The Best & Worst Modules from Adventures League Seasons 1 to 3

Play reviews of 30 modules from Tyranny of Dragons, Elemental Evil, and Rage of Demons, plus a few from later seasons, plus a few more AL modules.

Contents

1. An overview of my history with 5th edition and Adventurers League

2. Listing all of the 45 Expedition-length modules from the first three seasons, my ratings of the 30 I ran or played in, and a few words about each

3. Sorting the modules into Best and Worst

4. Concluding thoughts about why I left Adventurers League and about organized play in general

The Zhentarim faction banner. Faction banners were given a more modernist design than in-world symbols from earlier editions.

5th Edition, 2014 - 2016

In 2014 I dove into the new 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. I began running the Starter Set adventure “Lost Mine of Phandelver” when it was the only 5th edition product available, before the Player’s Handbook was sold. Before that was finished, I started running the Hoard of the Dragon Queen, the first hardback adventure, as an Adventures League (AL) game when AL had just gone official as Wizards of the the Coast’s organized play program for the new edition. I played two out of the three first AL modules at Queens City Conquest, a convention in Buffalo, NY toward the end of 2014.

I met the Northeast regional coordinator of Adventures League there and we spoke about the need for local coordinators so I applied and became the local AL coordinator for my metropolitan area, promoting AL and coordinating with the main gaming shop in the area at the time. Between 2014 and 2016 I ran at least one AL module each week at a store for a mix of friends and strangers during many periods, alongside the longer 5th edition campaigns I ran.

I’ve since moved on from 5th edition for the most part and in the meantime 5th edition and AL have evolved. But I sometimes get curious about trends in D&D design outside of my usual tastes and I don’t find useful overviews of new AL modules. This is my attempt to provide that for the seasons I’m familiar with.

Rating System

1/5 - very little to offer; avoid

2/5 - mediocre, linear, whatever it does well is done far better by other adventures; avoid

3/5 - passable if you just need an adventure, may have a couple decent NPCs or tricks but not many; still avoid unless you really like the concept and want to put in some work to spice it up; alternatively, scrap it for parts

4/5 - some real positive qualities; recommend if it sounds interesting

5/5 - really fun and original; highly recommend to just about anyone

These modules, originally called Expeditions, are all designed to take between 2 and 8 hours to play. Most are Tier 1 (levels 1-4) and 2 (5-10). A few in the 3rd season are Tier 3 (11-16). My ratings are of course my own opinions. All are available on Dungeon Masters Guild.

The Harper’s faction symbol. Faction folders with stickers and other paraphernalia were distributed to stores in 2014. I was excited about the possibilities of AL factions at first but implementation was underwhelming to say the least. Factions didn’t have consistent ideologies across adventures and gaining ranks in factions meant little.

Tyranny of Dragons

1. Defiance in Phlan - 4/5 (5 mini-adventures, 2 are good, 3 are just OK)

2. Secrets of Sokol Keep - 2/5 (uneventful linear dungeon crawl)

3. Shadows over the Moonsea 2/5 (popular theme but I felt it followed-through poorly and was disappointing)

4. Dues for the Dead - 3/5 (mediocre dungeon crawl, a couple of interesting chambers, not 100% linear)

5. The Courting of Fire - 3/5 (mediocre dungeon crawl, a couple of OK traps)

6. The Scroll Thief - 3.5/5 (liked by some players for theme, disliked by others for lack of player agency, redeemed somewhat by fun final battle with lair actions)

7. Drums in the Marsh (the only one I didn’t run or play in)

8. Tales Trees Tell - 1/5 (I wanted to like it due to fey theme but zero meaningful player agency and the tropes were underdeveloped; a series of things that happen to the player characters)

9. Outlaws of the Iron Route - 4.5/5 (factions, fantastic isometric map, great tension throughout, the final section is an incredibly volatile situation)

10. Tyranny in Phlan - 1/5 (very underwhelming; villainy you can’t meaningfully interact with)

11. Dark Pyramid of Sorcerers Isle - 3/5 (mediocre dungeon crawl)

12. Raiders of the Twilight Marsh - 3/5 (OK dungeon crawl)

13. Pool of Radiance Resurgent - 3.5/5 (promising design with schedule of what happens if the PCs do nothing; I found the NPCs and overall result a bit boring, the DM could spice it up without too many changes)

14. Escape from Phlan - 2/5 (very underwhelming; events you can’t meaningfully interact with)

Elemental Evil

1. City of Danger - 4/5 (5 mini-adventures, I liked the puzzle one the best, the others were fine, especially given their brevity)

2. Embers of Elmwood - 2.5/5 (felt a bit repetitive after City of Danger and generally mediocre, the mansion section provided a decent environment)

3. The Drowned Tower (didn’t run or play in)

4. Mayhem in the Earthspur Mines - 4/5 (great player handouts, best small dungeon map with interactivity, hampered a bit by repetitive monsters)

5. Flames of Kythorn - 2/5 (linear trail of clues)

6. Breath of the Yellow Rose - 4/5 (fun Mulmaster businesses and NPCs make for a more entertaining trail of clues than usual)

7. Bounty in the Bog - 2.5/5 (mediocre and linear)

8. Foulness Beneath Mulmaster - 2/5 (linear slog)

9. Eye of the Tempest - 3.5/5 (interesting environment, more player agency than in many of these, would benefit greatly from DM work to spice it up)

10. Cloaks and Shadows - 5/5 (fantastic fun, multiple paths, great and unusual interactivity, some of the best handouts and maps; I’ve run it 2-3 times and played in it once; one of my favorite adventures of all time)

11. Oubliette of Fort Iron - 3/5 (interesting but linear “cave”, at least its unusual and memorable, challenges are just OK)

12. Dark Rites of Fort Dalton - 3/5 (fights in a slightly more interest environment than usual, player options in the aftermath epilogue are interesting)

13. Howling Void (didn’t run or play in)

14. The Sword of Selfaril (played in, don’t remember)

15. Black Heart of Vengeance (didn’t run or play in)

16. Boltsmelter’s Book - 2/5 (underwhelming)

Rage of Demons

1. Harried in Hillsfar - 3/5 (5 mini-adventures, none really stand out like in a few in the previous 2 season openers, OK)

2. Shackles of Blood (didn’t run or play in)

3. Occupation of Szith Morcane - 2.5/5 (a little too empty, and the encounter that seemed like it should have been most challenging was a cakewalk for Tier 3 PCs)

4. Its All in the Blood (didn’t run or play in)

5. Bane of the Tradeways - 3.5/5 (multiple paths, moral choices, better than average)

6. No Foolish Matter - 4.5/5 (entertaining day at the carnival, humorous and creepy, executes on its themes well)

7. Herald of the Moon (may have played in or run, don’t recall)

8. The Malady of Elventree (may have played in or run, don’t recall)

9. The Waydown (didn’t run or play in)

10. Quelling of the Horde - 2.5/5 (a DM could put in a fair amount of work to make it more worthwhile but many adventures from D&D history do the same things far better out of the box)

11. The Quest for Sporedome (didn’t run or play in)

12. Hillsfar Reclaimed (didn’t run or play in)

13. Writhing in the Dark (didn’t run or play in)

14. Death on the Wall (didn’t run or play in)

15. Szith Morcane Unbound (didn’t run or play in)

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The Order of the Gauntlet banner

The Best of Seasons 1-3

1. Cloaks & Shadows by Will Doyle - 5/5

2. Outlaws of the Iron Route by Will Doyle - 4.5/5

3. No Foolish Matter by Ash Law - 4.5/5

4. Mayhem in the Earthspur Mines by Will Doyle - 4/5

5. Breath of the Yellow Rose by Greg Marks - 4/5

6. City of Danger by Shawn Merwin - 4/5

7. Defiance in Phlan by Shawn Merwin - 4/5

8. Eye of the Tempest by Pieter Sleijpen - 3.5/5

9. The Scroll Thief by Daniel Helmick - 3.5/5

10. Pool of Radiance Resurgent by Chris Tulach - 3.5/5

11. Bane of the Tradeways by Robert Alaniz - 3.5/5

The Worst of Seasons 1-3

1. Tyranny in Phlan - 1/5

2. Tales Trees Tell - 1/5

3. Escape from Phlan - 2/5

4. Secrets of Sokol Keep - 2/5

5. Shadows over the Moonsea - 2/5

6. Foulness Beneath Mulmaster - 2/5

7. Flames of Kythorn - 2/5

8. Boltsmelter’s Book - 2/5

Bonus: Storm King’s Thunder

I’ve only run the first two modules from the Storm King’s Thunder season of AL:

• Treasure of the Broken Hoard by Shawn Merwin - 4/5 (5 mini-adventures, creative twists on the familiar, the group I ran it for was entertained as was I!)

• The Black Road by Paige Leitman & Ben Heisler - 4/5 (solid 2 to 3-hour caravan guard adventure)

• Uninvited Guests - 4/5

• Giant Diplomacy - 4/5

• Bad Business in Parnast - 2/5 (mystery)

• Parnast Under Siege by Robert Adducci - 4/5

The Black Road, Uninvited Guests, Giant Diplomacy, Bad Business in Parnast, and Parnast Under Siege are linked scenarios. Two other AL modules are a part of the story but are barely linked and after reading them I decided to skip them.

Bonus: Miscellaneous Adventures League modules

I’ve also run these Adventurers League-legal modules:

• Rats of Waterdeep by Lysa Chen & Will Doyle - 4/5 (great handouts, clever puzzles, and a few other entertaining elements but the design and specifics weren’t too exciting at the end of the day; one of the few times I disagree with Bryce Lynch’s review)

• Blue Alley by M.T. Black & Alan Patrick - 5/5 (fun puzzles, traps, rooms, and jokes, a less linear dungeon than in most one shot dungeon crawls)

• Pudding Faire by Will Doyle, Cindy Moore & Shawn Merwin - 5/5

Conclusions

Will Doyle and Shawn Merwin have the most 5/5 and 4/5 AL modules and are the standout designers of seasons 1 to 3.

A few more AL modules are on my bucket list, including one from the Curse of Strahd season that tenfootpole has given the esteemed rating of “The Best.” I wouldn’t mind trying a few of the ENNIE gold and silver award-winning AL modules from 2022 and 2023 (in the Best Organized Play category). Plus I’ll play almost anything written by Will Doyle and I’d like to try more M.T. Black adventures.

The Lords’ Alliance banner

Reflections on Adventures League

I ran more published modules in those 3 years than in any previous year. As a result, I learned a great deal about what I like and don’t like in adventures, what I need as a DM at the table, and what players respond to.

When Adventurers League revamped around late 2016/2017 with the launch of DMsGuild, they started requiring local stores to buy the AL modules, whereas previously they were provided to the stores for free and the stores would distribute them to volunteer DMs. The local store I was coordinating with was unwilling to buy them. AL also made many changes and seemed to expect the Local Coordinators, all volunteers, to keep up with constant meetings, reports, and announcements of more changes. I already felt a few of the Regional Coordinators (not mine thankfully) were mean to volunteer LCs who asked questions or voiced opinions. It reminded me of power tripping camp councilors or high school seniors.

I didn’t sense most of the local players cared about sticking with AL and I had grown tired of the restrictions it placed on play, which felt arbitrary and impractical at times. Also, the AL administrators dug their heels in on certain issues. For instance, when it was recognized that Rise of Tiamat PCs couldn’t rise to the level necessary to finish the module using AL leveling rules, they did nothing to fix it, despite some obvious options. Other coordinators may have felt differently about that period but it left a bad taste in my mouth as a volunteer and I was becoming busier at the time.

Reading up on it seven years later, it seems like AL has made a few improvements to its rules. In my experience, many AL groups only use half of AL’s rules anyway. Players don’t keep the log sheets they are supposed to (maybe because they don’t plan on playing their character in multiple games or in multiple venues) and DMs let players create characters at the level of whatever they’re running that day, rather than the levels AL allows new characters to be (1st and 5th). I’m not complaining.

Even with improvements, I’m not convinced AL is more than a way to brand a game as somehow more official, for people who feel like that makes a difference. Its a way for a store to say they run the official Wizards of the Coast organized play program, instead of a random DM’s game. Maybe it brings some more players to play in stores on the days AL is run than if the store calendar says, “D&D Day” or “TTRPG Day.” But in reality, AL games are still run by random DMs. It just restricts them in what modules they can run and in how they run them. Some AL DMs are good. Some are mediocre. Just like any DM. Some follow AL rules. Others don’t. The number of modules legal for AL play is massive today and I’m not sure it means much in terms of quality to say a module is AL legal.

Goodman Games has just launched a 5th edition organized play program through the Road Crew starting with Castle Whiterock and I’m curious to see how it goes. They say they want to give judges more freedom than they have in other organized play programs, which I think is great.

Organized play should be about what it says on the tin: organizing play. If more people play more often because a company is actively organizing players into games, then I think its successful.

The next post should be part 2 of my RAW OSE play through of B1 In Search of the Unknown.