Pathfinder Adventure Path #21: "The Jackal's Price" (Legacy of Fire 3 of 6) (OGL) (based on
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reviews)
Paizo Publishing, LLC
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Chapter 3: "The Jackal's Price"
by Darrin Drader
The savage Carrion King is dead, and in his treasure the heroes recover a mysterious magical map. Rumored to be a portal to several islands of paradise, the heroes must travel across the country to the distant city of Katapesh to seek aid in unraveling the map’s powerful magic and perhaps to find a buyer for the precious item. Unfortunately, the heroes aren’t the only ones with an interest in the map, and before long they’ll be thrown up against a mysterious group of violent genies and one of Katapesh’s most notorious crimelords—a shapeshifting cult leader known only as Father Jackal.
This volume of Pathfinder also includes an in-depth exploration of the world’s genies, reveals many secrets of the world’s second-largest city, and features a bonus adventure set at a remote desert oasis. Also included are several new monsters and the third part of New York Times best-selling author Elaine Cunningham’s Pathfinder Journal.
For characters of 7th to 9th level.
Pathfinder Adventure Path is Paizo Publishing's monthly 96-page, perfect-bound, full-color softcover book printed on high-quality paper. It contains an in-depth Adventure Path scenario, stats for about a half-dozen new monsters, and several support articles meant to give Game Masters additional material to expand their campaign. Because Pathfinder uses the Open Game License, it is 100% compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game.
And that's a good thing. This AP, especially with its support article to flesh out the Katapesh markets, runs really fantastically. It does take a GM that knows what he/she is doing, though. A GM who isn't comfortable with urban adventures might make this AP a bit dry, but I felt it was a great opportunity to really develop some NPCs. The lack of shopping the PCs encounter during the first two issues really pays off as during their shopping a GM can insert the needed flavor and the NPC hooks that are the meat of this adventure at the same time.
Well done. But a GM really needs to know his NPCs in this chapter before running it.
Three stars, not perfect, but pretty good. It dropped a star on the player side because the party had been getting big "desert wastes" vibe from the campaign, and the switch to a city and diplomacy based scenario didn't fit with the playing style so far. I knocked off another star for the GM perspective, because if the players blow off the intrigue, and negotiations in Katapesh, there really isn't much substance here until the raid on the "one source".
I liked it however, worth playing, just not as good as the previous two, nor as good as the follow on (End of Eternity)
Just read the main adventure and, while some of the ideas are very promising, the adventure itself is full of problems. It would have been a good idea for adventure editor to read it, ask several questions and force adventure's author to ponder them.
If your players tend to ask questions, GMs should be ready to provide their own explanations, since those found in the adventure are seriously lacking.
I like this entery in the LoF Adventure Path. The DM needs to be careful to foreshadow how some of the NPCs connect to the Big Bad Guy, and also drop hints about the captain who made a deal with BBG, or else I could see the capt. coming out of nowhere as a "deus ex machina." I especially liked reading Clinton Boomer's set piece; it had a cool, classical feel to it.
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