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DDAL08-02 Beneath the City of the DeadClick to magnify

DDAL08-02 Beneath the City of the Dead

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The treasure hunt has led to the City of the Dead. Beneath that well-manicured park is an ancient
crypt where the treasure awaits you! Part Two of the Umbral Aristocracy Trilogy.
A 2-4 Adventure for Tier 1 Characters. Optimized for APL 3.

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Reviews (59)
Discussions (17)
Customer avatar
Charles S May 15, 2022 7:53 pm UTC
I can't rate this as I didn't buy it through DM Guild. But I have read it and tried to run it.

This is the most incompetently written module I've ever read. The Map is not keyed, the descriptions are only a little help. The pit trap is visible on the provided map, but the room numbers are not. At one point the author get's confused and says that the southern statue in the "hall of secrets" is the "eastern statue", and that's not a typo as the author then incorrectly says "corridor to the east" after that.

And the final challenge is designed to end in either the PCs being turned away, or them deciding to murder some random innocent guards. Either way, when the Big Bad shows up and severely out classes the PCs, he's supposed to just kick them out the door. Despite him having every motivation to simply slit their throats. An option which for him is both the preferred route and the easiest. Especially since these random people now know where his secret lair is....See more
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Cliff H April 23, 2020 3:05 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I've read through the module but have not yet prepared to DM it for a game session.
My first impressions are that this was a bit of a let down.
I was wanting a map with numbers on it and boxed text to read to the group.
This is more of a conceptual flowchart. The only map provided is not well done. Its to the level of quality I could do on my own; I was expecting more having paid for it instead of hand drawing my own.

Now the positives here are I do see some interesting NPCs and ideas for how an explore the graveyard adventure can happen, but I will have a lot more personal prep work before this is ready for the table.
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Michael C May 21, 2019 12:12 am UTC
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This module was poorly written and does not appear to have been edited at all. There are numerous mistakes, including the unlock cards... six of them are correct, the Goggles of Night, however the last three are Wand of Secrets from the previous adventure.
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Alistair B April 01, 2019 11:45 am UTC
PURCHASER
I enjoyed running this module. Great opportunities for role playing. As with other modules in season 8, it helps if you can be a bit creative.

Most of the encounters are very tough, I had to adjust difficulty on the fly (remove some HP from some of the monsters). I had a party of 6 level 1 characters, which technically is average but they felt weak.

The typo's are a bit disappointing. It doesn't take much searching to see half a dozen.
Customer avatar
Eran A February 03, 2019 9:56 pm UTC
It's amusing, has some great storytelling in it and the combat is nicely space. I especially liked the tough choices with the wolf and the sister. Two thumbs up.
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Bruce N November 23, 2018 2:14 am UTC
PURCHASER
Good Parts
The module itself was fun to run, but with only 3 players -- one 1st, 2 2nd -- was brutal on my players, & I very nearly TPK'd the party on the first encounter. There should have been "encounter adjustment" guidelines for "A Sheepish Request," but there weren't, so I had to fudge it in. I guess this is actually more of a "neutral" point than a good one.

We had some fun role playing with the City Watch, Perdita, Suri, & Artor Morlin. It was definitely nice to see encounters in which the players pretty much have to RP their way through rather than charge in swinging.

Bad Parts
O, those typos. This mod is loaded with typos. It's *almost* like nobody edited it at all.

The failure to label the map wasn't a huge issue, but for the life of my I can't figure out why anyone would release a mod on DMG without labeling the map. If it was relatively easy for me to figure out, it should have been super-easy for the mod writer,...See more
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Michael C May 20, 2019 11:37 pm UTC
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I would agree with the above review. It was a nice change from the standard "murder hobo" adventure, required some thinking and roleplaying, but I feel it was poorly written and not edited.
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Samuel B October 21, 2018 5:35 am UTC
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This module requires a creative DM to get it going. It's mostly just an outline with more blank slots to be filled in by the DM that you would expect from a tier 1 module. With that in mind, and the astonishing amount of editing mistakes, I would say it is not a good choice for a new DM. The module seems to have been rushed and lacks the fine tunning that, in my opinion, should be included for all tier 1 content to ease new DMs into the role. Putting that aside, in the hands of an experienced DM or one who has plenty of time to prepare, this module can be an absolute blast.
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Roger M October 11, 2018 7:34 pm UTC
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Page 7 needs editing. Bonus Objective B. Southern Statue should replace Eastern Statue. And "It leads to a corridor to the east that bends NORTH".
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Roger M October 15, 2018 1:26 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Suggestion. Since the plot still involves the map from 08-01, I think it should be included.
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Jerry K October 08, 2018 12:32 am UTC
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Does anyone have any idea what the red, blue, and purple squiggly lines are on the map??
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TIM D October 11, 2018 12:42 am UTC
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Tapestries/wall hangings
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Red P October 06, 2018 6:48 pm UTC
PURCHASER
In the Adventure Primer it states: "This adventure includes two bonus objectives that the characters can pursue if they have additional time to do so—earning additional advancement checkpoints (but no treasure checkpoints) in the process. These bonus objectives are found in this adventure’s appendices, as follows:"

Is this intentional?
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Jerry K October 08, 2018 12:06 am UTC
PURCHASER
Page 10 states "the characters receive 1 advancement checkpoint and 1 treasure checkpoint for each bonus objective that they complete as follows:..." This is inline with the previous module, 08-01, and I would assume this is correct and that part at the beginning is a typo/incorrect.
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Red P October 08, 2018 6:55 pm UTC
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Rewards from prior adventures don't dictate rewards for other adventures. Based on what is expressly written players get no treasure points for _bonus_. It's hard to see it as a typo because they made the additional effort to type out "but no treasure points" The most likely scenario is that page 10 is a copy paste error. My hope is that the writers will change their minds, but I could also see the outcomes of completing the bonus objectives as being their own reward.
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Jerry K October 09, 2018 12:48 am UTC
PURCHASER
If that's what you believe, that's cool, but I respectfully disagree. Every pre-season 8, 4-hour module awards players 4 TCP per 4 hours of play. The other 3 released season 8 modules give you 4 TCP for 4 hours of play. If you believe that this is the one module in the whole catalogue that gives you 2 TCP for 4 hours of play, well, until there is a ruling either way, I respectfully disagree.

I think it's more likely that page 2 is leftover from an old version that wasn't updated, like how version 1.0 of DDAL 08-00 only awarded 2 ACP and 2 TCP, but version 1.2 was updated with 4 ACP and 4 TCP.
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Red P October 09, 2018 1:49 am UTC
PURCHASER
No worries, your response simply reinforces the importance of this discussion thread. It's entirely possible that page two is just an old version that was never intended to make it to the final release. Please understand that this confusion (on both our parts) is the entire reason why I started this thread and why I asked if this is an intentional change. It definitely bucks the trend and I am looking for an answer from the writers/publishers. Until then all I can go off of is what makes the most sense in this specific instance, because what is generally true is not always true. It is my firm belief that rewards should never be ambiguous. The contradictory statements in this document are problematic as evidenced by the posts in our discussion. Again, I would like to reiterate that I hope this situation gets remediated quickly by clarifying the intended rewards.
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Customer avatar
Jerry K October 09, 2018 4:10 am UTC
PURCHASER
I see your intent now! :) I hope we get an official answer soon.
Customer avatar
Diego R October 04, 2018 6:52 pm UTC
Those mods are hot garbage.

Barely anything in there to call a mod, the fact theres no narrative to bring players into the story except a guy bumps into you and drops a clue to something. Except the players dont know what theyre after unless theyve played the previous mods, which are equally vague.

It felt like reading those mods had even less description of the terrain, theyre chocked full of spelling mistakes, wrong information that contradicts itself, oh and if youve run 8-02 you know that there is one map included with no markers at all on which room is which, the whole map is in the wrong scale to even fit the monsters in and the "optimization" for them is awful, theres things in there players and dms shouldnt have to run/ run into until tier 2 (telekinesis, counterspell, hypnotic pattern) AT TIER 1, which means both learning players and dms will have a real tough time playing a 2 hour mod that takes 4 hours to complete if you go by whats written in the mod and it "ends"...See more
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Chris C October 31, 2018 3:53 pm UTC
PURCHASER
While the encounter with the referenced spells is rather a nightmare, the thing that uses them has a speed of 0, and is easy to target and destroy. But I also have a great many issues with the inconsistencies between the map and text, even the text and text.
Customer avatar
Michael B October 04, 2018 3:05 am UTC
PURCHASER
If both versions are 1.0, which is the new one?
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daniel M October 02, 2018 11:43 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Printer friendly format would be great.
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Customer avatar
Noel M October 10, 2018 12:55 am UTC
PURCHASER
Agreed. I am not a fan of these fancy versions... Kill the heck out of my toner!
Customer avatar
Christopher S October 02, 2018 7:25 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I found another issue. Page 2 says the rewards are 1 ACP and 0 TCP for bonus objectives. On page 10 it says the rewards are 1ACP and 1 TCP for bonus objectives.
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Customer avatar
Red P October 06, 2018 7:21 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Based on what Page 2 says, it looks like the bonus objective reward they mention on page 10 is a copy paste error
Customer avatar
Travis F October 02, 2018 5:38 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Christopher S is correct it looks like the magic item card sheet was never changed on the item's name line from DDAL08-01 The Map With No Names.
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Customer avatar
Travis F October 02, 2018 6:51 pm UTC
PURCHASER
There is also an additional appendix 6 and it looks like it belongs to DDAL08-01 Once in Waterdeep (v1.0). The rest looks great can't wait to run it :)
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Customer avatar
Chris C October 31, 2018 3:55 pm UTC
PURCHASER
The additional appendix 6 says it's for DDAL08-01 Once in Waterdeep, but Once in Waterdeep is DDAL08-00, while DDAL08-01 is Map With No Names. It can lead a DM to incorrectly scale up the encounters, though, if that's the primer they see indicating an APL of 1, instead of 3, as is listed for the actual module.
Customer avatar
Erik T October 02, 2018 5:19 pm UTC
PURCHASER
While the updated formatting is very nice, is there any chance of a version that won't murder my ink cartridges?

Also, wow, that price...
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Customer avatar
William B October 03, 2018 12:07 am UTC
That is a fair price.
Reply
Customer avatar
Chris C October 31, 2018 3:55 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Not for the botched job that this was.
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Product Information
Platinum seller
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Pages
29
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File Last Updated:
October 02, 2018
This title was added to our catalog on October 02, 2018.
Publisher
D&D Adventurers League
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