The Grey Citadel

[Messageboard Golem]

Adventures in the Grey Citadel of Dun Eamon

The whispered worries grow more fanciful and terrifying by the day; where has the loremistress gone?; whats wrong with the master smith?; who or what stalks the marketplace?; The questions need answers, and heroes are needed to do the asking!

The Grey Citadel is a city-based investigation and dungeon exploration adventure designed for 4 or more characters of at least 5th level. The heroes come to the aid of a community troubled by a string of strange burglaries, fearsome creatures and an unexplained disappearance. Unfortunately, finding the connection is just the easy part; Set in a rough-and-tumble frontier city in a rain-soaked mountain range, The Grey Citadel offers numerous colorful NPCs, a richly unique location and enough spin-off plot elements to provide many hours of role-playing and door-kicking adventure.

The Grey Citadel is a mini-campaign setting, describing the Eamonvale region, its rulers and its capital city in detail. The book is stocked with combat encounters, puzzles and role-playing challenges, plus plenty of material to promote ongoing adventures in the city.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

By Glenn Dean, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack

*** Warning – Possible Spoilers ***

Sizing up the Target
The Grey Citadel is a 112-page d20 adventure published by Necromancer Games and Sword & Sorcery Studios. Written by Nathan Douglas Paul, this product includes maps and black-and-white illustrations in a softcover print format and retails for $19.95.

First Blood
The Grey Citadel is an adventure designed for a party of four to six 5th level characters, though the adventure may be scaled for parties of 3rd through 7th level. The adventure includes both site- and event-based encounters in an extended module that combines city-based investigation with dungeon adventuring. Characters completing the adventure should rise to approximately 8th level, depending upon the number of encounters and the Games Master’s method of awarding experience points.

The adventure takes place in the city of Dun Eamon – the Grey Citadel – a walled frontier city located on an island in the middle of a river. The city is dark and foreboding, shrouded in a continual overcast – the perfect setting for a series of dark adventures. The adventure includes a full city map, statistics for the prominent NPCs, as well as maps and detailed descriptions of the major areas of the city and those that PCs will likely visit during the course of the adventure. A few areas – like the Citadel itself – are left for the Games Master to develop as the campaign requires. Dun Eamon is set in no particular fantasy world, and follows most standard d20 fantasy conventions, so it should be easy to drop into any individual campaign setting (it does, however, provide the centerpiece for the Eamonvale mini-campaign setting, about which additional free information is provided at www.darkloch.com). An appendix provides a map of the wilderness area around Dun Eamon with a number of additional encounters and some adventures that may be used as side treks or additional plot hooks for the main adventure, though none of the wilderness areas are required for use with the main adventure.

The adventure consists of three interlinked mysteries – the disappearance of a local wizard, increased thievery in the city, and an apparent infestation of minor demons. The PCs may be called upon to investigate any one or all of these events, along with at least one competing adventuring party that provides the PCs with some (un)friendly rivalry. The adventure comes with a tremendous number of local rumors that can be intertwined to build a background of mystery and suspense. As the party investigates, they will encounter a host of interesting characters, from city nobles to commoners – including notables such as a mad hatter and a 10-foot pole merchant – who can help or hinder them. There are some NPCs provided who can serve as hirelings or additional characters to fill out a party. Their help may be needed – as the investigation continues, the party will be faced with a series of event-based encounters as their opposition attempts to divert them from their quest. Some of these encounters are potentially quite difficult depending upon conditions (up to EL9 encounters).

At some point – or perhaps at several points – the party’s investigation will lead down into the dungeons below the Citadel. In the four levels of dungeon below, the PCs can explore crypts, caves, sewers, an underground river, an ancient stronghold, and eventually come face-to-face with the powers behind the mysterious events. Dungeon encounters include monsters, traps, environmental hazards, and a few puzzles. In a series of climactic encounters, the party can eventually solve the mysteries and make a name for themselves with the rules of Dun Eamon.

With the exception of a few standard Core Rulebook III monsters, stat blocks are provided within each encounter for the majority of the encounters, which is a convenient feature for a GM running the adventure. Major NPCs are listed with complete statistics and background in an appendix, along with a number of new magic items. Also, a web-based expansion and additional campaign information are planned – keep an eye on www.necromancergames.com and www.darkloch.com for additional Grey Citadel features.

Critical Hits
The Grey Citadel provides an outstanding combination of adventuring elements in a nicely balanced adventure. Necromancer Games promotes “Third Edition Rules, First Edition Feel”, which some detractors have come to think means an interminable, nonsensical dungeon crawl like some of the modules of old. This is certainly not the case with The Grey Citadel. There is a hint of nostalgia to the adventure – the party does some above ground investigating, heads into the dungeon for a spell, returns to the surface to pursue leads, and so on – but it occurs in a sensible environment with a reasonable back story, augmented by a great cast of non-player characters. The “rival adventuring party”, for example, is a great technique for maintaining interest and excitement among PCs.

The best feature of the adventure is its balance of traditional dungeon exploration with event-based investigation and roleplay. Regardless of your preferred style of play, you’ll probably find elements of The Grey Citadel to your liking, and the blend of elements can make for a nicely paced adventure – just when the party tires of its city investigations, they can head into the dungeons to bash a few monsters and find some new leads. The city itself also has the potential to make a great base for future campaigning, and would be quite easy to adapt to almost any campaign world – it is almost a mini-campaign setting in itself (and certainly can be with the additional free information available online).

Critical Misses
The Grey Citadel does have a few relatively minor flaws. Inexperienced GMs may find the adventure a bit challenging – balancing the pace of the tough event-based encounters to the party’s ability requires a bit of GMing judgment so as not to completely overwhelm the party. The adventure provides minimal read-aloud text, so the GM must work up descriptions of each area on his own, much like adventures of old – a feature I personally prefer, but that does require more work for the GM. Also, five of the city sites (areas H, I, O, P, and R) have detailed sub-areas but no maps provided. No combat is planned for those areas, so the maps are not strictly necessary, but if the GM needs them he or she will need to prepare them.

There are a couple of minor errors in NPC stat blocks as well. Three major NPCs have the Ambidexterity feat without the proper ability prerequisite, for example, and two use weapons for which they lack the proper weapon proficiency feat, and the penalty is not calculated into their statistics. None of these NPCs is likely to be encountered in combat, however, so the errors will have no impact on play. The only error I noticed likely to affect play is in some of the Bolter thieves’ stat blocks, who have the Rapid Shot feat calculated into their statistics – except that they use crossbows, for which Rapid Shot does not apply.

Coup de Grace
The Grey Citadel provides for an extended series of adventures in what is almost a mini-campaign setting. The adventure provides a healthy balance of role play, investigation, and traditional dungeon crawl, in a format the is Open Content with the exception of proper names. Though there are a few minor errors, most GMs should find the depth and variety in the product makes for a good dollar value, particularly if they are looking for a city from which to stage further campaign adventures.

To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to Fast Tracks at www.d20zines.com.

 

[JoeGKushner]

When I first heard about the Grey Citadel, I was excited for one reason. It takes place in a city. Now almost every module and adventure out on the market now takes place in a small frontier town. There are exceptions of course like Freeport and Bluffside but those are settings in and of themselves that are well supported. To have an actual module by Necromancer Games take place in a city, and not take place in the near mythical Bard's Gate, is an amazing thing.

But is it a good adventure?

Part sourcebook on Dun Eamon, the Grey Citadel, and part adventure, this module for 4-6 characters of 5th level and above does an excellent job of bringing together the necessary elements not only to get several sessions worth out of the adventure, but months of worth out of the city and its surrounding environments.

It can all start before the characters even get to the city. There are numerous encounters prepared for the party out on the road that involve the standard bandits, and the not so standard Ranger Nymph who hates slavers. There's a lizard man, oh, excuse me, lizard folk, valley where the party can barter or battle, as well as several other encounters, like that of a caravan, that can be added to bring some real depth to the campaign. The only bad thing about these encounters is that they're listed at the bad of the book so impatient GMs may rob themselves of several encounters that can help set the tone and pace of the adventure.

Once at the city, the party discovers a number of issues going on. There's an increase in thieving activity. There's a missing wizard. There's demons wandering the streets. Strange changes in people's behavior. Can the party help the city?

The adventure itself is laid out in a manner that helps GMs handle the depth and scope of the module. While the introduction contains the standard background material and information on how to use the book and chapter one, an overview of the city, provides basic details of the city, it's really in chapter two and chapter three, where the adventure setup comes together.

Unlike standard adventurers, this one has a lot of timed encounters in Chapter Two. A timed encounter is something that doesn't rely on the players to go get it so they add a lot of spice and depth to the campaign. The bad news though, is that the GM has to read all of them and decide ahead of time when and how he'll use them. It's not a map where you just go from point A to point B. Another thing the GM has to decide is will he run the material as presented. There are two encounters that are very dangerous. I personally think it's a good thing as the enemies the party is making here aren't foolish or stupid and the encounters work as listed but if the GM is trying long term campaigning, he'll have to decide if it's worth the risk of killing party members or modifying the encounters.

Chapter Three lists the Grey Citadel Encounter areas where the party can gain more information and outfit themselves. There are even some events that don't relate directly to the party like the cursed Weck whose been transformed into a horse and a lizard folk child in the outskirts of the city. This is one of the meaty sections of the adventure as the party gets to investigate different people and see how the city works.

Chapters four through seven are more traditional offerings in that they cover the 'dungeon' levels of the city, the areas underneath the city proper. These encounters are dangerous and deadly, the standard for the Necromancer Games company and unwise players may find themselves wishing they'd brought along more thieves and clerics. The main antagonist is clever and isn't a static target and GMs will get the most out of the module by playing her as such. One of the interesting turns though, is not all encounters are designed to 'crush' the players as several of them are easy enough for a party to walk though, but make sense to be in the adventure.

Many of the strengths of the adventure require the GM to know the material and handle a lot of NPCs. For example, there is a rival band of adventurers in the city, the Band of the Crimson Mantle. Played properly, these characters can become enemies or perhaps friendly rivals. Those who've suffered from the demonic infestation and the recent uprising of thieves will be willing to aid the party in the future. This requires the GM to wear many hats, more so than perhaps any other adventure I've read recently save for the Banewarrens.

The book has standard two column layout. Art is done by long time Necromancer Games artists Brian Leblanc but this time he's joined by Tyler Walpole. Now if you've read any previous Necromancer Games product, you know Brian does a good job with his material while Tyler brings a different style. His illustrations are sharp and crisp but perhaps a little too dark for detailed viewing. Take his rendition of a party of adventurers battling a giant squid. Awesome detail, but difficult to look at for long due to the dark nature. His Abyssal Minotaur is also dark but impressive looking. In all these cases, much of it may simply be the nature of the beast. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his art. Ed Bourelle handles the maps which means two things. First, the maps are of high quality whether it's the citadel itself or the dungeons the party goes through. Second, there are no map keys.

Are there flaws in the book? I don't like the excessive advertising common in White Wolf products, which includes Necromancer Games as there are three pages of ads in this book. Interior covers aren't used and for the city, and environment surrounding, that might've allowed a slightly larger scale. Several game stats are off on the NPCs. There is neither a table of contents nor an index so finding things relies on the reader's memory. Another pass by an editor would've caught an item or two in the text.

To get the most out of this adventure, you must visit Darkloch as it has NPC's, Prestige Classes, links to reviews, forums, and other useful material, all tied into and relating to the area surrounding and involving the Grey Citadel. With that, you've got the potential for a full fledged campaign.

The Grey Citadel provides you with role playing, investigation and of course, good old fashioned dungeon crawling. It's my hope that we'll see another module based in the city or in the surrounding land scapes and that the dreary Grey Citadel support site, continues to grow. The Grey Citadel provides a quality adventure and setting material worthy for inclusion into almost any campaign world.

 

[Legion]

Legion's Review Disclaimer

The Grey Citadel is a mini-campaign of urban detective work and dungeon exploration designed for four or more character of 5th level. Set in a rain-soaked, rough-and-tumble frontier city, The Grey Citadel offer numerous colorful NPCs, a richly unique location, new monsters and magic items - plus enough plot twists to provide hours of role-playing and door-kicking adventure, where your wits must be as sharp as your swords.

This module is a terrific addition to Necromancer Game's expanding repertoire. Author Nathan Paul Douglas has crafted a terrific micro-setting as well as an adventure that can be enjoyed by just about any type of gamer. It's one part dungeon crawl, one part investigative mystery, with a dash of conspiracy and co-opted competition thrown in.

Technically it's a very well crafted book. The first section deals with the city, the personalities and the ins and outs of all things Dun Eamon (the official name of The Grey Citadel.) The next section (four chapters) deals with the dungeon crawl aspect of the adventure. This is followed by an extensive NPC appendix, new items and finally a list of wilderness encounters that can be used to either enhance the plot-line of the adventure or as stand alones on their own. The last four pages of the whole book contain the OGL license and three pages of Necromancer ads (more on this later.)

Ed Bourelle's maps, as usual, are wonderful and I particularly liked the overview of the city map with the misty falls. However, the font used as a legend for this map, and a few of the others, wasn't the strongest choice. It takes a little getting used to with the letters C, E and F. The F in particular is hard to figure out and was only decipherable once all of the other letters were recognized and realizing that F was the missing letter so the undecipherable one had to be an F. Seeing his work again and again, Bourelle's strengths, city and dungeon maps, are well used. His wilderness maps (of which there is only one in The Grey Citadel) aren't as strong as his 'interiors' but they are no less functional.

Editorial the work is clean. Very few typos and if there is any missing text dropped it wasn't overtly noticeable. Again, Necromancer chooses to include double statistics for some of the creatures they've included in the appendix and yet leave out stats for many creatures by simply listing HP and referring the DM to the Monster Manual. Again, the issue with this isn't the need to buy other books; the issue is one of practicality for the DM. It makes it more time consuming to have to grab other books to look up even the very basic statistics (BAB, AC, etc.) This is especially irritating when three full pages of space at the end of the book were relegated to advertisement which easily could have been used to provide abbreviated statistics for all the included creatures.

One other troublesome editorial note (assuming it was editorial as it should have either been caught upon editing or was an actual choice made in editing) is that one of the areas depicted is not mapped at all. Several areas of the city have their own sub-descriptions. For example Area D, the Market Tavern, has subsections listed D1-D12, and it includes a small map with legend for the Market Tavern. All of the areas like this have a corresponding map, except one, Area I1-I9, the Temple of Fortitude. The text does have a pararaph that states characters may visit it but it isn't pivotal to the overall plot and therefore wasn't mapped out. This seemed rather odd given that 9 rooms in the Temple are described and for a DM to lay out a map would require sitting down and making sure to get the text descriptions of what was located next to what in the correct order. The appearance is that space was needed for some other aspect and this was cut out (and, again, cutting the three pages of advertising before sacrificing the product at hand would be a better use of space.)

The artwork by Brian LeBlanc and Tyler Walpole is very well done. David Day's cover art is terrific and was surprisingly reminiscent of Ed Bourelle's cartography. It's a great match that lends a fluid, cohesive tone to the whole work. Of particular note is new artist Tyler Walpole. His work is fabulous; use of shadows and line extraordinary. One of the best of the bunch is the Abyssal Minotaur, terrific picture and very evocative. Unfortunately, the printing that I received came out to dark. Many of the details of the images are lost. Also, a couple of his works didn't quite gel with the descriptions of the NPCs portrayed. On page 84 there is a picture of the Angus Clan. The two older brothers are well-done, but the youngest Angus, Cael, is described as being 25 with a barrel chest and hardened muscles. However, the picture makes him like he's 12 years old and small-framed. Also, the placement of the picture on page 90 is unfortunate (this is not the artist's fault, however.) It's smack in the middle of the description of the Band of the Crimson Mantle and only by skipping a few pages back does one realize these are actually images of Brother Melph, Fitch and Stump. Not a terrible mistake but one that could easily have been rectified in editing.

Now onto the crux of the matter; the content itself.

The city is well documented and a very nice departure. It's low-magic, to an extent and low in power scale so it's definitely a great home base for low to mid-level adventurers.

As a source book, the city is wonderful. The nickname of the Grey Citadel comes from the fact that the city is constantly shrouded in mist and fog, which makes for some very interesting slippery situations when things turn toward action in the city streets. It's a little unrefined as cities go, which is also a nice change of pace from a lot of things you see now days. And who can forget such awesome little tidbits Filip the Hatter (a hat maker that's been too close to the noxious fumes of his mercury for hat shaping a little too long,) or Dora, the chandler, who has three beautiful daughters and hopes to marry them off to strapping adventures (and note the fact that she has a high innuendo skill.) My personal favorite of many of the wonderful characters populated throughout is Weck from the Public Stables. Weck is a horse. But he's a horse on a mission. Seems he's actually a cursed warrior who was turned into a horse by a nasty sorcerer. Weck has been sold from stable to stable because he's got a bit of a temper (it's hard trying to get yourself turned back into a human after all.) If the PCs figure it out and get him changed back he'll be fanatically loyal to his saviors, though he won't get anywhere near a horse ever again unless his life is in danger. The city is populated with dozens of PCs with this sort of flavor and character. It's a wonderful and rich world that a DM and players will have a great deal of enjoyment simply exploring the city.

As to the adventure aspect of the book, be warned, it's not the "I-need-something-in-a-hurry-to-run-tonight" type of adventure. With the assortment of plot points and its inherent investigative nature (which is primarily the first half of the adventure) it takes a little more preparation time for the DM to run effectively. The PCs will be required, on several occasions, to decipher clues through hand-written letters or hastily scrolled messages. This is not a negative thing; in fact, it's definitely one of the strong points of the adventure. The author peppers the investigation throughout the city, allowing the DM (and, by extension the party) to take time in developing the overall mood and background of the city setting.

The adventure revolves around a missing power figure in the city, one Elinda Bannon, and the recent plague of 'demons' that have been popping up throughout the city since Elinda disappeared. The adventurers are commissioned, in some way, to investigate her disappearance and stop the 'demon' appearances.

Along the way, they face a rival band of adventurers known as the Band of the Crimson Mantle, meet many of the cities inhabitants, run afoul of a guild of thieves known as the Ebon Union, and discover the fact that over the years, erosion has carved out some pretty vast underground caverns and everything from fungus to a conclave of gnomes is running loose beneath the city. There are traps to be faced (and Elinda Bannon's home is enough to make one laugh and scream in terror at the same time) and gold and magic to be discovered.

The dungeon section (or more appropriately the underground caverns,) while not necessarily unique, is well-crafted and action packed. A few of the encounters are considerably high in the power level, such as the Dead Man's Party on level 2 (EL 10) or the even deadlier Gates to the Deep (EL 12), so DMs should be cautious about leading parties into these areas. It's peppered with a number of other encounters in the 8 and 9 encounter levels which, while not nearly as devestating as the first two mentioned could be, nonetheless broker caution on the part of the DM that the PCs are either prepared for the encounter or lazy enough to wander in blindly. The traps are intriguing and the flaming insane treant is a wondeful spin on the tree come to life encounter.

The appendix provides additional encounters that a DM can use to enhance the ongoing adventure, spin of new adventures or just as random encounters. The Lizardfolk Valley is a terrific addition and would be a great asset in spinning of new storylines. The Fallen Messenger encounter is a bit forced, a letter is left on a dead body that was killed by a blackguard attempting to prevent his identity from being known. It just seemed a little too dimwitted that the blackguard didn't divest the body or all its worldly goods after slaying it but this is a minor point at worst. All in all, this section makes a great little addition to the overall scope of the whole adventure.

While not without its problems, The Grey Citadel is highly recommended. Anyone who is looking for either an interesting and unique locale to jump start a campaign, a well-crafted dungeon romp or both won't be disappointed.

As an added bonus, the author maintains an unofficial support website www.darkloch.com.

 

[MonsterMash]

The Grey Citadel is an adventure set in the city of Dun Eamon, with a mixture of problem solving and dungeoneering required from the players. The adventure is designed for a party of four to six 5th level or higher characters, and takes the form of a mini-campaign with the events spanning a number of days, or weeks depending on the approach taken. The dungeoneering may require a number of ventures especially for lower level parties, as there are some tough opponents in the dungeon levels.

The setting is vaguely celtic inspired in a small city set in a remote mountain location on a major trade route. This is supported in depth on the authors website. The surrounding area is detailed, with the wilderness encounters and suggestions of what sort of location to place the city into for an existing campaign. The wilderness area surrounding can provide a number of side adventures for characters giving them time to establish a reputation and gain experience if they were a low level group.

There is a plotted element to the adventure with a timeline for encounters to happen and develop the plot, and this can help the GM point the players in the direction they need to go further into the campaign. As this is a fairly important element it does mean that GM have to be comfortable with this or have their own way of incorporating these elements into the game. There are suggestions on how these can develop according to the players actions rather than being a rigid straitjacket for the development of the action.

There are four levels to the dungeon with a number of interesting locations on each, and the layout does show that it has been planned out to build into the plot for the module. Some of the encounters could be challenging even for a higher level party, and would reward intelligent play.

In their actions in the city of Dun Eamon the players will again be rewarded by using intelligent play rather than just treating the inhabitants as NPCs to be used or ignored. In fact as there could be up to 5 factions including the local authorities, the competing party of NPC adventurers, and other NPCs there is plenty of scope to forming alliances or making enemies.

There is not a huge amount of boxed text given for locations or characters, with more emphasis put on describing them, which I prefer as it allows the DM more scope to modify for what has already happened or their own campaign.

I like the layout where the significant NPCs that may be encountered in several locations have their stats featured in an appendix. Some could become running villains in a campaign, or used to strengthen a weak party in the adventure. The new magic items are also in a separate appendix. These could help provide hooks for an ongoing

I feel that the art is a bit variable in quality, with the pictures of Angus brothers on p84 not matching the textual description, and one or two pictures where the anatomy looks odd, but some of the other art is very atmospheric for the encounters in the town and dungeon, and the portraits of Elinda Bannon and Bernya are good to give an impression of the characters. The maps are a nice feature being clear and easy to use for the GM.

Physical presentation is as a softcover book, 112 pages including the OGL and a couple of pages of ads in the back, the binding seems to be reasonable quality to hold up to being used in play. An index or table of contents would have been a nice addition and one can be got via the web.

Product support is good with both the official Necromancer Games Site having the errata and the additional adventure the Temple of the Azure Eye available. There is also the author's own web site of the Dark Loch, which has unofficial additional material of art, privilege classes, fiction and background material.

Overall an interesting product which would give a number of interesting gaming sessions, particularly if the additional adventure from the NG site and the wilderness area round Dun Eamon are used.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

The Grey Citadel as a module is a kind of three-in-one. It comprises a town setting, a mystery to solve and a good old dungeon crawl. In that, it's good value for the money.

The adventure takes place in the small walled town called the Citadel of Dun Eamon, a rather damp and dismal place, situated in the middle of a river. Apart from the river the module is extremely adaptable and can be used in any campaign. The adventure is suitable for any mix of characters, and all kinds of skills will be useful. Even bards and druids will have opportunity to shine.

This town is plagued by a demonic infestation, which the party will be invited to try to remedy. In the course of their investigation, they will uncover clues that will eventually lead them to explore the sewers under the city to find a missing wizard and save the town from a horrible evil. But the heroes are not alone. There is an evil party trying to accomplish the same thing, and they don't like competition.

While the plot isn't strikingly original, it, like the whole module is lovingly crafted. There is a
wealth of different approaches available to the characters. They can gather rumors about town, investigate a mystery, solve a puzzle, search for clues or - if your party doesn't relish
problem-solving and wants action instead - just go dungeon-delving.

The module feature a mix of encounters, some happening at a definite time (adaptable to the DM:s plan), others keyed to specific locations. The NPCs are also interesting and there is a wealth of little details even about minor merchants, that make the town useful as a campaign supplement beyond the actual adventure. There are rather few powerful NPC:s though, so the town would perhaps be better suited for low-level play.

The ambience of the module is very nicely captured. The town is drenched in a steady drizzle, and there is a sense of melancholy pervading it all (there is even a wistful story of unrequited love).

Many of the NPCs are quite memorable in a low-key way. The set scenes add to the sense of mild horror (The Hound of Baskerville springs to mind) and are enhanced by the drab environment.

I always appreciate a good mystery, and this one is very well crafted. The players can approach and solve it in a number of different ways, and they will be rewarded later if they manage to put the clues together. That eliminates the problem that the players might get frustrated. In this adventure you simply can't get stuck, because there are various ways of approaching the problem. I found the difficulty adequate. My players figured of part of the puzzles and were gratified when finally things started to make sense.

As for the dungeon it is well thought out and logical, with a number of memorable and inventive encounters. The difficulty of the encounters varies widely, which is a good way of keeping players on their toes. Like in many Necromancer Games modules some encounters can be outright deadly for a party of the recommended level, and call for good play or there will be fatalities.

One thing I particularly appreciated as 1st edition feel was the corny titles of many of the rooms (including some abominable puns, like "Just a fun guy" as the title of a room containing a single violet fungus). The light-hearted-ness of the descriptions contrasted nicely against the rather gloomy dungeon. There were a few elements of outright horror, too, and some instances of really twisted humor (I loved that).

Some of the natural menaces were a little hard to adjudicate, but they presented a wide variety of challenges for all kinds of characters. The only complaint that I might have is that the final encounter might be a bit easy, especially when compared to some of the earlier encounters, and might come as a bit of an anti-climax.

While written for 3.0 the adventure was easy to convert to 3.5. We had fun playing it, and I'm impressed with the sheer craftmanship that went into it. It is rock solid down to little details, and offers a lot of opportunities for DMs who love intrigue and role-playing. Me, I'm more of a dungeon crawler, and while the dungeon was very well constructed and definitely enjoyable, the experience was somehow a little bland.

So, based on the enjoyment playing it I'll rate this as a 4, but arguably it could be a 5 star adventure. There is nothing wrong about it but it didn't quite match my style. Anyway, this is a strong 4, verging on 4.5.