We Eat in the Dark is a dungeon adventure for 3rd or 4th-level characters by Alex Clippinger. The dungeon is dangerous, and the characters might not survive the experience. It is recommended for use as a one-shot rather than as part of campaign play.
Part of the danger of the dungeon comes from its set-up: the adventurers have been captured and begin with limited equipment. I note that the equipment they adventurers begin with is more generous than that given to the poor unfortunates playing In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords, an adventure from the early days of D&D. Still, if the ranger only has a longsword and leather armour and nothing else, it’s a different feeling from regular D&D games.
The chief set of foes is a tribe of troglodytes, which are made more dangerous by a powerful magic orb that renders them invisible from time to time. Otherwise, there a few other inhabitants of the dungeon, with a roper providing the potential for an even-quicker Total Party Kill. The action is divided between combat and exploration; there’s unlikely to be much role-playing here. It’s a matter of survival!
The adventure could be played in a more standard manner, where the characters have full equipment. In this case, it’s more likely the players can survive the challenges, although by no means assured.
Non-combat encounters tend towards mundane, rather than fantastic, challenges.
While the maps are attractive, their reproduction in the adventure is not flawless, and it’s difficult to determine the grids. Clip art enlivens the text; the layout is basic but effective. Some artefacts of rewriting remain – including in the opening paragraph – and the text doesn’t always flow well. There are a lot of small grammatical mistakes and missing words. The text also includes “will” a few too many times when describing monster actions. I very much like the cover of the adventure.
My preferences would lead to more encounters with the fantastic, but as a gritty tale of survival, this may fit the bill. Recommended.