When you first open Welcome to Hellfire Club, you’re greeted by a portrait of Hawkins’ Dungeons & Dragons crew — seven members immortalized together (RIP Eddie Munson) — a deliberate tug on the heartstrings of Stranger Things fans. The photo’s reverse holds a tender note from Eddie to Dustin: a kind of “last will and testament” from “Eddie the Banished.” Eddie always intended to pass Hellfire Club’s leadership to Dustin once he graduated; he simply never expected to fall after staging what can only be called the most metal concert in the multiverse.
Photo: Corey PlanteReleased Oct. 7, Welcome to Hellfire Club is a Wizards of the Coast D&D kit positioned as a coda to Munson’s unfinished Season 4 campaign. Rather than concluding that storyline, it shines as an approachable entry point for Stranger Things fans curious about tabletop role-playing. Experienced players may find the quartet of low-level scenarios most rewarding only if they’re die-hard fans who want to assume the roles of Dustin, Lucas, Mike, Will, or Erica’s characters.
As Eddie himself calls it, the kit is a “secret trove of adventures,” not a literal way to “finish the campaign” depicted on the show. The box doesn’t specify the Hellfire Club characters’ exact levels during Eddie’s showdown with Vecna — Erica mentions her rogue, Lady Applejack, is level 14 — but canonically facing Vecna would require characters at or near the game’s highest tiers.
Image: Wizards of the CoastMechanically, Vecna is a beast: the current 5th edition stat block for “Vecna the Archlich” sits at CR 26, a rating that effectively exceeds D&D’s level cap of 20. By the book, such a creature is balanced against a party far beyond ordinary play, which highlights how the series compresses and amplifies tabletop fiction for dramatic effect — a forgivable liberty given how well the kit functions otherwise.
The package includes a concise Play Guide that orients both Dungeon Masters and newcomers, plus 36 spell cards and 20 magic-item cards. The “On Your Turn” reference is particularly handy: it lists available actions and serves as a quick reminder of the action economy, a practical tool that prevents fumbling through rulebooks during an in-person session.
Image: Wizards of the CoastFor DMs, the kit supplies 30 monster cards. Most are low-powered grunts and NPCs, though a couple sit at CR 5 and one at CR 6. Nearly every monster from the show — aside from Vecna himself — appears here: Corrupted Rats, a shadowy “Shadow” reminiscent of the Mind Flayer’s spidery manifestations, and a flower-faced “Demogorgon Spawn.” Each card includes a monochrome illustration suitable for showing the table; they’re the kind of compact resources I’ll probably squirrel into my primary DM bag.
The set also includes pre-generated level-1 character sheets for the show’s players — Erica’s Rogue, Dustin’s Cleric, Lucas’ Fighter, Mike’s Paladin, and Will’s Wizard. Because these sheets are fully completed, they’re not ideal for long-term progression; many groups will prefer to print blank sheets or craft original characters to evolve across sessions.
The four included adventures mirror the tone and motifs of the show and are presented as trials for prospective Hellfire Club inductees, punctuated by Eddie’s annotations. Greyhawkins is the central locale: the opening scenario sends players into the Dungeon of Shadows to locate a gnome named Flizzlebin and leads into a mirror “Shadow Dungeon,” a clear nod to the Upside Down. Other chapters include cleansing a network of corrupted farm tunnels, “Ballad of the Rat King” (a vermin-heavy mystery of disappearances), and a thunderdome-style finale called the Hellfire Games, hosted by Dardew, Eddie’s music-loving fiendish emcee.
The designers strike a solid balance between fan service and playability. References to the series are present without dominating the game, so the adventures remain enjoyable even for players who haven’t watched the show. Each scenario offers enough variety to sustain a table, with tempting hooks for DMs to expand.
While a high-level vignette that actually completes Eddie’s arc against Vecna would have been a welcome addition, that kind of finale is absent — perhaps lost with Eddie himself.
For groups who adore Stranger Things and want a polished, low-level campaign, Welcome to Hellfire Club delivers. As a DM, I find little to nitpick: the set includes maps, evocative text, and usable stat blocks. Players who prefer more personalization can easily craft original characters that fit the show’s vibe — imagine Eleven as an Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, Max as a Way of the Open Hand Monk, or Eddie as a College of Glamour Bard. With the show entering its final season, there’s no better moment to try to recruit friends to the table — stranger things have happened.
Source: Polygon
