5E Adventure Review: Hillsfar Reclaimed

I’ve recently been rerunning the Tier 1 Rage of Demons D&D Adventurers League adventures. Hillsfar Reclaimed is the penultimate adventure in the series, and it does an excellent job of setting up the finale, while being an entertaining adventure in its own right.

The adventure sees the characters being sent into Hillsfar by the Harpers. There, they need to discover the identity of spies who have been corrupting the First Lord, and they must also steal a copy of the First Lord’s itinerary. Disguises are in order!

This is an adventure that requires quite a lot from the DM. The DM will have to invent many details about the First Lord’s Tower and the other locations visited, although the adventure gives enough material for the DM to have a starting point. I’ve run it three times now: each time more interesting than the last, because I’ve had more experience with the scenario and a better idea of what to emphasize to make it more engaging.

The adventure references events occurring in the other strand of adventures for this season, particularly those revolving around the fiendish conquest of Maerimydra in the Underdark. For players and DMs who haven’t played the higher-level adventures, some of these references will be hard to understand. Thankfully, this information isn’t needed to play this adventure, but it does put the events in context. I do advise becoming familiar with the Tier 2 adventures before running this one.

As to the play of the adventure: it’s very enjoyable. There’s a lot of potential for role-playing here. Although it’s billed as a two-hour adventure, a group that really enjoys role-playing could spend hours on it (although the DM would need to spend some time creating people for the players to interact with). The adventure needs some massaging from the DM to ensure the characters are in the right place at the right time, but it mostly flows well. There are also clues in the early part of the adventure that allow the players to better anticipate the ending; this is handled very well.

Overall, Hillsfar Reclaimed is a good adventure. Its name may not be very indicative of what happens, but, regardless, this is an excellent scenario. I do advise you immediately follow it with Death on the Wall, so your players finish the storyline while the plot is fresh in their minds.

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