A dark urban horror adventure for 5th-level Pathfinder Roleplaying Game characters.
The strange city of Carrion Hill has long loomed over the surrounding swamps in eastern Ustalav, yet its rulers have shifted many times through the centuries. Often enough that only a few sinister scholars and curious minds know the true nature of the hill’s original inhabitants—vile and depraved cultists of the Old Gods. Yet this morning, a dreadful recrudescence rises from the depths of buried nightmare in the vaults below Carrion Hill. A monster stalks the twisted alleys of the city, spreading panic before it and leaving destruction in its wake. Can the Carrion Hill Horror be stopped?
Carrion Hill is an adventure for 5th-level characters, written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world’s oldest RPG. The adventure features a mix of urban and dungeon sites, and draws its inspiration from the popular writings of H. P. Lovecraft.
This adventure is set in the sinister country of Ustalav in the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting, but can easily be adapted for any game world.
Written by Richard Pett
Pathfinder Modules are 32-page, high-quality, full-color, adventures using the Open Game License to work with both the Pathfinder RPG and the standard 3.5 fantasy RPG rules set. This Pathfinder Module includes four pre-made characters so players can jump right into the action, and full-color maps to enhance play.
I ran this for a group of PFS players running Level 4 pregens, and things . . . didn't go well. They TPK'd in the first encounter, which I think can be partially blamed on bad luck, partially on bad tactics, and partially on having PCs just a tad under the APL that the module expects. This review is based on running the module up to that point and on having read and prepared the rest of it. Despite how things went for my particular group, I genuinely like Carrion Hill. It's a very atmospheric module, the setting is interesting, and the antagonists are memorable. It's a fairly straightforward adventure to run, and won't overly tax GMs--but it's also not a simple dungeon crawl either. As for its Lovecraftian-inspiration, I would say: don't expect an RP- and investigation-heavy game like a true Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario. This is still Pathfinder, and while there is clear inspiration from the Cthulhu Mythos, the combat in this one comes fast and furious.
SPOILERS!:
Carrion Hill is set in the eponymous town, a location rich with history in the gothic nation of Ustalav. The plot is sparked by your classic "cultists summoning an eldritch horror from beyond", and, as these things are wont to happen, the horror breaks free and starts terrorising the town. In order to have any realistic chance of defeating the creature (a "Spawn of Yog-Sothoth"), the PCs must first weaken it by tracking down and killing the three surviving cultists who summoned it in the first place. In terms of structure, the scenario can be divided into six parts: the hook, the investigation, the three cultist hideouts (which can be done in any order), and the big battle at the end against the Spawn. There are a lot of references and inspiration drawn from the Cthulhu Mythos throughout the entire module, but I hope people who play this don't think true Call of Cthulhu RPG games are anything like it!
There's very little lead-up to the adventure hook; as written, the PCs are walking through the streets of Carrion Hill (for a reason determined by the GM; I liked the suggested one of seeing if Carrion Hill would be a good site for a Pathfinder Lodge) when they hear a town crier saying that the mayor needs heroes and is offering a reward. Once they arrive at the mayor's mansion, they're escorted in for some boxed text explaining that a series of attacks have occurred over the past few hours in Carrion Hill, all coming from below and destroying small buildings in the process. With his guards trying to contain the growing panic in the streets, the mayor offers financial incentive for the PCs to figure out what's going on and prevent further attacks. It's a pretty standard briefing, but it gets the job done and gets the PCs into the action quickly.
Investigating the mystery starts with the PCs being escorted to the site of the first attack, a shattered home covered in a strange black sludge and featuring signs of an enormous creature bursting its way free. The devastation and clues are described well (as is the omnipresent, gloomy rain), and the PCs will have no difficulty realizing that the creature emerged from a not-so-secret door leading into ancient crypts under the city. Following the stairs down, they'll soon reach the so-called Sunless Grove, an immense cavern of suitably Lovecraftian description, which is where the cultists originally summoned the Spawn. Right now, however, a ghoul is feasting on the corpses of a couple of cultists (who didn't survive the Spawn's appearance) while simultaneously reading a book (the famous Pnakotic Manuscripts) used in the ritual. The ghoul doesn't attack right away, and with a very high Diplomacy check and some bribery, the PCs can get the book without a fight. Combat is likely, however, and this was the encounter that unfortunately ended my run-through of Carrion Hill after just a couple of hours. Ghouls are always nastier than their CR would indicate because their ability to paralyze foes with any of their three attacks (on a full attack) means that one bad save can take a PC out of the fight. The ghoul here also has six levels in Rogue, so even if a GM doesn't go coup de grace crazy, sneak attack damage on paralyzed foes can add up quickly. I don't think it's an unfair fight for four PCs of levels 4-6 (especially because the players have time to prepare and talk over tactics and positioning), but it is certainly a challenging one for parties with low Fort saves or lacking elves. Anyway, assuming the PCs survive the encounter, they'll learn from the clues in the Sunless Grove that three cultists fled the scene of the summoning, and that the beast will be weakened if they're slain.
One of the cultists the PCs can track down is a necromancer named Rupman Myre, who runs a brick-making factory using zombie slave labor! The encounter takes place above and around vats of molten chemicals and contains a lot of different options for movement. At just four rooms, this is the shortest of the three "kill the cultists" section of the module. I like the little touches, such as how panicked Myre is about the Spawn as demonstrated by his actions and the dialogue he shouts.
A second cultist, Arlend Hyve, is a historian and alchemist (with seven levels of Rogue) who operates out of an abandoned temple to Aroden. Hyve keeps violet fungi in order to make poison, but I don't imagine he'd be too hard to beat. The violet fungi, on the other hand, could prove a surprise to over-confident PCs. Again, the setting descriptions here are really done well. This section is also fairly short.
By far the longest section about tracking down cultists is the one with Waldur Crove. Crove runs an asylum which is extensively detailed in the module: two floors and 39 labelled rooms! Even drawing it on flip-mats would be time-consuming. There's a lot for PCs to wade through in the asylum: dangerous lunatics, even more dangerous orderlies, morlocks, a pit with a monster that was original to this module (the Chaos Beast), and then the final battle against Crove (who has levels in Cleric and Wizard, with a focus on conjuring).
The Spawn of Yog-Sothoth attacks the PCs wherever they are when the third cultist is killed, meaning that the final encounter location could be in one of three places. This is certainly exciting and cinematic, and doubtless the players will be surprised and unprepared. The Spawn is a CR 10 creature and would run roughshod over most groups, but, if they've killed the cultists, it can have up to six negative levels and should be far more manageable. The module does a good job addressing various permutations of what the PCs could do during the adventure, and giving the GM advice accordingly.
I should mention that the artwork throughout this module is really good. The picture of the ghoul in the Sunless Grove (on p. 9) is perfect, and the various cultists and monsters have an appropriately creepy feel. The inside front- and back-covers are filled with maps, and they're clear and functional. The module comes with a two-page appendix describing Carrion Hill, and I was happy that there was enough to keep it from being a generic backdrop. The town has an extensive history, and I would like to see it used again for further adventures.
Despite my group's premature demise, I'd encourage you to give Carrion Hill a chance. It's a strong, self-contained, atmospheric scenario that has excellent descriptive writing and solid encounters.
I decided to run this module as part of the Halloween festivities. Over the course of two sessions spanning a total of 7 hours, I guided 5 players through what is probably one of the better modules Paizo has released. While it’s an old one, this module does a great job at creating a Lovecraftian atmosphere, filled with horror and impending doom. It makes me long for more Pathfinder content concerning the old gods, but I can understand copyright issues might throw a spanner in the works. It’s a pity though because this module shows why that mythos is so delightfully dreadful.
The storyline is simple: stop a monster by stopping some other people first. The fact that you can stop those three cultists in any order you like is a nice bonus, but even better is the fact that it also influences the final encounter. Depending on the group this can make a significant difference. I will say though that the three cultists are of varying difficulties. Two of them can really cause issues, while the third one is relatively harmless. Speaking of harmless: some of the encounters simply do not pose a threat either in terms of fighting capabilities.
The fact they do not pose a threat for our heroes doesn’t make their presence pointless however. They are flavourful additions to a scenario that keeps getting more eerie and sinister. They’re small building blocks that can be used to really create an atmosphere you hardly ever encounter in pathfinder. I hindsight I think I could have utilised their presence even better by adding some more descriptions in order to create an even better sense of immersion.
And I think that’s what best about this module: flavour. A group of players that really enjoys roleplaying and horror will enjoy this adventure a lot. The final encounter, and some of the things leading up to it, can make it a really scary fight as well. The players at my table all had scared when they saw what they had to deal with. The only downside to this scenario, I think, is one that others mentioned below as well: a bit more proper investigation would have made really put this module as the best out there. But even without that, I’d say the module is definitely up there and is well worth playing, preferably on a dark and rainy evening.
Warning: Review contains spoilers
Written from a GM's perspective
I ran this for 6 PCs
Carrion Hill is a module with a clear goal. It draws heavy inspiration from the works of H.P. Lovecraft in order to create a sinister mystery and an inevitable fight with an ancient horror. I would highly recommend it to any table looking for that type of game.
One of the strongest aspects of Carrion Hill is the mystery itself. Investigations can be difficult to pull off in RPGs, since you have to tread the line between revealing too much, too soon and frustrating your players with a lack of information. Carrion Hill did a great job of keeping the PCs constantly moving in the right direction, while not undermining the overall suspense of the final encounter. One of the main reasons this works so well is because of the monster itself. The descriptions of the carnage it leaves behind makes it genuinely frightening for a group of fourth level PCs and details like the noxious sludge it leaves behind and the blood drained corpses just add even more texture to the initial crime scene investigation. Most importantly, the creature does manage to be an appropriately difficult encounter, without becoming so powerful that it is unfair.
Overall, my game was able to run without an significant issues. However, I have heard some minor complaints about the module, that we didn't encounter, but I can understand. First is the difficulty level. A lot of the fights are on the weaker side as. The zombies are not much of a threat if you have them trip into the vats. Most of the asylum residents do not pose a threat to the PCs. Keeper Hyve is fairly weak as a mini-boss. For my table, this was not an issue for a few reasons. First, with a table size of six, I was already putting in the effort to beef up the encounter strength. But more importantly, I see Carrion Hill more as a role playing adventure than a combat one. The zombies and the asylum patients might not have been difficult encounters, but they certainly were memorable. On the flip side of the difficulty scale, I have heard a lot of people point to the the chaos beast as a potentially deadly encounter. My PCs ended up not fighting it, as they found a pretty direct route to the final area. However, I can definitely see why the Corporeal Instability power would be cause for concern. GM's who run this should definitely be careful with it.
Another complaint I have seen about Carrion Hill is that it doesn't inherently capture that Lovecraftian feel. However, I really think this one comes down to the GM. The module provides the brushes and the paint, but like with any other adventure, the GM has to use them to paint a picture. Before running the module, I listened to an audio book of the Dunwich Horror, the H.P. Lovecraft story that the author cites as a huge inspiration. From that, I got a feel for the type of descriptions that were expected. Generally, I am a big fan of quickly getting PCs to a point where they can participate, instead of bogging things down with descriptions. However, for this game, I really took the time to prepare a fairly long introduction that would make the setting feel inherently sinister, while not overtly evil. So, while it takes a bit of work on the GM's part to create the right feel, I personally believe that the module provides a strong framework to build upon.
Overall, I give this module full marks. Even if it takes a little work to get it right, the foundations that it is built upon are strong.
I know that the "Carrion Crown" Adventure Path is over/completed by a couple months (I do have all six parts) and I'm particularly late to this "party" ... but I just wanted to say I really liked how in part 4 ("Wake of the Watcher") of the Carrion Crown AP there is a brief suggestion on incorporating "Carrion Hill" into the "Carrion Crown" AP.
I decided that I am going to do this.
My group will likely be starting part 2 of "Carrion Crown" - "Trial of the Beast" (hmm... also written by Sir Richard Pett... interesting) this coming Monday... so I have quite a while before I need worry about inflicting "Carrion Hill" upon them.
But, since Carrion Hill is designed for (4) 5th level characters (but, say, "Wake of the Watcher" is designed for (4) 9th level characters) obviously increase the NPCs, monsters, etc to reflect this.
Spoiler:
Do you think that adding, say, 4 class levels to the Keepers, and the Ghast rogue would be enough? Too much? Oh, I'm also going to add about 6 HD to the chaos beast (and the advanced template). Too much there, or right on the money?
As I said, I've got plenty of time to worry about this. I'm guessing part 2 of "Carrion Crown" will take my group (roughly) 2 months (we meet weekly, unless I'm working on a given Monday) and I "recess" during December due to working retail. (Reconvene in January-ish). :)
Okay... that's that for my rant/ramble. (I greatly enjoyed "Carrion Hill" Sir Richard. Huzzah!
And I should have mentioned, I'll have roughly 5-6 players for my Carrion Crown game (but I told them 15 point buy... no more 25 point buy crap). :P
So, I'm hoping the "Buffs" I'm considering for Carrion Hill to make it a challenge for 9th level PCs are more or less right on the money.
(Wow... I just realized... part 2 of Carrion Crown is by Sir Richard Pett, Carrion Hill is by Sir Richard Pett, and part 4 of Carrion Crown is by Greg Vaughn. My players are going to be so lucky to have back-to-back adventures from Mssrs. Pett & Vaughn).
Along the same lines as the guy above me, but are the PC's expected to level during the course of this adventure?
Thorn,
without having my copy of Carrion Hill in front of me, but going (more or less) from memory... I'd say yes, the PCs are expected to level during the course of the adventure. I think the "5th level version" advances them to 6th lvl (although possibly 7th lvl).
So, it is possible to have the PCs start a "buffed up" version of Carrion Hill (for say, 9th level) and finish it at/around 10th level (possibly higher... like 11th). Which, admittedly, would require the buffing/increasing of parts 5 and 6 of the Carrion Crown AP.
I was curious at your statement (and even though I made an attempt to answer it) I actually did some quick math (skimmed the encounters/CRs) and added the numbers up. (I didn't bother adding in the "orderlies" or the "lunatics" at this point... perhaps a more detailed run through later and I will)...
Spoiler:
anyway... it looks like something on the order of 28,200 xp would be earned by a group of (4) 5th level characters, which means they'd earn roughly 7,000 xp each... so not enough actually to cause them to level-up as I originally thought. And here again I didn't include the xp from orderlies and lunatics... but I don't think that would push it to where they earn another 2,000 xp each (which I think is the "difference" between 5th lvl and 6th lvl... or 9,000 xp that is).
Heh heh if you could follow my ramble there, then you are good to go. :)
But, in conclusion, an "amped" up version (for say... 9th level characters) should be roughly the same... they shouldn't level to 10th (but should be that much closer) when starting part 4 of the actual "Carrion Crown" AP.
I was curious at your statement (and even though I made an attempt to answer it) I actually did some quick math (skimmed the encounters/CRs) and added the numbers up. (I didn't bother adding in the "orderlies" or the "lunatics" at this point... perhaps a more detailed run through later and I will)... ** spoiler omitted **
Heh heh if you could follow my ramble there, then you are good to go. :)
But, in conclusion, an "amped" up version (for say... 9th level characters) should be roughly the same... they shouldn't level to 10th (but should be that much closer) when starting part 4 of the actual "Carrion Crown" AP.
At least that's my current "guestimate". ;)
What you say is true .. but you're assuming they have exactly the XP needed to reach level 5. If they're partway in even reasonably, they'll make it.
Along the same lines as the guy above me, but are the PC's expected to level during the course of this adventure?
The module doesn't assume that (but neither do stand-alone modules assume that the PCs playing them start at the minimum XP for their level), but if they do, that's fine.
I was curious at your statement (and even though I made an attempt to answer it) I actually did some quick math (skimmed the encounters/CRs) and added the numbers up. (I didn't bother adding in the "orderlies" or the "lunatics" at this point... perhaps a more detailed run through later and I will)... ** spoiler omitted **
Heh heh if you could follow my ramble there, then you are good to go. :)
But, in conclusion, an "amped" up version (for say... 9th level characters) should be roughly the same... they shouldn't level to 10th (but should be that much closer) when starting part 4 of the actual "Carrion Crown" AP.
At least that's my current "guestimate". ;)
What you say is true .. but you're assuming they have exactly the XP needed to reach level 5. If they're partway in even reasonably, they'll make it.
@ gbonehead: No... I'm not assuming that they have exactly the XP needed for 5th level... Carrion Hill is a module for 5th level characters. No assumptions were made on my part about that. If a GM runs Carrion Hill for lower that 5th level adventurers... that's well and good. I was going from "here is the (likely) amount of xp that a 5th level group (of 4) will earn during play of "Carrion Hill". That is all. Oh. Wait. After a 3rd read I think I see what you were getting at. I'd still say I'm not "assuming" anything. I'm taking a guess. But you are correct gbonehead... if a party that is halfway between 5th and 6th level plays through Carrion Hill, they will certainly "level-up". If they have just achieved 5th level... then not so much.
*Thanks for assuming that I was assuming. Heh heh, now KaeYoss will show up again and have something witty to say about "assuming".
At Keeper Myre's Vats what effect does blocking the three chimneys on the roof have? Does this cause the building to fill with heavy smoke and is the smoke toxic. Is the keeper inside drunk enough to die from asphyxiation.
Do you think this in viable as a tie-in between carrion crown 1 and 2? Leveling my pcs a little bit during part 1 and making them stop at the carrion hill during their travel to Lepistad?
I have two brand-spanking new players to RPGs in general. They've said they would prefer a more mechanics driven ruleset, no problems committing to two to four sessions and are interested in a Lovecraft setting. They both have a background in mmos and enjoy RP-ing within those games.
The rest of my table will be filled with very experienced PF players/GMs.
Is Carrion Hill too advanced for such greenhorns even with the support of the rest of the table? I could scale back the encounters to suit the table, but are the amount of PF specific gameplay and mechanics (such as skill checks, understanding of the lore, required rp-ing, etc) too overwhelming for the new players to adequately enjoy the module?
I want them to enjoy module, but not to be regulated to wallflowers because they are overwhelmed with an advanced setting.
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