WARNING! This review contains spoilers.
I have GMed this adventure for one group, when all of us were new to PFRPG. I had Gmed 3.0 in the past. It is now my standard introductory adventure I will use for all groups wanting to try Pathfinder.
Visual appeal: Amazing. Full color, pretty art, great layout, very sexy map!
„Out of the box" playability: The GM doesn't really have to do a lot to prepare. It's all there. Some of the monsters use a template, but with the quick rules that is easily taken care of.
Structure: 16 pages and yet there's choices? Believe it! Despite the small scope of the module, the players are not completely railroaded. At several points they actually have two ways to go, or different ways of handling a situation.
Story: The one weakness of the module and the reason why I would like to substract half a star. Some of it doesn't make too much sense. Some of the monsters seem a little arbitrarily placed and there's a couple of logic/consistency issues with the layout of the dungeon. Nothing that isn't easily taken care of (see my post in the discussion), but just enough to make me go „uh, what?“ when I read it the first time.
Suitability as an introduction to RPGs: Very good. You have roleplaying opportunities before the heroes set out, although these have to be prepared completely by the GM. Then there's exploration, fights, skill use and another roleplaying opportunity inside the dungeon. Also, the fights show off several different types of enemies, lots of different abilities, with each fight adding something new in terms of tactics or rules elements.
Extras: The preview of the new classes from the Advanced Player's Guide is a great extra for people who are already familiar with Pathfinder.
Conclusion: Amazing product, especially seeing how it's completely free! Great start into the Pathfinder experience and also a nice kick-off for a Pathfinder Society Campaign. My players loved it and I loved it!
Posts
