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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 9031708" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dungeon Issue 78: Jan/Feb 2000part 3/5Peer Amid the Waters: After a big adventure that expected you to take multiple challenging terrains in stride, it is indeed a little tiresome to go back to a low level one where dealing with being underwater and in the dark is a big deal for the PC's. Through an extremely implausible and somewhat comical series of events, a nixie wound up opening a portal to an ancient egyptian style tomb. Since she was underwater at the time, this acted like a big plughole, flooding the tomb and sucking her in in the process. Other nixies followed, but failed to return, so now they're doing the traditional routine of asking the nearest passing adventurers. The result is short and somewhat comical, but also a serious challenge at that level, as you have to deal with the juxtaposition of various aquatic creatures sucked into the dungeon and the very confused and annoyed undead that were already occupying it, while having to worry about the duration of your water breathing powers and lighting spells, plus the possibility of the portal closing behind you. At least many of your opponents will also be suffering the penalties to attack and movement for not being used to underwater combat. Not original, but a decent enough combination of unusually juxtaposed elements that it doesn't feel redundant, even if it's not as cool as the previous two adventures this issue and it once again makes an effort to make the dungeon feel alive rather than something that'll just sit there unchanged no matter how long the PC's take to explore it. Another one I'd definitely consider using.Nodwick's bandage disguise probably won't last long underwater, but as long as it lasts long enough to fool the mummies of the tomb, that's one fewer combat encounter to worry about. Side Treks - Unexpected Guests: Time for another familiar formula - the short adventure that's just an excuse to introduce a new monster or magic item. Regular bags of holding are useful, but they're limited by having no air supply when closed. What if there was one that not only had it's own air supply, but also comfortable lodgings, magically generated food & water and stable gravity inside? You'd still need to watch you don't get trapped inside and carried who knows where, but it'd make extended wilderness travel and dungeoneering a lot more pleasant. Well you're in luck, because you're about to find one in a treasure hoard, abandoned on the sidewalk or wherever else your DM decides. The catch is you can't just open it by force without breaking it, and when you do find the command word it turns out to be occupied by a bunch of derro trapped by it's previous owner. They'll try to ambush you if you go in there, or just get out if you leave it open for any length of time. Either way, it's a decent enough combat encounter where the enemies use their powers cleverly and don't want to fight to the death, then once you've cleared it you have a new magic item that'll be a significant improvement to your quality of life. If you're getting tired of all that tracking encumbrance and rations annoyance it'll make your players very happy.Alternity Fast Play Game: The D&D fast-play adventure appeared repeatedly both in modules and standalone last year. Now they're trying to replicate the formula for Alternity, giving you 4 pregens and sending them to break another operative out of an alien prison. Unfortunately they aren't even going to give you the chance to roll to do it stealthily so you'll have to fight your way through a linear series of combat encounters with a few noncombat challenges thrown in for variety. It's slightly less handholdy than it's D&D counterpart in terms of giving you the exact numbers for every roll for every character, but it's still both very short and very railroady. Not the kind of adventure I'd use to introduce people to a game. Still, at least it's pretty clear on who to blame. Bill Slavicsek might not have put any more adventures in here in a few years, but I see his tastes in adventure writing remain as irritating as ever.</blockquote>

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