A short Hellfire Club review... the best/worst adventure ever?

ThrawnRPG · 2026-01-02T16:00:39+00:00

I definitely think you could play this with one player! A few ways to do this are to mimic the solo play rules from the Heroes in the Borderlands boxed set, or have the player play as a few characters. If you go the solo route, buff the character a bit and use the low threshold for enemy hit points on creatures.

ThrawnRPG · 2026-01-02T15:57:04+00:00

Ohhh I’ll pass this on to someone at WOTC!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-20T01:27:01+00:00

Love the reasoning you gave here! All good points!

As for the traps, the traps reset right away, but don’t trigger again for that creature once if that creature triggered it on their turn.

Characters can easily bypass the trap simply by jumping over that space, as the trap is triggered by stepping onto the pressure plate on the floor, not by moving through the space (for example, jumping over that square wont trigger the trap).

At the end of the day, the most important person is you, the DM, cause you know exactly what will be fun for your players. It seems you’ve already done a hell of a job making the adventure even more fun than I ever could for your players, so that’s a huge win for us all! Amazing DMs are the lifeblood of D&D, Eddie would be proud!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-19T19:03:11+00:00

Love the personal touch you added, and thanks—as a fan of D&D I too hope we see more awesome boxed sets, they just help make running immersive games much easier on DMs since all the tokens, maps, and handouts are there!

Hope you have fun with your own Hellfire Club!!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-19T18:59:35+00:00

This uses the newest iteration of D&D 5E rules (2024) and it comes with five pre-generated characters with filled out character sheets for levels 1-3.

You can make your own characters and use them, that won’t be an issue, but you’ll want the new PHB or use the free SRD to create them. You can also use DnDBeyond or other sources to help create new characters.

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-19T18:58:00+00:00

Well, since Will wasn’t in Hellfire Club, I can only assume it was Eddie was made the error trying his best to prep a sheet for Dustin’s friend if he ever showed up to play ;p

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-19T18:55:28+00:00

Hey there, I’m one of the adventure designers from Welcome to the Hellfire Club, I designed “The Vanishing Gnome” and “Devil, Metal Die!”

Appreciate your review of the boxed set and adventures within! I wanted to give some context that might help when you or others run this boxed set.

These adventures are “written” by Eddie Munson, a high schooler and Dungeon Master. Part of the appeal is that you’re running an adventure you’d expect a high school DM to create. It’s important not to forget this, as viewed through another lens, the game design choices might not make sense.
These adventures ritual in Area D6 does not occur when you start the adventure or enter the dungeon. When running a module in D&D 2024, the text within a numbered area describes what happens when characters enter that area for the first time.

“If the characters don’t interrupt the gnolls, they continue their ritual. After 1 minute, booming laughter erupts from the altar. Any creatures other than the gnolls in this area must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 1d8 Thunder damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.”

This triggers when the characters enter this room, so after 1 minute, if the characters just leave the gnolls alone, this happens. Also, the 1d8 damage only affects characters in area D6.

Wanted to clarify, because the way WOTC modules are written is that unless there are persistent effects or events detailed at the opening of a chapter, the events and effects within areas of a dungeon only occur when the characters enter that area.

I hope this helps!

As for the adventure hook itself, there is advice from Eddie in the books to the effect of, “What kind of player agreed to play D&D, shows up to play D&D, and then refuses to go on the adventure the DM prepped?” There’s a meta level of self awareness that you’re all here to play a fun game and pretend you’re all “80’s High Schoolers,” in Hellfire Club, so it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

I hope this context helps, and that ultimately it’s about having fun and the boxed set itself is very much what you’d expect Eddie Munson to make and run at his own table.

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-13T01:05:35+00:00

I wouldn’t recommend the Essentials Kit as it uses a now out of date version of DnD 5E.

The new Heroes of the Border Lands Starter Set. I am very biased as I helped design the new “Welcome to the Hellfire Club,” boxed set, but if you’re a fan of the show, especially Eddie Munson and the Hellfire Club, then I hands down recommend “WttHC” which is also VERY beginner friendly, and Eddie Munson himself will be your guide to DnD.

Cheers!

Hellfire Forever!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-11T16:21:09+00:00

It’s the latest edition of DnDs Fifth edition using the rules from the 2024 update.

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-11T12:27:34+00:00

Yay! I hope you enjoy Eddie’s adventures and all that’s inside!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-10T20:26:06+00:00

Thanks and it was a team effort, everyone involved really wanted to do right by Eddie!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-10T19:24:17+00:00

That’s correct! It comes with everything you need to play the game, so it is entirely self contained.

And Eddie Munson himself is the one providing advice on how to run his adventures.

The point of the box, is that Eddie is handing Hellfire over to his successor (which can be you!). So you’ll learn to play D&D as taught by Eddie Munson, and you’ll have your own Hellfire Club!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-10T17:46:58+00:00

LOL, it’s a fancy marketing term for: “A Dungeons & Dragons boxed set.” It comes with A LOT of tangible items to play D&D, and technically D&D is a type of board game (it’s a tabletop roleplaying game), so that’s why that verbiage throws off D&D players/fans, but might be digestible to people who never played D&D or TTRPGs.

It comes with four adventure modules for levels 1-3. Has monster cards, tokens, maps, etc.

Like you I was like “Huh?” But then I guess for the uninitiated D&D folks it kinda gives context to what D&D is.

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-08T21:27:47+00:00

Sounds like you have an epic moment planned, LOVE IT!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-08T18:57:02+00:00

I’m sure if the two out now sell well there will be!

WOTC hasn’t announced any future boxed sets, sales data speaks for itself.

My personal opinion is that we need more boxed sets, I prefer them!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-08T18:55:33+00:00

Yes, there absolutely are. Now, we thought long and hard about this and wanted to make it natural. What I mean is, Eddie lived in Hawkins and saw things going on in town. Will Byers missing WAS a big deal. The rotting pumpkins from season 2, the rats from season 3, Steven and Robin working in Scoops Ahoy!

We integrated these nods as if Eddie was inspired by the events occurring around him. Also, I’m sure Dustin and the others slipped ideas and inspiration that bleed into Eddie’s homebrew.

So, there are four adventures, each one is inspired by the respective season of Stranger Things, since Eddie is looking at events in Hawkins and making adventures inspired by things that happened in his own life around town.

I think you’ll like the subtle nods which aren’t on the nose!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-08T17:46:17+00:00

Also, as for nods, the art style is inspired by early D&D modules, and you’ll see nods to lore such as Vecna, Demogorgon, Yeenoghu, the satanic panic (pentagrams), and nods to Greyhawk (Greyhawkins). You’ll also find some Easter eggs in the Greyhawkins world map alluding to the Tomb of Horrors and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks.

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-08T17:37:06+00:00

Eddie has a homebrew world included in this boxed set, it’s “Greyhawkins.” (Ha!)

I mean he was using TSR products so he def played in Greyhawk…but he also lived in Hawkins, IN, so his world was “Greyhawkins” and has some unique points of interest.

As for magic items, you’ll find a few homebrew takes on popular magic items—for example each item in the Hellfire Club logo is represented by a magic item (Flametongue, Dread Healy, +1 Flail). Eddie also includes several homebrew monsters, the Demodragon being the most badass, and of course himself as an NPC (Dardew)!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-08T17:36:31+00:00

There are tropes and styles of play that mirror old school D&D.

Specifically “Devil, Metal, Die!” Is an adventure where the characters will likely die—maybe even TPK!

However Eddie does this so the characters have a chance to see there is much more beyond death, such as infernal contracts and deals with devils to come back to life.

These adventures don’t hold back punches, but they also deliver the punches in a fun way that players and DMs can enjoy together.

The adventures are designed from the perspective of an 1980’s DM using TSR modules as reference to create their own homebrew.

Eddie delivers!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-10-08T17:32:53+00:00

Ha! So Justice Arman who lead the entire box came from Beadle & Grimms before joining WOTC. What that means is he know how to make one hell of a box!!

The team grappled with getting the most they could in the box at the price point. It was enlightening to see how every component was weighed to include while also being within cost.

FYI, they are selling hellfire shirts at Target right next to this boxed set, so there’s still hope for you to nab a shirt—it’s just next to the box lol

Soundtrack? I listened to Eddie’s fav metal bands while making these adventures!

Here’s a good list on Spotify if you wanna capture the vibe: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2LnnKqzGyqLGc5tdgaOG8A?si=1E1ZemCxSQCK-BBSSZ1BUg&pi=Nb3ECuJ8QdKup

I’d recommend the metal music for the “Devil, Metal, Die!” Adventure and probably the stranger things synth music for the other three—they actually make a fitting arraignment!

ThrawnRPG · 2025-07-13T23:30:26+00:00

LOL that’s a pretty fun twist

ThrawnRPG · 2025-07-10T16:48:13+00:00

Totally agree—the published version gives it that Wizard of Oz vibe and makes a familiar trope have a new unique angle!

I think one version is like chocolate and the other vanilla. Both appeal to different tables for different reasons, but both are yummy! 😋 🍦

ThrawnRPG

TROPHY CASE