It can now be revealed that this game is based on the 1982 TSR module
'Against the Cult of the Reptile God' (N1) by Douglas Niles. Up until now, I've had to keep it a secret because this adventure is a mystery whose title exposes the culprits! The module's cover art reveals even more secrets, so I still can't post it yet.
That aside, I think it's a great, different, challenging adventure, deserving of its place among "The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time" by Dungeon Magazine.
To fit my dark fantasy setting, I've emphasized its elements of horror.
In the interest of full disclosure, I've drawn plenty of inspiration from other sources as well:
-The stories (and purple prose) of H.P. Lovecraft
-The gothic horror movies of Hammer Films
-John Carpenter's The Thing
-Both film versions of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers
-Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings
-Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow
-Stanley Kubrick's The Shining
-The art of Dave Carson, John Coulthart, Lee Jeffries and others
-The modules of Gary Gygax, Paul Jaquays, Shane Mangus, James Raggi, Jack Shear and others
-And every DM I've ever had. Thanks.
