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The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

Pass through the silvery mist and into the Feywild—a place of wonder and whimsy ruled by unfettered emotion. With strange customs, fantastical creatures, uncanny bends in time and space, and colorful characters as capricious as they are charming—in the Plane of Faerie, you should expect the unexpected. The first official Dungeons & Dragons adventure to be set primarily in the Feywild—The Wild Beyond the Witchlight is an enchanting, frolicsome adventure for characters levels 1–8.

Authors: Chris Perkins, Stacey Allan, Will Doyle, Ari Levitch

Game System

Dungeons & Dragons 5e

Release Date

9/21/2021

Themes

Imaginative
Supernatural
Fantasy
Mystery

Details

4-6 Players
40-50 Hours
15-20 Sessions
Levels 1-8
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight Reviews (14)

See what other Game Masters and players are saying about The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

SG Winter avatar

SG Winter

New review

Ran 57 sessions

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight is probably the most whimsical D&D module out there. From the starting carnival to the many regions of Prismeer, the Feywild domain where most of the story takes place, the world, monsters, and NPCs are all bursting with creativity and interesting flavor. Each region has its own theme, and I am especially impressed with how well everything in each region stays on-brand and makes it feel like its own little world. As a DM, my favorite part of this story is how subtly and believably the story shifts. You start with one of two plot hooks—searching for something you lost at a carnival or helping out a warlock friend—and dive into Prismeer to follow that thread, but as time goes on you realize that something is seriously wrong with this world. When the party inevitably decides to set things right, it always feels like their idea rather than something the plot forced on them. That's hard to pull off in a module, and Witchlight accomplishes it beautifully. If you're looking for a fun, lighthearted adventure full of fairytale whimsy, look no further! It's said that you can play this entire game without swinging a sword, and that is absolutely true—though it may take a bit of extra finesse at some points. There are also a lot of references to classic fairy tales sprinkled throughout the book and it's always fun to see players pick up on those. I would recommend this adventure to new DMs looking to get their feet wet, D&D veterans looking for a new kind of game, and anyone who loves fairy tales and fey. Pros: ⟢ The world is beautiful. The maps are stunning and the written descriptions vivid. ⟢ Every region feels unique, so when your players travel, it really feels like they're traveling someplace new. ⟢ The villains are truly fairy-tale evil. If you want to learn how to DM a hag, study this book! They're delightfully chilling. ⟢ The more your players engage with the world, the more they get to make the story their own. It isn't a sandbox, but it doesn't feel like a railroad, either. ⟢ As a DM, you can pretty much run this adventure as-is without spending a lot of time on prep work. ⟢ The grand finale truly feels grand! Your players will walk away knowing they have accomplished something great. Cons: ⟢ While the maps are beautiful, there aren't many of them. Battle map supplements from the Dungeon Masters Guild are a must unless you make your own. ⟢ Each region has points on the map that look like they should mean something, but there's no reference to them anywhere in the text. If your players say, "What are those floating islands?" you'd better be prepared to make up an answer. You can buy supplementary adventures for these places, but that's more money from your pocket. ⟢ A couple of quests have weak plot hooks that you'll definitely want to improve before you run them for your players. ⟢ There is one fey court here, and it's very silly. However, I've had players take this as an opportunity to create their own court, which was a ton of fun. Your mileage may vary. ⟢ Hack-and-slash players may not enjoy the whimsical nature of this story. Make sure your players are on board before diving in!

Copperheade (Robert) avatar

Copperheade (Robert)

New review

Ran 29 sessions

What a delightful module this is. I love how it can be run as a whimsical fairy tale or a more gritty, grim adventure or anywhere in between. It can be as combat light or heavy as your table wants it to be. The NPCs can be as charming or as dastardly as you like and I really love the roleplaying cards appendix. My players absolutely loved the NPCs and were fully prepared to kill for the ones they liked or absolutely destroy the ones they hated. There are quite a few extra things for the GM to track in this adventure, but the provided story tracker helps quite a bit. The hooks are great, but may need some reinforcement as the campaign goes on and the player characters start achieving their individual goals. Fortunately, this is rather easy if you get your players invested in the NPCs whether they love or hate them. If you want a change of pace from a typical fantasy world adventure, the Feywild is a great place to do that. There are no major cities where you can find taverns and shops which makes for a very different feel for the campaign.

Sergio  avatar

Sergio

New review

Wild Beyond the Witchlight can be a near-perfect D&D adventure– for the right group. The core story is a quest to recover "lost things" at a magic carnival. These can be as creative as one's height or as simple as a cherished childhood toy. The party soon learns that there's a whole fae conspiracy afoot and beings a topsy-turvy journey to unravel it all. How much the "lost thing" angle appeals to you is a good indicator of how you will enjoy Witchlight. If the notion gets your creative juices flowing with backstory ideas and RP potential, then you'll likely love what the story has in store. If you see the premise as something to do until you get to the fighting and looting, you shouldn't play this campaign. Combat is very much not a priority while roleplay is heavily rewarded. Witchlight also has a shorter length than most other campaigns. This is great for groups that have scheduling issues as it makes it more likely you'll finish. I found my runs to be extremely fun, funny, and truly emotional with some late-game reveals. Combat enthusiasts will be better served with something else, however.

DM Emi avatar

DM Emi

New review

Absolutely chock-full of fun and whimsy, with more guidance provided for the DM than the average WotC module! Really great for groups that enjoy roleplay, exploration, and nonviolent conflict resolution; not a good fit for groups that are combat-focused. Very beginner-friendly for both DMs and players. As with many modules, I think Witchlight can really benefit from some fleshing out, to make the world feel a little more lived-in and sandboxy, instead of just a very linear adventure. There are lots of great third-party published and community expansions for this purpose. But watch out—having so much room for roleplay means that parties may progress *very* slowly through the adventure. My first Witchlight group spent more than six (6) real-life months at the carnival, thus more than six real-life months at level 1! All in all, a module I thoroughly enjoy DMing.

Jacob Y. avatar

Jacob Y.

New review

I absolutely adored playing through the Wild Beyond the Witchlight. My personal experience was full of fun RP and tons of Fae deal, and a good portion of getting in over our heads with Hags! Highly recommend it for a group that wants something unique and full of puzzles and options to play a campaign to never draw a weapon.

Celticdenefew avatar

Celticdenefew

New review

Ran 50 sessions

This is one of my favorite adventures by WotC and it kickstarted a fun Adventurer's League season as well! I love that there are built in options to avoid combat - although some of them are more difficult than just fighting, paired with some combats which really *should* be avoided. So if you just want hack & slash D&D, this isn't for you. I ran this with AL rules the first time, so I had to stick to the book as written. For the most part that was great, but I do really want to run it again without restrictions so I can really lean more into the Feywild flavor and flesh out some of the storylines I think need more time at the table. Advice for DMs: run the Prelude!! It really helps bring the story together and help folks choose/build their characters. Lean into the weird and whimsy, don't try to logic your way through the Feywild. Advice for Players: If you find yourself wanting to talk your way out of combat or initiating wild, plot relevant shenanigans - this is the module for you! Also, don't fast forward your way through the Carnival. Enjoy it! Play the games, it might help you later ;)

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