Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of Conflict (PFRPG)

4.10/5 (based on 7 ratings)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of Conflict (PFRPG)
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Never Surrender!

A seemingly endless war rages between the expansionist nation of Molthune and its fiercely independent neighbor Nirmathas. To Molthune, it's a civil war to preserve its legacy of unification; to Nirmathas, a war to throw off tyrannical occupation. Ancient ruins, headstrong leaders, and longstanding feuds are present on both sides—but the similarities end there.

Cosmopolitan and wealthy, Molthune grasps at glory and power as it struggles for recognition and security. Rugged and resourceful, Nirmathas operates less as a nation and more as a free frontier, bound together only in its resistance to outside control. Nirmathas and its conflict with Molthune provide the setting for the Ironfang Invasion Adventure Path, making this comprehensive sourcebook a perfect supplement for that campaign.

Within these pages, you'll find:

  • An extensive look at the region's history, stretching back before the current conflict, before its occupation by Cheliax, and even before the Whispering Tyrant's stranglehold on the region.
  • Detailed gazetteers on both Molthune and Nirmathas, offering over 50 distinct locations within both nations, such as the hidden druid enclave of Crystalhurst, the architectural wonder of Canorate, and the fey-infested Fangwood.
  • A comprehensive overview of the front lines of each nation, the distinct tactics they employ, and the regular shifts in activity and control.
  • Nine fleshed-out locations that take adventurers from the fringes of each nation to the front lines of the main conflict.
  • A detailed militia system, allowing players to organize, train, and direct their own rebel militias or mercenary legions.

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of Conflict is intended for use with the Pathfinder campaign setting but can be easily adapted to any fantasy world.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-927-1

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Get your militia rules here! Also, there's a map and gazetteer!

5/5

I've been running the Ironfang Invasion and using Lands of Conflict as a resource. I had no idea how valuable this resource could be until my players and I agreed to add Militia rules to our ongoing campaign. The rest of the book nicely fleshes out some places in Nirmathas and Molthune while leaving room for gazetteers in other books to fill in the blanks.

It will help you run adventures based in the area, such as classic modules like Fangwood Keep, Crypt of the Everflame and Masks of the Living God. The Ironfang Invasion currently running in Pathfinder Adventure Paths 115-120 makes extensive use of the Southern border between Nirmathas and Molthune. Hence the need for this book as a setting.

What makes this book so valuable is far and away the inclusion of the Militia rules subset. These rules are based on the downtime rules framework found in Ultimate Campaign. Militia rules are designed to allow your players to give a militia orders and have them carry them out in the background while your players handle their own actions and encounters independent of it all.

My players and I included militia rules in our Ironfang Invasion campaign and we're all absolutely loving it. It adds a layer of flavor with easy to understand and use mechanics that don't eat up a lot of time at the table. Just download the Ironfang Invasion Player Guide and print out the Militia Sheet inside and you're ready to go!

Check out my notes on using the militia rules in game in the Pathfinder Adventure Path 117 Assault on Longshadow GM Thread in the Paizo forums.


This Book Made Me Care About Molthune

4/5

By and large, I'm much more of a fan of the fantastical in my tabletop roleplaying. The backdrops of wars and uprisings don't interest me over much when it's also possible to travel to Hell and punch devils in the face with enchanted gauntlets.
This book changed that opinion. It presents the two fuding nations of Molthune and Nirmathas and their struggle against one another in a fun, flavorful, and interesting way. More importantly though, it doesn't commit the mistake that many such books do of subtly painting one of the factions as evil. I sympathized with Molthune just as much as Nirmathas while reading it, and I'd love to see that conflict play out over a table as either a player or a GM. Thankfully, the book suggests several such places where that can happen, from fey-haunted woods to bustling towns and more.

There are one or two sticking points, however. Namely, there isn't enough space. There are two nations detailed here, not just one, and because of that we have a lot more background to read through and nowhere near as many fun player goodies like magic items, spells, or class archetypes. Actually, there are none of those in the book at all. We don't even have a bestiary apart from six troops which, if you're like me and love the concept of troops, isn't really that much of a downside. Nevertheless, the fact that there are no new items or anything to play with was something of a letdown. The militia system is also somewhat confusing, and it's equally confusing why this system wasn't placed into the Player's Guide or in the adventure path itself. Does that mean that this book will be a required extra purchase if that system is going to be used?

Overall, this is a fun book about a pair of nations which, until now, haven't really gotten the attention or love they probably deserve, and that's good. It is trying to talk about both of them at once, as well as introduce a new subsystem at the expense of other, more immediately useful or fun content, and that's less good. Still, if you're running Ironfang or drool over history and good settings to have a war-themed campaign, this is definitely worth picking up.


Great Inspiration

5/5

As a GM, I judge the overall quality of campaign setting books based on the inspiration they provide. Almost every page of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of Conflict provides a story hook or adventure thread, a veritable font of creative seeds to inspire adventure. It is true that almost every region of the Inner Sea can support a wide array of campaign styles, but this book does an exemplary job of laying the groundwork for high-court adventures, skirmishes between armies, classic dungeon crawls, and more. Take your pick.

I appreciate that neither nation detailed in this book is painted as outright villains, both Nirmathas and Molthune can exhibit virtue and embrace choices of questionable morals, a perfect backdrop for deep, intelligent stories. Of course, I would have liked even more write-ups on the cities, NPCs, and notable locales, but this leaves plenty of space on the canvas for my own creative strokes.

I particularly enjoyed the quality of the writing and look forward to the output of this team in the future. The layout is seamless and logical, the artwork is, as always, top-notch. This is a product that will see use in my games. My players are eager to employ the new militia rules, and I am anxious to get my GM-claws on the new troops rules. An excellent book cover to cover.

Thank you.


Solid, nuanced regional sourcebook

4/5

While this book doesn't feature as much of weird and exotic as other recent Campaign Setting books did, it brings some nicely nuanced insights into Golarion's only major ongoing war. I doubt I'll ever use it, but I did enjoy reading it a lot. The only slight nag is that we didn't get a new, *functional* map of Nirmathas and Molthune, with the book using reprints of Inner Sea Map Folio instead. Still, a solid 4/5 for this one.


Seriously suffering from too much irrelevant info & too few details!

3/5

GOOD:
The history/timeline on pages 3-5. The five settlement maps. The "Crystalhurst Druid" illustration. The Molthune section.

BAD:
The weapon-grip of the Molthuni soldier on the cover is all wrong, as can be clearly seen on the inside back cover - there is no way she could bring her halberd to bear against the Nirmathi rebel before he strikes.
The inside front cover maps of Molthune & Nirmathas are divided, it would make much more sense to put them on one large map side by side to show the nations position in regard to each other.
Out of 10 settlements in Molthune, only two get a map: the capital of Canorate (plus 1 page gazetteer) and Korholm (almost 1 page description). Most of the interior art (maps excluded) is unimpressive or printed too dark - this is found in a lot of Pathfinder books lately.
A lot of the info about the 12 Nirmathi settlements is not found in this book, you have to either buy "Ironfang Invasion" books 1-4 or some modules. Pages 31-32 repeat parts of the history/timeline (already on pages3-5) in more detail, which seems repetitive.

UGLY:
The Militia rules are not only clunky and overly complicated, they reminds me of the caravan rules in Jade Regent. The worst is, they take up 12 pages that could have been used to describe Molthune or Nirmathas in more detail. It is mostly needed for "Ironfang Invasion" and should have been put in it´s players guide instead of this book - the militia "character" sheet will be in the "Ironfang Invasion" players guide, but is not in here.

This is the least detailed of all Campaign Settings which describe a nation so far, it wasn´t such a good idea to pack two nations into one book and then only give them 40 of the 62 available pages.
The descriptions of the locations are flavorful, but every single one feels too short and would have greatly benefited from a little more text (like population numbers - you have to look them up in the Inner Sea World Guide).


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Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

How much dedication is there to the respective countries?


DeciusNero wrote:
How much dedication is there to the respective countries?

There are 11 pages each for Nirmathis and Molthune.

-Skeld


I'm always wary of monsters. I just was hoping to SEE some. But I guess it will wait for another day. Like Bestiary 6. ;)

Grand Lodge

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Thomas Seitz wrote:
I'm always wary of monsters. I just was hoping to SEE some. But I guess it will wait for another day. Like Bestiary 6. ;)

I haven't seen any in here, but i may have missed something. However, it's not a surprise, given that this is basically and military conflict book.

I've got some reading to do though. I've been waiting for a Nirmathis gazetteer for a while. :)

-Skeld


Skeld wrote:
Thomas Seitz wrote:
I'm always wary of monsters. I just was hoping to SEE some. But I guess it will wait for another day. Like Bestiary 6. ;)

I haven't seen any in here, but i may have missed something. However, it's not a surprise, given that this is basically and military conflict book.

I've got some reading to do though. I've been waiting for a Nirmathis gazetteer for a while. :)

-Skeld

Jelly AF

Anything in there on organizing and controlling an army of owlbears? I mean obviously there has to be but I'd like to know details


If anyone can provide any details on the militia system, I'd love to see it.


Skeld wrote:
Thomas Seitz wrote:
I'm always wary of monsters. I just was hoping to SEE some. But I guess it will wait for another day. Like Bestiary 6. ;)

I haven't seen any in here, but i may have missed something. However, it's not a surprise, given that this is basically and military conflict book.

I've got some reading to do though. I've been waiting for a Nirmathis gazetteer for a while. :)

-Skeld

Me too! Nirmathas has interested me almost as long as Andoran has...

Dark Archive

Skeld, PDF Prophet wrote:
DeciusNero wrote:
How much dedication is there to the respective countries?

There are 11 pages each for Nirmathis and Molthune.

-Skeld

22 out of 64 seems too few for 2 nations...

1. Which maps are in it?

2. How detailed are they (is every building/how many locations are marked)?

3. How good are they (are there enough different colors to distinguish regions, settlements, and sites from each other - this has been a problem lately, especially with last months Qadira book)?

Thank you, Skeld!


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Marco Massoudi wrote:
Skeld, PDF Prophet wrote:
DeciusNero wrote:
How much dedication is there to the respective countries?

There are 11 pages each for Nirmathis and Molthune.

-Skeld

22 out of 64 seems too few for 2 nations...

1. Which maps are in it?

2. How detailed are they (is every building/how many locations are marked)?

3. How good are they (are there enough different colors to distinguish regions, settlements, and sites from each other - this has been a problem lately, especially with last months Qadira book)?

Thank you, Skeld!

It may not seem like much, but looking through it, it feels pretty complete. I'm sure there are more details they could get into additional pages, but this book isn't intended to just be a gazetteer.

Spoiler:

1 - Molthune and Nirmathis each get half page maps on the inside cover. The Molthune chapter includes city maps of Canorate and Korholm. The Nirmathis chapter maps are Crowstump, Crystalhurst, and Tanram.

2 - The city maps are dtailed enough that you can see individual buildings and important locations are annotated. The number of annotations varies because each settlement is different.

3 - The nation maps are on par with what you'd find in the Inner Sea World Guide.

Another thing is that there is a chapter on region history (with timeline) and chapters about the on-going conflict between the two nation, as well as campaign advice and NPC/Troop information.

So far, I think this is a very good book.

-Skeld


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I'm particularly interested in this book because I ran a one-shot where the PCs were soldiers of Molthune fighting for their citizenship. It turned out...weird. Message me if you want details.

What is revealed here about the privileges of citizens in Molthune? I.e what incentivizes soldiers to risk their lives in order to become citizens?

Also, how much moral ambiguity is there in the conflict besides "Free-spirited Nirmathi resisting Molthune's imperialism!"?

Liberty's Edge

Marco Massoudi wrote:
September will see a 96 page issue or even a hardcover?!

We already know this year's Campaign Setting hardcover: Inner Sea Faction Guide


Axial wrote:

I'm particularly interested in this book because I ran a one-shot where the PCs were soldiers of Molthune fighting for their citizenship. It turned out...weird. Message me if you want details.

What is revealed here about the privileges of citizens in Molthune? I.e what incentivizes soldiers to risk their lives in order to become citizens?

Also, how much moral ambiguity is there in the conflict besides "Free-spirited Nirmathi resisting Molthune's imperialism!"?

I hope you get an answer, these are questions I have myself.

And congrats on doing an adventure for Molthuni PCs.


Eric Hinkle wrote:
Axial wrote:

I'm particularly interested in this book because I ran a one-shot where the PCs were soldiers of Molthune fighting for their citizenship. It turned out...weird. Message me if you want details.

What is revealed here about the privileges of citizens in Molthune? I.e what incentivizes soldiers to risk their lives in order to become citizens?

Also, how much moral ambiguity is there in the conflict besides "Free-spirited Nirmathi resisting Molthune's imperialism!"?

I hope you get an answer, these are questions I have myself.

And congrats on doing an adventure for Molthuni PCs.

Well, it turns out...:
They all rolled up Chaotic Evil worshipers of demon lords without my knowledge, and flat-out lied to me about their alignments. The setup of the campaign was that they were sent to Nirmathas by a gearforged (from Kobold Press' Midgard setting) Molthuni general named Zeo Armadus. They were to infiltrate Fangwood forest and take out the Green Maiden, an evil Moss Lich (Advanced Bestiary) druid who led a cult of Nirmathi fey worshippers. General Armadus and the Green Maiden were meant to serve as foils, and to show how the war was driving both countries to desperation and extremism; sacrificing their humanity in the process (with Armadus sacrificing his body to become a metallic gearforged, and the Green Maiden becoming a being comprised of the forest's elements like moss).

The PCs were intended to invade the forest, discover that the Green Maiden was feeding Nirmathi commoners to a giant evil tree to break down the boundaries between the Material Plane and the First World for her master, the Green Mother. After dealing with the maiden, the PCs would return to the (strongly LE) General Armadus, who would then order them to raze the nearby Nirmathi village. So they would be faced with a choice of either becoming war criminals but getting citizenship, or becoming fugitives but not committing murder.

So the PCs all rolled CE characters and pretended to be edgy CN defectors from Nirmathas. They would do really creepy things on occasion that seemed rather evil; like telling a cultist who admitted to murdering a girl who rejected his marriage proposal that what he did was "understandable".

When they confronted the Green Maiden, they revealed to her (and to me) that they were demon worshippers and proposed an alliance. She agreed, and they sacrificed the nearby village that Armadus would have ordered them to destroy. They confronted Armadus and killed him; with our Antipaladin of Baphomet (or the "paladin" as the player described him to me before the game) being killed with a greatsword crit from Armadus. Baphomet thanked him for his service by implanting his soul within Armadus' iron, gear-powered chassis, allowing him to infiltrate Molthune from within. The Green Maiden presumably succeeded in her mission of breaching the Material with the First World.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

So wait, once "We aren't evil, we are CN" party was actually CE? ._. I thought lying to gm is sort of faux pas, though I guess that oneshot ended as cool anyway?

Just to ask, which god the antipaladin claimed to serve? xD

Dark Archive

Samy wrote:
Marco Massoudi wrote:
September will see a 96 page issue or even a hardcover?!
We already know this year's Campaign Setting hardcover: Inner Sea Faction Guide

No, we don´t. :-p

That book is part of the RPG line and not of the Campaign Setting line (even if i agree with you on it´s content being what you called it).

Also, i don´t see how a book coming out in may would be responsible for there being no Campaign Setting book in august. ;-)


2 people marked this as a favorite.
CorvusMask wrote:

So wait, once "We aren't evil, we are CN" party was actually CE? ._. I thought lying to gm is sort of faux pas, though I guess that oneshot ended as cool anyway?

Just to ask, which god the antipaladin claimed to serve? xD

Yeah, at the beginning I thought they were a "Chaotic Neutral" evil party. I think they erred just enough on the immoral but not openly evil side that I didn't call their bluff.

I could have just demanded that they tell me their actual alignments or reacted poorly to them concealing said alignments from me; but it was honestly a really well thought-out ruse and made the game so much more memorable. I would compare it to a "Twilight Zone" plot twist.

The Dhampir Antipaladin of Baphomet claimed to be a Paladin of Apollo or some nonsense.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Hm, turns out that the "detailed militia system" mentioned in the product description is very explicitly for the Ironfang Invasion Adventure Path, and is basically a reskinned version of the rebellion rules from the Hell's Rebels Players Guide. It seems a bit weird to me that this takes up 12 pages in a Campaign Setting book instead of going into the Ironfang Invasion Player's Guide, as with Hell's Rebels, though.


Zaister wrote:
Hm, turns out that the "detailed militia system" mentioned in the product description is very explicitly for the Ironfang Invasion Adventure Path, and is basically a reskinned version of the rebellion rules from the Hell's Rebels Players Guide. It seems a bit weird to me that this takes up 12 pages in a Campaign Setting book instead of going into the Ironfang Invasion Player's Guide, as with Hell's Rebels, though.

Yeah, that's...weird.

Do we get to command Nirmathi and Molthuni troops in Ironfang Invasion?

Dark Archive

Only 11 pages for Molthune and
11 for Nirmathas, but 12 for a militia subsystem?

This book sounds less and less good to me.

How long is the history part?

How long is the "9 fleshed out locations" part and what are the locations?

Thx.


So what kind of crunch? Any summary on the feats, archetypes, spells and such?

Scarab Sages Developer

6 people marked this as a favorite.
Zaister wrote:
Hm, turns out that the "detailed militia system" mentioned in the product description is very explicitly for the Ironfang Invasion Adventure Path, and is basically a reskinned version of the rebellion rules from the Hell's Rebels Players Guide. It seems a bit weird to me that this takes up 12 pages in a Campaign Setting book instead of going into the Ironfang Invasion Player's Guide, as with Hell's Rebels, though.

A big conceptual difference between the militia system in Lands of Conflict and the rebellion system in the Hell's Rebels Player's Guide is that, while the latter is explicitly for use in Hell's Rebels and is constructed entirely in that context, the militia system in Lands of Conflict is more general and can be used in any game, homebrew or otherwise, where the GM or PCs want a mechanical system for building and running a militia from scratch. While the rebellion system's mechanics and flavor are tightly tied to Kintargo as well as the events and resources available in Hell's Rebels, the militia system in Lands of Conflict provides a way to easily build a militia in any game. The militia system's structure is very loosely based on the rebellion system, but that's about where the similarities end. Nirmathas, the Nirmathas-Molthune border, and even Molthune proper are some of the best-suited places to set a game in which players build a militia to oppose a larger force, so that's why the militia system is in Lands of Conflict.

That said, Crystal and I recognized that the militia system is perfect for Ironfang Invasion, since that AP is all about gaining allies and building forces to oppose a hobgoblin army. So, in Lands of Conflict's militia system, we included a short section with the recommended militia progression for each volume of that AP. Outside of that short section, though, the entire militia system is designed for use in any adventure you see fit.

For those who do decide to run Ironfang Invasion using the militia system, each volume of that AP will include a section giving explicit instructions and advice for doing so based on the adventure's events and NPCs. The Ironfang Invasion Player's Guide also will include a militia tracking sheet. That's because, in order to make sure the militia system was robust enough, we just couldn't squeeze a tracking sheet into Lands of Conflict. It's not needed for militia play, of course, but will be available for free as soon as the player's guide is released.

Just wanted to clarify for folks wondering about the differences between the two systems. :)


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

Thanks for explaining, Amanda. Makes much more sense like that.

Scarab Sages Developer

You are most welcome! :D Since the short section explaining how to use the militia system in Ironfang comes early in the system's text, I didn't want folks to get the impression that the system is explicitly for that AP. It just happens to work really well with it.


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Amanda Hamon Kunz wrote:
You are most welcome! :D Since the short section explaining how to use the militia system in Ironfang comes early in the system's text, I didn't want folks to get the impression that the system is explicitly for that AP. It just happens to work really well with it.

I second the other posters in thanking you for elaborating on the inclusion of the militia system.

Could you address a a thread I made recently? I had a question over how relevant Molthune is to the AP, and the reveal of this militia system has me wondering whether Molthunis will be among those you can recruit.

Scarab Sages Developer

Axial wrote:
Amanda Hamon Kunz wrote:
You are most welcome! :D Since the short section explaining how to use the militia system in Ironfang comes early in the system's text, I didn't want folks to get the impression that the system is explicitly for that AP. It just happens to work really well with it.

I second the other posters in thanking you for elaborating on the inclusion of the militia system.

Could you address a a thread I made recently? I had a question over how relevant Molthune is to the AP, and the reveal of this militia system has me wondering whether Molthunis will be among those you can recruit.

I didn't develop the AP, so Crystal would be the best person to address that question you linked.


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Marco Massoudi wrote:

Only 11 pages for Molthune and

11 for Nirmathas, but 12 for a militia subsystem?

This book sounds less and less good to me.

How long is the history part?

How long is the "9 fleshed out locations" part and what are the locations?

Thx.

I wouldn't write it off too quickly based on page count breakdowns. This book is hard to characterise in that way really (since each nation is so inextricably entwined with the other). I would spell it out as:

  • 4 pages on the region as a whole - really about both nations (including the usual timeline which means that doesn't take up a couple of pages in the nation-specific chapters).
  • 12 pages on Nirmathas (including the halfpage illustration and flavor-introductory bit which you may have been picturing in the 11 pages)
  • 12 pages on Molthune
  • 6 pages on the conflict - do you 'count' this as 3 each or a double-value 6 pages on top of the 12 of the nation you're interested in?
  • 10 pages on adventuring sites - this also should really be "counted" I think (9 sites with one page each from fey forests to besieged forts to an astral demi-plane ruled by a dragon..)
  • 18 pages on how to run campaigns commanding small military forces

I havent read much in detail (I prefer the harcopy which is still a couple of thousand miles away) but I like the look of it. The maps are definitely good quality - the inside cover one of each nation is as usable as the ISWG maps (and in a similar style). I didn't see any cities sitting in rivers or coastal ports ten miles inland and so forth.

As I said - I haven't read it to the point of being able to give a review but it looks great from what I've seen. It's definitely ramping up my interest in Ironfang Invasion. One of my favorite things about APs which are 'off the beaten track' a little is that we get a whole bunch of fresh, previously-only-hinted-at Golarion lore. :)

FWIW, 18 pages on the militia system is a good decision in my view (though that includes 'sample troops' and such, so it's not all rules). I say that as someone unlikely to actually use these rules. I'm nonetheless glad that paizo devoted enough pages to them to do them justice.

Sometimes rules subsystems in non-rulebooks can seem a bit skimpy, imo. There's no doubt a fine balancing act between flavor and mechanics when you include something like this in a product line more usually associated with flavor - I suspect it's more difficult than in a rules focussed book. I'm much more satisfied with a proper, fully detailed system than two or four pages (or something) of sketched out rules laid over the top of a book otherwise devoted to flavor.


What are some facts about Molthune from this book? Stuff we didn't already know?

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Steve Geddes wrote:
Marco Massoudi wrote:

Only 11 pages for Molthune and

11 for Nirmathas, but 12 for a militia subsystem?

This book sounds less and less good to me.

How long is the history part?

How long is the "9 fleshed out locations" part and what are the locations?

Thx.

I wouldn't write it off too quickly based on page count breakdowns. This book is hard to characterise in that way really (since each nation is so inextricably entwined with the other). I would spell it out as:

  • 4 pages on the region as a whole - really about both nations (including the usual timeline which means that doesn't take up a couple of pages in the nation-specific chapters).
  • 12 pages on Nirmathas (including the halfpage illustration and flavor-introductory bit which you may have been picturing in the 11 pages)
  • 12 pages on Molthune
  • 6 pages on the conflict - do you 'count' this as 3 each or a double-value 6 pages on top of the 12 of the nation you're interested in?
  • 10 pages on adventuring sites - this also should really be "counted" I think (9 sites with one page each from fey forests to besieged forts to an astral demi-plane ruled by a dragon..)
  • 18 pages on how to run campaigns commanding small military forces

I havent read much in detail (I prefer the harcopy which is still a couple of thousand miles away) but I like the look of it. The maps are definitely good quality - the inside cover one of each nation is as usable as the ISWG maps (and in a similar style). I didn't see any cities sitting in rivers or coastal ports ten miles inland and so forth.

As I said - I haven't read it to the point of being able to give a review but it looks great from what I've seen. It's definitely ramping up my interest in Ironfang Invasion. One of my favorite things about APs which are 'off the beaten track' a little is that we get a whole bunch of fresh, previously-only-hinted-at Golarion lore. :)

FWIW, 18 pages on the militia system is a good decision in my view (though that includes 'sample...

Thank you Steve, that puts some of my fears to rest.

I also prefer the physical copy to the pdf, it´s much more easy on the eyes and faster to leaf through too.

I will certainly get this, as i like the Campaign Setting books that describe a region best and with the release of this, we´ll have HALF of all the Avistani regions in a CS book.

I sure hope they´ll do Varisia, Brevoy and Taldor next. ;-)


Do you think this "works better" than the mass combat rules we have now, or is it only narrowed down from that in UC?

Pretty familiar with Hell's Rebels side of things so when I get my book I should be able to pick it up quickly and hoping I don't have to modify much, if anything for this system to have the players all fired up to play this aspect of It.

I'll be a player but the GM might need some help so better I get the feel now rather than later (during a game) me thinks

Thanks

Tom

Scarab Sages

I wonder how well this militia/mercenary system would work with Kingmaker. When I was a player in that AP, the rest of the party preferred wading into battle as individuals, rather than commanding armies. Leading a smaller force might have been a better fit for them.


Guess I'll ask again.

So what kind of crunch? Any summary on the feats, archetypes, spells and such?

Silver Crusade

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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I love the ninja sneaky spoiler for Bestiary 6 in this book. Full rules for troops, ahoy!


Thanks, Steve! Your breakdown convinced me to get this book next week as soon as it hits the shelf.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Geramies wrote:

Guess I'll ask again.

So what kind of crunch? Any summary on the feats, archetypes, spells and such?

Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Absolutely nothing crunchy, this is a giant pile of cotton candy ladies and gentlemen. Delicious cotton candy though...


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

Well, there's 12 pages of milita rules, as well as 4pages of "bestiary" with new troops.


Fourshadow wrote:
Thanks, Steve! Your breakdown convinced me to get this book next week as soon as it hits the shelf.

Well, I hope you like it. :)

I'm still itching to get my copy (although I bought a new IPad today, so maybe I'll be able to read PDFs without squinting).


Axial wrote:
What are some facts about Molthune from this book? Stuff we didn't already know?


What are the troops and NPCs in this book?


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Axial wrote:
What are the troops and NPCs in this book?

Spoiler:
Three troops each for Nirmathas and Molthune. Molthune gets Imperial Infantry, Imperial Archers, and Imperial Phalanx (CRs 9, 10, and 11, respectively), while Nirmathas gets Nirmathi Skirmishers, Forest Guardians, and Irgal's Axe troop (CRs 8, 10, and 12). Apparently they work kind of like swarms, but full Troop rules are coming in Bestiary 6.

As for your previous question, the book is chock-full of juicy lore about both countries, and I'm not sure what was previously known. It's really all new to me.


Othniel wrote:
Axial wrote:
What are the troops and NPCs in this book?

** spoiler omitted **

As for your previous question, the book is chock-full of juicy lore about both countries, and I'm not sure what was previously known. It's really all new to me.

Awesome!

I think I'm going to use these troops in Ironfang Invasion, especially in the later chapters. I want Nirmathas and Molthune to team up against the Ironfangs, if that doesn't happen in the actual books. The PCs will be responsible for signing a treaty between the two nations, and will have the role of leading the Molthuni and Nirmathi forces on the battlefield against the Hobgoblins. I think they would find that very epic and rewarding.


So do you have to have this book to run the (optional) Militia part in Ironfang?

I know it was posted a Militia sheet will be in one of the Ironfang books, but maybe implies not the specific rules correct I think ?

Thanks for any help here and looking forward to this book and the AP!!

Tom


Does anyone else think it's weird that the pc award for reaching rank 20 in your militia is 25,600 xp divided among the pcs.... When you have to be level 20 already to get rank 20? Seems like an odd choice.

The 8th team and +1 for focus is nice, but the pc award just seems off. It really feels like the title should be 20, and the bonus xp should be 19, even if it does ruin the base template of bonus xp every 5 ranks.

Dark Archive

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John Ryan 783 wrote:

Does anyone else think it's weird that the pc award for reaching rank 20 in your militia is 25,600 xp divided among the pcs.... When you have to be level 20 already to get rank 20? Seems like an odd choice.

The 8th team and +1 for focus is nice, but the pc award just seems off. It really feels like the title should be 20, and the bonus xp should be 19, even if it does ruin the base template of bonus xp every 5 ranks.

Do your PCs have to be level 20 to reach level 20 in the militia score?

If yes, it´s pointless.
Bonus XP for reaching a Militia Rank is totally useless to me anyway, as i mostly don´t use XP anymore, but tell players when to level up.
Getting additional abilities is better.
That being said, so far most subsystems weren´t worth bothering with (caravan rules being the worst and Hell´s Rebels rebellion system being the best).


Marco Massoudi wrote:
John Ryan 783 wrote:

Does anyone else think it's weird that the pc award for reaching rank 20 in your militia is 25,600 xp divided among the pcs.... When you have to be level 20 already to get rank 20? Seems like an odd choice.

The 8th team and +1 for focus is nice, but the pc award just seems off. It really feels like the title should be 20, and the bonus xp should be 19, even if it does ruin the base template of bonus xp every 5 ranks.

Do your PCs have to be level 20 to reach level 20 in the militia score?

If yes, it´s pointless.
Bonus XP for reaching a Militia Rank is totally useless to me anyway, as i mostly don´t use XP anymore, but tell players when to level up.
Getting additional abilities is better.
That being said, so far most subsystems weren´t worth bothering with (caravan rules being the worst and Hell´s Rebels rebellion system being the best).

Yeah, your rank can never surpass the party level.

RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16

Gorbacz wrote:
I love the ninja sneaky spoiler for Bestiary 6 in this book. Full rules for troops, ahoy!

They're changing from Rasputin Must Die? (Or just being added in to Bestiary 6?)

Silver Crusade Contributor

motteditor wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:
I love the ninja sneaky spoiler for Bestiary 6 in this book. Full rules for troops, ahoy!
They're changing from Rasputin Must Die? (Or just being added in to Bestiary 6?)

Not necessarily changing. However... as it is now, the full rules for troops have to be printed with every statblock. Once they're in a Bestiary (and thus, on the PRD), new troops can just reference that the way they reference other subtypes. ^_^

Contributor

I still need to reread and test the militia rules, but at a glance they look fun and solid. Nice work, Crystal and Amanda! <3

RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16

Kalindlara wrote:
motteditor wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:
I love the ninja sneaky spoiler for Bestiary 6 in this book. Full rules for troops, ahoy!
They're changing from Rasputin Must Die? (Or just being added in to Bestiary 6?)
Not necessarily changing. However... as it is now, the full rules for troops have to be printed with every statblock. Once they're in a Bestiary (and thus, on the PRD), new troops can just reference that the way they reference other subtypes. ^_^

Thanks. That's what I thought it might be, but especially since I have a book of troops out, I wanted to verify. :)

Scarab Sages Developer

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Alexander Augunas wrote:
I still need to reread and test the militia rules, but at a glance they look fun and solid. Nice work, Crystal and Amanda! <3

I'm glad you like the militia rules, Alex. The credit for shaping and building the militia system goes to Lissa Guillet, who wrote that entire section, while Amber Scott authored the rest of the book. I'm very happy with Lissa's work and proud to have been the developer who worked on it!

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