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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 1681084" data-attributes="member: 7737">I wanted to revive this thread, because I think it captures what I see as several critical flaws in the Dungeon mag. #113 adventure "Queen with the Burning Eyes." Some of these have been touched on before, so forgive me for repeating. Major spoilers here, so I'll use the appropriate tags. [spoiler]1. The PCs get ambushed by thugs "whenever and wherever [they] rest for the first time" (p. 29, "The First Night"). So much for whatever actions the PCs may have taken to avoid just such an eventuality. I also note that this is also an EL 4 encounter, which is quite nasty for presumed 1st-level PCs. The thugs are supposed to attack for nonlethal damage, but as the DMG points out, there is nothing that players hate more than their PCs being taken captive; many players would rather have their PCs die! 2. Travack, the Emerald Claw agent who attempts to buy the amulet from the PCs, seems to have been written by two different people. On the one hand, "he has no interest in fighting the PCs .... If they refuse his offer outright, he backs off gracefully ...." (p. 29, just before his stat block)  On the other hand, "If the PCs refuse to give him the amulet, he grows obviously angry and storms off." (second paragraph of Development)  There's a big difference between backing off gracefully and storming off, and it will lead to a substantially different tone for the campaign if one is chosen over the other. 3. At the Khyber Shrine (p. 27), where the PCs are held captive, they are given no opportunity to free themselves -- Escape Artist DC 30 for the manacles is pretty much impossible for low-level PCs (Take 20 + 5 ranks + 3 Dex = 28), and break DC 26 is also out of reach (unless these are special low-level PCs with Str 22). Instead, they are freed by an anonymous young aristocrat. One word: lame. If Ebberon is all about heroic action, this is not the way to go about it. Furthermore, once the PCs are free, they face an EL 5+ fight. Depending upon how badly beaten up the PCs were from the previous day, this could be a major and probably lethal situation. Also, are we to assume that the PCs' gear is just conveniently lying around? That's also lame. 4. The Final Challenge (p. 31). So many problems. First of all, it's a freakin' EL 7 encounter. For PCs who "should reach 3rd level" by the end of the adventure -- I'm assuming that means after this encounter, not before it. Second of all, exactly how does Travack "take a hostage before the PCs emerge from the ruins or immediately upon their arrival"? (p. 32) Is this a Grapple check? What if he fails? Furthermore, when he holds a dagger to the hostage's throat, what happens if the hostage tries to break free? Or if the other PCs attack instead of listening to Demise's demands? Finally, there is no provision made for the PCs chasing down Demise and Travack. Most PCs I know would ignore the human warriors and undeads in favor of the named NPCs. So, unless physically restrained, the PCs will try to chase down these key NPCs. And if they succeed...?[/spoiler] Frankly, I'm shocked that James Wyatt, a designer whose work I greatly respect, is responsible for this mess of an adventure.</blockquote>

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