Crypt of the Devil Lich

Overall score:

The dungeon crawl is how many gamers are introduced to pen-and-paper adventures. The dungeon has always been a convenient model of designing adventures makes it easy to direct the player characters. The dungeon crawl is so common that it is perhaps also one of the most mocked aspects of the RPG, particularly Dungeons and Dragons. Still, Goodman Games has sought to capitalize on the simple enjoyment that can be found in a D&D dungeon. The adventure module Crypt of the Devil Lich is great example of the uncomplicated joy that can be found in a good dungeon crawl.

The premise for Crypt of the Devil Lich is really straight forward. It seeks to get the characters started into the dungeon quickly. The opening paragraphs give all the story background the characters need. A half-demon, half-drow sorcerer became a lich and once terrorized the land. She was eventually defeated with a powerful sword and imprisoned in a crypt deep in the earth. A monastery was built near the crypt so the monks could make sure the lich didn’t escape. Recently, there have been signs and prophecies that the Devil-Lich will return. The player characters are recruited to investigate, but find the monks slaughtered and must venture into the crypt, find the shards of the sword that originally killed the lich, and stop her for good.

It’s a simple story-line, but it works. A lot of what makes this adventure so entertaining is that it has little twists to the story as the player characters progress. Nothing that changes the overall plot, but almost every room provides and opportunity to delve a little deeper into the plot.

Speaking of dungeon rooms, the areas in Crypt of the Devil Lich are fantastically fun. Rarely do you simply walk into a room to see you foe ready to be slain. Traps and secret doors are abundant. Not only that, but the traps work in conjunction with the monsters, to make some truly memorable encounters. Simple skill checks will not resolve these elaborate traps. Instead, the module typically only gives possible solutions to disarming the traps upon a successful disable device check. All three levels of this module become large obstacle courses that really test several aspects of the player characters. It would be hard for a player to finish module without having a favorite room, trap or encounter.

The module is designed for high level play, recommending 4-6 15th level characters. It is also necessary to have a good mix of characters. Having some sort of rogue with good trap-finding skills is almost absolutely necessary. Also have a cleric or paladin makes a large difference in the ease or difficulty of the module. However, extremely powerful characters may find the module to be too easy. The module includes pre-generated characters for ready use.

One of the greatest features of this module is that it is designed for tournament play. Originally the module premiered at Gen Con in 2004. Supplemental rules are included for tournament play, such as team points for completely objectives in rooms with most rooms having several objectives that can be completed. It also changes some rules to equal the playing ground for players at a tournament. Damage dealt by traps and monsters are fixed in advance to ensure that some equality for multiple tables of players. It also includes tournament rules for death, use of expendable magic items, time-limits, and methods for scoring individual players.

The production quality of is good. It is designed to appear like the old adventure modules in original D&D. It includes level maps inside the cover. I also includes color artwork through out. Even better, the book proves over a dozen player handouts that can be copied and used repeatedly. The player handouts include illustrations of several of the rooms, important objects, and riddles. Also included are stories from the tournament at the 2004 Gen Con with photographs. New monsters are also included, along with new monster templates, making the module useful for creating your own adventures. Sadly, the module does use the older stat block system and contains a few errors. Overall, it is very usable and gives the owner more than what you would normally find in a adventure module.

The bottom-line is that if you are looking to run a high-powered classy dungeon crawl, Crypt of the Devil Lich is worth picking up.

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Written by 42 on July 04th, 2007