This module is absolutely fantastic. I had a brilliant time playing it and I am looking forward to the opportunity to run it. As many of the other reviewers have whined, yes, it's deadly. But really, what do you expect? It's the CULT OF THE EBON DESTROYERS! Your enemy has devoted their lives to murder and guess what? They're pretty bloody good at it. So expect to die, and die horribly. But if you manage to survive, then emerge from the experience with some well-earned respect. You've succeeded where most will have fallen.
Should all modules follow a nice power curve, where you can enter with your usual commonplace attitude that everything will have been softened up for you? Or should some of them test you to the limits of your ability and resources? I'm solidly in the latter camp. If you want everything to be balanced to the point of banality, then there's a dying game called D&D 4th edition that you should go and grab a copy of before it disappears once and for all. If you don't like the challenge of encounters that have been optimised in a manner that is faithful to the inevitable preparations of a death cult, then wimp out and go and play something else more suited to your metagame expectations of fairness.
So, to the module itself. It is jam-packed full of authentic flavour that leaves you in absolutely no doubt that you are in an India/Sri Lanka inspired enclave. The adventure oozes the culture and attitude of Jalmeray and allows you to fully immerse yourself in it. The adventure starts with an investigation that you can actually get your teeth into. It's not simply resolved by just wandering around until someone attacks you, as many supposed "investigations" are. It's well thought out and well-developed, just like the NPCs and their various motivations. The subsequent travel to the lair of your enemies involves several encounters that may surprise and delight you, as they did me. But the finale is simply just excellent. If you have the guts to go in there and get them, expect that they won't go down without the fight of your life.
So, did I survive? Yes, but only by the absolute skin of my teeth and my party fought tooth and nail through practically every encounter. It was tense and the pressure was enormous at times as our options started to run out and we struggled to find a strategy that would work. But, with not a small amount of luck, we endured. In short, it was an epic experience, and I'm a better player because of it. Thank you, Matt Goodall. Keep writing modules this excellent, please, and don't start pulling any punches. Dying in an adventure this awesome would be a privilege, just as it was in the Tomb of Horrors back in the day. Managing to survive it was something very special indeed.
