The Dying Skyseer, an adventure in the Zeitgeist adventure path by EN Publishing, cannot be called an adventure and hereby I'll dub it an “Experience”. What you have in these 90+ pages mixed between beautifully drawn works of art, well crafted maps with minute detail, and a script that reads out of a mystery novel transcends normal gaming. This is something different all together.

This is the second part of the adventure path that had our PCs encounter jungle terrorists and board a steamship to vanquish a foe that led them to the courtroom of the realm and close out with the PCs becoming detectives. That arc continues onward in this Experience with the party joining up with the Risuri Homeland Constabulary (think of them as Pinkertons from the Old West) to discover why this young girl was fatally shot in a random act of violence. The party goes off on multiple threads all woven together with NPCs that have motives and reasons behind each of them, lists of plot points to discuss for the place in questions, mood settings that you as the DM can utilize to put yourself in the right frame to ratchet up the tension and create the right setting for the Experience. The Experience starts there and doesn't let you go as you run around the city chasing after the bad guys on boat, horse, carriage, over roof tops, through cairns, hills full of spirits, inside factories, and into the homes of the elite in the city of Flint. Your PCs are living inside an Experience much like they would if they were put in a season of “24”, if you can picture your players enjoying that type of murder-mystery intrigue then they will enjoy this Experience.

How are the stats, the crunchy bits, the meat and heart of the product? One Word: Amazing.

Each NPC has the full stat list, all the abilities listed for you, spells laid out, classes from the Advanced Player Guide (glad to see these new classes getting use), new monsters, new spells, new items, even some new traps that I will be using to make those PCs forget they were even there. The mind races with possibilities.

Are there downfalls or some things to worry about with this adventure? Yes, and it comes down to the DM being prepared. There is enough information in these pages for you to run each encounter, NPC, area with all the information most PCs would ask or do. Ryan Nock has thought up nearly every scenario where if your PCs can think it, there's an easy answer for you as the DM to provide it. Of course your PCs will Zig when you want them to Zag, and the background information is vast enough to allow for wiggle room as they work their way through the Experience. If the DM hasn't read all the finer points, looked over the map, studied the mood and motives of the encounter a significant amount of mood and feel is lost. Be on your “A” game as you will need it here.

With all this plot is there combat? Of course there is. Factory battles with fire going off around you, dark combat on the seas, chases on land that end up on the rooftops, warehouse battles with mass combat. Those of you like me who have PCs that thrive on combat will get their fix as the blend between Combat vs. Skill checks is very even and you can easily bluff, lie, cheat, or intimidate your way out (or into!) situations.

In closing, the Experience of The Dying Skyseer reads like a Tom Clancy or Vince Flynn novel. You are the detectives hunting down the death of a common girl who was embroiled in a conspiracy larger than any imaginable for a low level party. Through clever skill usage, crafted and interesting combat, and a story that inspires the imagination, The Dying Skyseer hits every note a good Adventure needs.