Is Against the Cult of the Reptile God a well-designed adventure module?

[Orius]

Oh yes, and by the by on a little off topic note, there is an excellent NWN remake of this adventure available at: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Modules.Detail&id=4921 for those interested.

That's my only experience with the module, and I have to say I'm enjoying it. I'm playing it with a kind of Conan mentality, you know, hunt down the bad guys and slaughter them all for messing with me. There was this group of brothers or something that tried to ambush me in a barn in town, when I found out they were working for the bad guys, I went over to their house, smashed the door down, marched inside and killed their dear old ma too. I hope I can find the crooked cop that threw me in jail so I can slaughter him like a pig too.

 

[Akrasia]

I have very fond memories of this module, and am sometimes tempted to run it again. It surprised me as a young lad when it came out, as it involved a novel feature, namely, 'exploring' Orlane carefully (i.e. not killing everything the PCs encoutered). I think it was possibly the first module that I DM'ed quite well.

The powerful BBEG didn't bother me. So what if in one adventure the PCs need the help of a more powerful NPC? Sure if this happened in every adventure, the campaign in question would be frustrating, but it does not seem outrageous to me that PCs might need some serious help on occasion.

 

[Hussar]

The powerful BBEG didn't bother me. So what if in one adventure the PCs need the help of a more powerful NPC? Sure if this happened in every adventure, the campaign in question would be frustrating, but it does not seem outrageous to me that PCs might need some serious help on occasion.

That's a good point. Is it a bug or is it a feature? Heh. Most modules do not encourage the party, or even allow the party, to ally with a more powerful NPC in order to get the job done. Most of the time, NPC's are a level or two lower than the party. Ramne isn't exactly a Mary Sue character. He's old, decrepit, with a piss poor AC and not a whole lot of hp's. A couple of stray arrows, and he falls down.

If Ramne was a full powered wizard, with all his abilities intact and a spread of magic items, then, sure, it would be poor design. But, as was mentioned before, half the job was maneuvering this doddering old cannon into position. And, even then, he wasn't going to finish the job for you, just knock it down to size, so to speak.

 

[Ycore Rixle]

I have fond memories of this module, but I voted no. It's like asking, "Is the Model T a well-designed car?"

The troglodyte ambush is too much and smacks of railroading, while the required NPC assistance is irksome. But there are plenty of other things about this module that stop me from calling it great. For one, there aren't any characters that compare to the best of other 1e module personalities, say, Lareth the Beautiful, Strahd von Zarovich (sp?), Kerzit, Acererak, Keraptis (who wasn't even in the module!), Eclavdra, or even the ghoul sorcerer from Bone Hill. The location has nothing on Bone Hill, the Caves of Chaos, Saltmarsh, Castle Ravenloft, ToEE, or the Fane of the Drow. And I've also been bothered by the fact that the town seemed to succumb just a little too easily. I don't remember the details, but I do remember thinking, What about the other townspeople, people in neighboring towns with relatives here, the other travelers, the king's guards, _someone_? Don't they see what's going on here?

 

[Vegepygmy]

For one, there aren't any characters that compare to the best of other 1e module personalities, say, Lareth the Beautiful, Strahd von Zarovich (sp?), Kerzit, Acererak, Keraptis (who wasn't even in the module!), Eclavdra, or even the ghoul sorcerer from Bone Hill.

Your opinion surprises me. In my estimation, Ramne is every bit as much of a 1e "icon" as Lareth or Strahd. And maybe it's just the way I've handled the raw materials, but every group I've DMed through Reptile God has remembered Derek Desleigh long after the adventure (and frequently, the campaign) was over. I guess this is one case where your mileage really may vary!

 

[Odhanan]

I have fond memories of this module, but I voted no. It's like asking, "Is the Model T a well-designed car?"

Well, I'd answer an absolute yes: the Model T surely is a well-designed car!

 

[Hussar]

And me, OTOH, found Lareth the Beautiful to be an utter yawn. It wasn't until VERY recently that I even realized that he was a guy and not a chick. I described him as a woman in every game I played with Hommlet. Must be three or four times I guess.

 

[diaglo]

I voted "other." Like others who've already answered, I felt it was a really well-done module, but fell down with the final encounter and the PCs needing to have NPC help. If that was rectified, then I'd unhesitatingly say "yes" in the poll above.

ditto

 

[ruleslawyer]

Funny. I ran this with 2nd-level PCs after Unearthed Arcana came out, and the archer (bow specialist) smoked the BBEG in three rounds. Only one casualty, and NO help from Ramne.