Having read the reviews on Paizo, as well as the free player's guide, I was excited to run this campaign with my Wednesday group. The general premise of Jade Regent: The Brinewall Legacy is that the party will be traveling, with a carvan of some very interesting NPCs, around the world. However, after getting through the first book, we are a bit disappointed with several aspects.

First, the good. We enjoyed the start up and plot set up. Sandpoint, and the adventures around there were rather enjoyable. The swamp was a lot of fun. The Goblin camp was probably larger than it needed to be, but it was a nice setup for what was to come. I wish the other 2/3rds of the adventure were this well rounded.

The party enjoyed the interaction with the main NPCs. Jade Regent features a relationship mechanic that would not feel out of place in something like Mass Effect. I was concerned that they would come across as gimmicky, especially given that I ran this with a more experienced set of pen and paper players who shun the idea of computer gaming conventions working their way into the game. In a way, the mechanics do feel a bit fake and forced. For example, players rush when they're about to level to get their diplomacy checks with NPCs. However, at the same time, these tend to turn into some very funny moments. Over time we are seeing these relationships blossom and grow together. It's a nice touch, and something I will probably integrate into future homebrews.

Now, the not-so-good. For a game that is focused on those four NPCs, it would have been nice to see a bit more written on them. Perhaps some cut scenes, or direction given to the GM at certain parts in the adventure would help...or some more background and personality info. The two pages for each one is nice, but could use more info.

While the "level 1" section of this AP module was generally well done, the Level 2 (Trip to Brinewall from Sandpoint) and Level 3 (Brinewall Castle) had challenges.

The trip to Brinewall, which is a 500 mile trip, gets just a few paragraphs. Given the setup (The party has to prepare the caravan, plot their course, etc), it really falls flat and is a huge missed opportunity. There are tables for random encounters. The book suggests that by the time the Party is really ready to take on the castle, they should be level 3, implying that there should be a lot going on during the trip. Now, this certainly gives GM's free reign to be creative, but I buy adventure paths because I do not have a lot of prep time. GM's, take my advice... spend some time and work some adventure in on the way. Make the trip memorable. Your players deserve better than what's there.

Conversely, Brinewall castle is a beast. This three floor dungeon crawl has good flavor and some very interesting things going on it. The layout is fantastic. However, it's a bit too large. I would have loved to take some rooms (or even a floor) out of this one, and have that dedicated to the trip from earlier. Despite the pages dedicated to the castle, because of its size, some rooms are quite empty, and several things (Such as any treasure at the end) are left completely to the GM. The battles were very rarely challenging. Depending on how the party approaches the castle, they can quite possibly watch the BBEG beaten by his ex-lover without lifting a finger to help (They will, of course, help, but the fact is that it has to be one of the easiest boss encounters I've ever run).

My advice to GM's running Jade Regent: The Brinewall Legacy... be prepared to do a bit more prep work than with most other AP's.

The players also felt that the plot reveals were too sporadic...and when they took place, it was a lot of information at once (especially the one at the end). I don't believe there's a lot DM's can do to alleviate this (unless they are real creative).

Some of my players have completed other Paizo adventures such as The Rise of the Runelords. Those who have agree with me that Jade Regent: The Brinewall Legacy falls short of the mark set by those excellent productions in terms of overall quality and story telling. However, as I mentioned before, there are a number of things done right here, and plenty of fun to be had. The overall plot and the premise of taking a trip around the world is still quite interesting, and I know we're looking forward to see where the travels take them next. The interactions with the major NPCs, encouraged and spurred by the relationship mechanics, with the right party (those who favor RP'ing at the table) help to inject much needed life into the adventure. So while I am a bit disappointed, and list some definitive shortcomings, there is plenty of fun to be found here.

I'll review the other books as we continue to push forward. In my Friday group, we're a few session away from finshing the first book in Carrion Crown. Onward!

James Jacob. Need I say more? The man just never fails to execute. The adventure kicks off in grand fashion bringing us all back to Sandpoint. Yes BACK to Sandpoint - this is a sequel folks!

We have it all goblins, oni, caravans.... what is this thing called a caravan you might ask? Quite simply one of the best mechanics I have ever seen for extended overland travel and group combat.

My hat comes off to the crew at Paizo and James.

James Jacobs returns to Sandpoint and spins a tale that kicks off the Jade Regent AP. Sandpoint is something of a fan and author darling, a sleepy small town where the Rise of the Runelords AP began with now-classic "Burnt Offerings".

How does The Brinewall Legacy live up to expectations? Quite well, I would say. It's a very solid introduction to the AP, with both wilderness exploration and dungeon crawling, roleplaying opportunities and good old hack and slash. There are some memorable scenes to play out and important plots to unravel.

Support articles are of the usual stellar quality.

So, why 4 stars? While this is a very good adventure, it somehow lacks the "oooooh" factor that the best Paizo kick-off adventures (Burnt Offerings, Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, Haunting of Harrowstone) features. It's more of a workmanship - very solid at that - it does the job, but doesn't drop jaws.

Also, this adventure is far, far, FAR easier to handle if you have Burnt Offerings and it's excellent article on Sandpoint. The Sandpoint environs article in TBL is good, but one really wishes for more info on the starting town.

From page one you are drawn into the story.

We just finished up the Licktoad Village part, but I wanted to write an initial review for anyone out there considering this Adventure Path.

This book by itself could be played so many different times and so many different ways that it is a HUGE value for the money. Add to it that this is only part 1 of 6, and wow, what fun!

My kids had played We Be Goblins! earlier this year with another group. They still talk about that adventure, so when they re-visited familiar territory as the heroes it was a blast. There was a glint in their eyes as they went looking for the goblins they had played. Was their goblin killed by the skeletons? Did their goblin escape to the forest? Are those the cremated remains of MY goblin?

This Adventure Path has been fun so far.

I really like this one. I fell in love with sandpoint when I ran rise of the ruin lords and was really happy to see some of those characters are coming back. Shalelu and ameiko was are such intersting npc.
I love the section on oni, seems really thought out and they try to stay with the folk lore of japan. Over all this is a really fun adventure, that I can not wait to run.

The following is an abbreviated version of my full review which you can read on my blog.

I’ve always been a fan of James Jacobs’s adventures, and he doesn’t fail to deliver in this one. The adventure opens with the PCs heading into Brinestump Marsh to investigate goblin activity. While there, they discover a letter written by Ameiko’s grandfather. This letter sends them, along with Ameiko and three other prominent NPCs, north to the abandoned town of Brinewall.

The Jade Regent Player’s Guide provides rules mechanics for developing relationships with these NPCs that could possibly even bloom into romances. Paizo’s adventures often present NPCs as possible love interests for the PCs, but this is the first time they have attempted to codify rules for it. And they have done a pretty good job. Players keep track of relationship scores with each NPC, and these scores determine the kind of relationship they have. The rules for acquiring relationship points are very straight-forward and don’t add a lot of complexity to the game, which is good as Pathfinder is a complex game already.

In addition to relationship rules, there is also a very straight-forward system for handling caravans in the game. The PCs become part of a caravan part way through The Brinewall Legacy and will travel across the world with it. These rules give them the opportunity to expand and develop their caravan in the way they want. The rules provide an extremely useful add-on to the game.

For those less interested in relationships and caravans, the adventure still provides plenty of opportunity to roll the dice and deliver the smackdown on evil goblins, undead, and other creatures. In particular, the adventure makes great use of a rarely used monster, the dire corby.

The only weak spot in the adventure is the opening. Most APs start with a very strong hook that gets the PCs involved immediately and provides them with a motivation to stick together right from the start. Serpent’s Skull opens with the PCs shipwrecked on a tropical island along with a group of NPCs, and they must work together to find a way off. Rise of the Runelords opens with a goblin attack on Sandpoint. However, this adventure provides only the mention of a “goblin bounty” to provide the PCs with a motive to head into the swamp to hunt goblins, something not every party is going to latch onto. Game Masters may find they want to add an additional hook to help motivate the PCs into heading into Brinestump Marsh.

Overall, The Brinewall Legacy provides a very strong opening to Jade Regent and sets the scene for what looks to be an exciting Adventure Path. I heartily recommend it.

Personally, I've always been a fan of Mr. Jacob's adventures (my personal favorite is the Red Hand of Doom).

The Brinewall Legacy brings adventurers yet again to the town of Sandpoint where they're hired by the local sheriff to deal with a problem involving goblins (yet again), those pesky little buggers! The plot becomes much more complicated as the PC's endeavors illuminate some interesting revelations about some of the townsfolk in Sandpoint.

I have a soft spot for 1st level adventures that give you a castle to explore, and JJ delivers with some new locations to discover in the Sandpoint Hinterlands.

The plot and the magic items are an interesting read and there is even illustrations for some of the key magic items. The villains are unique; making it a fun adventure to run for 1st levels.
The articles on the Tian Xia themed Oni are nicely done, making a superb addition for the first installment of the Jade Regent Adventure Path.

Some of the material is very similar to Paizo's very first adventure path, Rise of the Runelords (ROTR), and my only grief is that Paizo glosses over the town of Sandpoint in Jade Regent. The Rise of the Runelords map pack gives an excellent map of the town, but in order to get an idea of what and who is in the town you need to take a gander at Burnt Offerings (the first book in the ROTR) which gives a very good, colorful overview of Sandpoint. Obviously enterprising GMs with a crapload of time on their hands can adapt and create as necessary. But when time is in short supply, ROTR Burnt Offerings is what is needed to flesh out the starting locale of this adventure.

Sandpoint is unique in the fact that it's the only place that is a start off location for 2 Adventure Paths! So why not give the town its due with it's own mini source book? A source book that shows what the town was like before ROTR and after... Ah well, bygones.

After reading through the adventure, I noticed some of the ink came off and there are fingerprints on certain pages from the ink. So be careful when reading.

Regardless, the Brinewall Legacy is a great adventure for 1st level players and I heartily recommend GMs to purchase this product for a premade campaign to tantalize their players.