The first review of the Adventure Site Contest. This is an entry for Swords and Wizardry by DangerIsReal. Intended for characters of level 2-3, this is an assault on the burial place / temple of Ircana the Spider Sorceress. The temple itself is appropriately spooky and situated in a vaguely defined cave complex atop the frozen mountain peaks infested by morlocks (who worshiped Ircana). Ice, spiders, undead and demons abound, with vicious traps and dark arcane goings-on. Over all a very flavorful location without doing too much that would disrupt an existing setting. The Spider Sorceress is very powerful in her domain, but not so much that she should have been wreaking havoc in the wider world for years. Top notch stuff.
The history of the location is hinted at through the rumor table, which hints at mechanics inside the temple itself without giving anything major away. I particularly like the inclusion of the partially rumor about a portal to another plane. The background blurb in the first paragraph says that many grave robbers have went into the caves since the discovery of the lost entrance. Likely this adventure is best hinted by a stricken man muttering about dark powers and portals by a fireside in some snowed-in hovel of a tavern. Give the players a chance to find some of the hidden interactions in the temple.
Speaking of hidden interactions, lets talk about some of those. There is a lot going on in this temple. Perhaps a little too much. Almost every room has a trap or encounter, many rooms have multiple of each. This is on top of an encounter rate of 1 out of 6 every turn, as opposed to every other turn. This tomb is extremely lively for the burial place of a relatively low level sorceress in the middle of no where. On the other hand, it does lead some credence to the idea that no one ever returns from here. Since after the hard hike to the top and the aforementioned morlock caves, every single room has something will harm you. Sometimes multiple somethings.
What this module does extremely well is personality. Take the second room, for example:
2.The Frozen Shrine
A massive black quartz statue covered with frozen cobwebs sits in the center of a large pentacle.The floor is a paving with complex and disturbing geometric patterns.
–The statue depicts a woman-spider chimera. She seems to follow the slightest movement with her eyes.One can read, engraved on the plinth :“offer your life before your homage”.
–The pentacle is stained with dried blood. Whoever pours fresh blood on the pentacle will be teleported to ⑧ –The massive double stone door towards ③is chiseled with funerary runes; as soon as it is opened the statue comes to life and attacks anyone who does not carry the Black Mark (see ⑧).
–A hatch to ⑥is concealed in a square pattern on the floor. Living Statue of Ircana HD3 (18hp)AC4[15]Att 2 x claws (d6) Mv 9 Ml 11 The heart of the statue is an unknown jewel glowing with black luster (1,500gp)
This room positively crawls with what this temple is all about. Creepy spider women, dark arcane magic, secrets of the same. And very hostile to those who are not adherents of Ircana (those who have not received the titular "Black Mark"). But well worth plumbing, that jewel is no slouch. One thing I would have liked to see is what happens if the jewel is removed from the statue before the door is tried. Likely, the statue simply attacks, but it is not clear.
Another very strong point for this adventure is the map. It is a thing of beauty. Multiple looping paths, most rooms have multiple means of egress and ingress. Tastefully hidden secret doors and clever traps, marvelous. The one downside of it the the randomly stuck doors (2 in 6 chance for every door). That sort of thing ends up being extra work for the referee while at the table, but it's nothing egregious.
However, despite all of this high praise, there is a single besmirchment. A black mark, if you will. That mark is the font choice. It looks and reads awfully, especially on PDF I have to go to nearly 200% zoom just to make it out, anything less is hopelessly blurry and painful to the eyes. While the drive to use a neat font is understandable, readability is far more important. However, this wart is relatively easily addressed and only a minor damper on what is otherwise a very enjoyable entry.
Closing thoughts, treasure seems good 13500 GP total, plus a smattering of magic and cursed items. A good haul for low level characters. I particularly like the identical healing and poison potions in a hidden alcove in the first room. Encounters are brutal, justifying the amount of experience on offer. All in All, a solid first entry to this contest, looking forward to more. Keep your eyes peeled!
Sail on,
-ShockTohp