| JacquesUnderbottom |
The only issue I see with the changes are that you rob yourself of the opportunity to do the Price of Immortality arc with them after. I just finished Crypt of the Everflame with my players, and they were quite stoked to discover what the Razmiran cultists were up to inside the tomb even after defeating Vergas. By changing the story, it makes it difficult to sow the seeds of the story arc early enough to make them care about the Razmiran cultists by the time they reach Tamran. Likewise, without the amulets there is little that connects the modules to the Isle of Kortos.
As far as your changes to the tone, it only makes sense for a one-off adventure. In contrast, by making the players young up-and-comers, you allow them to follow in the footsteps of Ekat Kassen in such a way that makes the whole adventure very personal as they grow into their own power. It also lends a sense of history to when they finally face off against Vergas and Iramine later down the line.
If they are seasoned adventurers being confounded by the pillow traps, it would start to get a little silly, so you'll need to rethink some of the traps to be tonally consistent. As a rescue mission, you would need to modify the early encounters before entering the tomb, as the wolf encounter would lack the sense of tension that develops from young parties out on their first real quest. Likewise, you'd need to delete the orc illusions and dead cultists, as well as modify the treasure in the supply depot (as it wouldn't have been handpicked for the PCs, but rather the original adventurers).
If you don't intend to run Price of Immortality, disregard my post! Your changes are perfectly reasonable and create a complete story arc. Just remember to change the encounters to reflect the story.