More Drow fun for your party as they encounter some who wish to experiment with novel fighting techniques agaist surface-dwellers...

The background for the DM introduces Arda Pharn, a drow cleric with an experimental turn of mind, and explains what she's up to. The adventure can be a side-trek, with this being the party's sole encounter with her, or you may devise a whole plot arc around her. She's not after killing her test subjects - it does make data collection a bit difficult after all!

Several hooks are provided to get the party involved, and there is some information to be gathered (much of it misleading) mostly based around an adventuring group that has recently disappeared whilst out exploring. This adventure begins when they arrive at Arda's 'laboratory' complex, you will have to organise getting there and any adventures along the way.

This complex uses uses a modified version of the Queen's Dungeon map from the Map-a-Week feature on the Wizards of the Coast website, which is provided here (the original can still be downloaded from the link in the PDF at the time of writing). It makes for a good delve, especially for parties who enjoy the challenge of traps, puzzles, and a goodly array of monsters to fight.

Arda herself does not make an appearance, she's watching magically from afar. However, at least one creature encountered has some inkling of what is going on and may hint at it to the party if they stop to chat. Parties who cope with the challenges and escape will be likely to attract Arda's attention in the future if you fancy some follow-up adventures. If you want to know more about her, there's an article on the Wizards of the Coast website in the D&D 3.X archives (at the moment, anyway), Google her name to find it. If they don't do so well, Arda has an ongoing need for experimental subjects and, shall we say, the party will be hoping that you write an escape scenario real soon! A neat adventure presenting believeable Drow opposition, with the potential for continuing adventures.

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Reviewed: 22 May 2016