Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Skull & Shackles Poster Map Folio

2.30/5 (based on 9 ratings)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Skull & Shackles Poster Map Folio
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Command the seas of the Pathfinder campaign setting with the Skull & Shackles Poster Map Folio! Chart your pirate empire on three enormous poster maps designed for use with the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path, Pathfinder bloodthirsty pirate campaign! WIthin this map folio, you'll find three huge 8-panel poster maps: one of the pirate city of Port Peril, another depicting the hundreds of isles comprising the Shackles, and a giant player handout designed to look like an ink-and-parchment nautical map of the region—complete with sketches of local threats and infamous buccaneer legends! With a closer look at the treacherous southern oceans and island chains of the Inner Sea Region, these beautiful maps serve as a great resource for the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path, piratical Pathfinder adventures, or any fantasy campaign.

Cartography by Rob Lazzaretti & Ben Wooten

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-420-7

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscription.

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Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Skull & Shackles Poster Map Folio

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2.30/5 (based on 9 ratings)

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Very Disappointed

1/5

Going to keep it simple. I just purchased this product (which is out of print at this point). I'm relatively new to PF and I'm DMing my first game for the ruleset and figured the poster maps would be a great tool. The problems is...

THERE ARE NO LABELS for any locations. This makes the maps pretty much useless unless you want to write on them, which I don't. The art is good but, honestly, why would Paizo make a mapset and not label them?

My fault though, I should have come here and read the reviews first.


Waste Your Money On This. Really.

4/5

This is three maps; Port Peril, the Shackles and the Shackles "cool" map with compass rose, monsters, and other details. It's foolish, but to see the pirate map, and plot our path made this game much richer. It's not the value of say Kingmaker's map, but it's worth it none the less. See my full review: Skull & Shackles Poster Map Folio


A Beautiful set of Maps with Limited Usefulness

3/5

For an explanation of how I use the five star review method, see my entry on So What's the Riddle Like Anyway? HERE.

I have loved maps since I was a child and still love them today. I would spend hours with an atlas, learning all about the different places and studying the different coastlines. The maps that were included with Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings amazed me, as did those of Anne McCaffrey's Pern. When I got my first copy of the World of Greyhawk, I was in seventh heaven with the brightly coloured map showing all the fictional countries for use with D&D. The Map Folio product line from Paizo would seem a natural fit for me. So let's see what we have in my first acquisition.

The Map Folio format is to give three poster maps all related to a single Adventure Path, in this case the Skull & Shackles AP. We get highly detailed and beautiful maps of Port Peril and the Isles of the Shackles, plus an amazing ink-and-parchment style map of the Shackles that is just astonishing. The ink-and-parchment handout is breathtaking: it really looks like and actual nautical map that a ship's navigator could use to plot courses through the archipelago. There are even stains on the map, including where some clod placed his grog mug! It is a wonder to behold.

But now we come to the problems. The two clear maps of Port Peril and the Shackles have no place names whatsoever. I get the idea is to make the maps "player friendly" and to allow GMs who make their own worlds to put their own names in. But most maps that could be purchased in the game world would still have the names of islands and major ports on them, so including these without putting in the "secret entrance to the pirate lord's treasury" points would still be player friendly. So the main reason for leaving these blank would be for those GMs who want to put their own names in.

This is a mistake in my opinion. Those GMs who do make their own worlds will also name island chains and ports. So having the names "The Shackles" and "Port Peril" right on the maps as they do runs counter to this approach. Further, those GMs who do have time to build their own worlds do not need this sort of product. They have their maps already detailed. I have done this myself for campaigns in the past, and produced beautiful maps with some simple computer software and a little time. It was fun to do, and a part of the fun of making your own world. So these maps would be of no real value to those people who would put their own names in. This is a real shame, as the cartography is amazing. I have a PDF download of the Shackles map provided by Liz Courts for the Isles of the Shackles campaign setting which is the same map with the labels put in. It is amazing, and what should have been included with this set.

GMs who pick up map sets do so to have an area already developed for them. They do not need unlabeled maps no matter how nice they look. They need maps that are ready for use, not ones which they will have to add material to for them to be usable. The point is to cut down on the workload. This leaves much of the workload the same but makes the results "more pretty." That is not enough for me.

Another problem is that there is no way to get from Merchant Marina to High Eastwind in Port Peril (the port and the raised section in the town). There are no roads connecting High Eastwind to anywhere, even through the Knotworks (the cave systems of Port Peril). I made an inquiry about this in the product discussion, and Liz came up with a great suggestion to deal with it, but this was an error that crept in somewhere in the production process and got missed.

Final Thoughts: Sadly this is a rather disappointing product for me and not a great way to have my first Paizo product review go, but there it is. By leaving the labels off the maps they are of far less value to the average GM and of limited use to GMs with homebrew campaigns. By putting the names of Port Peril and The Shackles on the two standard maps, they make them all but useless for those GMs. The inclusion of the stunning ink-and-parchment handout is a saving grace, but it actually makes me wonder if that was for the players, why couldn't the standard map have labels? All in all I love the nautical map handout and the beauty of the cartography, but am not a fan of leaving off the labels. Three out of Five Stars.


This could have been so much more

1/5

The artistic map I think is a waste, it could have been better used to show close-up locations of the Shackles. Because the Inner Sea Map Folio included the Inner Sea region I would have preferred two Shackles maps that showed more close-up detail. At least that would have been an improvement. I would say this is the least value for the dollar I've purchased of Paizo's products and I'm sure my money would have been better spent on another one of their products.

I would certainly advise potential buyers to steer clear unless you get it at a major discount.


Do not waste your money

1/5

Despite the not so good reviews, I was looking forward to having this product. Sadly, I am VERY DISSAPOINTED. Yes, the maps look good but that is it. I have this product now to show and tell. I hope they had the best intentions putting this product together but they missed the mark when you have better maps elsewhere (like in the Isles of the Shackles Campaign Setting).
Before getting this product I: 1) took the Golarion Map and added Lat/Long lines w/ wind patterns; and 2) added Lat/Long lines to the Shackles map w/ ocean currents. I am glad I took the time doing this. Not only is more practical but the players can track their movement with more interest.

A DM key for Port Peril would have been useful. Granted, it gives more freedom for DM's to decide where things are in the city.


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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32

Announced! Cover image is a mockup.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

So what exactly are the maps of? It would be cool if the treasure map from the 2nd book is in here though, as a player handout.


Ah, Map Folios, proof that the ease of subscribing is worth the pain of a few non-used elements every year.

How do you know what's in the second book, Dark Mistress?

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

I like how the map folios have gone over the past year.


I'm guessing it's an error that both paragraphs of the product description say the same thing. Should the second paragraph have specified which areas the maps depict?

All of the map folios since Kingmaker have been awesome, so this will surely be, too :)

Contributor

Are wrote:
I'm guessing it's an error that both paragraphs of the product description say the same thing. Should the second paragraph have specified which areas the maps depict?

Removed the extraneous paragraph, and when I get an updated product description (which probably won't be for a while yet), it will get posted.


Kain Darkwind wrote:
How do you know what's in the second book

It's part of the product description. :)

Raiders of the Fever Sea (2 of 6) wrote:
When they discover a treasure map tattooed on a defeated pirate rival

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

The product description has been updated. (It will likely change again prior to publication, but it's now more informative.)


Product description wrote:
and the entire Shackles Isles region!

Awesome! That's exactly what I hoped would be in this one :)

I some times wonder if the Paizo team have hired a mindreader..


Macharius wrote:
Kain Darkwind wrote:
How do you know what's in the second book

It's part of the product description. :)

Raiders of the Fever Sea (2 of 6) wrote:
When they discover a treasure map tattooed on a defeated pirate rival

...yeah. So Dark Mistress isn't omniscient. I just can't read. My bad.


Final cover image and product description now up!

Scarab Sages

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
Kain Darkwind wrote:

Ah, Map Folios, proof that the ease of subscribing is worth the pain of a few non-used elements every year.

...

To be fair, now that Paizo moved away from compiling the dungeon maps in the associated AP and switched over to making big versions of more generic areas, the Map Folios have gotten more useful.

For example, the Carrion Crown Map Folio is handy for any campaign set in Ustalav.


Well...I hope this map folio shows mayor wind pattern directions and surface ocean currents...


^ Now that would be cool.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Wind and ocean patterns and currents would be cool... but since we don't have any meteorologists on staff to ensure we did it right, it's not something I'm eager to try.

Silver Crusade

James Jacobs wrote:
Wind and ocean patterns and currents would be cool... but since we don't have any meteorologists on staff to ensure we did it right, it's not something I'm eager to try.

Did you ever consider cloudsourcing?


logic_poet wrote:
Kain Darkwind wrote:

Ah, Map Folios, proof that the ease of subscribing is worth the pain of a few non-used elements every year.

...

To be fair, now that Paizo moved away from compiling the dungeon maps in the associated AP and switched over to making big versions of more generic areas, the Map Folios have gotten more useful.

For example, the Carrion Crown Map Folio is handy for any campaign set in Ustalav.

I have the map of Ustalav from the Carrion Crown Map Folio framed in a poster frame, just haven't decided where to hang it. Still wish it had Sen's Pass on it, but other than that oversight, I love it. I've considered buying a second copy.

I care less about the other map folios since I care less about their regions, but I do think the map folio line has significantly improved since it launched.


James Jacobs wrote:
Wind and ocean patterns and currents would be cool... but since we don't have any meteorologists on staff to ensure we did it right, it's not something I'm eager to try.

Hi James, I am an Oceanographer and determining wind directions and surface ocean currents in a map is not that difficult. I got a world map of Golarion and after I added latitude/longitude the Shackles is about 20 degrees North of the equator dominated by NE tradewinds. I made the assumption that the tilt of the planet is the same as the Earth's and that the planet rotates on its axis once every 24hrs and has the same orbit shape around its sun as Earth. Which I do not know if it is the same for Golarion.

I am more than willing to provide help if you want. I can email you the map so you can see it but do not know how to send attachments in this forum.


I almost don't want to start skull and shackles without this map folio. I'm running kingmaker and if I didn't have the maps it would be VERY difficult to run the campaign.


Mr. Quick wrote:
I almost don't want to start skull and shackles without this map folio. I'm running kingmaker and if I didn't have the maps it would be VERY difficult to run the campaign.

I've alerted my group that we'll be taking a break in September from my current "Zombies on the Borderland" homebrew to run the entire Skull & Shackles AP once all of the books and pawns are released. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on everything and taking the entire summer to get familiar and prep!

Grand Lodge

Hope to get it soon! (in 30-60 days since I'm in Europe :P)

Grand Lodge

Do more pics about this product exist? I'm really curious about it!


Yea a picture of at least a corner of the player handout map would be nice. So I could know if it is worth buying the physical product or if the PDF will be enough as we play using a virtual table top. ;)


I was hoping for posters of all the maps for all the modules themselves (like flip-mats). It isn't that. It /is/ pretty cool for fleshing out areas and building in some "side trips".


I really like the player handout, although it does reduce the utility of the other poster map of the shackles. (poster maps I'm not going to show players aren't terribly valuable to me).

Owner - House of Books and Games LLC

Am I missing something?

I had expected the GM's map of The Shackles to be a poster-size version of the map they added to the Isles of the Shackles page as a free download. Is there something I need to turn on to get the labels to show? Or are they just not there?

If this folio really does include what is essentially two copies of the same map, that's a bit disappointing, especially since there's only three maps in it.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
gbonehead wrote:
If this folio really does include what is essentially two copies of the same map, that's a bit disappointing, especially since there's only three maps in it.

I was hoping for the same and was disapointed for the same reason

Grand Lodge

So what's inside the box?

Contributor

Product description says:

Quote:


Within this map folio, you’ll find three huge 8-panel poster maps: one of the pirate city of Port Peril, another depicting the hundreds of isles comprising the Shackles, and a giant player handout designed to look like an ink-and-parchment nautical map of the region—complete with sketches of local threats and infamous buccaneer legends!

So you get:


  • One unlabeled map of Port Peril
  • One unlabeled map of The Shackles
  • One ink-and-parchment-styled map of the Shackles (great for treasure maps and the like)

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Yeah i liked the ink and parchment styled map. It was very cool, wish we could get the same for every region a AP covers.


gbonehead wrote:

Am I missing something?

I had expected the GM's map of The Shackles to be a poster-size version of the map they added to the Isles of the Shackles page as a free download. Is there something I need to turn on to get the labels to show? Or are they just not there?

If this folio really does include what is essentially two copies of the same map, that's a bit disappointing, especially since there's only three maps in it.

I had the same reaction. Given the excellent information available in the PDF it makes no sense that what should be the GM's campaign map in this folio is unlabeled. Had I realized that going in I would have saved my money - the Port Peril map is nice but is duplicated in Tempest Rising, and the "parchment" handout map for the PCs is a nice touch but not as useful without the master map information to go along with it.

Given the anticipation this product generated I think Paizo seriously missed the boat on this one. I shall be very careful to see exactly what's in future offerings before putting down any money after this....


I won't say I was disappointed by this product, because I got exactly what was offered.

Sadly this line of products need something.
Poster sized maps of cities that are unkeyed are not much more useful than a full page map in the AP. They're pretty but I'd almost rather get a poster of a cover artwork. Along the same train of thought, poster maps of the region are nice but not nearly as useful as they could be. The lack of names for geographic features, even colloquial names, is disappointing. We have plenty of maps of the region, if these maps are more detailed than the macro that's fantastic but the level of improvement would seem to be key.

The faux parchment map is a nice addition, it's a functional, works as a player hand out and even fits with an item in the 3rd episode. More like this would be nice.

I'm not sure of the logistics of this product but for this AP, a battlemap of the ship would have been a far more useful inclusion. I know that there is a desire to keep the battlemaps separate but the maps offered so far in this line are of middling use. That makes this, for me, a vanity purchase. My resources would have been better spent on something else.

So far, only Kingmaker has proved to be an indispensable accessory to an AP line. One that will inevitably require me to repurchase the product. The fact that only once has this proven true is an issue that needs to be addressed. I have the distinct feeling that if not for subscriptions this would be a very short lived line.

Good Luck, this is a vastly improved line from the RotRL map pack but it needs an innovation if I'm to continue it's support.


I bought it expecting the same detailed map as in the free download and was very disappointed to find an unlabeled map. Are my players supposed to write on it as they explore? I don't see that happening. So what use it it other than it looks good? It looks like I'll have to print out section by section the downloadable, labeled map, just for my use as I run it.

The hand out "hand drawn" map is great and I can see using that.

I'm considering putting the town map and unlabeled map under a sheet of clear plastic, so the players can write on it with grease pencils, but that won't be nearly as useful as a labeled map would have been.


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Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I have noticed something rather odd: there seems to be no way to get from Merchant Marina to High Eastwind. In fact, there seem to be no roads connecting High Eastwind to anywhere, even through the Knotworks! How do the wealthy of Port Peril get to and from their homes high above the rest of the city?

Contributor

Hmm...I know in the original map turnover that I received, there was a wide road that went from Merchant Marina to High Eastwind. However, that seems to vanished, but it looks like another route is available through the Knotworks. Also, Zeru Faizel (of Latchmin's Folly) would likely have some sort of lift system that she charges outrageous prices for to move people and goods up to High Eastwind.


Michael Martinez-Colon wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Wind and ocean patterns and currents would be cool... but since we don't have any meteorologists on staff to ensure we did it right, it's not something I'm eager to try.

Hi James, I am an Oceanographer and determining wind directions and surface ocean currents in a map is not that difficult. I got a world map of Golarion and after I added latitude/longitude the Shackles is about 20 degrees North of the equator dominated by NE tradewinds. I made the assumption that the tilt of the planet is the same as the Earth's and that the planet rotates on its axis once every 24hrs and has the same orbit shape around its sun as Earth. Which I do not know if it is the same for Golarion.

I am more than willing to provide help if you want. I can email you the map so you can see it but do not know how to send attachments in this forum.

Michael, I'm just starting my Skull & Shackles adventure and I would love to get a copy of the winds / currents maps of Golarion that you made. That would be a great addition. I'm trying to have weather, currents and winds be a bigger part of sailing around the adventure.

Thanks !

Jim


What are the dimensions of these maps? It's unfortunate that the only dimensions I'm seeing anywhere are the 8.5 x 11 size of the folded maps.

Owner - House of Books and Games LLC

I *believe* they're 3x3 sheets. The PDF lists the size as 21.75" x 33.2" which is an odd size.

Note: the back of the map folio says "Within this map folio, you’ll find three huge 8-panel poster maps," which means they'll each be 22"x34". That does sound about right - 4x8.5" by 2x11"

Webstore Gninja Minion

The maps are 8 panels—2 panels wide by 4 panels long, and I believe they are 22 by 34 inches.

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