I was seriously blown away by the richness and depth of this module. Seriously, Creighton is missing his mark by writing RPG modules and should be doing Fantasy Fiction. (as some of you might know I am more of a book reviewer than a game reviewer.)
This Adventure is designed for four First level PCs.
Oh well, on to the module itself. We have 60+ pages of material here. The PC’s basically travel to a monastery, and are trapped there during a snowstorm. Not surprisingly, “all is not as it seems”. I am not going to give away spoilers, however.
What I liked here, besides the rich language and well thought-out background for this module, is the lay out. As we all know, some DM’s like to read the whole module, while others want to “wing it”. The writer here wisely adds a “Adventure Synopsis” so that the “wingers” can read just a couple of pages and jump right in. Also each section has synopsis and summary with how many eps and the loot. Nice. There’s also a couple of unique monsters and even a one-of-a-kind magic item which won’t break any DM’s campaign- although it certainly useful. I always like those.
A few small caveats: there is one encounter (you’ll know when you get there) which if the Players are “open the door and kill it” types, will likely result in a TPK. DM’s- know your players. While there are several not-too-difficult ways of defeating this monster besides bashing it, if your players are of the “hack & slash” school, you might want to change the encounter a bit or warn them.
The one way I’d play this different is due purely due to a “DM philosophy”. I think PC’s need to be leveled up to level 2 asap. I like a fast advancement up to level 5, then I slow things down so that they can savor the “sweet spot’ for a while. Thus, if I was running this, I’d level the PC’s up to level 2 right after Part 1, then to level 3 at the end of the module (especially if the players showed good roleplaying). Yes, maybe I might add a few HP to a few monsters due to this, sure. But that’s not a criticism of this module at all, Creighton wisely follows the rules with the eps.
Overall, this is very well done module, with several nights of good gaming fun, a decent amount of combat, investigations and RPing possibilities.
This is a fun and very well done supplement for the Pathfinder Roleplaying game. It is mostly world specific, designed to be used for the world of Golarion.
The book/supplement is very well laid out. First we have a totally spiffy and handy chart of the Deities, with Domains, favorites weapon, and etc. This is almost worth the price of admission all by itself. This includes the lesser known deities, too, which is nice.
Each of the better known deities is given a nice spread, with a fantastic illustration of that deity. There a even score of these. Plenty of roleplaying info is given here, with backgrounds, philosophies, and everything you need or want. It even explains why Shelyn is packing a glaive.
There's also some cool magic items and spells as bonus materials.
The price is a tad steep, but for what you get, I think it's well worth it. Mind you, I admit this could be a "one copy per table" purchase, every player doesn't need his very own copy.
This is a small (only 16 pages) guide to the world in which Pathfinder is set- the continent of Varisia, part of the world of Golarion.
It purports to be the guide to start the players out on "Rise of the Runelords" but it's a great guide for any who adventure in that world.
Sections on races and classes of Varisia, including a great chart on the local Deities , including Portfolios, Domains and even favored weapons.
There's also a handful of local weapons and other gear, including the Starknife and War-razor.
I also like the local feats, here included for a free background feat. In power, they are moe like "traits" than feats, but still they add a little local flavor and some roleplaying ideas, but also are somewhat useful.
There's great color maps of Sandpoint and Varisia, too.
All in all, this is a fantastic value for the price.
Wow! These little figures are far and away the best pre-painted figures I have even seen. The detail is quite amazing- Kyra's cloak even has the gold designs worked upon, to a unbelievable level of detail.
What you get here is four plastic (not hard but not soft, either. Slightly flexible, but can be broken under duress) figures of what is called 25MM scale but are actually a little larger. Their bases are sized for Pathfinder/D20/D&D. They would be perfect for any Fantasy Roleplaying game or just as little toys on their own (warning, not for little tots who could choke on them)
The price is very reasonable considering the quality. I also like the fact that there's no "mystery collectible sets"- what you see is what you get. The best figure is likely the cleric, but all four are amazingly detailed and painted.
For those of you who have kids who are into Fantasy gaming but aren't sure what to get them (the array of books & modules is bewildering, I admit!) this is a perfect present. You will be "the cool aunt/Grandparent" etc for sure.
This review is for Neca Wizkids Game - Pathfinder Beginner Minis 4-pack, by Paizo.
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