Disclaimer: I purchased this module to run in 2001, and have used it several times since then. I really, really like the stuff that Green Ronin publishes, but will try to be unbiased. I recently finished running this in my current campaign.
Death in Freeport is a d20 Module published by Green Ronin for characters level 1 - 3. It was, in fact, the first module to be released for the d20 System. Ever. Weighing in at 32 pages, three are lost to an advertisement, introductory materials, and the Open Game Licence. The entire book is Open Content, which is a good thing. The text is good, and there are no noticeable typographical errors.
The art and cartography in this book is of high quality, albeit in black and white, and helps to evoke the proper mood. The cover image does not really have anything to do with the adventure itself, but is rather evocative.
The book opens with a brief history of the city of Freeport, which sits on the ruins of an ancient empire of serpent people. Centuries later, pirates settle on the island and manage to survive through several challenges until they are recognized as a legitimate city-state. The history of the city is concisely detailed, and includes a timeline and a few evocative pictures. After detailing the history of the city, a sidebar suggests how to integrate Freeport into an existing campaign.
The premise of the adventure is that a librarian at the Temple of the God of Knowledge has been kidnapped, and one of the clerics has recruited the party (new to the city), to help track him down. This works well, and hooks the players up with resources they might not otherwise have, such as access to healing, and some people to do research for them. After the party has been recruited, the module describes several areas for investigation. Most of these areas have a few clues, although there are some red herrings sprinkled into the mixture.
If, after visiting all the places to investigate, the party does not have any idea of what to do next, the module keeps moving along anyways. A group of mercenaries attack the party, and depending on how many dots still need to be connected, reveal enough information for the characters to track down the missing librarian. The final area detailed in the book is a short straightforward dungeon crawl. As a game master who does not like long running combat, this is a boon to be sure. Each of the rooms houses something interesting, and the final encounter takes place in a temple chamber.
Finally, there is one appendix containing: stats for all the creatures the party is likely to do battle with, stats for all the named opponents (who are usually levelled), a monster manual style entry describing Serpent People, two handouts, and four pregenerated characters allowing for immediate play. A quick skim over the stat blocks showed no glaring errors, and as a nice touch, the possessions of each opponent are detailed for looting. (Why kill things if you cannot take their stuff?) The stats for the serpent people are good to have, and the flavor text describes a little of their society, and how to use them as characters. Although ability score adjustments are not included, this book was published a long time before Savage Species, and the adjustments are fairly easy to extrapolate. (Assuming they follow the same pattern as the monster manual creatures: Degenerate +2 strength, +2 constitution, -4 intelligence, -4 wisdom, -2 charisma, Civilized -2 constitution, +2 intelligence, +2 charisma.)
Now, a few complaints. Most of the encounters should be nothing that first level players cannot handle; however, for those who do not believe that discretion is the better part of valour, there may come a time when they run short of hit points. Of course, the cleric that recruits the party could always adventure with them if necessary. My other complaint is that I felt silly reading the text meant to be read aloud verbatim, so I have changed it as necessary in subsequent running of the module.
Running this module using D&D 3.5 has proven to be of no difficulty whatsoever. While many changes were made to the rules, none of them affect the stat blocks to the point of making them unusable. I probably could have made adjustments and updates, but it simply was not necessary. Your mileage may vary, and a revised edition has been released with 3.5 stats.
I wholeheartedly recommend this adventure for anyone who likes investigation or pirates in their games. The characters are good, the plot is well thought out, and you are presented with a setting to run further adventures in as well. My own experiences with this module are that it lends itself well to first time players, because they have some structure to work within; however, running it with experienced players is also a blast. 5 stars.