I finished Dungeon Crawl a few days ago and wanted to give some feedback. Overall, I was really impressed by the quality of the mod... even if I was a little disappointed in some of it.
So what's good about it? I thought it was very well integrated into the story. The new characters show up in the CC. You talk to them if you want, and you do their quest if you want. And even after you find Grudin, you're still given a chance to go do something else before actually leaving for the island. The pacing, style, and humor felt like it could have been a Bioware-written quest.
I wasn't familiar with Dungeon Crawl at all, so any in-jokes of the characters went right over my head. I still found some of it clever and well-written though. I would've liked to have been able to fight the Shadow Pack at the end or let the two groups fight before heading to the island and go with the victor, but I suppose you can't kill off characters in the game...
The levels themselves were also well done. They had a unique feel, but at the same time didn't feel out of place. The addition of lots of traps was a nice touch. That's something a lot of dungeons seemed to be missing.
My party was as follows: Korgan - level 10, Anomen - level 12/7, CHARNAME - Barb/Thief level 11/9, Yoshimo - level 12, Edwina - level 10, Valygar - level 9. I only had problems with the first Greater Mummy, who I decided to skip after reloading. The other two Greater Mummies on the third floor I had no problems with -- Anomen summoned an Aerial Servant, who mopped the floor with them and most of the golems too. Without that spell, I would have had a harder time, but I still could've probably finished it, assuming I found something else in my pack that I could hurt them with. So I think level 10-11 is pretty reasonable, with the caveat that you have at least a couple +3 weapons.
I liked the lich and the beholder too. I had a feeling they wouldn't be hostile, but I didn't expect them to be so friendly. I would've liked to have been able to take home some Beholder cheese or some Lich tea, and perhaps even sell it or give it to someone later (e.g. the Beholder in the Sahuagin city?). The items they sold were good, but I think The Robe of Arcane Might is a little much. Then again, I think the Robe of Vecna is overpowered too. I also wish there was a way to get back to the island after the quest is over -- I didn't buy the belt at the time, and now I could use it!
So what didn't I like? Well, I found the quest too short, for one. It was a bit anti-climactic. But mostly, I found the battles tedious. My favorite types of battles are mixed party battles (Den of the Seven Vales, Guarded Compound, Tarnor & Draug Fea, etc.). And the only human party you encounter weren't much of a challenge. Golems and (to a lesser extent) undead I find pretty dull because their resistances limit how you can harm them. The final boss fight was rather easy too. I barely took any damage, and didn't need to cast a single spell -- just blast away with ranged weapons.
Still, I'll recommend it for others to try because of how well done it was, and I'll probably install it again if I do another run through after this one.
Thanks for the great work, Kulyok.
BTW, I'm working through Assassinations now too, and enjoying it quite a bit.