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Dungeon #124, the July 2005 issue, is 122 pages long with a cover price of $8. This issue includes 3 scenarios, 1 backdrop for one of the scenarios, half a dozen columns, and a 4-panel fold out poster map of Diamond Lake.
Scenarios Age of Worms Adventure Path "The Whispering Cairn", 34 pages Erik Mona 1st level Party Backdrop "Diamond Lake", 17 pages Erik Mona N/A Shards of Eberron, Part 2 "Temple of the Scorpion God", 10 pages James Wyatt and Andy Collins 7th level party "Chambers of Antiquities", 26 pages Rob Kuntz 16th level Party "The Whispering Cairn" Erik Mona, editor of Dungeon Magazine wrote the first scenario: The Whispering Cairn, and the backdrop following that scenario: Diamond Lake. Effectively running the scenario requires the DM to be familiar with the town of Diamond Lake. At the outset, Mona provides detailed notes and suggestions on developing a strong backgrounds and motivations for the PCs.
The scenario includes several areas: a tomb (the primary area), a farmstead, and an observatory tower. The series of different encounter locations combined with the Diamond Lake backdrop (the following "module" included in this issue of Dungeon) gives this scenario a VERY firm grounding and immersiveness. Be aware that I am intentionally omitting substantial spoilers here, both in terms of specific challenges and (especially) plot arc details. The central adventure location is essentially a heavily trapped tomb. However, its progress is non-linear. Or rather, it is more accurate to say the adventure is actually somewhat linear, but a linear progression through the tomb/"dungeon" proper is not possible. Attainment of the final sanctum requires the party to leave for a multi-part vignette. This vignette incorporates one of the factions of the town of Diamond Lake, and includes hooks for future development of this Adventure Path. The design of the tomb is an interesting one, consisting of several connected "mini-levels", and the features of this place make good use of this. What I would have preferred is some sort of isometric map relating each mini-level to the other, as done with I6 Ravenloft and I3-5 Desert of Desolation. Thinking of which reminds me rather depressingly of David Sutherland's (a.k.a. DCS III) recent passing. Anyway, one thing I especially liked is that this adventure includes hooks that can tie into a completely different scenario: the Rod of Seven Parts. Thus while a player may recognize the scenario, it may end up going a completely different direction than expected. Or a DM could combine elements of this adventure path with elements of the Rod of Seven Parts in a unique gestalt...sort of two parallel plot schemes. Hints of Planar elements are present as well. Scaling Notes and other supplemental material are available online. To re-iterate, scaling notes are not included with this scenario, which is unfortunate for those without net access. But then most gamers (at least that I know) are tech savvy, and are probably quite comfortable adapting the module regardless. It also bears noting that the first half of this issue is basically dedicated to setting up a new campaign, so its not really intended to need scaling. My one complaint in terms of creativity and design was the theme of the tomb left me...flat. There is a theme employed in the tomb, it is used creatively and skillfully, but it just wasn't particularly compelling to me. That and the potential deadliness of certain portions of the scenario are my only real criticisms on the creative end. This scenario is small in its reach but hints at things far larger and draws upon characters and elements of D&D that date back to its earliest days. I am looking forward to what it sure to follow. "Backdrop: Diamond Lake" Diamond Lake is an oppressive, nearly lawless town, ripe for all sorts of maneuvers. The reader immediately grasps that Diamond lake is heavily influenced by the archetype of the western frontier mining town. Featuring rival mining organizations, desperate cutthroat miners, half-crazed preachers, bordellos and gambling dens, the only things missing are six-guns and a horse culture. Factional struggle for control of mines form the dominant conflicts of this town. The town of Diamond Lake is full of individuals happy (though perhaps not able) to backstab you, and reminds me of Nulb from ToEE, on a larger scale. Given the many supposedly "neutral" people who are actually utterly unscrupulous, the alignment "good" is could be expressed as simply "decent". Using 1st Ed. notation, many of the inhabitants of this town would be described as neutral with evil tendencies. In this sort of setting, social skills are much more important, and will see much use. The unpleasantness of the town, in addition to its useful in providing subplots and so forth, is intended to motivate the PCs to leave.
One thing I would have liked to see is more detail of the machinations in the struggle over control of mines. An occasional example is given, but frequently it is simply stated that so-and-so took control of a mine, without any explanation of how this occurred. While such details can be burdensome, they also support verisimilitude and provide plot hooks. While Diamond Lake is a setting supplement to the new Adventure Path, it is focused primarily on town sites, people, individuals and organizations, not geography and the like. It bears emphasizing again how strong a sense of place and character is created with the first module and this backdrop. Very memorable. "Temple of the Scorpion God" This scenario, for 7th level characters, is written by James Wyatt and Andy Collins. Set in Eberron, it can be tied to the previous Shard of Eberron scenario (Dungeon #123), or run alone. The goal of this scenario is the retrieval of a minor artifact in order to prevent a madman from destroying the City of Towers. The set up and introduction are about 3 pages long, and the core area comprises the rest of the scenario. This area is a jungle-bound outdoor ruin guarded by drow, with half a dozen major encounter areas. The more notable Eberron specific elements are surface dwelling drow and their odd gear, a dragonshard (the goal of the quest), and a Red Dragon Samurai. "Chambers of Antiquities" The final scenario is written by Rob Kuntz, and is a follow-up of the Castle Maure mega-scenario in Issue #112 of Dungeon magazine. The locations detailed here are part of the same ruins, and notes concerning its integration into the previous work are provided. There is also a hint of more of the secrets of the Maure family to come. With CRs in the high teens, this is definitely for parties that are both high level and experienced. There is a very Tomb of Horrors like feel in the extremely dangerous encounters, as I occasionally wondered, "Do they seriously expect people to figure this out?" The Chambers of Antiquities is strongly site based, which means how the dungeon plays out in your game will depend a great deal on how you want to use it, and why the characters are there. Several hooks are provided to get them there. There are 6 new "magic items", including 2 minor artifacts. There are other artifacts here too...a great many in fact, including one that is potentially world destroying. These are actually encounter areas...this is what these subterranean chambers are intended to store. We also find the re-introduction of the Hordling from the first edition AD&D Monster Manual II. The layout of the place is rather bare and functional; there is a great hall and many adjoining chambers. The encounters are barely tied together and there is no storyline. As a result, many encounter areas can be lifted directly and transplanted with little ill effect. Of course, the contents of these Chambers are extremely powerful, and should be used with care. Chambers of Antiquities is not ambitious, the focus is on interesting and challenging encounter areas, tied together by a theme of stored ancient magic. This module has a pronounced old school feel with a lot of very weird-cool encounters; heartily recommended! The Other Stuff Erik's editorial is an introduction to the new adventure path, and a note about the publishing of the Shackled City Adventure Path in a 416 page hardcover compilation. "Managing the Flow of Information", for the most part, was a reiteration of stuff I already knew, and I had to force myself to read it. I suspect there are some things that one understands instinctively after more than a decade of DMing/GMing, and commentary like this falls into that region. There were a few good points though, it just felt like it could be distilled to a single page with a few powerful examples per instance. For example, in dispensing information, err on the side of providing too much rather than too little since too little easy creates frustration. This is quite true in my experience, and it bears repeating. The DM Exposition section also had good advice on giving out information gratis where appropriate, while not shortchanging those who have invested in specific knowledges. "Smells of the City" didn't really do much for me. It seems like it could be condensed to: "Pay attention to smells in your descriptions. For example: smells when approaching a city, smells at strong smelling locations like a tannery, personal odors, and interior smells." The most interesting portion was a brief look at how personal smells influence reactions, and how the wealthy would react to "the great unwashed". The article "Resting on the Run" can be summarized as "How to kick PCs to the curb". The purpose of this article is to facilitate the prevention of parties resting in dungeons, or consequences of doing so. If that's a priority for you, well then you'll like this article. I would have preferred something more focused on dungeon ecology, and how it affects inhabitants, including temporary ones such as the PCs. I am not getting the "Fools Errand" comic, at least not yet. But then I never got Snarfquest, Wormy, or their ilk either. The short comics and KODT remain my preference. Aside from the summary of what the Orc and Pie is, "Wil Save" felt pretty self-indulgent. I suppose I should give voice to my clearly developing megalomania and state: "I am such an uber-1337 DM that all this advice is worthless". Of course that sort of thinking leads to stagnation. We can always improve our game, and it's nice to have features trying to help us do so. Honestly, I just didn't get much out of the articles aside from a few chuckles. Presentation The cover art is a thunderous piece by Wayne Reynolds, and the magazine includes a map of Diamond Lake. The subscription cards are simple pull out, not glued or attached, so no stubs. This is hardly news, but is very nice compared to the tear out crap that ends up ruining a magazine. In my issue there was a printing error on three pages that misprints a 3D-glasses stereoscopic effect, except vertically instead of horizontally. I have no idea how widespread this problem is, it might affect only an occasional random issue. I caught a spelling error on Wil Wheaton's closing commentary, page 122, "filk songs" instead of, well, I am sure you can figure it out. What makes it odd is that this is not a word in the English language (unless its one of those words found only in those gigantic British dictionaries), so I don't see how a spell-checker could miss it. Add to that "Advanded Hordlings" on page 100, and I think we have a layout program sans spellchecker. CONCLUSION I saw a lot of "old school" evocation in this issue. I am seeing a lot of things here I haven't seen in years, well...maybe decades, adapted to 3E. This is simply an observation, neither compliment nor criticism. As I do not own any of the immediately preceding issues, I don't know if this is a new clear trend or just something that pops up now and then. Dungeon 124 is a very strong issue of Dungeon, with something for fans of Greyhawk & Castle Maure, a scenario for Eberron, and the launch of a new Adventure Path with an in depth background, intended to be adapted for any setting. The 10 pages of articles are probably most helpful to newer DMs.
