Queen of Lies is a D20 fantasy adventure module for use with
Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition. This module is meant for a quartet of 11th level characters, and if they surmount all of the challenges then those characters will reach 12th level. It's best summurized as a commando raid adventure; the PCs raid a stronghold held by an active and hostile enemy force of superior number and overall power in order to fulfil a specific set of objectives. Think of this as a fantasy version of
The Dirty Dozen,
The Guns of Navarone or (my favorite)
Where Eagles Dare.
( WARNING! Spoilers from here forward.)
The scenario begins with the PCs arriving in town the day after a raid upon the temple of Aesthan resulted in the theft of several relics, the death of the temple's leadership and the abduction of the rest of the resident clergy (lay and ordained alike). Getting the PCs involved in the scenario is rather easy; the chances of the PCs possessing ready-made reasons to get into the scenario are rather high, espeically after the identity of the assailants comes to light. (Yes, you can still hire the PCs to do the deed, but it ought not be necessary to use that old standard this time around.)
Solving the questions of who did this and how are easy to solve with PCs of this power level, and Mr. Cook shows that he knows this by not spending a lot of time on the investigation. Rather he focuses upon the community reaction, which is one of anger and retaliation. The leaders of the community approach the PCs to lead a raid upon the dark elves, using intelligence gathered from an elf maid who escaped from them recently, and recover that which they stole while hurting the dark elves as much as they can. In other words, conduct a swift commando raid.
Here is where the setup becomes interesting. First, the PCs get the option to go alone or to take NPC backup with them. This is not a trival choice; having some extra swords to watch your back is a good thing. The choice has tradeoffs involved: going alone means that the PCs can travel faster and have few logistical problems to deal with, but at the expense of lesser strength when it comes to blows; taking the NPCs slows the PCs, and they have to worry about all of the usual logistical problems of leading a warband, but the payoff comes when they make contact with the enemy. (As the warband would be a mixed group of elves and humans, it would be like leading a small unit in the Last Alliance of Men and Elves and that's just plain cool.)
There's a weak time pressure issue here, but the DM has the option to press it through the means of emphasizing the rescue of the missing temple clergy and its relics before the dark elves can turn them to evil or sacrifice them to their spider goddess. Otherwise, there is little to prevent the PCs from taking a couple of weeks to get better intelligence or to gather their resources. I won't say that this is a flaw, but it is an exploit that the GM should watch carefully; this sort of thing should be quite time-sensitive.
In testing, the PCs took a couple of days to verify their information and plot out a plan of action. This proved wise, as they learned of their foes' capabilities (through successfully countering Mialee's use of divination magics to scry them) and learned that the elf maid's story--while true--was more than it seemed. Jozan also took the time to cast raise the dead upon the slain high priest, which won a lot of good will and ensured local cooperation. Lidda and Tordek scouted the surface connections to the dark elves' underground stronghold, finding the way to the Netherdeep with Jozan's aid. Once prepared, and taking no NPCs to assist them, the group set out.
Thus begins the adventure proper. The trip to the dark elves' hold is a combination of random encounters, some of which are rather nasty, and a handful of planned encounters that advance the plot of the scenario. The first of this was with a kuo-toa party, and the PCs lucked out by deciding to let Jozan talk; he talked them into a trade of information, which is how the PCs got wind that this raid may be more than just a smash-and-grab for loot and slaves. For their part, they told the kuo-toans that the dark elves they sought are likely to invite internal reprisals so they may want to go elsewhere for a while. Sastified, both parties went their own way.
This encounter could've gone bloody, and it may well go that way on average, but doing so will cost the PCs some worthwhile information. So will avoiding the kuo-toans altogether. This encounter is better than it looks.
Next is an ambush, a very nasty one, set by the dark elves against the PCs. This is optional, with the condition being that the PCs tip off the dark elves. In testing, the PCs did just that (blame the elf wizard) and so came a very bad fight early in the trek. When it was over, there were a lot of dead elves and servants and two dying PCs; if not for Jozan's spells, Tordek and Mialee would've died. What was the big problem for the PCs here was the dark elves' spell resistance; while the bugbears and the mounts went down with ease, the elves proved harder due to their successful spell resistance rolls. Recovery was a painful reminder to not take the enemy lightly.
The watchtower encounter went much better due to the PCs' increased vigilance. They slipped into the watchtower quickly and quietly, taking out one group of guards at a time with swift violence, until they reached the tower's commander. That was a pitched battle, but superior tactics won out; Mialee summoned a hound archon to back up the group, and with its aid (and a well-timed holy smite) Lidda got in the fatal sneak attack upon the cleric in charge. Tordek cleft both driders dead, and all was well for the Good Guys- after some healing.
The rest was some more conspiratorial espionage, as the PCs took on magical disguises to appear as dark elves (or, in Tordek's case, a gray dwarf) and slipped inside the dark elf fortress with ease. They claimed to be escorting a trade emissary from a nearby gray dwarf enclave, who's out to make a deal with this house of dark elves; with Lidda's skills at lying, and the groups' magics to baffle magical lie detection, this was easy. Several combat encounters were overcome in this manner, but only after some tense oppossed skill checks. From there, it was one find the path spell until the PCs slipped into the fortress' keep and rose holy hell as a distraction while they went about their real business. (Anything that could burn, did; they armed the slaves and set them upon the baffled guards below, sent word to rival houses to come take a shot, etc.)
After this, everything went to hell. It was like playing in a first-person shooter; the PCs hit one small wave of monsters after another, putting down each in turn and making certain that none escaped to get help. They took breaks to breathe, patch up and get their bearings; this was a big stronghold, and they were on the offensive. The slave revolt below diverted a lot of attention, so many of the guards were not at their usual posts; ditto with the many fires. Several possible fights were bypassed due to prior divination before the attack, and due to quick-and-dirty interrogation early on, but even so the assault completely depleted the PCs' resources and left them all severely wounded as they fled. The trip back to the surface was more of a fighting retreat than anything else, further depleating the PCs of already slim resources, but they got back with their charges intact. By then, the locals were ready for further trouble.
I'm glossing over the end, and I shouldn't. The fortress is huge, filled with monsters and traps--some of which are new--and will kill weakened or stupid PCs dead. The commando raid analogy is apt here; if the PCs get bogged down during the attack, they will be overwhelmed by the dark elf defenders. Three towers and more, with each tower more dangerous than the previous one, is plenty of dungeon crawling fun for everyone.
Some other notes: the villainess's scheme is classicly dark elf in its treachery, with the use of provoking the surface dwellers to violence in order to further an internal political gamble. The dual nature of the villainess is an element I rather liked, and so is the very nasty garrison of the fortress. I would like to see more D20 modules like this one, in that it is a commando raid adventure under a fantasy adventure rubric with a complex political underpinning. Speaking of which, that political underpinning can get lost in play unless the GM makes a point of emphasizing it; I can't tell if this is deliberate or not, and I honestly don't care.
So yes, go for Queen of Lies. It's well worth the money.
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