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Recent reviews by
0gre:
   
Excellent quality map
Mon, Nov 2, 2009, 11:13 AM
The quality on this is amazing. I've used this a few times and it's not disappointed. One downside is it is situational but then most groups have river crossing encounters at some point in time.
If you were just getting one forest flip mat you probably want the 'woodlands' map, if are getting a few this one is top notch.
   
Too dark, don't tie together well.
Mon, Nov 2, 2009, 09:45 AM
These tiles are so dark it's hard to use markers on them. I also don't particularly care for the colors here, I've spend a lot of time outdoors and this just doesn't really conjure up any forest I've been in. The tiles also don't tie together well. You are limited to building a fairly small scale encounter or resorting to a map that has jarring edges that don't match. It would be nice if there were some way to tie them. The farm tiles and the marketplace tiles (and quite a few others) can both be used to make larger maps, for an outdoors encounter this is a little disappointing.
The blighted forest glen is also Ok but the other Fairy Ring and the Briar patch will almost certainly never see use at my table.
The overgrown ruins and the druid glade are both good pieces and will likely see some use at my table but since they don't match any of my other tiles it's tough to just drop them onto the table.
edit: A few quick comments about the previous post. All of the general criticisms of the map packs are valid but easily worked around. I find them easier to deal with than the dungeon tiles I got from Wizards though. I use a little tape to hold the tiles together and just happened to have a small box which fits them perfectly. I've heard you can find card holders at office depot that fit them quite well also.
Overall I like the map packs because they let you have premade sections that you can piece into a larger area as you want to design it. This pack is kind of a poor example of that.
   
Vast improvement over it's predecessor.
Mon, Oct 26, 2009, 10:35 AM
My first thought was this product was going to be essentially a reprint of the 3.5 monster manual with the Paizo rules changes and the awesome Paizo design work. As such my expectations were pretty moderate for this book.
I am happy to say that my expectations were greatly exceeded. The book is indeed an amazing piece of design (art!) which I expected from paizo, but it goes a lot further than that. The monsters are rebalanced and often completely reworked. Common abilities are standardized and put in a "common monster ability" section in the back of the book which means the pages are dedicated to strategy, ecology, and generally awesome flavor text.
The artwork is exceptional, there are a few outliers that look out of place in there but in general it's amazing stuff. In a really nice touch the illustrator's names are on the side of each page.
Overall the book is amazingly well organized, it's easy to find what you need and the book is simply the best looking RPG source book I have ever seen.
   
Nifty
Sun, Oct 4, 2009, 06:47 PM
All the flip maps are great but this is one of the better ones. The pictures are pretty representative but the resolution and quality on the finished product is great. Forst encounters are so common this is probably the most frequently used map I have.
   
Great Map, A++ will buy from this seller again ;)
Sun, Oct 4, 2009, 06:35 PM
I love the Paizo flip mats and this is one of the better ones. This works great with the waterfront map packs also, it's the same exact pattern.
I didn't like the fact that these folded when I first got one but once you get used to it it's a lot more convenient than carrying a rolled up battlemat. I'm not sure how durable these are over the long term but the fact that you can write on them even using permanent market is a big plus.
   
More More More
Mon, Aug 17, 2009, 12:57 PM
If you like class features and don't mind a bit of overall power creep then you are likely to really enjoy this book. All of the classes got upgraded, with the weaker classes getting the most upgrades. Overall the game is more balanced than 3.5 but the cost is increased complexity in almost all the classes and increasing power relative to it's predecessor. While you can use 3.5 material the PfRPG classes are more powerful, in particular the ones that were weak in the past so anything you have designed for 3.5 should be ramped up a bit.
What is a bit frustrating to me is that many of these changes make the game even less accessible to beginning players. Almost all the classes, including the fighter are more complicated and tougher to learn than their predecessors.
So overall a great product but a questionable direction for the game.
   
I can't believe they still have these.
Mon, Nov 10, 2008, 10:46 AM
Level of detail on these is amazing. Great for lizardmen or Troglydites on your RPG table. At $.75 for each mini this is an amazing deal.
   
Maybe the best "Dungeon" ever
Sun, Oct 19, 2008, 02:57 PM
Before there were adventure paths... Loong before there were adventure paths. There was the Temple of Elemental Evil.
This is an amazing resource for DMs and even 20+ years after it was published is still awesome.
   
Expensive, duplicates much of the Gazetteer
Thu, Oct 16, 2008, 05:05 PM
Overall this is a good solid offering, the biggest disappointment for me was in the value department. Much of this book seriously overlaps what is in the Gazetteer and almost all of the mechanical 'crunchy' bits do overlap. I expected a little bit more here.
I do recommend this product but suggest people choose whether they want the abridged version or the full version and buy either this or the Gazetteer.
   
Holy Cow...
Thu, Oct 16, 2008, 04:53 PM
#13 was my first AP, I expected this to be similar... this module greatly exceeded my expectations. It's not that 13 was bad, it was quite good, but #14 is pure RPG awesomeness.
I'm going to try and keep spoiler free here:
The main adventure is excellent, there are plenty of straight-forward encounters, some nice role play options and right smack in the middle is an awesome Indiana Jones style action cut-piece which blew me away. I don't want to say more but it is awesome.
There is a section on the planets which by Sutter which is quite good, and the bestiary has some great new stuff as well. I am also a big fan of the Cayden Cailean based PrC.
This is awesome as part of the AP or would make a very good stand alone module for running your 4-7th level players through.
   
First AP for me so didn't know what to expect
Wed, Sep 10, 2008, 09:51 PM
I've never DMed an adventure path before, I did run Red Hand of Doom which is close but not quite it. I found that for the money this is a very rich source book. I would give it 5 stars but as someone pointed out I'm not sure the storyline is compelling enough to engage my players directly. The good news is that the individual pieces look like a blast, it's just the main storyline I'm not entirely certain about. My plan is to see how they react. If they don't play by the plan them I think there is enough source material here I can use the parts and play the adventure piecemeal and still have a great time.
I don't particularly care for the set piece but it might grow on me. I'm more likely to use it if the players fail to take the main hook in the adventure.
Other notable "really cool" stuff. The Player's Guide is great (you only get this with the subscription though), my players love it and it's a great way to get them engaged in the gameplay. The beastiary is filled with some great critters and very well presented. The magic items in the players guide and in the main adventure are also very nice.
Overall an easy 5 stars on the value front.
   
Great Module... with a few issues
Tue, Jul 22, 2008, 06:38 PM
Overall this is a great module, very challenging for a 5th level party with lots of undead and a few creepy critters. There are a few issues I have with the module though. First, the number of 'regulators' sent with the party is never mentioned and this can be critical in the end of the module. Second, and perhaps the most concerning is that the treasure in this module is all focused on a few high powered magic items near the end. Also, almost all of the good "martial" themed items are size small while which leave fighters a bit short changed by the end of the campaign. Finally, the barrows are cramped. The rooms are small for the number of enemies in them and the rooms are so close together it doesn't make sense that the king doesn't pool his resources a bit and just overwhelm the party.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed DMing the module and found it very easy to DM and loved the feel of it. The vermin and undead worked well together. I'm just going to have to spend a little time customizing the treasure a bit more sort of post fact.
   
Thin cardstock disappints
Fri, Jul 18, 2008, 08:31 PM
I really would expect something a little more substancial than this the cards are quite thin. The art is good but not AMazing. I do much prefer the standardized sides of the tiles. The tiles from wotc are all different sizes making putting stuff together a bit of a mess. I'm probably going to spray glue these to some thicker stock.
   
Amazing Book
Wed, Jun 18, 2008, 02:30 PM
This is a great piece of work. It's a fabulous look at some of the most iconic D&D creatures. My favorite is the Goblins. My only small gripe is I like to see a little more crunch.
   
Excellent... free?? that's crazy
Fri, Jun 13, 2008, 11:26 AM
Download this now.
If this is a reflection of the quality of work in the rest of the series then I am sold. Very well written module with an excellent, compelling story. Sidesteps the 15 minute adventuring day because there are consequences for delay.
One thing missing is I would prefer to see full stat blocks for all monsters rather than "refer to MM page XXX".
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