A review copy of “DDAL00-01 Window to the Past” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
Support my work by using affiliate links for shopping and pledging via Patreon.
Designed by: Alan Patrick
I don’t have any personal experience running or playing in Adventurers League modules. I prefer long campaigns with lots of character development, but many players don’t have that luxury, or maybe just want to enjoy some one-offs at a convention, or meet-ups at a local game store. For those reasons and more, the Adventurers League can be a good source of bite-size adventures.
Window to the Past is one such AL-compatible adventure. It features a unique setting and dungeon within the Forgotten Realms, culminating in an epic showdown with an imprisoned evil god.
Window to the Past is primarily designed for Tier 2 parties (average party level 5-10), though it can scale all the way up to Tier 4 with some notable adjustments.
The adventure kicks off in Thay, where an expedition has recently returned with only two survivors, both critically wounded.
The initial adventure hooks for the PCs are weak (your god/faction tells you to go to Thay), but it’s also understandably tricky to whisk PCs to different AL adventures, so I’m giving it a pass. The expedition was sent to scope out a dig site to some Netherese ruins beneath the Glacier of the White Wyrm, and it’s up to the PCs to follow-up and see what the hell happened.
It’s a strong first act, with pages and pages of notes on role-playing the gregarious quest-giving NPC and using various spells and skill checks on the survivors.
Once the PCs are ready, they set out on a simple travel montage without a single encounter. As an AL adventure time is a major factor, and nothing eats up time like combat.
Once the party makes it to the dig site they discover an imposing structure: a dome with an inverted pyramid on top, representing a Netherese laboratory. The structure is almost alien in its design and very intriguing, and the blood-seal to enter is highly thematic.
Unfortunately the dungeon doesn’t have a lot going on in the inside. There’s some combat with wraiths and some Spawn of Kyuss (both optional), but no traps. A lot of exploring identical hallways and possibly looking at books. It’s disappointing given how cool it appears from the outside.
Things come together when we journey to the top, finding a Rod of Security holding back a ritual where a bunch of Spawn of Kyuss seek to free the god Kyuss from an imprisoned cell. You definitely don’t want that to happen – the Aspect of Kyuss is a CR 25 monstrosity. There are neat rules for cracking open the prison cell if the PCs don’t intervene fast enough, creating a deliciously tense final battle.
As an AL adventure, Window to the Past is particularly welcoming to new DMs, with tons of advice, lore, and tips on running the adventure. The first five pages are dedicated to DM advice, while the numerous appendices provide NPC summaries and stat blocks, full color gird maps, and detail the final battle tactics and regional effects.
Pros:
- Official Adventurers League module.
- Full color grid maps.
- Helpful DM notes and appendices for running the adventure (and DM-ing in general).
- Epic final battle.
- Scales up to Tier 4.
Cons:
- Almost no art.
- Dungeon is large but samey and sparse.
The Verdict: The Worm That Walks returns in an epic and memorable showdown in AL adventure Window to the Past.
A review copy of “DDAL00-01 Window to the Past” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
Support my work by using affiliate links for shopping and pledging via Patreon.
RogueWatson 