City of the Spider Queen.

[Whisper72]

Also, there is a web-enhancement for CotSQ as well as two web enhancements for Underdark on the WOTC website, might take a look at those as well...

 

[diaglo]

There's an adventure designed to be "stuck in the middle" of CoTSQ in Dungeon. I don't remember the issue number, but it was a side trek into a mind flayer prison.

--Eric

well crap... if you read the story hour in my sig. you will see we are about to enter that prison.

i didn't realize there was one specifically for CotSQ. and that this is it.

now the pic the DM showed me last session makes even more sense.

who wrote this one? was it Rich Baker or you?

 

[Bryan898]

The adventure that went along with the CotSQ is the "Spiral of Manzessine" by David Noonan in Dungeon Issue #94 (which btw has Awesome cover art, best illithid picture IMO). It's quite a good adventure and does a great job of making the trip to the drow city more interesting. If you were to run it, I would take note that it is 3.0, and some things become more powerful in the change to 3.5 (minor spoiler) For example: Room 6 has an eleven headed cyrohydra, with them now having high fast healing and requiring sunder's to take off the head it may prove a much harder challenge. Also, in room 15, there is a Summon Monster IX spell that summons a Gelugon, which IMO are much more powerful in 3.5 and could prove devastating to the party since there is little time to rest and heal in this adventure. (/end spoiler).

As for the CotSQ, I think it plays rather well, though there is quite a bit of hack and slash. If the adventures are looking for roleplaying opportunities they leave plenty of room for you to insert them into encounters. Quite a few encounters in the module can be avoided through role-playing, and note how to in their descriptions. Many more require roll-playing . The interesting environments and locals help keep the encounters semi-original. I had quite a few cinematic/ heroic moments in the adventure.

For prep, I wrote up the basic stats of a lot of the creatures on notecards, arranged em into a few piles for quite access. I also cut out my stat block section and stapled it together . I'm sure that photocopying it would work just as well .

 

[Tom Cashel]

I'll echo these thoughts and add this warning: this module is the sort that could turn a group off D&D for life (or for eight months or so in my case!).

We still haven't gone back to D&D, and it's been about a year since this bloated, monotonous, obvious, completely-lacking-in-subtlety-of-plot-and-character hack-job of a module caused the bitter end of my D&D group. Since then we've done Call of Cthulhu, Deadlands, and D20 Modern (the latter two of which are still going), but that's as close as I plan to get to D&D.

This module is pure poison. A staggeringly unimaginative addition to the Forgotten Realms.

EDIT: The one impressive thing about the module is this: the author(s) obviously went to a lot of trouble to make extensive use of 3.0 templates, prestige classes, and the abilities of high-level foes. Really, the degree to which this module embraces and utilizes the 3.0 ruleset is amazing. Now if they could have spent some time thinking up more than one encounter that rewards role-playing over combat...

Make sure your PCs either a.) take on the adventure like a veteran SWAT team, or b.) really enjoy generating new PCs at the average party level. They will die. Repeatedly.

 

[eris404]

Wow. Really, it's that bad? Why?

(Please forgive me, I haven't read it and now I'm damn curious about it.)

 

[Tom Cashel]

Wow. Really, it's that bad? Why?

LOL. Thought I'd covered that.

The biggest problem with the module is that it concerns a plot by some very high-level statblocks to kill the world and reanimate it. Your PCs, if they are strategically minded or gluttons for destruction (of themselves), will be called upon to battle the statblocks, and all their statblock minions. Better Xerox those statblocks!

It could have (and should have) been titled, City of the Impressively-Templated Statblocks.

There is no real plot (beyond the obvious), no actual depth of character, and no point.

Well, unless the point is to teach your group the myriad ways D&D can suck.

 

[diaglo]

Wow. Really, it's that bad? Why?

(Please forgive me, I haven't read it and now I'm damn curious about it.)

it also adds more statblock templates only available to the possessor of the statblock artifacts.

which they have gained before the PCs even knew they existed.

so the statblock baddies are even more impressively templated.

 

[eris404]

LOL. Thought I'd covered that.

I wanted details, man! But seriously, thanks for indulging me.

it also adds more statblock templates only available to the possessor of the statblock artifacts.

which they have gained before the PCs even knew they existed.

so the statblock baddies are even more impressively templated.

This is hilarious.

BTW, to the original poster - I hope this thread doesn't discourage you too much. Let us know if you decide to run it still and if so, how it went. Good luck!

 

[Endur]

I ran this module. My players loved it.

We had tons of role playing and very little combat.

Really, every adventure depends on the GM and the players. If your group seeks out hack and slash, they will find it regardless of what the module writer wrote. If your group seeks role playing, they will find it, again regardless of what the module writer wrote.

Note: I'm not saying that your group said, "We want hack and slash." I'm saying the group dynamic worked that way, regardless of whether it was intentional or unintentional.

Seriously, this is a module with tons of opportunities for alliances, stealth, and skulduggery. You can avoid almost every fight in the entire module if you choose and still succeed by foiling the plot of the final opponent.

On the other hand, your party of valiant heroes could decide to cleanse the Underworld of all evil beings.

Its all up to the players and the gm.

Also, use your search function. There are tons of threads on this module on these boards, the WOTC boards, and other websites across the internet. This is THE high level adventure for D&D 3e, besides the adventure path modules.

 

[John Morrow]

The adventure that went along with the CotSQ is the "Spiral of Manzessine" by David Noonan in Dungeon Issue #94 (which btw has Awesome cover art, best illithid picture IMO).

It also contains the d20 Gamma World treatment called "Omega World" in the Polyhedron half that's very highly regarded among Gamma World fans, which is why you might have trouble finding a copy if you don't already have one.