I don't own this one but have played on it during a game my friend ran. Love this map it makes a great lair for a dragon or a primitive temple (think Temple of Doom). The other side is just good terrain for a variety of uses. I'll be scoring this one for sure!
The art work is too clean on this one. The river water should be murky, not like the Caribbean. The bridge is also in perfect repair and the trees remind me of train table trees. It would have been nice to have a river that was wider across too. There could have been some large rocks in the water to become encounter points.... PCs could jump to and battle on, rather than one choke point on a bridge. The back side of the map could have featured something more varied and exciting like the river's source- say a wide pool at the base of a rocky waterfall.
All the same,, I can't find it in me to give Paizo less than three stars for the maps they put out. You can always find a use for them even if they aren't your favorite and the prices are so reasonable that there is no reason for GM's to be under stocked when it comes to terrain!
Don't get me wrong... I'll be using this map quite a bit. The side without ruins is pretty versatile but, for a swamp map, it doesn't look particularly swampy. The Witchlight Fen tiles from D&D did a better job on that account, although the water in that tile set was pretty blue!
The fact that this map was marginally swampy looking is a secondary complaint to the cartoony look to the cartography. Later Paizo maps- particularly by Jason Engle- have more of a realistic look to them.
For the price they ask, you aren't wasting your money on this map. I knew what I was getting before I picked it up and went ahead anyway.
My only complaint would be that Jason Engle didn't do the artwork. It still has solid cartography and the variety of ships make this a must have for any campaign featuring sailing ships. I bought this well before Skulls & Shackles and I'm thankful to have it now.
Let me first begin by saying, Jason Engle is the master at any battle map artwork. I'm glad to see him producing work for Paizo as well as D&D.
Engle's art/cartography for this product is spectacular. BUT, I have to give it only three stars because the panels given in this map pack are not the best for game purposes. There are a number of panels with a thin river (or creek) that we've seen plenty of in the D&D wilderness tiles set. It's awful for representing a river and works only for a thin stream.
The panels don't assemble we'll together to make up larger encounter areas. There are a few outstanding panels with the wreckage of a ship but the design of how they lay out is particularly bad.
I love the idea of this set, but wish it worked better for use with multiple encounters with three to four panel set ups.
Let me say, this is a fantastic continuation of the Skulls & Shackles Adventure Path. The adventure itself is well written and should seamlessly move the players along the intended path without the players feeling railroaded. It has plenty of different encounters to separate it from the Wormwood Mutiny and yet maintains the story thread for excellent continuity.
One snag for me is that I only own the three Bestiaries and Corebook. There are references to a number of books that I don't have. This won't be a problem for folks who have these other materials.
Another snag is that Paizo puts out so many good maps, I wish the encounters took place for use with their premade flip maps and map packs.
The last and least of the snags, is that I wish all monster stat blocks were included rather thn referencing their page number in the Bestiaries.
All in all, I highly recommend this adventure. I've really enjoyed reading it and look forward to running it!
This is the first AP I've picked up. I won't run it for a few months as I finish up my sandbox campaign first but I did give it a read. This is how an adventure should be! It should be flat out fun to read, it should motivate GMs to run it, and players should be excited to play it. The Wormwood Mutiny does exactly that.
Besides some cool combat encounters, there are plenty of role playing opportunities. This will put tremendous pressure on the GM to perform for the numerous NPCs but there is a good deal of background information on major players in the adventure.
This is a very solid product and I'm looking forward to running the entire path for my group. Thank you Paizo!
I already have a vast collection of minis but this is fantastic! To have all monsters and NPCs needed is a huge relief. And if they can't be plastic or painted then this is great! Now,if only Paizo would make sure there are maps for every encounter!
This is a great map. It's true that it is specific, but the beauty is having a blank side on the back. I don't want a blank side on every map but the occasional one is great. I have to of the basic blank maps too, but find that I need several blank sides so that I can pre-draw locations for game sessions in advance.
The prison isn't for an Alacatraz like setting but is perfect for a small town's jail, or remote prison. Thanks again Paizo!
The artwork on this map is one of the very best. Each map Paizo outs out is better than the last with regard to art work. This is another great ship map. Along with the ship map pack and the other ship flip map, you can run a sea faring campaign. Thanks Paizo!
This is a good map. The cartography and illustration are not nearly as good as the new pirate ship flip-map, but I have used this time and again. I use the cannons as arcane weapons.
I would love to see a flip-map take on an airship! Wouldn't mind an arcane train as well! Hint, hint Paizo!
Outstanding. There is nothing more painful for a DM than to draw the contents of an warehouse or try to dig through tiles and find enough crates to fill a large space.
My biggest complaint is that the large warehouse could have had at least a 5X5 area which was empty for combat and still felt like a warehouse filled with crates.
I used the outpost side of the map for a really long session involving role playing rather than combat. If you have another map with grass and a road, you could have a pretty decent siege encounter. GameMastery continues to provide DMs with great tools for whatever edition of the game you play.
This is another great map to have in my DM's tool box. I only wish that they populated the stands with people- not jammed packed but having spectators would have added a nice touch.
When I'm not using dungeon tiles or other GameMastery flip-maps, this is my go to map for on the spot encounters or pre-planned ones that I draw on before hand. I bought two of these and haven't regretted the purchase.
This is one of my go to maps for waterfront taverns or an inn in the poor district of any town or city. My players don't mind that I reuse it again since I have a couple inn maps that I frequently use. The cartography and illustration is high quality and the blank flip side is perfect for the open sea. Couple that side with the ship map pack and you'll be set for high seas adventure!
I have been scoring these maps for years. The first one I bought was the City Square: http://paizo.com/products/btpy8ot2?GameMastery-FlipMat-City-Square
The quality on cartography has only improved. The early maps are great and useful but the illustration left much to be desired. This new map is an example of how GameMastery has stepped up their game.
Even if you don't use this as a pirate ship boarding a merchant vessel, you can use it for a PC ship throughout a campaign. Highly recommend this one.
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