The Hidden
Tomb of Nephabti (2019)
by Jeremy Reaban
Self-published
Levels 5-7
 |
| Mummies. Why did it have to be mummies? |
Should you want to explain the
concept of a dungeon crawl to a layman, looting pyramids and Egyptian royal
tombs might be your best bet to get across the idea. D&D is often highly
esoteric, but pyramids? Those are on TV. The first game session I ever played
took place in a pyramid. If you have played AD&D reasonably long, you have probably
been to one, too.
The Hidden Tomb of Nephabti is
a short tomb robbing-adventure. Of its 17 pages, 8 are dedicated to a dungeon
with 23 keyed areas, the rest describing new monsters, gods, and magic items.
It is meat-and-potatoes in a good way. If you need an Egyptian tomb, here is
one that can fill that spot. It is written and laid out in a straightforward
way, and focuses on what matters around the table. It is not going to win any
award, or draw hype, but it is the stuff that makes for a nice home game,
packaged for reuse.
The rooms are good. Every one of
the dungeon rooms has something worthwhile going on: interesting combat setups,
magical tricks, interesting and well-hidden treasure, and even good NPC
interaction. It does not concern itself too much with mundane elements like
rotting linen or sand with bits of broken pottery – it is all about the
fantastic side of dungeoneering. A lot of adventures have two or three good
ideas hidden in them. This one has several, and much of it is even tied to the
local mythology (may contain traces of Cthulhu; time plays another important
role). Most importantly, it is all material which invites and rewards PC
engagement and experimentation. Look and touch!
One aspect I am finding weaker is
the way the rooms are connected. The tomb is laid out in a fairly boring way
which looks like the rooms are mostly linked arbitrarily. Nothing of note takes
place in the corridors (not even traps or random encounters), and it lacks the
vertical elements of a good tomb-crawl. The real pyramids had stairs and air
shafts and interior galleries! One or two rooms are positioned in a way that
requires some thought to deal with or bypass, but you could mostly just
march unimpeded to the final room, and leave the way you came. Not even a lousy
pit trap in your path? This needs work!
But all in all, this is a solid,
unpretentious scenario with a fake-TSR style cover I have a soft spot for. As I
understand from the text, this is the first module of a trilogy, to be followed
by The Fearful Fane of Bubastis, and Black Pyramid of the Faceless
Pharaoh.
No playtesters are credited in
this publication.
Rating: *** / *****
