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Designed by: Peter Charron
The Real Dungeons series returns, and I’m happy to report the second entry is a huge improvement over the first. The Well of Mitu Hatsep is a 10th level dungeon crawl adventure with an exquisitely detailed dungeon bursting with cool highly thematic traps, puzzles, and secrets.
The Real Dungeons series is inspired by real world archeological sites, transforming them into Dungeons & Dragons adventures. This adventure’s signature tomb is based on the Alexandrian catacomb known as Kom el-Shoqafa, an Egyptian burial site that dates back to the second century.
In other words, it’s a classic Egyptian tomb dungeon crawl. Yet the adventure doesn’t merely rely on tiresome tropes or clichés.
The story surrounding the dungeon crawl is simple but effective, couched in a rich backstory that’s just detailed enough to provide the DM with important context, without bogging down the action.
An evil king ruled a land and died. His loyal followers prepared a ritual to transform him into an immortal mummy lord, but rebels stole away the body and hid it. In the centuries since, a guardian from the rebels has guarded the tomb, while descendants from the loyal followers have been rebuffed from breaching its defenses.
The adventure kicks off as the players are asked by some townsfolk to help rescue their kidnapped children. An evil cult has recently raided their town, stolen the children, and demanded a unique artifact in ransom, found only in the nearby tomb.
Fun twist: most of the town are the cultists themselves, tricking the party into delving in the dungeon and recovering the piece they need to perform the evil ritual for their king. Tagging along is a duplicitous NPC who will try to swipe the item at the end, and betray the party. Nice!
The 20+ room dungeon crawl takes up the bulk of the 40+ page adventure, and it’s a thing of beauty. Every single room has something interesting to discover, a trap to avoid, or a puzzle to solve — sometimes all three!
There are radiant beams that bounce off mirrors, illusory treasure piles, caustic liquid-filled sarcophagi, buffeting sandstorms, and my favorite: a complex falling trap puzzle that drops its victims into a lower level filled with either poisonous gas (east side) or water (west side).
If the players steal treasures, deface the tomb, or attack the wrong patrolling creatures, they risk incurring a nasty curse from a d10 curse table, which is like a lingering injury and a touch of madness rolled into one!
It’s a combat-light dungeon, reminiscent of a more cinematic, exploration-focused location, but the exploration elements are all top-notch. Discovery sidebars highlight chances for skill checks that provide clues, context, and information about their surroundings, rewarding proactive and curious PCs.
On the monster side are two nifty tools for the DM: a Lion Shifter guardian named Merneith who can pass between walls and shift from sand piles, and creepy armless Tomb Watchers that can spot the PCs and scream, summoning powerful scarab soldiers.
All the monsters used (I believe) are custom statblocks, from the CR 13 Merneith to the four different sphinx monsters that collectively act as the final boss battle of the dungeon. The cultist Werejackals are also given an appropriate boost (CR 8!) from the base Jackalwere in the Monster Manual.
This is an excellent adventure if your PCs can recognize most of the standard 5e monsters!
To satisfy the social checkbox, the DM can use the accompanying NPC Osret (whom I wouldn’t be able to resist roleplaying like Beni from The Mummy), Merneith (who could be anything from a pain-in-the-ass hunter-killer to a party ally by the end!) or the creepy but non-hostile Keepers who tend to the scarab soldiers.
With perfect pacing, excellent details, and dripping with immersion, The Well of Mitu Hatsep is one of the best dungeon crawls I’ve reviewed in a long time.
But wait — there’s more!
The adventure doesn’t end when the PCs swipe the scarab from the mummy body (whom they don’t have to fight – the ritual hasn’t been completed yet!).
Whether Osret succeeds in betraying them or not, the party will need to bring the heart scarab to the designated site to trade it for the captured children. Of course, they’ll be shocked to discover the townsfolk are the evil Werejackals, ready to sacrifice their own children to bring back their king, creating an awesome, dramatic set piece for a climax.
The adventure is further enhanced by full color battle maps of the two-level dungeon and the final sanctuary site, including a DM version with helpful annotations. Also included are over a dozen creature statblocks and descriptions, and several custom magic items, all with artwork!
I could not be more impressed by the huge improvement over the first Real Dungeons adventure. The Well of Mitu Hatsep is nothing short of a masterpiece in game design, and something I could definitely see myself running in the future.
Pros:
- Intriguing dungeon design that focuses on puzzles, exploration, traps, and immersion.
- Compelling plot features betrayals, lycanthrope cultists, and stealthy rescues.
- Frequent sidebars with exploratory skill checks.
- Full color battle maps, with helpful DM versions.
- Features all custom creatures, with over 15 statblocks and descriptions
Cons:
- None!
The Verdict: The Well of Mitu Hatsep is a meticulously crafted, delightfully challenging level 10 dungeon crawl inspired by Egyptian tombs and backed by a rich history and compelling story.
A review copy of “Real Dungeons No. 2: The Well of Mitu Hatsep” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.
RogueWatson 