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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Menexenus" data-source="post: 2011936" data-attributes="member: 8951">Summary: NeMoren's Vault is an excellent introductory adventure for low level characters and for players and DMs who are new to 3rd edition D&D.  After playtesting it with a group of 2nd level characters, I recommend it highly (especially if you are able to find it at a resale shop at a reduced price as I did).   On the surface: This module has a copyright date of 2000, making it one of the first products in the d20 revolution.  NeMoren's Vault is a 32 page soft-cover adventure with an additional few pages of extras.  It is an introductory adventure designed for a party of 1st-3rd level PCs.  The relatively unattractive cover art depicts a cartoonish blue umber hulk surprising a group of adventurers in a subterranean setting.  Inserted in the middle of the booklet are 4 pages of extras.  Two of these additional pages are taken up by 1" square grid paper.  On the back side of the grid paper are 5 color player handouts.  And sandwiched in between these pages is one page of cardstock which is printed in color on one side with NPC and monster counters as well as another player handout.  Whether they are used or not, these extra pages will need to be removed from the booklet, because if they are left in, they will obscure the main map of the complex which spans two pages.  The rest of the interior is exclusively black and white.  Of the 32-page adventure, 4 of those pages are appendices used to describe NPCs, monsters, and magic items.  Another 4 pages are used for pre-generated PCs.  Another page is used for legal text.  One of the inside covers provides three helpful tables providing the CR and most basic stats for every encounter in the module.  The back inside cover displays an advertisement directing people to Fiery Dragon's website.<Warning: spoilers follow.>   Adventure Synopsis:  The PCs are summoned to the cursed town of Weston after the death of the local reclusive baron.  The baron left no heirs and the PCs all have keys to his cursed underground vault.  During the exploration of the manor's sublevels, the PCs first encounter the NeMoren family shrine which has several wondrous properties.  Then the PCs venture into the family crypt which contains the predictable undead menace.  But the real dungeon lies behind an iron door which can only be opened with an item that turns out to be the key to many of the special locations in the dungeon.  Inside this expanded complex, the PCs will have an opportunity to interact with a small tribe of hobgoblins, fight some fiendishly aided ghouls, and perhaps encounter the lurking umber hulk.  ("An umber hulk against 1st level characters!"  Never fear, the umber hulk has been wounded and has lost its confusion ability.)   Innovations:  Fiery Dragon's inclusion of color cardstock counters for monsters and NPCs was certainly an innovation at the time of publication.  The inclusion of grid paper is also a nice touch for new DMs who don't already own a battle mat.  In addition to these aids for the new DM, the adventure includes a reason for getting the PCs together - something which all DMs know can be a difficult narrative chore.   Pros: This module is perfect for fledgling DMs and Players.  Players can use pregenerated characters if they wish.  The DM has all sorts of aids, like the previously mentioned counters and plot device.  The tables inside the front cover of the module are also quite helpful.  Aside from extras and plot devices, this module is also proficiently written in terms of game mechanics.  The author, James Bell, is careful to include necessary tidbits like Search DCs and hardness ratings for doors.  Another good design feature of the module is the inclusion of the umber hulk (a.k.a. "undrathar").  This encounter is left entirely to the DM's discretion.  So if the PCs are having an easy time, running roughshod over the whole adventure, the DM has an ace up her sleeve.  Or if the PCs barely escape the skeletons and zombies with their lives, the DM can choose to leave out the umber hulk completely.  I guess I would call this a way to "reactively scale" the adventure.  It is a nice option.  Finally, Fiery Dragon offers great support for this module on their website, including downloadable copies of the player handouts as well as a short additional adventure that could be used as a conclusion to NeMoren's Vault.   Cons: My biggest complaint about the adventure is the amount of treasure available.  My PCs did not unearth the artifact level sword nor did they find the large cache of riches in the buried tunnels, and they still netted approximately 100,000 GP worth of money and treasure.  At 2nd level, this is way too high.  Second, despite the overall proficiency with which the module is written, some important statistics are ommitted.  For instance, in the final encounter, the PCs find themselves in a room with statues that are able to read and cast spells from scrolls!  I would think these statues would be very valuable commodities to some enterprising wizard, but unfortunately no monetary values are given for them.  Third, I found the main puzzle encounter to be ridiculously easy to solve.  Maybe this puzzle would have been just right for new players or very young players, but my players solved it as soon as I gave them the handout.  Fourth, the key to the entire complex is the Orb of Light found near the beginning of the adventure.  Designing the entire adventure around one item which the PCs could easily ignore or leave behind seems dangerous to me.  My party was wise enough to hold onto the thing and to try using it later on, but a party of new players might not be so wise.  Fifth, I had trouble figuring out the timeline for all the actions taken by the BBEG before she died.  The notes that she left behind are 3 of the player handouts, but I had trouble squaring the information in them with the background information in the module.  I found the information in these notes to be redundant in any case, and so I didn't bother using them.  Lastly, although this may be a personal thing, I don't care for Todd Secord's artwork, and his art is used exclusively throughout this product.   Final Thought: This module includes lots of great help for new DMs and players.  For newbies, this product deserves a "5" because of the great job it does introducing new players and DMs to third edition.  However, I'm assuming that most of the people who visit ENWorld are veteran players.  For veterans, the extras included in this adventure - like the battle grid, the counters, and the pregenerated characters - will probably not be quite as valuable.  Hence, I'm going to rate this module with respect to the audience who might actually see this review.  For veteran players, this module easily earns a "Good" rating but is not quite "Superb".</blockquote>

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