Thanks for the detailed comment! I kept the text as minimal as I could, so great points you bring about the ambiguity of the text! Seeing if I can elaborate on some of the points:
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The intent is for your spirit returns to where you were before, so anyone in the Realm of the Dead can choose to wait for your return.
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Yeah, you can always pick up the rope and keep trying. I’d rule that it probably lands behind the cultists if the PCs weren’t cautions about their throw. Also, as per Shadowdark rules, every time they attempt the same test, the DC is reduced, so this should help bringing it to a close in just a few throws.
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The intent for possession is to work similarly to how a ghost’s possession works, but your body is in another realm and the corrupted spirits want to kill the shamans and stop the ritual, so for the duration, my intent is that the PC’s body will try their best to make the ritual fail. At the end of the rounds, it returns to normal. I left it vague if the suppressed spirit returns to the body or the Realm of the Dead, but either is valid and in the spirit of the adventure.
I think it could’ve been interesting to add more elements to help characters in the final encounter, as you mentioned. It’s something I thought about, but didn’t develop further. I had placed the Flying elf in the chrysalis specifically to be a possible ally, and technically you could ally with the other spirits of previous rituals, but at least during my playtest, players only allied with the gnomes of the factory to cross the bridge. Definitely something to think about!
Thanks again for the comment and the feedback 🙏