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The module begins with rambling introduction on how the party of noble venturers hath progressed thus far - including the assumption that they fought their way through module D1, which was certainly not requisite except in the minds of the most unimaginative. Likewise repeated are the notes of the makeup of the caverns and movement rates, along with a somewhat modified two and a half pages of random encounter charts. Newly provided is an introduction to the new creatures that feature within; the Deep Gnomes or Svirfnebli with their comical noses and the giant fishmen, the Kuo-Toa. The Kuo-Tao get a hefty two and a half pages of description in a Monster Manual format, outlining in great detail their military structure, tactics and new weapons, a few notes on their religious habits (evil alignment, slavery, sacrifice, the worship of the silly-named goddess Blibdoolploop). Still, fish men (yes, this is a true story) have a certain appeal to me, so I was kind of glad to participate in an adventure where they are the key character. For purposes of further narrative development, in our game we made the Kuo-Toa more like the Deep One's from Call of Cthulhu and, naturally enough for a campaign set in a AD&D fantasy Europe, their deity of choice was changed to the most appropriate Dagon.
Oddly, the medium-large (8-12 foot) Kuo-Toa clock in at a mere starting 2 Hit Dice (but up to 12), which compares somewhat poorly to the other main characters of the story, the Gnomes (3 foot) who have 3+6 Hit Dice. Again, in Monster Manual style, the Deep Gnomes are provided a page of detail and again it is almost entirely combat statistics, although there is some description of their interesting means of communication ("racial empathy"). Another interesting potential theme which is regrettably not heavily elaborated in the scenario is the dedication that the dedication that the Deep Gnomes have to the elemental plane of Earth and the dedication of the Kuo-Toa to the elemental plane of Water. That, in the very least could develop the reasons for the significant antipathy towards each other. Apart from, of course, a relatively moderate difference in alignment: The Kuo-Toa, are Neutral Evil, tend towards Chaotic and the Deep Gnomes are Neutral, tending towards Good.
The first encounter is a rogue and somewhat insane Kuo-Toa who offers to act as a ferryman to cross the significant underground river, assuming he doesn't lose the plot first in a failure to be understand requiring the intervention of his friend, a giant garfish. Not much detail here is offered for PC-NPC interaction and given the fishman's temperment, it is perhaps best avoided. The second encounter is with a patrol of Deep Gnomes and this is where the plot, such as it is, starts moving. The Gnomes mention that they are no friends of the fishmen by any stretch of the imagination, and have been spying in their shrine for some time now. If the party has any sense of a dangling narrative plot device carrot whatsoever they'll take up the Gnomes on their offers and join them in confronting the evil fishmen.
The third encounter area is the Shrine itself, and this is most certainly where a battle of most epic proportions will occur. The fishmen, as hitherto stated, practise slavery and sacrifice so it should be almost self-evident that any attempt to engage in conversation (or conversion) will probably result in the PCs being the newest participants in fishy servitude or dinner for the spawn, although the possibility of engaging in the setting as pilgrims is strongly hinted at on a few occassions. Consisting of some forty encounter areas, the shrine actually bares some resemblance to a shrine is a style reminiscent of mesoamerican plans. A huge ziggurat and stadium structure (which literally feels "old" and "wrong") is the centre-piece, suitable for sitting some 2000 human-sized creatures to watch the activities in the central shrine which itself is in the middle of a salt-water pool.
Lined up against the party is some 175 Kuo-Toa, excluding the "fingerlings", the small and non-combative children. As is entirely appropriate to the slaughter-fest that the module is designed for, they are spread out throughout the chambers surrounding the central shrine. Many of the opponents are the low-level 2 Hit Dice variety further adding to the gratitious glee of adding more chunks to the upcoming fish stew. Still, if a DM really wants to the sheer weight of numbers, if organised appropriately can be somewhat of a challenge. For best results, the PCs will strike with surprise, with deception, with distractions and with plenty of additional allies. For those more interested in cerebral rewards, there's a great library full of all sorts of scholarly tomes and an interesting account which illustrates how little the Kuo-Toa really think of the Drow. Ahh, if only the PCs had known of this they could have raised a mighty army of fish people! Said description scroll is quite good, with comments of the Drow worshipping the "Mother of Lusts" as so forth. For those interested in the communicative results there is a group of slaves that would be delighted in being rescued and a very interesting Drow prisoner who should prove to be useful if the PCs play their cards right.
Overall, I found the Shrine of the Kuo-Toa to be an enjoyable bash. It's not too much more than that, but there are hints of the possibility and certainly more than what has been offered in past modules in the series. It does require some significant work on the part of the DM, not just in terms of story development but also in the tactical planning of their almost inevitable upcoming enemy. The balance between risk and reward is appropriate and there is an opportunity for new characters to be introduced. There also seems to be approved attention to the presentation of the module as well. Indeed, of the series the actual physical product is quite possibly the best. Despite its limited scope and its attention to the martial situation, there is credit in this product.
