Classic rescue the prisoner scenario. Strengths: (i) Organic mixture of combat, sneaking, trap avoidance and dealing/bargaining with NPC foes. (ii) There is more than one way to succeed, many more to fail. Action is far from linear. (iii) The notoriety system is an excellent game mechanic which rewards clever play and penalises sloppy play. (iv) Pregenerated characters are always welcome, for comparison if nothing else, but in this module players might not have characters with the right alignment or lack certain skills. A hand-picked mixture of regular PCs and pregens makes perfect sense in the context of the mission. (v) There is a political dimension to the mission, and it makes sense for the King not to risk his top advisors. (vi) Nice descriptions, evoking the atmosphere of a depraved nightmarish city of backstabbing and bullying. There is the mock courtroom of Judge Streichen and his black cap; the trophy room of the psychopath Mordlok; the noxious bodies in the sewers; the snivelling cowardice of a jail sub-commander Kerlenzen. (vii) Living dungeon: people do move in and out.

Cautions/Weaknesses: (i) This is a challenging module, both for players and the referee. Players will need their best game, and referees will have to adjudicate unexpected strategies. There are some helpful examples from playtesting. (ii) Maps are spread out. (iii) Merouac, an illusionist, has been assigned non-allowable spells; the pregen Carlenna has been given magic items she can't fully use.

Could be summarised as a "James Bond mission dungeon adventure": that captures the excitement level and required levels of derring do. Any party that succeeds will have a rousing tale to tell. Top notch, highly recommended.