Lamashtu's Shrine:
1. In area A1, I really appreciated that Stephen considered the logic behind why the secret door wouldn't have an Arcane Lock spell placed on it. However, having an Alarm spell in the same area seems to have the exact same issues. Why place an alarm if there isn't something here to find, especially since it's at the bottom of the stairwell? It would make much more sense to place the Alarm spell in the passageway on the other side of the secret door, since any intruders will need to go through there anyway and a spell placed there won't be as surprising or the same kind of red flag to the players.
2. The Scribbler's stat block shows that he has only cast 1 Alarm spell for the day. Shouldn't that be 3: one each for areas A1, A6 and A9? I suppose one could argue that the durations on these are 26 hours (2 hours/caster level; 13th level caster) and that the PC's manage to get here while two of them are still in effect, but it would make more sense to me that he would renew them all at the same time so he didn't have to try to remember when he did each one.
3. The general notes on the shrine specifically state "All of the doors in the complex (with the exception of the secret door in A1) are covered by silent images to make them appear to be plane walls." However, the flavor text of area A2 gives a detailed description of the doors to the south. Are these also an exception to the rule, or should this description have been in the detail text for what they look like if/when the PC's get rid of the image?
The Sihedron Circle:
1. "Of course, each attack against a stone triggers its trap"...huh? What traps? None are listed. Since the explosive damage is specifically described as being an additional effect that takes place the moment a stone is destroyed, that isn't the trap referred to. Oops! Can we please have an erratum for this right away? Also, what are the Spot/Disable Device DC's for the final explosion traps?
Xin's Stairway:
1. "while the final steps lead directly up to carving of an ancient face"...um...except for the 60' x 50' "landing" between the top of the steps and the face.
2. It would have been nice if there was some mention of where the elementals start from so a GM knows if the players have a chance to notice them as they move to attack and possibly cast spells/drink potions/etc. before they get there. A 200' rise with multiple switchbacks is a lot of territory for them to potentially have to cover.
3. The description of the elementals state that they are bound to the stairway, but their combat tactics then talk about them trying to bull rush intruders off of the "landing". IMO, if you're more than 5 - 10' from the top stair, you're not on a landing anymore, nor on part of the stairs. Arkrhyst doesn't trigger the elementals when he spies over the edge at the players and he doesn't have a Sihedron Medallion, so that seems to support that the elementals can't move onto the landing in front of the cave. This also implies that if the PC's manage to get to the landing by some method other than walking up the steps such as flying/teleportation/etc. they won't trigger the elementals.
4. The tactics for the elementals also mention that when they try to bull rush intruders off the stairs, the defenders receive a +2 to their opposed rolls because of the "stone railing." Here's another "huh?". No railings are mentioned anywhere except in the tactics block. Along with #1 of this section, the disconnect between descriptions and details are confusing and sloppy.
The Freezemaw Factor:
With as much importance as is given to the GM defining the PC's main sins for purposes of determining the effects of the various Sin Triggers in Runeforge, I'm very surprised that no primary sin was given for Arkrhyst. The easy-out answer would be greed, but Stephen seems to have given some real thought to the dragon's history and mind set, so there are lots of chances for much more interesting options that really open up some RPing possibilities here: Wrath: for hating the PC's for robbing his hoard; Pride: he's just sleeping the years away now dreaming of his many conquests; etc. If for no other reason that this, it almost begs a GM to make sure that Arkrhyst is around to follow the players into Runeforge.
The Abjurant Halls:
Area E3 says that "the entrance to this room may only be found with a DC 30 Search check after removing the rubble in front of it." The map shows neither secret door, nor any rubble to remove, just an open passage way. The description also says that there is a 10' x 10' area in front of the secret door. On the map, this it is actually closer to 7.5' x 7.5'. For that matter, the same disconnect exists with the description of the tunnels leading away from the Runeforge: 10' wide in the description, but 7.5' wide on the map. This really only affects the GMs that like to blow up the maps to use as combat grids, but still... And yes, I am fully aware of the challenges of scheduling between writing, art, layout and production. It's sloppy and confusing.
The Ravenous Crypts:
1. How do the skull shaped secret doors work? Do they slide to one side? Are they plugs pushed into each opening that just pull/push out? If they are plugs, how much do they weigh and how much damage would they do if one was dropped on a PC? I specifically ask this because it seems to be implied that the six, guardian mummies in area are still in their respective tombs since they are not in the visual description. This should give the players at least one round of combat to react/prepare as the mummies come climbing out, but if the guardians are entombed higher up than 10' in the 30' high chamber, them pushing out the plugs could potentially drop them on a surprised or unsuspecting PC.
2. Just some things that made me go "Hmmm": if the nobility that pay to be buried here know that they are just going to be used for "parts" and if no one that comes here leaves here (so no visitors or funeral parties), why did they bother to build actual crypts and tombs? What's the point? No one other than the research staff would ever see the tombs and it would be cheaper and easier to just stack the corpses like cordwood and grab what is needed for the various experiments from the piles as they go. I suppose from a gluttony view of things, the tombs and such are "consuming more."
3. The idea of wraiths in the walls is just cool at so many levels though I'm a little disappointed that you didn't go for wight-washed walls instead. :) Should it be assumed that the wraiths are in the marble of the secret doors as well?
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