Eye of the Lich Queen
From: Wizards of the Coast
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
Eye of the Lich Queen is a new D&D Eberron Campaign Adventure Book from Wizards of the Coast.
WARNING: Minor Spoilers to follow. This review is meant for DMs only. People who plan to play in this adventure should not read this.
Eberron is the adventure setting in D&D that most intrigues me. Eye of the Lich Queen is an adventure book that takes place in that setting, taking the character deep within a jungle temple and beyond. There are four parts to this campaign adventure book, each an adventure of its own. Of course, they each follow the same D&D standard adventure design, with plot and description first, followed by the tactical encounter information. The adventure is designed for 5th level characters and should take the player characters (PCs) to 9th level.
The adventure has 4 parts. Each is an adventure within itself, representing a stage along the campaign adventure. The basic plot is the search for an ancient artifact called the Dragon’s Eye. Two competing factions collide in the search for this item and the PCs are caught in the middle. The Chamber, the faction that hires the PCs, asks the party to help in the search while the other – agents of the Lich Queen – seek to find the item for their Queen.
Part 1: The Temple of Kha’Shazul takes place in the jungles of Q’barra. After being hired by a member of the Chamber named Sur’Kil, the group finds themselves deep within the jungle in search of the ancient temple of Kha’Shazul. Journeying there, they encounter lizard folk tribes. The temple holds its own secrets and challenges including a dragon or two. What the PCs later discover, after finding only a few of the relics they were hoping for, is the magical location they found has a strange effect on them. The result forces them into a life or death search for the final missing artifacts.
Part 2: Finding the Path – As a result of clues obtained at the temple in the previous adventure and driven by the need to find a ‘cure’ for their newly obtained aberration, the PCs now seek the path of great adventurer and explorer, Jheamast. This adventure takes the PCs to the Lhazaar Principalities where they must discover the tomb of this dead explorer. There are 3 phases to this adventure that take them to a mansion called Vorgaard’s Estate to search for a thief who is apparently enslaved by pirates. Once the thief is freed, their journey takes them to the pirate prince’s flagship itself. Throughout this adventure, the PCs deal with the Lich Queen’s minions as she attempts to find the Dragon’s Eye for herself.
Part 3: The Haunted Isle takes the party to the tomb of the lost explorer where they face dangerous indigenous creatures of the island, some undead and other darker challenges, as well as traps and constructs.
Part 4: The Orrery of Vortuum is the endgame of this campaign adventure where the players learn the true nature of the Dragon’s Eye. Their employer is kidnapped by a draconic ally of the Lich Queen and taken to an observatory called the Orrey of Vortuum, which overlooks a crater, the Fang Crater. In this epic ending, a battle wages between two barbarian tribes while the PCs attempt to save their employer.
In the end, the PCs face a ton of the Lich Queen’s agents as well as other challenges, but they never face the Lich Queen herself. She is left for later in the series.
From the back cover: “Be the first to find the Dragon’s Eye ”
Villain: The primary villain is of course the Lich Queen, but the players only see her through the many minions she sends after them. Her background is given as part of the story and she is described as a half-dragon elf lich. Wow! I am kind of glad the PCs don’t meet up with her yet.
Minions: The minions vary, but the two primary are the female Blood of Vol cleric, Dura ‘ir’Metallan and the covert agent within the Chamber, the blue dragon Khurystas. Both are very challenging and have an interesting depth to them that goes beyond the tactical use. Dura in particular is a tragic story as she evolves (or devolves) throughout the story.
There are also a few very creative creatures spawned from the interesting use of templates, like the mummified half dragon or the giant squid zombie. I have to give the authors credit here – very imaginative on some of them.
Locale: Of all the locals the PCs are brought to, my favorite is the Orrery of Vortuum. A very intriguing and inspired location for an epic battle and a powerful finale. It is an epic location for a very epic adventure. They are all interesting in their own right and have a strong Eberron feel to them. Although, in some cases, they are fairly generic, overall they feel very unique to the world and I feel would get the players ‘into’ Eberron without being too deeply soaked in Eberron mythos.
From the back cover: “What begins as a simple expedition to explore an ancient jungle temple sends the adventurers headlong into a search for the Dragon’s Eye,…”
Plot: I am somewhat torn by this adventure plot. While there is a considerable amount of story and intrigue, there are also a lot of clichés and over-used common themes. The Dragon’s Eye itself just sounds like a cliché to me. But what makes these clichés different, I suppose, are the effects they have on a world like Eberron, which is a world far from a cliché. There is a lot of subtle intrigue throughout, as you would expect from an Eberron adventure, and the potential for more as more groups get involved (say for instance from the PC’s background).
I also liked tying the PCs own lives with the adventure, giving them a deeper motivation to find the Dragon’s Eye. It made me wonder if the employer somehow knew that would happen. Also, despite the clichés, the adventure builds up to a very powerful and explosive ending. By the end, the players will be thoroughly satisfied with it. They also will be left with a deep need to finish off the power behind the opposing faction – the Lich Queen.
Reward: The reward is two-fold. Not only do they gain wealth and prestige with the Chamber, but they save their own lives. I think the latter is a little more rewarding. Along with all that, they keep an evil faction from gaining the ultimate power – control of all draconic kind.
Layout: The art work, cartography and layout is good but not the best I have seen put out by WotC. The maps seem to have less detail than ones I have seen in other adventures, but they are still better than most overall.
OtherStuff: Also included are two new feats, including Dragonmark Luck, and 3 new Magic Items.
In conclusion, although it had a slow start, the campaign adventure really develops fast and explodes at the end. It is a strong story-driven adventure with a lot of background and opportunity for intrigue and roleplay. This is what intrigues me most about Eberron. I liked this adventure because it eventually felt like an Eberron adventure and not just another D&D adventure in Eberron clothing. At first, it did feel like a regular clichéd D&D adventure, but as it developed, I knew I was in Eberron.
For more details on Wizards of the Coast and their new D&D Eberron Campaign Adventure Book “Eye of the Lich Queen” check them out at their website http://www.wizards.com, and at all of your local game stores.
Eye of the Lich Queen
From: Wizards of the Coast
Type of Game: D&D Eberron Campaign Adventure Book
Written by: Stephen Schubert, Tim Hitchcock, Nicolas Logue
Editors: Scott Fitagerald Gray
Developed by: Stephen Schubert
Cover Art by: Wayne Reynolds
Additional Art by: Ron Lemen, Lucio Parrillo, Francis Tsai, Anthony S. Waters
Number of Pages: 126
Game Components Included: One soft cover adventure book
Game Components Not Included: d20 Core Rules, Eberron Setting book
Retail Price: $ 24.95 (US)
Retail Price: $ 30.00 (Can)
ISBN: 9780786943197
Website: www.wizards.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung