I have mixed feelings on this guy. The face and mane are very nice and proportioned, but the body is too gaunt, and the wings are too small. The colors are nice, with good shading, but I would have liked a detail color (maybe black) for the tail spikes. A more active pose would have been nice as well.
Right out of the package I started thinking of ways to get this guy into my game as soon as possible. The sculpt, the proportions, the paint, blending, shading, it's all excellent. I love that one head is smaller than the other. His muscularity is not pronounced, giving him the right look of underlying power and flabbiness. If there is any flaw, it is in the seams. Some of them, particularly the right arm by the elbow, are not quite tight, leaving minor gaps. I have no idea what that strange pattern is on the back. It's too detailed to be a molding error.
If this was on the floor in the kitchen, you would run away for sure. The detail is excellent with good blending/shading. I really like the pattern on the back. The only thing keeping this from 5 star status is the mandibles. They are off. One is in the front, the other seems to be coming from the side and slightly high on the head. Maybe just a molding error and I look forward to a few more of these.
My initial fear was that this was just a rehash of the DDM version. I am pleasantly surprised with the level of detail. The blood on the blade is a nice touch. The blending and shading a very nice and the proportions are perfect. Glad I got two and will be looking for a few more.
Of all the large figures, this is my least favorite. First, he is small. I expected gaunt, but everything needs to be larger...except for the overly-pronounced lower jaw. It is a copy of the Bestiary image, but jaw seems ever more out of proportion that the picture. There is little to no blending of the paint making the back look more like a cloak. I'm glad I only got one out of my case.
My initial feeling is similar to others. His upper torso seems out of proportion to the rest of the body. He looks like he would fall over with those tiny feet. I really like the paint detail, although he is a bit pale for my taste. I would have liked to see a bit more brown or green or even darker gray. A very good fig.
Frost Giants are one of my favorite of the giant type and this one does not disappoint. Due to lack of available food, I always envisioned them a bit gaunt. The blue shading is good. It is blended well to prevent a fake "blue-man" appearance. I think the interchangeable hand/weapon is a novelty and I will be forever in fear of loosing the one not installed. Iconically, they use axes and I would have been happy with a permanent one. If you want to play with interchangeability, try it with a dwarf. They are equally iconic with an axe or hammer. All-in-all a nice fig.
Being one of my favorite all-time monsters, I had high hopes for this one. While it is cool, I am somewhat disappointed. The body is a bit too gaunt requiring the heads to be smaller than I would have liked. The detail in the faces is good but the coloring ends abruptly at the base of the heads. It needed better blending to look natural. I appreciate the slight curled wings, so it doesn't extend into surrounding battle map squares making simulation problematic.
I've GM'd this four times now and the tier 4-5 is challenging, but not overly deadly. A very devious GM can push a couple of the encounters to make them very difficult, but assuming that your party is a balanced group, they should be fine. There is a lot of role-play opportunities and a nice mix of enemy types and environments.
The tier 1-2 version is a good challenge for level two PC's, but is largely beyond the skill of an all 1st-level party.
GM Only:
The animated statue has hardness, lots of hit points, and two attacks. While its AC is low, there is a very good chance your party may be unable to defeat it. Heck, they may not even be able to damage it. Be very careful.
Also, the BBEG seems to have a poor build. He has a cool class-based buff that cannot trigger because he has no spells that it would apply to. The 4-5 version is just okay, but the 1-2 version is poorly built.
One of the faction missions can only be completed (per the text) if you fail a saving throw. Essentially, this means if the PC's avoid the issue, or succeed at the saves, you could fail the mission. IMO, poor design.
This scenario has some nice aspects and an interesting plot/theme. I really like the mix of monsters and environments, but there are some unbalanced challenges and the monsters could use another round of development.
In typical Paizo fashion, the artwork is outstanding and the layout of the guides is excellent. The material is presented simply and a new player should have little/no problem understanding the basics. I look forward to giving this to my 9 year-old to see if she can pick it up.
For someone obsessed with matching dice, I'm glad to see the dice are all from the same set, although new players might prefer more variety.
The pregen characters are nice, but I would have preferred a single, two-sided, glossy sheet rather than the flat, four panel design. However, the notations in the margins are great reference to help new players understand the layout and the fluff is cool.
The standup, mini figs are better than 2D chits, although if future editions included the four iconic WizKid/Paizo minis it would be perfect ;-). I plan on adding them to my box as soon as they are available.
The materials are normal Paizo-size for books so the box is perfect to store other soft-cover books like the Campaign Setting or Player's Companion line of products. The heavy laminated cardboard should be sturdy enough to stand up to the rigors of repeated transportation.
All-in-all a very good product. If the player-iconic plastic mini's were included, this would be 5-stars. Although, if that meant a higher price point, Paizo may have made the right call.
I like this scenario for its balance between combat and role-playing opportunities and for the use of non-humanoid enemies. I have played it and GM'd it twice, so far, and all three tables had loads of fun.
If your players enjoy role-playing, you have a lot to work with here. Most of the combats can easily be down-played or even resolved cinematically.
OTOH, if you have a hack n' slash party, most of the role-playing can be resolved with skill checks and the combats lend themselves to some interesting tactics that can make your players squirm.
GM comments:
I love traps and the ones in this mod are pretty cool. I only wish there were more.
The tactics should incorporate the traps into kobolds attacks more thoroughly, but a GM should be able to do that him/herself anyway.
I loved the addition of the Otyughs, although in the sewers, it should be no surprise that such creatures are present. They are a bit under-powered, especially at the higher tier, but combined with the kobolds, can be a nice encounter. The key is timing. When the bolder trap is triggered, get 2-3 of the kobolds to escape into the lower room and then get behind the sewer grate into the tunnels. From there, they can fire upon the PC's as they try to deal with the Otyughs.
If you can have the alchemist escape and join the boss, it makes for a much more interesting and challenging encounter. Use the dragon to your advantage before it disappears. It is especially effective if you plant ideas in the player's minds that these dragons have a dragon leader or at least a dragon pet.
All-in-all a very good scenario. I will be running it again a couple times soon and I hope to see more quality writing by Mr. Baker in the future.
The Map Packs have always been a staple in my games. But now, by adding the lamination so I can write on them, and linking them to a Flip Map, the functionality of these products are even better. The artwork is excellent and provide a lot of detail without being cluttered. The physical card is durable and easy to use. They tend to warp a bit with use, but now that they are laminated, you can slap some double stick tape to the back and lay them directly on the flip map without damage to either. And the bonus is that the price of the new format is not increased over the older version. All-in-all, this is a "must-have" product.
I have been using the combat pad since the original version and I really like the update. The thicker board is very nice and sturdy and the two-sided printing makes moving between to lengthy, note-ridden encounters easy without having to clean it up. The only issue I have is the tokens are separating. I have already lost each one of the "end of round," "turn," and "round" tokens as well as two of the "creature" tokens. In the next incarnation of this product, the tokens need to be of a higher quality. I have had to resort to purchasing an add-on kit with extra tokens. Otherwise, I am happy with this item.
Posts
