Not your average dungeon crawl.

Nameia’s Laboratory is a one-shot adventure created by Stratos Fotakis and illustrated by Alexandros Balatsouras. It is designed for parties of 4-6 players and 6th-level characters(more on that later), with an average duration of 4 to 5 hours. It’s always pleasant to see Greek creators contributing to the community. So let’s see what’s bleeding inside.

Disclaimer: We were provided with a free digital copy of this product.

The scenario

Your party comes across the hidden lair of the Crimson Order, a cult ruled under the blood mage Nameia. The name Nameia is likely inspired by Lamia, a Greek mythological figure that kinda fits the adventure thematically.

Once a beautiful queen, Lamia was turned into a monster that devoured children, and is associated with seduction, sorcery and life force draining. In some versions, she is presented as a vampiric archetype without the literal blood sucking.

There are three plot hooks to choose from according to your style:

• randomly stumbling upon the entrance like a classic dungeon crawl
• an investigating mission by your faction (Harpers unite)
• a rescue mission by a detective

The cult’s goal is simple: to revive the Blood Lord. To do so, they need to sacrifice capable magic casters, and that’s where your players come to aid. The story can be fitted easily in the Forgotten Realms or a full arc where you confront the real Nameia. But let’s talk about that in the following section.

Encounters

Nameia is a fascinating villain. She’s powerful, intelligent and is obsessed with arcane experiments. Although you’ll never face the actual one in this one-shot (with a CR at 23, I’m sure you’d love to), her simulacrums (CR 9) are everywhere. A Philosopher’s stone is the magic item that allowed her to create the blood clone that you will indeed meet.

Moreover, the monsters that will greet you follow the bloody theme effectively. The encounters vary from bloodhounds to bloodhulks, each one reeking of blood and horror, perfectly capturing the lair’s atmosphere. Their stat blocks are gathered and alphabetically ordered in an appendix for convenience. And you’d better watch your step at the front entrance, or the blood spikes trap will ruin your day.

What is really impressive is how well Nameia is written. Her backstory and rich lore make her a nice candidate for the central figure of a full campaign. With a few adjustments, she could be hiding in the shadows and scheming her next move, building towards an unforgettable final boss battle.

Layout & Art

The layout is clean and easy to navigate, thanks to hyperlinks in the menu of contents. However, in some cases, the links don’t direct to the correct page. Visual highlights are also present, like bold text, headers, and boxed text for narration purposes. Additionally, a detailed full-colored dungeon map is included, with each room marked on it and thoroughly described, setting the vibe and atmosphere.

Appendix A contains five new magic items, and as you have probably guessed, the Philosopher’s Stone is one of them. Following, Appendix B has four creatures, five NPCs, and two cultist variants called red blades and sanguine scholars. As for the art, it successfully captures the essence of the adventure through the module, with full-page handouts of vivid artwork. Magic items are complemented nicely by quality illustrations, and Nameia herself looks as dangerous as she is described.

A minor issue is that while the cover features 6th-level characters, the introduction mentions 5th-level. A small oversight that might seem confusing for new DMs, but fortunately, the encounters are flexible and can be scaled.

Final Thoughts

Nameia’s Laboratory is a bloody dungeon crawl, with an impressive villain that perhaps you’ll want to see again! While designed for a one-shot, it is totally expandable and haunts fits in any game, setting Nameia as a recurring threat in your world. It will definitely leave you hungry for more. Have you tried it yet?

Stay crafty and crimson,
Your new favourite author.

This post contains affiliate links. By using them, you support the blog without any extra charge being applied to you.