The One Who Watches From Below Review
Disclaimer: I don't know Jobe (though I know of him), never given him any money, generally watch Inappropriate Characters (often a day or so after the show's already over), and the only time I spoke to him directly was to take him up on his offer for a free PDF of his adventure The One Who Watches From Below. I've also never played Dungeon Crawl Classics. I used to own the core book, skimmed it, but it never held my interest so I sold it some...5-6 years ago; mostly this review is going to focus on the ideas and presentation.
With that out of the way: overall, unlike more recent fare, I dig it.
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It's for 1st-level characters, so you're good right out of the gate, though I'm not sure if a crew of 6-8 is an unusual number, at least where Dungeon Crawl Classics is concerned. I could see ways to bump it up a bit for at least somewhat higher level play, adding more monsters to the mix, perhaps upping Hit Dice (which I think would be the case, as DCC seems to largely run on a 3rd Edition chassis).
The default hooks are straightforward yet very broadly appealing, particularly if you're using this for more than a one-shot: the players hear about the Cave of Secrets--really one of three temples dedicated to an elder god--and go there to offer up loot in search of answers, or to snag the loot others have offered. Or both: there's really nothing stopping you from performing the ritual to get an answer, and then going in to get your payment back.
Well, except death. And you might very well die trying at the end, presuming you want to test your luck against the elder god's guardian with a bit of grab-and-go. But then you pretty much have to, because there's barely any treasure anywhere else in the dungeon.
Now, I do have an issue with the treasure, but it's less where it is, more what it is. For the most part it's randomized coin amounts, with the possible chance of a magic item. The description states that, should the characters succeed, they will be "fabulously wealthy", but should you leg it with a chest that's so big it requires two characters to cart it off, on average you'll get a grand total of around 125 gp worth of assorted coins, and a 25% chance for a magic item.
You might be better served grabbing two large bags, which would give you an average of nearly 160 gp, and two 15% shots at a magic item. As I mentioned at the start I've never played DCC: maybe by that game's standards 125-160 gp is considered fabulously wealthy. It's certainly well below what you'd expect in 3rd Edition, which is around 900 gp by the time you hit 2nd-level. I don't know if you'd hit 2nd-level in this adventure, but remember you're also potentially splitting it 6-8 ways.
Also, I feel like a massive chest could carry far more than 125 gp worth of coins. Really you'd think it could hold at least several thousand (which is more within the realm of "fabulously wealthy"). It also mentions gems as a possible form of payment, and there aren't any on the treasure table. Fortunately it's trivially easy to remedy this: just multiply all coin totals by at least 100 instead of ten. You can also roll on a gem table if you want to throw some of those in.
At least the magic items are mostly useful (one can be a kind of poison potion), and there's a very slim chance of getting two instead of one.
Again, that's the only real issue I have with the adventure content, and easily fixed. Unless that's normal for DCC, in which case I guess you're good. It also doesn't matter in case you're just interested in information, discovering answers pertaining to some place, object, creature, etc. You know, something to fuel another adventure.
There's a paragraph that explains the process, though it oddly doesn't mention the price, which is mentioned elsewhere: a precise 1,000 gp in coins or gems. Not sure what happens if you go even a single coin above or below. Or offer something else of value that's not coins or gems. Presumably nothing. But, if you've got cash to burn and really need answers, you can walk up, drop it in the bowl, go to sleep, get your answer, and be on your way.
So long as what you seek doesn't conflict with the elder god's plans, in which case it has its henchmen murder you and dump the body somewhere. Maybe keep your buddies on watch if you give this a shot. Never know. Could be a way to get inside, though.
But, in the likely event you're looking for loot, be prepared to brave a multilevel dungeon crawling with eyes scooting along the walls (which might try to possess you), rats with eyes on their backs, mutant halflings covered in eyes (maybe even fetal mutant halflings), harpies with friggin' laser beams shooting out of an eye in their chest, two cockatrices fused together, acid-spraying worms, and a gorilla without any eyes.
I don't want to spoil too much, but I will say that, while at least some of the above might sound like lolsorandom post-modern millennial trash that I've come to expect from lesser OSR fare, with context it mostly makes sense. Though, to be fair, I am curious why halflings specifically, how a gorilla got here (Was it captured? Deliberately imported?), and why fused cockatrices are permitted to run amok (you think they'd kill off the temple's other inhabitants).
The laser harpy actually makes sense, as I think it's just a normal harpy possessed by the elder god, though I wonder why there are so many nesting about inside the temple.
In case the cover and terse monster descriptions weren't enough of an indicator, the overall theme of the dungeon is eyes, but it goes beyond slapping eyes on the walls and monsters: there's are several traps that inflict a curse upon you, causing you to fall unconscious, and your eyes to "flow" off of your body, and onto the floor. The curse can be broken in a few ways (all doable within the adventure, even), but it's not entirely bad, as you can continue moving your eyes about any inanimate object they come in contact with, and even onto certain creatures in order to possess them.
It's a neat gimmick that smart players can actually exploit, going under doors and through small openings and pipes to scout ahead, or enter places that you otherwise couldn't. You can also possess certain things to at least partially make up for your comatose character (read the playtest summary in the back).
Overall, sounds like an interesting and fun time.
A few other gripes that in no way "ruin" this adventure:
There's a pile of books, but none are described save the one with the ritual that can be used to restore a PCs missing eyes. The library has a very brief summary of its contents (“...atlases, historical references, map folios, compendiums of flora and fauna, religious texts, and treatises on alchemy.”), and I suppose it would make sense that these books would be taken from there.
That would be a useful supplement: a bookshelf/library generator. Something you could roll on, adjusted for race, possibly "wealth", preference, and/or size, so if players want to at least get a general sense of what can be found, you aren't struggling on the spot to come up with titles and topics (and there's the name for you: Titles & Topics).
There are these paper scrap "boxes" that can get really close to the text:
I also didn't like most of the art. I think the cover is alright, could be better, but some of the interior art is pretty bad:
This looks better, but still...eh, not a fan:
Very dynamic, but that just emphasizes the issues, such as what's going on with the chick's right hand:
The map only kind of bugs me:
Pretty ostentatious, but at least there's scale and its functional, providing a side view and some visual aid. This makes it far superior than anything I saw in Red & Pleasant Land. Granted, not exactly a huge hurdle, but it's more of what I'd expect from an "artist". Well, whatever the opposite of a post-modern artist is, anyway. Pre-modern? Traditionalist? Whatever the case, someone that puts actual time and effort into the craft.
Finally, the greatest of minor issues: there's a portal you can go through, that can take you to another of the elder god's temples. There's some description to give you an idea to run with, but no map of any sort, so if your players are the type to go through portals and start randomly exploring, might want to prep this ahead of time.
Again, these issues aren't any reason to write the adventure off: the handouts are pretty good, the map works, and it's not like the rest of the art is necessary to understand what things even look like.
Overall, good job. Knee jerk grade is A- if we're just judging the writing, B+ if we're judging the entire package.
Goodman Games finally went woke (glad I dodged that bullet), but we didn't and won't. So if you want something D&Dish but don't want to support someone that hates you, check out Dungeons & Delvers.
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