ASC Review - Ophidian Temple
Adventure Site Contest 3 review
This adventure was submitted for consideration in Adventure Site Contest 3 being run by Ben Gibson at Coldlight Press. This is an unofficial review, which was written prior to reading (or watching) any of the official judges’ reviews. Links to the official reviews are at the bottom of the review.
* Failing grade. The adventure doesn’t meet minimum standards of playability.
** I could see running this, but it fails to inspire me or has significant playability issues.
*** I would consider running this.
**** I am considering running this.
***** I want to run this. Now.
Ophidian
Temple
By
Scott_M
For
AD&D
Levels
5-7 (4-6 characters)
Time to grok the adventure: 15 minutes
Set-up:
A cult of snake-men is kidnapping local villagers. When the party searches the jungle for their hideout, incessant drumming will indicate both the location of their temple and the fact that bad shit’s going to go down.
No rumours were included, but the GM should be prepared to let the players learn a bit about the history of the temple:
- the snake-man demon, who was banished by brave warriors
- the magical winged serpent (couatl) who fought the demon before disappearing mysteriously before the final fight
- the terrible staff wielded by the chief snake-man
Things I liked:
The demon is a strange amalgam of ape and snake, which explains the presence of apes at the temple exteriors. In the best possible way, it feels like it might have been created using DMG App. D Random Generation of Creatures from the Lower Planes.
There is a good variety of jungle monsters (apes, insects, plants) and snake-themed monsters (ophidians, necrophidus, couatl). The temple is highly trapped in a logical way. Generally, traps have at least some clue as to their presence, but they will require intelligent play to avoid entirely.
Things to note:
There is minimal role-playing in this scenario. It is mainly combat and trap-avoidance. The GM will need to be prepared with the villagers, including their priest-kings. Who will join the party, what aid can they provide, what reward do they offer, etc.?
The temple felt too small for the amount of content. I thought each encounter was well-done, but interspersing a few more empty rooms might have been nice. The ants, for instance, felt a bit unnecessary and out-of-place given the size of the temple.
The ritual to summon the demon will complete in 24 turns. Though the characters will likely not know this, it seems a bit too generous. I was thinking more like 6 turns if there is really a chance for the summoning to take place while the characters are in the temple. Either way, if the characters leave to rest and come back, there will be no more drumming, and that should be truly terrifying.
Some nit-picks:
- The adventure notes an open shaft into area 14, which should be area 13.
- The cliff above the temple is described as both sloping sharply and covered in thick jungle. At least my players would object that there wouldn’t be enough soil on sharply sloping rock to sustain thick cover.
- An 8-HD mantrap would be 24 feet tall (by the book), so it might not be too well concealed.
- The snake-men know a safe path across room 5, but the adventure doesn’t tell us how the players can find it out.
- If you think that yuan-ti are the only true snake-men, then this adventure won’t be for you.
Rating:
**** A straightforward adventure that rewards smart play and promises a satisfying final fight.
Links to official judges’ reviews:
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