In this adventure the party is tasked to travel to Oppara to look for a Pathfinder by the name of Bodriggan Wuthers, a renowned discoverer of artefacts who was working on a dig site beneath the House of the Immortal Son opera house, and is over a month overdue with his report of his findings. As it is difficult to get access to the dig site, it's suggested that they attend a performance of the opera - which requires smart dress and fine manners - and sneak off at an opportune moment.

It starts off well enough, with an opulent setting and a modern opera called Among the Living which premieres that night - perhaps the performers are really that bad, or maybe the party is not well up on what is currently fashionable in operatic circles. Then things begin to get worse...

Copious details about the opera house itself are provided, giving a fine setting for the adventure which is remarkably flexible - of the five acts, as long as the first and last occupy those positions the rest can occur in any order as suits your needs and the party's actions. Despite the opening and setting, this is a combat-heavy adventure without much else to do once the 'fun' starts... and although what is actually going on is detailed clearly for the DM, there are limited opportunities for the characters to find out much beyond 'evil cultists at it again' with a lot of zombies thrown in for good measure. The faction missions provide a modicum of light relief, with faction members given tasks that will seem quite strange to everyone else.

As a convention adventure it works quite well, you may feel that it's a bit limited to incorporate into a campaign unless you want the cult to provide recurring adversaries (at which they'd actually be quite useful) or you want to give your party a spectacular introduction to Taldor nobility. It's growing on me a bit as I think about it, but there's no getting away from there being a lot of combat in this one. And who takes their war belt to the opera?

Return to Among the Living page.

Reviewed: 10 January 2016