What do you consider substance, in this case?
(Epic Writing Director for LFR)
I'm looking for as much original and usable Epic content as possible, things I could lift into my own campaign or reskin readily, which range from Epic material that was previously unusable (anything from MM1-2, Draconomicon, Open Dead, Elder Evils conversions, etc) to completely new (more Epic skill challenges, new artifacts and magic items, generally new and interesting locations, and untouched Epic and specifically 4th Edition design space such as Primal Spirits, Primordials, Far Realm entities, and the Feywild and Shadowfell). There is so much yet to explore, particularly in high-level play, that never was really much more than scratched.
The Court of the Dark Prince in last month's Dungeon was a great concept, but didn't hold very much for me in the way of new or usable material. I liked Iggwilv's boon, that was something new and interesting, and the Roleplaying Encounters were well-set, but so much was glanced over that I think would have made this adventure into a true Epic staple, something Epic DMs could refer to as a rare example and resource.
For instance, Graz'zt was not redesigned as any particular challenge for a modern level 24 party (despite being labeled 32 solo), even with added elite support, unlike the wonderful job LFR did with a redesigned Oublivae in the E series. The set pieces of the fight could have used substantial work, more terrain types, diseases, and traps for starters. And the stat blocks I wanted most were missing, namely Iggwilv, Cerulae (I'd love a high-level archangel to use as a future template for my own angels, which I don't believe Galewing at the end adequately covers), and Augillianast (an updated gold dragon solo stat block would also be VERY welcome).
I admit it would have been too much to hope for Kord's stats here, but wow what I pleasant surprise that would have been, and allowed the adventure to turn, even, into a double-cross should the oh-so-seductive Graz'zt defeat the party and make a deal to kill the god in exchange for their souls. That touches again upon the problem of linearity in many 4e adventures, and how, for the price of a few more pages in an adventure, providing us with extra things like stats, terrain, diseases, and traps empowers a DM to extend adventures organically, creatively, and with confidence.
Too many of the enemies in this adventure were recycled from past Epic supplements, also reducing the value to me. There was again such opportunity to enter into incubus variants and various Graz'zt minions, but instead we got old hat drow, mist hags, a yuan'ti malison, which I don't believe even strike the correct thematic chord. Reskin, sure, but I want more mechanical bases to reskin and a few new monsters would have been appreciated- particularly challenging ones, too, considering we enter the palace of a demon prince. I'll always remember Sly Flourish's advise which, in my experience, continues to ring true: Be fair in Heroic, Be challenging in Paragon, Be a straight bastard in Epic. We need more mean Epic monsters, even broaching or meeting Fourthcore standards, because not even one or two deaths is entirely an issue for many level 24 characters due to their destinies.
I am also always in need of high resolution maps, and this adventure has such potential to create Grazzt's realm. Instead it seems as if they threw together a few generic maps in Dunjinni, upped the contrast, distorted the color balance, and called it a day. Imagine what some of the cartographers we've seen in the magazine could have done with this opportunity...
