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This is one of the most immediately professional feeling submissions I've seen so far. Absolutely phenomenal job on basically all counts. The writing is great and very thematically appropriate. The layout is really well done. The art is striking. It feels immediately playable as a dungeon crawl and also has a clear through line for a story to be told. 

The only real question I had was whether the GM should be tracking the dungeon era as a whole or if each room would be tracked independently. My initial inclination was to track it as a whole, meaning they would have the opportunity to double back and revisit areas that they saw in a different time and see how they're different, but that doesn't necessarily feel like it's likely to happen. I could see the potential for a fun time crystal macguffin being added to help free Yasha-Gok but also see the differences in the dungeon areas that the party has already visited if an era change occurs at a later time if you tracked the era as a dungeon wide effect. 

If the era is a location by location effect, it would mean that players would generally only see one version of a location and if they happen to roll an era change, then they'd get to see how it changes immediately. 

 The only other thing I can point to that I think could be sharpened up a bit is the Explorer vs. Tribesman subplot. While it does feel authentic to the sorts of stories that came from that era, it does have some lingering implications that feel a little dated. I think I would prefer to see this as an Explorers vs. Devotees, which does seem to be the framing in the future era for The Library location. I think you set up that sort of a conflict in your introduction and I think dropping the Tribesman label in favor of worshippers of Yasha-Gok would just make it feel a little more timeless and drop some of the weird awkwardness that comes when you use labels like Tribesman.

Other than those two very minor points, this is definitely the cleanest submission I've reviewed so far. 

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Thank you for taking the time to make a super insightful review!

in the writing of Time's Needle I kept in mind the label of "Tribesmen" as being something I did want to find a replacement for and that adjustment slipped through the cracks. I think it's very astute - and I realized only too late - that it could very well be Yasha-Gok Cultists! 

Someone in the Discord joked - "What, not living up to your name?" Absolutely roasted!

So you're completely right, regardless of the superficial aesthetic of the warriors from the past, versus folks from the future, that will be reframed for 1.1. 

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As to the era shifting there's some ambiguity built in although that's not a satisfying answer. Outside of the space-limited format I would definitely further clarify that my intention overall is for the entire tower to shift and often. Some missed content is to be expected of course but you're right that it would be a shame not to have players see the interesting changes if the rolls were unlucky. That's something I learned in playtest too. The danger level is either going straight to Deadly to be sure more encounters happen or some adjustments will be made for more static encounters. 

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Again, thank you!

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Yeah, the Tribesman thing is a really superficial note. I think it's one of those things that the way you used it doesn't feel like an inherently bad thing, but I do think that there are probably some people who would want to fix it in their games, where the Cultist/Worshipper angle doesn't have the same level of baggage.

I'm not familiar enough with Shadowdark to get a feel for how it would affect the balance of the adventure, but I wonder if you could adjust the time to shift on a 1-2. Then combine encounters 3-5 into two encounters. One where you see 1d6 Explorers take on 1d4 Tribesmen and another where you see 1d4 Explorers take on 1d6 Tribesman. I think that may help the dungeon feel like a dynamic place where things are happening. It may reduce some opportunities to have non-combat encounters, but I would think that the party could always just sit back and wait to talk to the winners. 

Then you're looking at having more frequent time shifts but also the potential combat encounters have some dynamic decisions to make: side with the more powerful group, side with a group that you've already interacted with, side with a group you haven't interacted with, sit back and wait for the fight to be over, try to stop the fight and broker peace, etc. 

Just some thoughts. In my mind, this is already a 5 star module, so anything I'm suggesting is a minor, cherry-on-top type of suggestion.

And I appreciate all the above thoughts! 1.1 will be all the better for them.