Aardevarque Comment: Labyrinth of Madness
Date Reviewed: 08/05/1995

Note to TSR: this is the way to write a module!

Labyrith of Madness
Levels: 15 and up (suggested party ave. of 20th)
Written by: Monte Cook
Edited by: Thomas Reid
Cartography by: Diesel
Interior illustrations by: Dan Frazier
Price: about $9.95 (gee--if they'd added a box, they coulda charged $30)

1 Orc piss
2 American beer
3 Halfling ale
4 Dwarven spirits
5 Nectar of the gods

I'd give it a 4.5 at this point, though I'm not all that well-versed in 
what a good high-level module should entail.  But it's my impression that 
if you prefer published modules to having to write your own, this is 
definitely something to think about getting.

SPOILER SPACE

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This module is billed as a 3D maze.  It is, but only sort of.  The
gimmick of the module is that there are 20 sigils, and they must be 
touched in the correct order in order to successfully complete the 
module.  So the party has to a) find the sigils, and they aren't all 
obvious, b) figure out the order to touch them in and do so, c) figure 
out that you need to go through the portal of sigil X to get to sigils Y, 
M, and Q, which you need to get to sigil K.  Get the picture?

Also, there (as usual) are many levels, with teleports, ladders, stairs, 
etc. joining them, so the sigil you need on this level  could feasibly be 
almost anywhere else, meaning you may have to go backwards to go forwards,
down to go up, then up to go down, etc. >:)

Add into this lots of big nasties with intelligence who don't just sit in
their lair and wait for adventurers to arrive.  And a rod of resurrection
used by a teleporting imp.  And lots of neat, fun tricks & traps.  And 
it's not truly set in any one game world, though the introductory 
material sorta needs an "Underdark" to work totally (but this is
*easily* gotten around)

And the best of all: PICTURES!! (like in the C series--player handouts 
that show what room B4 looks like, and so on)  And drawings for the DM 
that show how certain areas, traps, etc. work.  And suggestions for how 
to boost/reduce the difficulty level.

There are some errata, typos, and difficult-to-understand sections [see
accompanying file], but for the most part, it is clearly laid out,
and easy to read & comprehend what is going on.  This is a dungeon
crawl that is more than your basic dungeon crawl.

Layout-wise, it mimcs the PH/DMG2R; that is, it has a bar (of art) across 
the top of the page, and the section headings are in the same font/same 
placement (placed to the left, with the text written around it on the 
right) as the PH/DMG2R.  Also, the cover mimics the new format (black 
border, the new AD&D logo (which, confidentially, sucks--bring back the 
old white/blue one!!), and better-than-average art.

I've strictly limited what TSR materials I buy, but *definitely* do not
regret picking this up.  If you are in the mood for a good module, and
have the $$ to spare, pick it up!  Compared to what TSR has been charging
for everything else of late, it's definitely worth the cash, IMHO.  (Not
necessarily so when compared to other companies, but that's another can of
worms altogether)

By the way, a witty DM might want to create a gate from somewhere at the
end of this module to the Planescape campaign; the "mysterious hints of a
21st Sigil" gag is just too good to pass up...

Aardy R. DeVarque
Feudalism: Serf & Turf


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