This module has promising bones - investigating a lost pyramid, uncovering a death cult ritual, sphinxes with puzzles, a background of a conflict between followers of Vecna and the Raven Queen. I was so excited to run it. Unfortunately, the reality fell a bit short. Here are some of the challenges in running this module:

1. The module is designed to run for 4 hours. I had a scheduled run-time of 4 hours in my AL drop in table at the FLGS, including a 20 minute break. I estimate that the module lasted a little over 2 hours.
2. The section in which the players face three challenges is meant to run for 2 hours. One challenge is resolved through 3 con saves. Another challenge is resolved through solving a (very basic) riddle. Both of these were resolved by my party within about 5-10 minutes, with me doing a lot of 'padding'. I ended up activating the sphinxes just to take up some more time. These challenges need to be much more challenging, and DMs need to be aware that the quoted run time of this section is unreliable.
3. The final combat has the makings of a great climactic encounter. However, my player made an arcana check (rolled high and ended up with a result greater than 20) and therefore realised that the removal of the curses would weaken the BBEG's buffs. (This result of the check is written into the module - it isn't something I came up with!) So the adventurers all decied to remove their respective curses and the combat instantly became a pile on. I would suggest omitting the use of the arcana check.
4. There is a really rich back story - and no way for the party to discover it. The protagonist is named, and his motivations are all spelled out - yet there are no built in devices for the party to actually gradually develop an awareness of these.
5. I am a fan of combat and exploration. I can't believe I am writing this, but this module needs more of the social pillar of play.

Some suggestions I would make:

1. The bland 'three uneventful days crossing the desert' can easily be beefed up. On the spot I randomly chose three players and asked them to narrate "What happens on the first (etc) night as you are crossing the desert?" This was partly to fill time and partly to add depth to the journey. However, the desert journey is the perfect spot to add a couple of encounters (to fill time, to set the scene, and potentially uncover some of the lore / backstory). Perhaps some kind of desert wanderer with warnings about the tomb (Social)? Some kind of unusual desert creature (Combat)? Perhaps a thief in the night steals Lisbet's journal and it becomes a race to the pyramid - perhaps it is a cultist of Vecna wanting to open the tomb, or a follower of the Raven Queen wanting to keep it sealed (Combat / social)?
2. Incorporate some of the backstory / lore into the rooms of the pyramid. This is done most easily through carvings / heiroglyphs that need to be decoded or investigated to reward exploration.
3. Incorporate role play by making the 'voices' interactive, or use Lisbet as a more involved NPC, or encourage roleplay by having the sphinxes be sentient and with distinctive personality traits. Maybe add a secondary character (a camel keeper?) who accompanies the party and turns out to be the person who planted the journal in Candlekeep and is secretly an ally of Vecna / Dirge - to be revealed in the final room?
4. Reduce the gold reward offered by Lisbett and instead hide some thematic treasure in the pyramid (to encourage exploration).
5. Make the sphinx riddles much more difficult (or at least have several options - easy, moderate, and hard). Also make the puzzle rooms multistep - this will avoid the "well you made 3 successful saves so you activate the thing" timing problem.
6. Omit the arcana check option in the boss room or limit the information that the players receive. Clever play should uncover the secret rather than a lucky roll, particularly since the tension of this combar revolves around the boss having access to the buffs. Perhaps shift to "After 4 rounds of combat, a player can choose to make an arcana check..." if the players don't seem to be working it out.

Now, despite all this, I did enjoy running this module. If I was running a table in a 2-hour slot I would have been fine with it as is. I like that it has the ancient egyptian themes; the backstory is clever and engaging; and the setting is easily spiced up to add colour and interest. The writing was good and key information was presented well.

I ran this fun adventure last night with a drop-in play AL group at my FLGS. This is an excellent module for players who enjoy combat, strategy and treacherous twists. The premise is straightforward - retrieve a missing 'knight'. The adventure is a cavernous dungeon crawl with a range of monstrosities to face, most of whom involve some level of deception or hidden talents with which to harass a party of adventurers. The players really enjoyed some of the twists - the hallway with the sequence of chests was a real treat, watching the players' faces as a few nasty surprises were revealed.

The full colour map is beautifully presented - I printed it enlarged to 1 inch per square for minis.

The author promises a future 'glow up', but it is entirely well-presented with just a few typos. The author also makes it clear that some encounters will need to be omitted if you wish to stick closely to a 4-hour slot. I did skip 2 encounters to stick to time; however, my party was a 'completionist' / explore every area thoroughly kind of group.

The module delivers exactly what it promises to be. It is not well-suited to players who prefer modules with heavy usage of the social pillar. But if your party loves old school combat, strong possibility of player death, and devious surprises, then this is a great module for you.

This was an enjoyable adventure, with some great atmosphere and good plot. I made a couple of tweaks to suit my table. These included having the sea captain being near the docks (rather than having all 3 NPCs sitting in the Inn). I also tried to thread some of the 'story' elements outlined in the flashback into conversations with NPCs. This made it less of a "DM tells you what happened" and makes it more of a "Players work out what happened" kind of situation.

My players also went up to the statue first, before exploring the grotto. I let them tinker around of course, but nothing really happened until they did the grotto bit. I would suggest anticipating that possible turn of events and find a clue up at the statue that suggests that the grotto is exploration-worthy. (My clue involved the players leaning out over the cliff edge and - just for a second - catching a flash of eerie green light from a hidden cave, far below...).

In the 'story' I also made the male love interest be a pirate crew member (rather than a typical 'sailor'; this explained his Captain being such a jerk to him and invested some Gilbert and Sullivan "Pirates of Penzance" themes into the whole thing).

The players had great fun. Well done on crafting an easy-to prep and run adventure. This would thematically fit right in to the Ghosts of Saltmarsh hardcover.

This was a fun little adventure, with a nice clear mission. It serves as a great introduction to low level D&D play, and would be well-suited to beginners. My players cast Speak with Animals on Elminster, and I played him as a love-sick and hungry parrot who has no idea that he had been recently bereaved. I also enjoyed the use of enemies with 10'-15' reach to ensure that some of the "I prefer to stand back at a safe distance" characters got involved. I also liked all the maps - so easy to print and prep. Great work.

This was a creepy little module that my players greatly enjoyed. I ran it at a drop-in game at my FLGS. I amped up the creepiness, borrowing from films with similar themes to build some dramatic tension.

The players were automatically highly suspicious of the feast. Why are players always so suspicious? The good thing is that the suspiciousness did not 'wreck' the story - it just raised some tension.

The players were automatically suspicious of the priest, too! At least they did not instantly go murder hobo.

Things the players did that you might need to be aware of:

1. They asked to interview the villager who saw the monster abduct the twins. What did the monster look like? How do you know it killed Delilah? etc etc Hmmm. I just played him as a town drunk who barely recalled anything except for a few creepy features.
2. They cast speak with animals outside Delilah's home - I found myself roleplaying a bee. They interviewed the bee as if it were an eye witness. Bzzzzz.
3. They did not investigate the village at all. That is fine. However, part of the explanation of the events at the end refers to the Monitor's Vigil (guard tower). It would have been good to have described the village including the guard tower, smithy, general store, homes etc so that the exploration pillar could have been activated. That's ok though.

Going through the forest I cut a couple of things and modified a couple of things. I just did not get the point of "What the Fhtagn?"

We spent a lot of time in the Cabin in the Woods - here is a chance to really build the atmosphere.

Bloodbath presented a challenge at tier 2 due to spells like Revivify and Gentle Repose. Sigh. Nobody can make a death speech anymore lol - darn pesky players will revivify and want to keep the conversation rolling.

The final combat was exciting and dangerous! My players enjoyed it very much, and I enjoyed having 3 out of 5 down making death saves by the final round when victory came sweetly. Once again though, they used Gentle Repose and decided to transport Delilah's dead but gently reposing body back to Neverwinter for the agents to 'cure' her. I just went with "yes, and... it all works out well; the twins are reunited with their mother". It does rather muck up the end 'speech' presented in the module though.

Great module - very atmospheric, particularly if you ramp up the creepiness factor.

This was an enjoyable module that I ran with a drop-in group at my FLGS. The players enjoyed several key moments - seeing the dead bodies in the clothes they were wearing gave them the chills, and this meant that when they travelled in time they became particularly wary of the final combat.

The final combat was exceptional - the choice of enemy was great, and one of the players greatly enjoyed his lupine transformation after failing his save. The players also liked the kobold mage, Dead.

There were some minor glitches in the way the story was outlined - possibly with me misreading the text on the fly - but I think with good preparation these were pretty minor. One was a comment that the Chaos Lord can reforge the shards - this is written in the Treasure section under 2C - yet the Chaos Lord has died by the end of 2B. Hmmm. Would have been handy to have told us that earlier - I ended up just saying the Heir of Chaos knew what to do.

The Disciples of Chaos are released in the Wrap Up - but there is no discussion of what happens as a result. I had noticed that in my initial read-through, so I had the party start in 2B, then go to 2A (where they released the disciples and learnt about Mooncolor being corrupted, with a plea to "please help save our friend!!!"). This gave the disciples a point and a chance for some interaction with the PCs. Overall, great work on an engaging module with some quirky twists and entirely achievable within the 2-hour timeslot.

I DMed this at a drop in AL session at my FLGS. This was an interesting module. The creepiness of identifying the unknown creature and then the exploration of the sewers was great fun. The modularity of the sewer encounters was a great thing, as it meant that the DM is able to manage time well, can ensure that the encounters are varied, and can emphasise the pillars of DND that the party enjoys most.

This module has great maps, which I printed in full colour and used with minis. There is a nice variety of creatures (consistent enough in theme to make sense, yet varied enough to prevent combat boredom).

Some tips for running this one:

• I encouraged RP to deal with the guards, and I mean actually role playing, not "persuasion checking". This made for a much better experience in my opinion. I also think some of the guidance on how to run the encounter killed some of the fun. I think we need to remember, the "yes, and..." rule (especially for wild shape / familiars in entering the jailhouse. I mean, yes, it might be susicious if a whole zoo marches in through the front door, but if a party carefully plans for a small mouse to infiltrate the building, why wouldn't we support that?)
• The encounter with the creature near the wizard's dead body was excellent.
• The encounter with Dukun, the salesman in the sewer was very popular with the party. Surprisingly popular. This turned into an awesome RP encounter and the party basically bought everything. (I did wonder what might happen if my party wanted to kill and rob Dukun. I know it would be an evil act, but AL drop in play can include a whole lot of those kinds of player choices... Luckily my party did not go there. I would suggest not using the Dukun encounter if your party show signs of "kill everything"-ness).
• The final room contains a chokepoint. If the players guard the doors, then the return of the baddies reduces the chances of utilising the great environmental features within the laboratory. It would have been good to have another entrance point so that the final combat does not happen stuck in a doorway along a hall.
• This module is part of a loosely connected series. If you are playing this as a one shot, I suggest making the Professor be the BBEG at the end (I just said that he had been the final victim of his own mad experiments and turned into the biggest foe in the final encounter. This worked fine).
• Minor error in the stat block for the water elemental - it does not provide the information for the slam attacks.

Great adventure, very much worth playing. I have to say, one of the best things that happened was the constant stream of toilet-related puns and jokes from my players as they explored the sewers. XD

I DMed this module at a drop in AL table at my FLGS. This is a fun module that is well-presented and includes a couple of interesting BBEGs in the final combat. Some suggestions when running the module:

• On entering Silvio's Glen, 3 out of 6 party members failed the saving throw. It was fun having them narrate a dream or nightmare. However, the module is silent on what needs to happen to "snap them back into reality" short of a contrived "surge" of the effect, the timing of which is chosen by the DM - in which case, wouldn't all the villagers also wake up when the magic ebbed away? And wouldn't they leave the village rather than choose to stay within such a dangerous area? Hmmm. I ended up narrating a surge but it felt a bit contrived and clunky. I would suggest thinking about a mechnism beforehand that might help plan how to wake the players in time for the Orc attack. (Note: If I didn't wake the players for the Orc attack, then the entire party would have been killed).
• The module assumes the players will play 'sensibly' when they meet Cornelius. For whatever reason - player personalities, probably - my players decided to 'mess with' Cornelius by reinforcing his delusions. This basically derailed that whole scene. I think the players were suspicious about Cornelius. In any event, I just interrupted the scene with the Orc attack to keep things moving.
• I skipped the "forest complications" / Middle of nowhere sections, and instead made it easy to follow the orcs' trail from Silvio's Glen to the Fortress. The game ran over time (2-hour suggested time) even with that section omitted. (I also think the falling Tyrannosaurus rex is a bit silly - some tables might like it but it did not really match the tone of the rest of the adventure).
• There are some assumptions about how the party will manage the stronghold. Some of the guidance is a but dubious too - for example, the comments about using pass without trace. (I figure a "veil of shadows and silence" across an open field could be fine - it might look like the shadow of a passing cloud across the field). In any event, I ended up having an orc emissary sneak out and ask the players for help in freeing Murugak from Xanzique's power. Otherwise there would have been a pitched battle that would have been basically a replay of the battle in Silvio's Glen, just with more (of the same) enemies. I got the Orc to tell the party that Xanzique was a "powerful wizard" which kept its true nature a surprise.

In summary, Pros:

• Beautiful presentation with maps and key information easily found
• Classic D&D style adventuring, with focus on Combat and Role Playing (less exploration).
• Good twist in the choice of the BBEG and interesting initial premise

Cons:

• Story follows a predefined pathway; that is fine for 'well-behaved' players who take heed of cues. However, DMs dealing with shenanigans will find that the module is not very shenanigan-proof.
• Module runs a bit long for a 2-hour slot, even with omissions.
• Apart from the BBEG, the combat feels a bit repetitive due to the same types of foes being present in 3 combats. The authors tried to shake this up by the insertion of the "forest complications" section. I feel that mixing it up a bit so that the orcs had some variation would have been good.

Overall, a great module and very much worth running.

I ran this adventure at a drop in AL game at my FLGS. There were some really good aspects, some really problematic aspects, and some 'fixes' I made on the fly.

First thing to know - this is a heavily railroaded adventure. You start at Mulmaster, go to three stations in a proscribed order along a journey, and finish up at Elventree. There are few really meaningful choices for players - yes, they can choose 'do we rush or do we try to delay the enemy' - the end result is that these illusions of choice do not matter. Second thing to know - the journey of 180 miles is written as taking about a day. Impossible using an overland journey. I told the players that the army would be leaving "within days" so that they could get a head start but at least have a few nights on the road. Third thing to know - the quoted time of two hours is extremely low. I ran over time in a 4-hour game slot.

That being said, there were some great parts. I actually made a bit more of the interaction with Trinket to build investment in the story. I altered the interaction with the Bell in the Depths so that the bellringer offered to summon spirits of the dead warriors of Northkeep to blockade the Thayan navy IF the players beat him in combat. The bellringer said that IF the players lost, he would instead have the spectral soldiers of Northkeep JOIN the Thayan forces. (This built investment in the outcome - and it was really made up on the fly in response to the fact that the players were itching to fight something after a couple of hours on the railroad!). (Of course, none of that was mentioned in the module itself - it was me just trying to make the Thayans blockading Mulmaster's harbour have a reason beyond forcing the players to use the slow land route, and to use the history of Northkeep, and to make a reason for why the heck anyone would bother going out to an island belltower when in the middle of a rush to save a forest village!).

A stunningly disappointing omission in this module is that there was no map of Elventree provided - considering that the best and most enjoyable part of the module was defending the arboreal village from the Thayan advance, this was truly surprising. I instead found a great map online of a tree village with rickety rope bridges connecting lofty houses in the branches - this was so much more fun and offered some environmental challenges, particularly when compared to the recommended "100 foot wide community clearing" described by the module.

The other fix I made was swapping out the Orc BBEG for a Red Wizard. The players wanted (and needed!) to defeat a Thayan Red Wizard to feel like they had achieved the objective of this mission. The Orc just did not 'feel right'.

So, this module was overall "fine". It was definitely fixable and my players were very happy with the game. However, I have rated it a little lower mainly due to the amount of fixing and DM effort it took to address some of the flaws and illogicalities.

This is an excellent module, which can be played as part of a loosely connected storyline or as a terrific one shot. The sinister atmosphere and slow-burn reveal were greatly enjoyed by my table of players at a drop-in session at my FLGS. The estimated run time of 2 hours might be possible; however, we took 3.5 hours by taking time with the role play and investigation. (I think if you aimed for a 2-hour run time this would play as much more of a standard 'dungeon' crawl).

MINOR SPOILERS BELOW

I found the key was to ensure that the players did not realise the true nature of the servants at first. After an initial conversation with Darvis I had the players ushered upstairs to the main bedroom where they were told he would bring back a meal for them 'soon'. I used theatre of the mind and role playing with Darvis up to that point. Once they were in the bedroom I brought out the beautifully presented map. This allowed for a neat switch from role play to investigation, and that was fun. They were suspicious enough of Darvis to go roaming; I let them leave the room and enter the hallway only to be interrupted by a servant asking them to return to the bedroom before he left and went downstairs. This meant that they decided to sneak around the place - which is, of course, what we really want them to do. I did the same with the servant after their first room, this time a bit less politely. Then, when they left for the third time, I told them they could hear Darvis coming up the stairs with a tray tinkling with crockery etc, bringing their snacks - this made them rush back to the bedroom to be served their 'special' meal. Upstairs, the library / study encounter was a highlight for the players, as this combination of foes was unusual and thematically appropriate.

As a tip for the DM - if it helps, visualise Darvis and the servants as only recently being transformed; they were poisoned with no marks of violence on their bodies and have not had time to decompose. They therefore do not 'look' like the examples of those creature types from the Monster Manual. This meant, for my players, that they could tell something was 'off' just by following the role play, but it took them quite a while before they actually thought to check for creature type.

The players liked the gradual realisation of what had happened. I made the shadowy figure watching them from the grounds into the groundskeeper shadow that they encounter in the final encounter, which tied up an otherwise loose end nicely.

As another tip, print out the maps to use with miniatures. They will each fit on an A3 page. I made sure to make two versions of the basement map - one with and one without the secret passage showing. This stopped some meta gaming.

Also, I played with 4 level 4 players; two were down and making death saves in the final combat. Be careful with players of lower levels - this is a dangerous combat!

This module is going into my pile of "go to" one shot adventures. Well done to the writer!

This was a very enjoyable dungeon crawl module. The setting was atmospheric and the players enjoyed the lore and some quirky aspects of the adventure (particularly Narren). Having beholderkin in a tier 1 module was fantastic - seasoned players felt more 'in danger' in this module than in many others I have DMed.

This will be a 'go to' one shot for me now. It is well designed, uses all the pillars of DnD, and can be completed within the 2 hour slot (although my group went a little over due to their enjoyable discussion with Narren).

A couple of tips:

I had the Thayan apprentice in INT-01 escape that module, but she left behind a journal mentioning another crew going to the lost tempe near Triel. I then made her also appear in the final fight so that the players felt like they had caught one of the "Thayan Wizards". This recurrence made for a more compelling 'boss' than some random fellow they had never seen before.

Don't let Wren tell the players of the activities at the cave near the temple. Players will go straight there, have the final fight, and then there is no point exploring the temple at all. Make the cave be a secret excavation, cleverly concealed by Thayan illusion magic, due to the Thayans experiencing a trap near the front doors and deciding to create a separate way in.

Be aware that the maze in area 5 creates silly choke points when you have 4-5 zombies and 4-5 adventurers. It is all single file and the combat drags.

This was a good adventure. It ran well short of two hours (my group was done in 1.5 hours; that did not matter for me as I was running two 2-hour modules to fill a 4 hour spot).

The players enjoyed the premise and role play. Their eyes boggled when I plopped a storm giant 'mini' down - "We're only tier 1 remember?!" so that was fun.

However, they almost instantly worked out who the protagonist was, and their solution was to keep the giant in a barn and then go back to town and tell the 'Mayor' about the villain (not even in the module - invented on the fly as I thought the Duchess was too important to grant an audience!). One of my players was a changeling and so when the giant described being set up by someone, the changeling shifted to match the villain's face and the giant said "Yup that's him".

The take away - new players will likely follow the adventure as planned; seasoned players will do all sorts of weird stuff and it will be hard to not let the plot holes show. As one player said - "Where's the guards? Did they just let a giant walk right in? Why aren't they controlling the rabble?"

I also increased the importance of the Apprentice to make her the real 'secret boss' and I made sure she got away. I included a link to DDAL-DRW-INT-02 by having a journal that mentioned that she had sent another crew to the lost temple near Triel.

I ran this adventure last night at a drop-in AL game. We had a ball! The premise is amusing and simple, but surprisingly engaging. (SPOILERS) The shock teleportation during the visit to pick up overdue library books was so much fun. The players really seemed shocked to be instantaneously out of roleplay / amusing conversation mode and into a sudden deadly combat. (We had higher than APL players so I added one each extra of the opponents). The description of the month long slog back and the resulting exhaustion made them absolutely livid with rage against Phineas. Because the second visit turned into a well-planned revenge homicide (haha) I had to make it crystal clear about the nature of the 'first' Phineas by having him turn to straw on his death. The ending was suitably creepy and the revelation of the real Phineas' fate was much appreciated by the players.

I had worried that the game would run short - and I think this could be the case if your table does not engage in much roleplay. I was aware that the estimated time was just over 3 hours, so I ensured that we engaged in quite a bit of RP in the call to action as well as the first visit to pick up the books. This helps set the scene so much better; there is real investment in the outcome and a curiosity (and suspicion!) about Juric and Phineas' 'real' intentions! In the end, we finished smack bang on 4 hours.

This module also has the advantage of being concisely written and quick to prepare. Well done to the author on a fun adventure with a literary spin.

What a wonderful adventure! I ran this at an AL public drop-in game last night, and my table had an absolute blast. Prior to running the adventure I was a little apprehensive. I wondered how the players would go considering this is an exploration / puzzle-heavy module without heaps of combat. I also worried about how I would play the timeloop and whether that would work out ok. I needn't have worried. Although the module does not have a lot of combat, the players were constantly busy. I don't think I have ever run a game with quite as much group collaboration at the table, as the players shared ideas, hypotheses and strategies at resolving the challenges. They were initially suspicious of Hrafn, but then at the end it all clicked into place, much to everyone's satisfaction. There was a lot of laughter. The players also really loved the rewards.

My tips for running the game:

• Print out the handouts and pictures, as these are great for player immersion.
• I printed the dungeon map in full colour at 1 inch square scale for minis. Yes, the players could see the whole map from the outset; the funny thing is it only added to their intrigue without really spoiling anything. It also meant that they interacted with the dungeon more like a sandbox space rather than a linear 'story'. They went back and forth between the various rooms to effectively solve the puzzles. Using minis also made it easier for me to adjudicate the results of some area of effect surprises ;)
• Trust the author's warning about the danger this dungeon presents to Level 1 characters. One player had a level 1 wizard who went down four times ha ha

In summary, kudos for a really excellent adventure.

I DMed this module as a one-shot for a group of 6 AL players last night. They all had a great time, and the module was pretty straightforward to run. I highly recommend it.

Players always surprise us, and my party was no exception. Once they arrived in the temple square the PCs did not sneak around and investigate (as I thought they would). No. They instead used thaumaturgy to yell out "HELLO!" in a booming voice! So of course this meant that the local residents all came out and unleashed a mass combat. The players had no intention of roleplaying, but they really did LOVE having so many varied foes harrying them from the skies. The PCs sought shelter in one of the temples, only to realise they were stuck in a dead end so I ended up having the manticores rip a hole in the roof and pepper them from above. This first encounter proved to be the biggest, most memorable fight - it was also the 'thing' the players all kept talking about after the adventure was finished. They (incorrectly) assumed that they had fought the "final" battle first as a result.

(In fact, I wondered if next time it might be worth runnning the encounters in a different sequence - ie the players follow the cult into the temple first, achieve the objective, then emerge into the town square thinking it was all over, only to be attacked by the angry residents: 'how dare you loot our holy places'. This might mean that Tanulia needs to tell the players at the call to action: 'the teleport back will only work from the same place in the temple square, so return there once you are ready'. Hmmmm).

The remainder was run more as intended. The party explored the temples and found the hidden way by following the trail of bodies. Rather than having the enemy Warlock have all the minor rewards listed in the module, I put one of the consumables in one of the 'empty' rooms that used to be a priest's area, and one of the other items in another thematically appropriate 'empty' room. I am personally not a fan of "this room is empty", so I made sure to add colour and descriptions (borrowed from ancient Egypt) to add colour to these spaces.

The remaining two combats were a little too easy for the party, even when adjusted to "very strong". Part of the issue is that while the foes were powerful, they were small in number. The enemies simply got piled by several players before their turns arrived in the initiative order. I would suggest adding a couple more mooks up front near the entrances to keep the players busy (and distant) from the powerful foes so that some of their abilities could be better utilised before being subject to multiple smites from the Paladins and sneak attacks from the Rogues. The players still had fun with these fights, and enjoyed the unusual foes.

PROS:

• Great to see an adventure set in the Anauroch desert, with good atmosphere that an attentive DM can build upon;
• Great use of unusual foes - several players commented "I have never encountered one of them before!" at different times;
• Although the story is part of a sequence it is easily modifiable to a one-shot;
• Great rewards;
• Combat encounter 1 is great fun; the players felt frightened and overwhelmed at times.

CONS:

• About 4 or 5 "empty" rooms that could be given some more flavour and / or have items distributed there to encourage exploration;
• Strong parties will easily wipe combats two and three; combat one is the most challenging and represents the "combat climax" of the adventure;
• Maps are provided but are not on a usual 5' per square graph and are not really suitable for enlargement if you are a maps & minis kind of DM;
• I have no idea how to pronounce "the Cult of Kostchtchie" :)

Great module - well done.