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Michael Kortes joins a growing list of my favorite authors. Don't hesitate to GM or play this scenario.

After spending about an hour reading through pages, looking at the artwork and taking a few moments with NPC stat blocks that jumped out I was able to turn some notes into an initial review for those curious…

This is a fantastic resource. I was initially disappointed to hear that content was limited to the Core Rulebook. After reading and reflecting it is clear why this decision was made, and I support it. My primary concern was potential limitations suffered by the NPCs. Limitations that players would likely not suffer. And don't get me wrong, the breadth of material that has arisen since the Core Rulebook's release is not trivial. However, much of it is relatively painless to swap out. A feat here, a spell there, heck, even an archetype or race. You get the point... Limiting the NPC Codex to core content allows it to maximize compatibility. The most glaring loss are the Advanced Player's Guide classes and archetypes. For this reason I will not be upset to see an Advanced NPC Codex or NPC Codex 2 in the coming year(s). I'm not holding my breath though.

Many of these NPCs can be brought into a campaign with no additional prep time. Unfortunately, when an author is given even less than a full page it is impossible to add in something like a preferred Wild Shape stat block for an NPC. For many circumstances the book will be enough. In others, you're going to have to make some additional notes, even if it is a post-it-note. At the very least an NPC will provide a solid jumping off point. There are hundreds of character builds at various levels of progression. If you wanted to tack on a few more levels (don't forget the option of multiclassing) it won't take as long as building a character from scratch.

The art is really great. I mean, it's really great! Just like the bestiaries, its a pleasure simply to look at the familiar races of Golarion. I'm disappointed that not all races received the same treatment. Many, but not all, of the Half-Orc illustrations leave something to be desired. This is something that a half-orc lover is most likely to notice though ;)

The Appendices could be very useful on the fly, particularly the "Encounter Groups" where you pick a theme and encounter CR. Then flip to the appropriate pages and your NPCs are prepped and ready to run. The idea to build the druid with domains and allow you to swap the domain out for an animal companion from the appendices was a great idea.

My concluding "initial impression" is that this resource is like the legos we had as kids. Sometimes you get a kit that's just perfect. Some kits inspire you to create something more personal to you. And still other times you pull ideas from multiple sources and build something completely new. The content in NPC Codex is nothing short of inspiring and time saving. Kudos to everyone involved with this project. Paizo, you and your contributors put a lot of love into your work and it shows.

A lovely romp through Riddleport masquerading as the Aspis Consortium. Bring a mischievous nature and passion for sabotage as you destroy the Consortium's "good" name. If you're going to be a stick in the mud you might as well stay in Magnimar. And don't think it's going to be easy, this is season 4.

I strongly suggest avoiding this at first level, at least if several PCs are first level. And don't even consider "playing up" unless you are willing to accept a reasonable chance of character death. Combats can be short and brutal with lots of player conversation in between.

GMs, the table will benefit from ample preparation. The scenario is relatively open-ended, requiring a good feel for each section with a brief reminder of the bullet points before the telling of a space (and its NPCs) unfolds. In fact, the success of your PCs depends on your ability to adequately weave a description of the scene.

I'm not impressed with how many hours of play time the caravan sits in Kalsgard. The first half provides lots of opportunity for roleplaying, but the last half sees a mostly combat.

I approve of the direction Paizo went with this book. They could have tried to generalize prestige classes, but instead tied them intricately to the world of Golarion. This is an excellent GM resource, but there are several viable options for PCs in any campaign. It's the options that tie specifically into your campaign (even PFS) that will make the difference! For example, if I were a PC in Skull & Shackles I'd be hard pressed not to pursue the Storm Kindler prestige class which drips with flavor.

In short, if you love the world of Golarion then you'll love the depth this book brings to NPCs and PCs.