At first I was skeptical, a medieval murder mystery set in an isolated abbey with a secret library which is sponsoring peace negotiations...hmmm...sound familiar? So, with expectations of a flagrant rip-off of "Name of the Rose" I plunged on and was pleasantly surprised. While the above mentioned elements, and a few others, seemed to have been borrowed, the working of the plot was unique. The obvious villian, the real ugly monster, isn't the culprit though he deepens the plot. And your PCs are going to have a devil of a time figuring out whodunit.
The majority of the book is a detailed decription of the abbey and the clergy who inhabit it. In the tradition of the Harn campaign world the information thrown at you is impressive. By the end of the section the GM will know more information than he will need.
The second section describes the background political situation, the murder plots, and the bad guy's true story. Once again the information presented is voluminous and herein lies the problem. In Agatha Christie style all the events taking place in the abbey are indirectly related to one another. And unless the players are intimately familiar with the political situation of the region things are going to be tough for them. The GM needs to either prepare a briefing sheet for his players if this is a one-shot or have the campaign spend time in the region so that the players become familiar with the setting.
Despite the extra work, this is an adventure I think most players will enjoy. It gets away from the linear nature of the average published adventure supplement and gives the GM lots of information for the inevitable PC free form investigation.
Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)
