Review: By Mitra's Bones, Meet Thy Doom!
The quest for the Dark Tower
The ancient conflict between Set and Mitra rears its head anew when the characters discover that relics of the slain Mitra remain in the scaly hands of Set's servants. The party must over the machinations and horrors of a deathless menace to steal back the god's bones. The party will discover that the war between Set and Mitra is far from over and that a linger evil remains under the shifting desert sands.
By Mitra's Bones, Meet Thy Doom! is a 2nd-level adventure for Dungeon Crawl Classics. It's a standalone adventure that can be used as a prequel to the Jennell Jaquays's Dark Tower. I've run it as a one-shot, but it would definitely work better if you give it two sessions to breathe.
For those unfamiliar with the Dark Tower, it may be the first megadungeon ever created. It was first published in 1979 but received a recent update to DCC and D&D5e. Both this adventure and the Dark Tower take place in a desert setting so if you're wanting to take a break from typical fantasy forests and castles, then it doesn't get much better than this.
Overview
The adventure is 20 pages long, but also includes a 2-page "Dramatis Personae section and 2 more pages detailing magic items and a new level-1 cleric spell (Invisible to Unholy). Then a final couple of pages that consist of a brief essay by Stephen newton on how he created the adventure and a In Memoriam for Jennell Jaquays, the adventure covers a whole lot within those 26 pages. Like most DCC adventures, this is one that you should fully read beforehand, but it in no way feels overwritten. I'll also add that the Dramatis Personae section is very well done, each detailed character has backgrounds, motivations, and their own rumors to spread.
Things start off with a concise overview of Set and Mitra's conflict, as well as the more immediate conflict presented within the adventure. By the next page, we're already seeing a map of the local town (more of a trade post as it's just a few buildings), suggested adventure hooks, and area descriptions. There's 6 distinct locations within this adventure: the town of Mitra's Cross, the False Temple, the Gorge & Cavern, Beneath The Cairn, the True Shrine of Mitra, and the Shrine of Set.
The PCs start by arriving in Mitra's Cross and most likely head to the Inn of the Weeping Maiden. The inn is run by Vani, who is secretly a priestess of Set. Though she appears to be a 90-year-old woman, she's hundreds of years older than that and is a tough combatant. In combat, I recommend that judges use animal summoning to conjure snakes. There's some very powerful beasts in the DCC RPG core book that you can use. There's also a few other details NPCs here, but I won't give away all the details. Just let it be known that there are both enemies and allies to be found, if the PCs play their cards right. There's only 2 other building in the "town" but a little investigation can provide the PCs with valuable information and possible routes into the caverns where the PCs will alter find the True Shrine of Mitra and the Shrine of Set. The PCs will just have to be careful not to alert the camel traders, run by Vani's twin brother (also a priest of Set).
The presented events and information likely lead the PCs to the False Temple. There are some desert salamanders here that attack the PCs as they climb up a massive cairn upon which the temple sits. The fight makes really good use of the environment and is made more interesting by the fact that the salamanders hate eucalyptus. The plant acts as a repellent and can be found elsewhere in the module and allows the PCs to entirely avoid this combat. Inside the False Temple is a false priest that attempts to lure the PCs into a false sense of security and ambush them. After combat, there's some good spots to explore and find out more info, but the PCs will be incredibly suspicious of anyone who recommended they visit the temple (looking at you Vani). So it's very possible that the PCs head back to town and to start some a big fight. However, its possible (though unlikely due to the difficulty) that they will open an entrance to the true Shrine of of Mitra.
If the PCs head to the Gorge, they can find some eucalyptus trees along with a few dangers. The PCs can meet Gabbro, a stone giant. If they don’t try to kill his pet bear, they can even become friends. And for the price of two "plump camels", he'll move a giant bolder that blocks the passage down into the caves Beneath The Cairn. Alternatively, the PCs may have discovered the entrance within the cellar of the Inn of the Weeping Maiden.
The area Beneath the Cairn is a very brief one that mostly serves as a the place where different paths meet. The PCs can journey to Gabbro's cave, the Inn, the Shrine of Set, and the Shrine of Mitra. The Shrine of Mitra is hazardous to any chaotically aligned PCs. They take 1d5 damage upon entering and 1 damage every 10 minutes thereafter. I'll note that this was much more lethal in playtests! And there’s still other hazards that would keep the agents of Set from sticking around. Fortunately for one of my players, I rolled low on my 1d20 damage and they survived long enough to get out. Mitra's Shrine has a couple potential combats, but clever PCs can get through without any fighting. Either way, the PCs are going to enjoy this place. There's the chance for one of them to have their teeth magically replaced with Mitra's Jaws of Law, which is a very powerful magic item. They can also ask the actual statue of the Weeping Maiden for a bless form Mitra. But with each blessing (received on a 1d5 table) comes a quest (a 1d3 table)!
The Shrine of Set is where the PCs find a traditional conclusion to the adventure. It's well Jaquaysed and continues in providing interesting combats. Every combat has some method where it can either be entirely avoided or the PCs can gain a substantial advantage if they are use prior information or act on environmental cues. My only gripe is that the Mahna, the demonoid Runt of Set, has rather pitiful saving throws. He can be taken out by a decent sleep or paralysis spell, and was when I ran a playtest! However, he does have a few snakefolk younglings to help him out in combat so I might suggest that one of them be able to bite our final boss in order to counteract certain effects. But only if this would make for a more thrilling conclusion to the adventure.
The Ending the Adventure section has good suggestions for the judge. It's very possible that one of the three priests or priestesses of Set escape, possibly later setting up an ambush. The PCs may have received a holy quest and likely have found the Fang of Set. They'll have to figure out what they want to do with this dangerous artifact. Many of these lingering plot hooks serve to lead the PCs towards the Dark Tower. Adventure awaits!
Summary
By Mitra's Bones, Meet Thy Doom! is a really excellent adventure and gets a hearty recommendation. Though I barely mentioned it above, it gave me a strong feeling of being set in the desert without repeatedly mentioning "oppressive desert heat". It has cool loot and other rewards for the PCs, and lots of opportunities for roleplay, exploration, and combat. It rewards clever planning, smart investigation, and good roleplay. The interconnectivity both of the characters and the physical environment make it fit right in with how Jennell designed the Dark Tower. I also thoroughly enjoyed the author's short essay on writing the adventure which provides valuable insight to anyone interested in the craft of adventure writing.
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