules to run. It's simple enough to run last minute and, let's be honest, it's always fun to play a mafia don penguin.

I ran Dohwar Heist for Adventurer's League at Dragon's Lair San Antonio. Not to bury the lead – an excellent module, 5/5! I would definitely recommend it as a fun, campy romp for any party enjoying infiltration and roleplay. The Dohwars make wonderful characters to roleplay as well.

The timing felt just right to me. I would recommend pushing through the upper floor of the The Beak quite promptly – don't get bogged down in an initiative fight with the Vampirates. I played them mostly for comedy and made a bit of a chase of it down into the lower area. The big boss battle felt a bit on the easy side to me, but I also had some optimizer players that may have skewed things – plus, I didn't think the module was worse off for being less combat heavy. In the final chase sequence, I had success expediting things by using turn initiative and having the same complication affect all party members.

Overall, a very successful module that I recommend for any DMs and players who don't mind getting a little goofy in their roleplay scenarios. This is definitely a module I will look for opportunities to run again!

Just ran this for a group yesterday and everyone had a lot of fun. It ran right on time, mainly because the group took a while to figure out if they wanted to fight or flee in some cases. Ran it right on level for APL and 5 players and it was challenging enough at that level, which I was a little afraid that is would be underpowered. Overall - 5 stars - a bit of something for everyone in this module.

spoilers below - players read no further

DM Review info and suggestions:

• The getaway was far too easy for my group, but that is just because I had characters that had ways to move very fast: (ie: rogue with haste pushing cart, character with dimension door taking another, and some druids) - I would have liked that to be a bit more challenging for them to really build tension. But I am also of the opinion that let characters be good at things they are good at. 3 of the 5 were on the ship on round 2. The other 2 were moving 80+ and had a few complications, but easily made it as well. - Suggestion for possible DM changes to increase difficulty if desired: perhaps Periwinkle is a mage NPC dohwar and has the Slow spell and cast this as a first action before going below deck or as an added complication by a mage vampirate (like the ray of frost one). Roll for an initial complication before first person (if using slow, this might be good place to just do this first).
• I do think there needs to be some more focus in the description of the ship that indicates vampirates are hanging over the edge with nets and harpoons at the ready to pull up the party once they are close enough - if I run it again I will likely add that in to the initial description to build more tension, the party discussed too much what they wanted to do upon coming up to surface. I probably should have also put them on a timer for taking their action, or they take dodge action, to put more pressure on them and limit the strategizing.
• My PCs didn't bother fighting any vampirates: they had Pass without a trace up the whole time, that plus the cloak advantage was almost impossible to fail a stealth check. They came in on roof and went straight to the bathing room, so unless you plan to have a vampirate in the bedroom or the hall, there isn't really much chance to trigger an encounter. They were fine with that. Ultimately this probably doesn't need any changing if the group is good with stealth then it is fine - but if you really want them to fight I would maybe just put a vampirate or two in the bedroom or hallway to give them a challenge to overcome.
• One thing my PCs brought up was that there is not really a good way to get the crates out of the underground area under normal circumstances, they thought it was a bit odd that they would not be able to wheel a cart out through the bathhouse - even if the water was drained it is 20ft deep, so really the only option if they want to get out with the crates is to use the tunnel. We just glossed over this since it didnt make much sense but if you wanted to give them an alternative - you could add that there are 2 tile buttons on the floor, one that opens the hidden backdoor and one that raises/lowers the bottom platform (like an elevator). This could also alert the vampirate in the room if they pick the wrong button to start with.
• I would increase the chances for destruction of the crates to 50% chance per crate, or simply give them a "if >25HPs done in one action they are destroyed" condition on top the the 20% chance thing. I blasted them with the cone breath and none were destroyed even though they took 40+ damage. That just didnt seem right.
• Suggestions on Callistaryx tactics: Start with Treacherous Ice after the first character's turn right in doorway to cover both inside and outside of doorway, then on her turn fly up 15ft and move to use Breath to catch as many as possible and then BA Incorporeal Phase. Tail swipes as LAs unless entire party repositions where it makes sense to move Ice. Keep Phase up each turn if concentration drops on it. Breath anytime it recharges. Focus attacks on largest threat from an action economy, mobility and damage threat perspective. For instance, if grappled she would not waste an action to try and break grapple, but rather use all her attacks and legendary actions to focus fire on the grappler to drop them. Since she isn't proficient in either Athletics or Acrobatics this action makes the most sense for her. Unfortuantely incorporeal form doesn't give her any advantage vs grapple, which you would think it should.
• Opening the Vault - this required me to explain a bit more about how everyone could help with this challenge without giving it all away. The way I ran it seemed to work well. I gave them the basic description of the vault with a complex locking mechanism which looks to be partialy obstructed with these heavy spring loaded clamp like claws/levers, and it appears as if one person could attempt to pick the lock while other people potentially did specific actions to make that activity easier. I then asked who would attempt to pick the lock and gave each other character a chance to do one action to assist with making it easier. So some used a crowbar to pull the claws back making the lock more accessible with an athletics check. Some tried to oil up the mechanism (dex/investigation check). Some just wanted to study the lock to see if they could decern any details on how to approach it (investigation/arcana). And one just wanted to use guidance. This process I think made it easier to understand without explaining exactly how each action would help or hinder and by how much for difficulty.

Overall this is a really fun module with a bit of everything mixed in. There should be something for everyone. I will likely get the followups to this series and try those out as well.

My Players love this series! They have nicknamed Mareo "Penguin Escobar" and have practically sworn fealty to the Silver Beak Cartel. Kudos to the author!

This popular "heist" adventure creates an exciting and challenging experience for you and your players to enjoy. There are plenty of moments of comedy, opportunities for the DM to roleplay interesting NPCs and a real Mission Impossible moment for your table.

Running the Game. I had no trouble finishing the adventure in the allowed time of 4 hours. Beginning the game on the Rock of Bral is a great starting point for your players, and after a Spelljammer journey, the real adventure begins in Wildspace upon a solitary asteroid. There your players encounter the challenge: complete the heist before the time runs out, don't die and don't get caught. Really, really don't get caught! In the final scene the PCs run for their lives in a hilarious chase sequence (personally the highlight of the adventure).

What's in the Adventure? You can read all about the contents on the adventure page, but I think what's important is that the adventure communicates the setting and the characters (including their roles and motivations) of the adventure very well. You get the chance to understand the plot before you get to the game. There are useful item and rewards handouts, and all the monster stats that you need are included.

Take Home Message. Have fun with this adventure, enjoy the comedy of the Dohwar NPCs, and the excitement of a really engaging heist.

A great adventure!

Pros: The maps and DM guide provided were of great quality, and the module itself is well written and formatted. The difficulty was extremely easy to scale for the party, and my players loved the traps and puzzles. There are jokes and fun puns throughout, and the complications table for the final scene was very creative and silly. The heist itself is straightforward and the flashback Blades in The Dark mechanic circumvents over planning, while giving the players some extra agency to react to the adventure. One of my players described it very aptly as a kind of "heist counter-spell" they each could use. Overall, the module is a fun light-hearted adventure that I'd recommend espicially for new DM's due to how easy it is to run.

Cons One downside is the pacing. We found it was a tad underestimated for the adventure. We completed it in a little over 5 hours, as the initial infiltration has the potential to become a long combat if it goes awry, and the final section adds more timely content after an already big battle and complex series of rooms. The heist compound felt a little empty. Two or three rooms were of interest, but there was little incentive for the players to explore the other areas or things for them to interact with.

Tweaks: To save on time, and avoid the sometimes clunky DMG chase rules, I modified the final scene to make it more akin to a skill challenge. I also added in some hazards to the other rooms of the compound, and a baby space swine piglet to the stables for the players to rescue as a second objective.

I've run this a few times and the players have had a great run each time. Everything seems to be firing on all cylinders in this adventure. Even the chase is fun and they are notoriiously sketchy in 5e.

I would like to call out the Heist Flashback mechanic optional rule on page 7 as a great contribution to the game overall. Every heist should use it. I applied it in the Suncorp's Bounty series and it really improved the experience to help generate a proper heist atmosphere. I handed out heist tokens so they could spend them to trigger their flashbacks. Note, you will probably need to prod your players about this option as they will tend to get locked into the narrative and forget they can think up a flashback.

Similarly, the complex skill test for the vault is in my opinion exactly right for this kind of adventure. Many might be temped to put a puzzle in here for the players to solve, but I find those rarely work as a source of fun D&D play. Whereas the complex skill test embedded in a narrative gives everyone a chance to shine using the character they brought to the table, instead of relying on how good the players are at solving puzzles.

ps. Might be worth publishing the heist mechanic as a stand alone supplement, maybe with a few other heist mechanics, as a way to help people amp up the new Golden Vault book, as it lacks any real heist mechanics and pretty much every adventure in it would be better with the Flashback rule in play.

This adventure was a hit for the players. It managed to score high marks in multiple categories!

The story was fun and engaging, the NPCs were a little silly in a good way. Not just the Dohwar, but even the pirates. We played up to stereotypes in a total fun way. The Dohwar may be one of my new favorite races, makes me wish for a PC race now. I hadn't run into them before now, but just ... they are the right amount of "silly premise, but serious goals." Little penguin men that are still 100% serious about being company men.

The set up was the sort that was unambiguous, the players felt like it was obviously a good mission to take, there was no "Maybe we're the bad guys" moment. The players all talked about how refreshing that was, and how happy they were about that. The enemies felt like good enemies that you didn't mind.

The twist at the end... I may have leaned into it a bit early, but the players were figuring it out before I did. We had fun with the expectation that there was going to be a twist, and yet when it came it was fun because it wasn't exactly how they expected. You set it up perfect for that and they enjoyed it.

This is one of the few times that the players expressed how they liked a trap! Each of the rooms that involved skill checks felt like everyone was involved, there were choices to make but there wasn't a "this is a bad choice, don't do it." Everyone got involved, everyone did something that felt like it progressed the story, and it was written well for it.

We totally played up the flashback mechanism, that was fun to use. Everyone ended up using them up by the end, and silly fun was had.

Will definitely be running the sequel in the future. (and will look forward to you making part 3.)

Excellent adventure with a nice variety. Unfortunately, the group I ran this for had a couple bad rolls when facing the dragon and two players died. If a player is about to die from the dragon's frostbreath perhaps use a cinematic "flashback" and give the players a frost resistance potion.

I ran this for my kids the other day and they had a blast. I'm always a little hesitant to buy player made things because some can be terrible, but this was so worth it and honestly worth a few more dollars than what is being charged. I really played up the mafia accent on the Dohwar and they were totally into it. Good job and I look forward to more of your stuff!

Spoilers: My kids made interesting choices which cheesed a few things, but I appreciated their cleverness. The plasmoid removed his gear and became flat to go under the lasers and the rogue used fey step to get through. For the big boss, the plasmoid charmed it into thinking they were friends (didn't use legendary resistance) while the rogue dumped cakes into his bag of holding.

I ran the entire thing without any problems except for the final chase scene which I elected to skip over, I think some more refinements need to be made there. Other than that, good.

Just finished running this for the first time for 5 players and we all had a great time. Really really fun Mod!

The initial guards give so much opportunity to make it a comedic scene which happened in our game like your typical heist.

The traps got cheesed with step spells but still creative so why not, only had to deal with unlocking the door at the same time.

The trap room was fun and the vault part had a lot of roleplay opportunities.

The time limit for the heist was one hour, so I recommend always subtracting 10min to those doing ritual casting to give a sense of pressure.

The bbeg encounter was a surprise.

The chase scene got cheesed with Dimension Doors lol, still creative so why not.

Again, great mod, lots of ways to do it!

TLDR: Very good adventure, perfectly fills a 4 hour timeslot, probably the best laid out heist AL adventure I've run.

Spoilers for the adventure await below:

Call to Action: The whole introduction is very good. I loved Skid and Gene and the way they finish each other's sentences. The Raft is a cool ship and quite memorable.

Breaking into the vault: This part isn't too complicated, the cloaks of the bat do make it very easy to stealth past the vampirates but that seems to be the point. My only note is to maybe have slightly more dynamic vampirates, in addition to the 2 patrolling, maybe have a couple in more of the rooms that are moving about.

The Traps: This is my favourite part of the adventure, both the laser hallway and boiling trap are very good traps. The laser hallway is a lot of fun and hurts a lot for the players, no comments there. With the boiling trap my players ended up going straight for the door, which I gave a lot of hit points and immunity to fire damage, but they definitely would have been better off solving the puzzle. I did have a single player realize they could duck underwater to avoid the steam and gain fire resistance towards the end of the encounter.

The Vault: Great way to introduce Lunar Dragons. No particular notes, a good dragon fight always makes me happy :)

The Chase: Unfortunately I had to run the adventure on a 3.5 hour timeslot so I had to compress the chase into 2-3 rounds and make the ships much closer, which robbed this of much of its tension, but even still it was very good. The complications provided are very thematic.

Overall an easy 10/10 for this adventure and I would recommend. Looking forward to the next adventure in the series! -Fynn

This is an amazing heist adventure! At one point when I played this adventure, someone hummed the Mission Impossible theme song. And at a different point, someone planned to do a drop down using a rope like Tom Cruise and actually did it. The adventure is wel written and paced. The encounters are fun and thought out so players always have choices in reaching a solution. I would definitely recommend this adventure for anyone who is looking for some adrenaline inducing and action oriented adventure.

The wry humor of Ocean's Eleven meets the action thrills of Mission: Impossible in this must buy Tier 2 Spelljammer adventure. If you like clean, clear prose, vibrant character building, and extra helpings of pop culture references, this is the module for you. Highly recommended.