My group and I had a real blast running through the Curse of the Lady's Light. Although this chapter of the AP, just like the others, features a prominent dungeon, the story is full of opportunity for roleplay: dealing with the tribes in the marshes, the encounters with the Gray Maidens, the possibility to have to Gray Maidens' leader join the PCs, etc. The final encounter is tough and tense, but not necessarily over the top if the players are smart.

That one famous trap in the dungeon is also a wonderful opportunity for great gaming if your players tag along, and mine sure did! Its repercussions through the rest of the campaign are going to be fun to play.

Bottom line? Keep Mike Shel on the payroll, he sure knows how to invent a dungeon with a twist!

Curse of the Lady's Light follows in the steps of Shards of Sin, presenting an adventure mostly comprising of one big dungeon crawl. Like Shards of Sin, it suceeds in presenting an interesting array of characters, encounters, and tricks. If the players are paying attention, they can gradually begin to uncover the truth behind the dungeon's denizens and leader, using her real identity to their advantage in what should be a climactic and entertaining final encounter.

The NPCs have all been fun to interact with, and they all truly feel like they belong in the Lady's Light. Clever PCs can find clever ways to bypass encounters, especially if they make use of a particularly devious trap early in the dungeon.

Overall, this has been a pleasure to run, and possibly the best dungeon I've ever seen in an adventure path. I hope Mike Shell is here to stay as an AP author.

Read my full review on my blog.

In Curse of the Lady’s Light by Mike Shel, the second instalment of the Shattered Star Adventure Path, the player characters set out to find the next piece of the titular Shattered Star, the Shard of Lust. This quest takes them to the Lady’s Light, an ancient monument to Sorshen, the Runelord of Lust. Like Shards of Sin before it and the rest of the adventure path still to come, it is primarily a dungeon-based adventure. As I mentioned in my review of Shards of Sin, I can be somewhat critical of dungeon crawls. However, when they’re good, I give them the praise they deserve. Curse of the Lady’s Light is definitely one of those good dungeon crawls. While the actual dungeon itself is somewhat linear, the events that can occur within are surprisingly non-linear, with a wide variety of options for how things might progress. Most importantly, it has a selection of interesting and compelling NPCs. In fact, its two principal villains are amongst the best villains I’ve seen in an adventure path instalment: one sympathetic and tragic, the other irredeemably evil yet uniquely insane. This adventure is definitely a step up from the competent, but not-particularly-awe-inspiring Shards of Sin and could prove a good sign for the rest of the adventure path to come.

This was a total joy to read front to back. An AP that fits perfectly well into the series but would also make an amazing one-shot.

Some dungeon crawls you begin to glaze over after a time but when each room has something new and interesting, how can you put it down? They all gel like part of a puzzle that smart players will have a field day with. This is also the type of thing needed to keep players on a crawl engaged and alert. No room after room now abandoned and empty.

Also, Mike Shel really tackles a feel I’ve missed in recent years, taking liberties stretching how some established game rules work within the spirit of creativity to really keep players on their toes. Not to mention keeping GM’s cackling with delight.

The personalities, storyline, traps, and locations are all top-notch. I literally can’t wait to run this Adventure Path, and this is the prime reason why so far. My group went all the way through RotRL and CotCT and this will reward them aplenty.

As an aside I find really funny: after my Crimson Throne game was winding down after finishing the last AP in that series, the group wanted more. I adapted a module from Dragon Magazine, one of my old favorites, as an old Sorshen redoubt. The adventure was called The Mud Sorcerer’s Tomb by Mike Shel.

So here we are - after crawling and crawling and crawling through the first adventure, we get the second one in te path, Curse of the Lady's Light. While the previous module was good, this one is really great. This module is kind of a showcase about how a classic dungeon crawl can be really great.

Even though it's a long romp through 10 ft. wide corriders filled with monsters out to get you, this module is chocked full with fun, inventive encounters. I can't imagine any room in the dungeon being uniteresting, and that's a very good thing. the environment is just special enough to be intresting without getting too crazy, and numerous traps and roleplay oppertunities really break the monotone of "enter a room, fight the ancient Thasselonian guardian".

Also, the added bestiary, essay about Torag and essay about the Grey Maidens are all incredible. I don't read the fiction so can't comment on that.

Highly recommanded.