feytharn's page

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the pdf from the publisher.

The Scorpion and the Frog is a (combat) encounter for the Pathfinder RPG. The adversary is build with material from another book by the same publisher but the rules necessary to run the encounter are presented in this pdf.

The pdf is 11 pages long, including cover, one page of legal information, two pages with the OGL, two pages with a very simple but useful map and one page with tokens, leaving 4 pages for the encounter itself.

The title illustration is what looks like a detail taken from a medieval illustration and a clip art of a Scorpion. It is fitting and does its job, but nothing special.

The first page of the encounter contains a box with a little trivia on the fable. I would have preferred a short summary of the original story, especially as it might not be as well known as the author presumes (Disclaimer: I live in Germany. I remember the fable from my English classes, but none of my players did, most knew the two other fables mentioned in the trivia). Since the encounter is inspired only very loosely by the fable, knowing it is neither required nor especially helpful.

The first page also contains a superficial description of the location and the NPCs. There really isn't much to remember here, the characters seem pretty bland and basic. There is a piece of product placement here that isn't as much bothering as it is painfully unnecessary. Since there is a pre constructed product placement with the build of the adversary, this one really shouldn't be there.

There are two encounter variants depending on the perceptiveness of the PCs. The second variant is continued on a round by round basis. This is probably the part with the most potential, but also with a crippling problem – there is only one adversary that pretty much can't take a beating (there is also a new monster, but it is of the 'plot device and more like an item kind').
In play, a second level party (non optimized, Bard, Sorcerer, Cleric, Fighter) took him out in before he could even act (variant one). I asked my players to play out variant two, where it took them two rounds (they had a little extra action later trying to help the NPCs, none of which was supported by the encounter). I simply see no way how the combat would draw out long enough for the environment to play an interesting part. I see little to no possibilities for this to be solved as a non-combat encounter.

The outline of the adversaries character is superficial, his motivation is paper thin, although he might be an interesting villain in an urban adventure.

Did my players have fun?
Yes. My players enjoyed the layout of the encounter, talking to the NPCs (though there is little in the pdf to support this). The rambling of the adversary at the beginning of the actual combat drew a few laughters, the impact of the second encounter variant pused the players to do a little creative thinking (again, not supported by the pdf), the combat was to short to leave any kind of impact.

The maps are very basic, but could be useful if the combat takes longer somehow. The tokens are neat, seemingly taken from the same illustration as the cover.

Considering my players had fun and the tokens, the creature/item and the main adversary could find other, probably better use (I found it inspiring enough to see some events of this encounter play out without a direct confrontation leading to continued use of the adversary and possibly a very different battle against him) , I give the encounter weak 3 stars – it is cheap enough to try out, but not good enough to really recommend it.

To be honest, there isn't much to write about these maps. Detail level is good, though the maps are mor or less empty space - but that is exactly what makes them incredibly useful for running larger encounters or creating own encounter maps by drawing on them or simply placing some terrain pieces on the maps.
I know they will see much use in my pathfinder sessions.

I was a hopeful sceptic for this particular installment - going to earth is a tough thing to get away with in any high fantasy setting, even more so going into some past epoche.

I am glad it works, as in 'it is amazingly well done'. The step makes sense, storywise, it fits really well into the established mood of the AP, it reads like an amazing ride (sadly I haven't played it, yet), with some genuinely creepy and some genuinely pulpy stuff going on in the adventure.

The additional material is great, too - the article about WW1 weapons and equipment might see more use in time (at least in my game, since synchronizing Golarion with Call of Cthulhu era Earth opens some great possibilities regarding the dreamlands...), the Monster section holds some nasty surprises (that translate well to regular Golarion games) and the article about Szuriel is nothing short of amazing.
Five stars, without any doubt.

I had initially ordered ten of these, and they all folded up nicely and without clumsy me doing any damage to them.

However, some of the map packs seem to have a thicker cardstock or lamination (no, they are not just thicker from using/transporting) and those strain the box a bit much.

Anyway, I just ordered more, so yeah, mostly good...

Boards ate my longer review - so in short: Great urban maps for a marketplace or for wider urban roads. Very useful in every 'vanilla' urban encounter.
If combined with the rooftops map packs, you have almost everything you need for 'urban outdoor encounters'.

The maps are a great, interesting and very useful collection of 'vanilla' fantasy city alleys and buildings. They look gorgeous and in most urban campyigns will see regular use. If combined with the marketplace map packs, you have almost everything you need for 'urban outdoor encounters'.

This map pack does not rate as high as marketplace or rooftops, for sure, as far as usefulness is concerned. Most of the maps are fairly of fairly situational use, but if these situations arise, the will shine.

The carts, chariots and wagons that make up 8 of the 18 maps will probably see most use. Put on a fairly unspecific 'green grass' background, the will be useful for caravans, escort adventures etc. The Boat and Ship (3 cards) complement nicely to other naval themed cards while the sleds will be useful for the odd arctic themed encounters (with an upcoming AP potentially making them really shine).

The Steam Giant (3 cards) is very specialised, but if you plan an encounter with one - well, there it is.

I can't see any use for the gliders (1 card) yet, especially since they are put on a cloudy background, unless there will be larger 'aerial' maps for special flying encounters, they are a pretty odd addition to a map pack, but then again, it is only one card.

The animals included add to the carts and sleds and may be of use as mounts.

The worst part about this map pack is the fact that you would have to cut most the maps apart for use, so if you have got an affordable way to print these out in color, get the pdf, not the print version.

I rate this with a four star rating, but it is not a map pack that everybody needs, especially not in print.

When I unfolded the map for the first time, somebody who is in no way involved with RPGs sat next to me and commented 'Wow, that looks real pretty'

There isn't much to add. This is the single most beautiful Flip-Mat I have seen (and I have almost all of the Paizo ones and a few other). Both sides of the map look great and both sides will prove incredibly useful for all sorts of wilderness encounters.

I was very much looking forward to this book, hoping that Magnimar would get as excellent a treatment as Korvosa and Kaer Maga, and I was not dissapointed.
From the second AP installment on, one could sense that Magnimar was a unique beast, yet the (good) support article and the entry in the campaign setting did not flesh it out enough to make it more than a nice fantasy city with some unique features, interesting enough, but destined for so much more...

This book is the 'more'. From the brief, yet interesting history of the city, to the distinct look and feel of the districts, to the monuments and their hidden powers to the corruption and the powerful organizations making the city less than the paradise it could have been, this book gives a GM a city to play with and to grip the attention of his/her players.

The presentation is among the best I have seen for setting books from any company. The cartography of the city and its districts is excellent and useful, the inclusion of stat-blocks for the city is great and the art is impressing, with none of the pictures looking like a 'filler'.

The bestiary/antagonist part is good, though if I had the choice between some local critter or NPC and a few additional city locations, I would always chose the latter - but that is a matter of preferrence and as it is the bestiary is a useful supplement and my preferrence certrainly has no bearing on the overall quality of the book.

Not a single real downer in this one. Get it!

Tried to get a lengthy review thrice - no luck...
In Short:
Good RPG for beginners, everything included, rules covered in two books, so one Box probably is enough for a table full of players.
Adventures: one great, one a bit uninspired, many adventure seeds.
Rules remind of the Eden Cinematic Unisystem (Buffy), easy to learn and use. Interesting Damage System (different attacks=damage to different abilities), combat shouldn't be the main theme of conflict solving (hope future products/adventures back this up).
Problems: You have to know Doctor Who, some examples were hard for me to understand despite playing for more than 20 years in dozens of rpg systems, must be because I've only seen the first two new seasons of Doctor Who (stupid german television)
Adventures make certain assumptions about the Doctors behavior which might not work out that well considered the Doctor is probably a PC...
A very good game to introduce fans of Doctor Who into roleplaying.

While the core book seemed to show of the migou and the quasi-military forces of the deep ones as the main enemy, this book takes a good look at the cults of the great old ones and gives investigators something to fight in the hidden war. The subtle of the cults have a nice "delta-greenish" tone to them
Highly recommended.

Great stuff - a new race - the unavoidable Human / Nazzadi halfbreed, a new kind of power along with a good setting portaial of said powers, new rules for injuries and of course new tagers, mechas and engels als well as many new (or very old...) horrors to fight with 'em. Sadly, most of these rule feel as if they should have made it into the (pricey) corebook.

This "fluff" only (well, almost at least) book takes a detailed look at human, nazzadi and even Migou society. Aside from that it describes what is left of the world.
I love this book. It gives players and gamemasters alike a feel for what the setting looks like and how your characters and chronicles can fit in. Highly recommended.

I am a fan of the Call of Cthulhu RPG and of the Delta Green setting, and this is something new to play with.
The rules are for most parts simple and usable, although results tend to be very random.
The setting: wow... a classic anime/mecha scific setting with a rich background that matches quite well with the description of the mi-go and the deep ones in cthulhu/delta green. Sure, the horror is different from the mind numbing revelations made in the 1920s, since mankind is essentially locked in a war with the dark cults and the fungi from pluto, but aside from the front there is plenty of room for a secret war against the cults of the old ones that hold the key for a similar horror.
Only two real downers:
1: The binding of the book - while it has not broken, nor is it damaged in any way, still it feels...odd, like it could go kaboom any minute.
2: You really want to buy the setting bookjs to get the most out of the game, information on the world in the strange aeon is sparse - and the additional rules in the Vade Mecum Book look very much as if they should have been in the core book.

I was sceptical regarding this szenario - reading it made me think it could be a tad to simple - basically a fighting through a rather simple and small "dungeon" but playing it yesterday was the most fun experience we had yet with the PFS szenarios. Invoking the right mood is really simple and the encounters (combat and other) were fun to play for me as the DM and seemingly also for my players. Thumbs up!

I bought this mini a short while ago and was amazed by the beauty of it. The facial expression, the detail work on the equipment, its just wonderful. The pose is great - if you look for a great female spellcaster mini - look nor further

I'm still running this campaign and I love it (as do my players) this AP was the first thing to hook me on paizo (in the dungeon magazine) and the book was the first time I discovered paizo on its own and not just as "D&D". The campaign, its city setting, its npc's are all top notch (and it is't too hard to convert to other cities, sure some work is necessary, but still - it is easy, I run it in a modified Raven's Bluff). I own all the magazines, I bought the book at full price and thought it was worth every dollar - at this price it's a bargain. Month of fun, an interesting city to play with even after the campaign ended - just get the damn book...you won't be sorry, promise!

I bought them at the RPC in Cologne this weekend. They are beautyfull, but the d20 has a 6 and a 9 with a difference that cannot even be called marginal. The "triangular shape on top" that works with d10 and d12 wont help with this one.

This is perhaps one of the greatest SF settings I ever read. The amount of setting information included is overwhelming when you read the book for the first time, but it is so ripe with ideas that you won't find it difficult to start adventuring in one of the described systems right away.
The general mood of the setting may not be as "set in stone" as it is for WH 40K or Serenity, but it presents a hardcore SF setting (with cautious inclusions of magic fx / myth in some places) that can cope with almost any style of stories told in that genre.
I got the hardcover Book when Alternity still seemed to be a rising Star in SF Roleplaying and I still use it for gaming.
Get it, especially for this price!