I have read through this and enjoyed it very much. I am also about to run 2 groups through the entire thing but i have to say that this is actually a pretty decent begiiner adventure 1-3 that allows both the dm and players to have a little fun, learn about each other and some things that you can do. All to often players tend to forget some of the things they can do on a turn and this gives the players the knowledge and the ability to put them all into action.

There is so much room for roleplay also and to act a bit silly and remember what it was like being in college. You can do as little or as much as you like you can take as long as you really want to or blast through it quickly if you prefer, its all about what the dm and players get out of it.

Unlike the Death house or goblin ambush (Lost Mine) parts that should take you up to at least level 2 this start the players will not really ever die and you will never have the chance of a tpk (which is possible in either of the others). There is enough to challenge the players and make it tough for them without letting them just breeze through like its a cake walk.

The Academy also allows the players to bond together and give them a reason for being in a party. The players can get to know each other both as players and the characters that they are playing, it develops the bond that seems to be missing too often.

I would highly reccomend running this for new players and maybe even for those who have played just to remind them of things that they may have forgotten over the years.

What I like about this introductory "training scenario" "holodeck" adventure is that it's got a brilliant little twist at the end that ties it into the "Doomed Forgotten Realms" setting, or you can just not include the twist and use it at face value as a kind of level 1 getting-to-know-your-character adventuring academy set-up. Very cool, either way.

This and its subsequent Doomed Forgotten Realms adventures hooked me back into D&D. That is the best review I can give.

I ran it with a group, some of whom were fairly new players. It really makes it easy to learn for a newbie - each section has some new rules that you can cover in and out of character, an optional side quest, and a "semester final" that put those rules into practice. Even some of the experienced players learned something!

The supporting material is very easy to use. As a new 5e DM, it gave me everything I needed to have fun with the various NPCs interacting with my players. My players loved the "foreign exchange students" and appropriately hated the bullies. There is also enough additional material to keep going if your players are having fun and want to stay in school for a long while. I think you could burn through it pretty quickly in just a few sessions if you prefer.

Your players will probably find it quite easy. I think that is a good thing for a learning module to give them room to make mistakes as well as build their confidence as players. If you have more than four characters though, you might want to scale up the challenge a bit.

The Doomed Forgotten Realms ending was perfect for my group. They were habituated to slaying monsters at that point, and were horrified as I transitioned them to The Rise of Vecna. Apparently they talked about that for weeks at work!

Been running this as a campaign since Dec 20121, my players have really enjoyed the Academy & being taught "HOW" to adventure, working on teamwork and interactioning with other groups. As the DM, I had to do some Roll 20 & D&D Beyond prep, but everything was very well laid out and this book had almost everything that a DM would need to run this. After a short 2 week break, they have graduated and moved on to Rise of Vecna where they are ready for the challenges of this new world!

Pros:

• The group's roleplaying - Normally minor things like food, rooms, hobbies and other such things tend to get lost in the background of everyday RPing. The Academy almost encourged the players to test out their hobbies, interact with people normally outside their everyday interactions (places/people such as the zoo and arboretum). One of the biggest places my players used was the Dining Hall, they used their cooking/baking skills and had competitions against each other and other groups.
• Interaction with each other and other groups during the tests.
• Showing players that there are many ways to accomplish things instead of just bulling ahead through everything.

Cons:

• Had to generate more things for the players to research (use the library), to practice (Alchemy Lab, Training Grounds). [I had them reseach things about their history, like towns, people, magic items, etc]
• Had to flesh out the lesser used parts of the Academy like Classrooms, the Dining Hall and the Alchemy Lab. [maybe adding a map of the layouts would help]

Overall this is a great adventure, and while I changed some things to fit what I as a DM wanted to see, for probably 90% I ran it just the way it was laid out. Great job to everyone that worked on this, the final product is well worth the cost & time spent playing it!

Academy of Adventure—the school you wish you'd gone to! This comprehensive module is both learning experience and adventure all nicely rolled into one. Perfect for newer players or DMs to get the mechanics down in preparation for launching into a big campaign. Artwork & layout is gorgeous. Can't wait for the release of the follow-up adventure!