I was a player in Skeleton Moon which had been translated from Season Zero rules to Pathfinder. Frankly, if this had been my first season zero module, there is a chance I would have outright quit society play. It is only because the encounters were modified for Pathfinder play that things were bearable.

The story behind the module is muddled and uninteresting. I am actually still unsure what was going on, even after it was explained to me by our GM after the module was over. To those who have their hopes up, I can confirm that it has nothing to do with Groteus, and while normally I'm very interested to go and re-read the modules once I'm done playing them, this is one I have not purchased. To add insult to this injury, there is little to no opportunity in the module for anything more than a little intra-party roleplaying.

The encounters blend together and if you have a group with somebody who likes to move ahead even a little bit, you might find yourself enjoying a module that exists as one massive encounter. Unfortunately though, the worst part of the module isn't its challenge (who doesn't enjoy a good challenge?), it was the fact that it's absolutely brutal and has the capability of one-shot killing characters with almost no chance for recourse. If we had been playing with untranslated 3.5 rules from season zero it would have been a TPK on the first encounter, and who wants to show up to a game and not even be able to live past the first encounter? Another encounter later in the module has a creature capable of outright killing characters in one attack without a critical hit.

More than anything, the module was just uninteresting, but combined with the fact that the fights were not challenging, but rather, just outright awful, I honestly can't suggest this module to anybody. In fact, I've just convinced myself to give the module one star (I was about to give it two).

The biggest problem with this scenario (as other reviewers have mentioned) is merging encounters, which can be problematic for the players. If the GM isn't careful to take steps to break up the encounters, it can end up like one long battle.

The story is cohesive and entertaining, but doesn't lend itself to much in the way of non-combat encounters.

I also liked the non-linear aspects... in theory. In running them, I found it difficult to remember what encounters trigger where/when. This would have been a serious problem, if not for the sidebar that explained the where/when for me.

The module was really strait forward which was fine. However the big problem I saw was that some of the encounters are basically right on top of each other. It's very easy for multiple encounters to all be triggered at once without players having any real idea of the implications.

The end result it that half the module felt like just one long extended battle.

This adventure is not 100% linear. That's a plus.
It's got a great feel of venturing in the lion's den and a climatic, darn cool showdown. Fast-paced and fun, for both players and DMs.

However: It's difficult. My players are no wusses and 2 of them nearly got killed while fleeing in the end.

A great scenario for those who think that most of the others are too easy, bland or lacking a cinematic climax.

My only (and minor) gripe with it is its title. "Skeleton Moon" evokes associations of Groetus and there is a distinct lack of the god of end-times in this module.

This module is one of the classic ones where play balance and some map issues really skew what is otherwise a fairly creative and possibly fun adventure.

I've played this mod and seen it run (ran it myself once, seen it 2 other times) and I believe in every case we've had a player death or come darn close. This module has some very swingy encounters, that can go either way; it really depends on party composition.

Re-runs of this mod with conversions to the new rules and Bestiary can really fix it -- there are strong balance issues at Tiers 3-4 and 6-7, that a rework of a single monster (as pictured on the cover) can help with. I'd also suggest prospective GMs read the product discussion thread and clarifications on intent of the author. I'd also suggest re-drawing the contained maps and expanding the general area of the tower rooms -- the courtyard map in particular needs to be a bit larger if players are expected to have more than one course of action in a key encounter.

The fun portion of this mod comes from playing up a few encounters that could otherwise just be boring combats -- how they are presented can make a big difference, and you have to play up the descriptions and NPC interactions to maximum effect.

I was a little disappointed in this scenario. The story was a little lacking and largely the PCs had no impact on the outcome which gave it more of a railroad-ish feeling. Although there are a few moments of role-playing, it would not occur to most players what specific actions are needed to affect outcomes later down the line. And when those moments do occur they are rather brief. Atmosphere and tone of the scenario was tepid and didn't really highlight any particular aspects of Golarion's cultures, gods, history, political standings, nations, interesting characters, etc. Further, I was disappointed in the faction quests as some of them were nearly identical and didn't help develop sub-plots to enrich NPCs or flesh out the larger plot. Outside of expected party roles and normal role-playing skills, there really wasn't much effort made to generate moments for individual classes to flex their non-combat abilities. I think I counted a single skill check for the entire scenario.

Overall, I felt like the scenario was a good start but needed to have more flavor by adding in more investigative elements to hint at what is to come, and to reveal what motivates the NPCs. On a positive note the monsters were great fun and should give the players a run for their money.

Don't worry, if your players show up an hour late, don't worry. If it takes forever to draw the map, don't worry. Some ones girlfriend/wife/best friend/mom calls, don't worry. Unless someone has to be rushed to the hospital you'll have plenty of time. It took me longer to prep this adventure and drive to the store than it to run it. Also at low levels a lot has to be forgiven or else it makes no sense. The box text is wonderful (kept it from getting 1 star) as is the creepy setting but even with struggling with the organization it was over in less than two hours. The combats are challenging for four low level players but don't play up.

The title Skeleton Moon would indicate this has something to do with Groetus. But surprise surprise, it has *nothing* to do with Groetus!

Where as the scenario is alright, the map is yet again over-complicated and stupid. I can't fathom what's so nice about round rooms in a D&D/PFRPG environment, which mainly uses a grid? I would also argue the encounters are way too deadly for the appropriate tier.

This scenario would also benefit a lot from diplomatic encounters.

Despite the horrific beat-down my party suffered at the hands of this scenario, when I look back on it I think it was appropriately challenging. The GM will need to do some careful preparation so the PCs have a fighting chance—or rather to have a clear conscience if PCs end up dead (as two of ours did). The plot is straightforward and like PFS#17 Perils of the Pirate Pact it has a lot of holes in it. Fortunately the players don’t care, and most have grown used to not having to dig very deep. Go get this item/person and bring it/them back. The GM is the only one who reads the background and has a sense of the big picture. The fights are a mix of “yawn”, “cool” and “you have to be kidding!” Players will appreciate the classic monsters in the first act. There’s some option for diplomacy vs. combat also. The author did try to integrate some role-play and puzzle solving but most players won’t expect it and it may pass over their heads. Campaign setting flavor is bland, you could place this scenario in almost any campaign world. Like I said, a lot of work is done setting up the backstory which the players never will uncover since it has no impact on the outcome. The map is alright but only integrates the areas where encounters occur and the rest of the castle is missing. Faction missions were a bit unusual this time around. It was nice to see the change but they did not provide a greater challenge.