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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2008989" data-attributes="member: 18387">The shadow knows.  In my 18 years of roleplaying I have witnessed many changes, some good and some bad.  I was raised on the classics: Land Beyond the Magic Mirror,  Baltron's Beacon, Ravenloft, and When a Star Falls.  I lived and died (literally) by the words of Gary Gygax, Tracy Hickman, and other wily veterans.  But somehow all the magical prose, devilish traps, and mind-boggling riddles got sucked into The Void.  However, like a thunderbolt from Heronious, a ray of hope shines through the dense storm clouds of the present.  What Evil Lurks is a module spawned, perforce, to salvage the dwindling integrity of the game.  There are several issues that I wish to address, so from here on out SPOILERS abound like stink on a goblin.Prior to the composition of my own review, I took a little looksee at what the masses thought.  In reference to the difficulty level of this game, I submit that if an adventure is supposed to be designed so that every 13 encounters a character advances one experience level, then by Asmodeous, it should be frightfully hard.  Granted, Siebkron's cryptogram was pretty daunting, but if this game does not promote higher levels of thought, we all might as well just be playing Diablo on our PCs.  Continuing on. . . The heartlock traps were superb.  The scale trap is quite cunning and the disguised sphere of annihilation is downright evil.  It is obvious to me that the author comes from the same old school as the legends of this game.    The storyline is excellent and appalling.  The stunned look on my companions faces when we came across four score of paralyzed people stacked like firewood says a lot.   Something wicked this way comes.  The entire circus scene gives me the creeps.  What character!  These aren't just cardboard cut-out bad guys, they all have personality.  And Daladrina the snake girl, Yum!   Who's the bad guy?  Gilean Vel, although his methods are warped, he's only acting out of love.  Can you kill him for that?  How can you help without flooding the world with shadows?  What's Siebkron up to?  Does Gilean know?  Who's using who?  Aaarrrrgggghhh!  Yeah, it drove me nuts but I loved it.  A new twist around every corner keeps you on your toes.  Throw in a halfling with the Horn of Change and you've got one heck of a stew.  The artwork in this module is above average.  The heartlock looked pretty good to me and those darn efreet tossing the bodies into the smelter with pitchforks, oh yeah.  How horrible! (in a good way).  It looks like Brian LeBlanc (interior art) must have just come from a Marilyn Manson concert when he sat down to draw the circus acts.  That might just be a photo, either way, good job.    As a whole, this module reminds me of the good ol’ days--back when being neutral didn't mean "undecided" and assassins were the antithesis of weal.  I look forward to more adventures of this class.  Hack and slash are good enough for the kiddies, but there are still the faithful few who hold on to the need for something more.  Something else like W.E.L.  Keep 'em coming.</blockquote>

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