I bought issue 144 at Borders last night and read all three adventures (and I skimmed the Bargle Critical Threat), and Paizo has produced another outstanding issue. Just some quick comments on each adventure:
"The Muster of Morach Tor" - Before I read this adventure I thought to myself "Do I really need another invade the lizardfolk lair adventure, I already have Encounter at Blackwall Keep?" After reading it, my answer is affirmative. Though set in the Forgotten Realms, the adventure is easily portable and it has fairly high stakes for a 4th level adventure. I really liked how Russel Brown spent time physically differentiating the two main lizardfolk and their equipment; I also liked how he dipped into FR material that is still easily portable. My favorite part of the adventure has to be the blind, giant crocodile; I absolutely love new twists on existing creatures, so making it blind, granting it tremorsense, and the Blind-Fighting feat was very cool.
"The Lightless Depths" - F. Wesley Schneider and James L. Sutter continue with their distinctly creepy streak displayed in their earlier collaboration "Shut-In" (and in Schneider's DCC Cage of Delirium). The STAP continues to surprise me both the variety and the quality of its component adventures. Beyond the vivid disgustingness of diseased troglodyte religious fanatics and a city built from quasi-living flesh, I really loved the role-playing and diplomatic aspects of the adventure. However, I hope the DMs of paladin players are especially kind since the PCs will potentially make alliances with a dragon turtle, a troglodyte cleric, and an aboleth. Finally, the interlude at the mongrelfolk city was both unexpected and fantastic.
"Diplomacy" - This is perhaps my favorite adventure of the entire issue. It is a strong role-playing adventure with interesting NPCs that have clearly drawn personalities and motivations, that does not shirk on the action. I particularly loved the care and attention given to Zin, the tertian modron, and his extremely logical monologues. I could picture delivering that dialogue verbatim in a deadpan monotone and I couldn't help but chuckle. My one complaint is that the hook that draws the PCs into the conference on the side of Elysium is pretty weak, though by the 18th level of a campaign, I think a DM could compensate with something more appropriate.
Also, one other thing, I see that the modron in this adventure was changed from an outsider (in the MotP web enhancement) to a construct. Was this purposeful? I only wonder not only because of the statistic changes, but because the text mistakenly refers to Primus as "lord of the inevitables," so I thought this may have been some sort of a late substitution that resulted in some confusion.
In any case, great job to both the writers and editors!
Creative Director
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Modrons are constructs in flavor, so it made sense to make them constructs in type, just like the inevitables. The bit about Primus being the Lord of the Inevitables is a remnant; the original draft of the adventure had an inevitable in the role of the modron, and we changed it to a modron to make the adventure a stronger Planescape homage. One of the mentions about inevitables slipped throguh the cracks, alas.
As for Paladins in Savage Tide... if they can't come to terms with working with the folk of questionable character in "Lightless Depths," they're going to have a REALLY rough time of it later in the campaign. Being a paladin sometimes means having to make hard moral decisions, and that sometimes means siding with a lesser enemy to defeat a greater one.
I noticed the change from Zelakhut to Modron. I initially thought the construct type was a holdover from the original statblock, so thanks for the clarification. I understand the reasoning behind putting them as constructs on one hand, but as the exemplars of their plane, outsider seems more appropriate (FWIW I treat them as outsiders who also have a number of construct traits mechanically speaking).
But I won't really complain however because it's a freaking 3.5 modron in print, which is extremely cool. ;) It was a very nice touch.
And thanks again James for incorporating some of the things I suggested for the adventure. The final product came out looking really spiffy, so kudos to Chris Wissel, and the same for the Paizo crew as well.
I do have to say, its about time that the modron's got some loving. I really appreciate the change also, and I think it works much, much better than an inevitable, since I don't see those creatures as the diplomatic type.
I loved the bio of Bargle, and all the references to the old D&D redbook, which I guess dates from around 1984. It's so cool seeing all these references to the old school D&D game (the counterpart to AD&D). First it was Isle of Dread, then the Lost City prequel adveture a few months ago, and now Bargle!
What's next? A Norwold epic-level adventure? Revisiting the passages of Rogahn and Zelligar with 1st level PCs? Voyaging across the sands of the Sind Desert?
