Pathfinder Module: Crypt of the Everflame (PFRPG) (based on
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Paizo Publishing, LLC
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An adventure for 1st-level characters
The young heroes of the town of Kassen are ready for their coming-of-age ceremony, an old tradition in which they retrieve a piece of the eternal flame burning in the tomb of the town’s founder. Yet when they arrive there, they find only the corpses of their fellow townsfolk, dead bandits, and mysterious animated skeletons. The novice heroes must brave the traps and perils of the Crypt of the Everflame, discover the source of the corruption that has awakened an ancient evil, and defeat a menace that seeks vengeance against Kassen and its people.
Crypt of the Everflame is a dungeon adventure for 1st-level characters, written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world’s oldest RPG. The adventure map uses the same layout as the 2009 edition of Paizo’s GameMastery Flip-Mat: Dungeon.
This adventure is set in the forested land of Nirmathas in the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting, but can easily be set in any game world. It can be used on its own or combined with its sequels, Masks of the Living God and City of Golden Death to create an even greater campaign arc.
Designed specifically for the new Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules and designed by the new game’s primary designer, Crypt of the Everflame spotlights exciting new rules updates and character abilities, making the ideal introductory adventure for Pathfinder RPG players. A new era in fantasy roleplaying begins here!
Written by Jason Bulmahn.
Pathfinder Modules are 32-page, high-quality, full-color, adventures using the Open Game License to work with both the Pathfinder RPG and the standard 3.5 fantasy RPG rules set. This Pathfinder Module includes four pre-made characters so players can jump right into the action, and full-color maps to enhance play.
ISBN 13: 978-1-60125-186-2
Crypt of the Everflame is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. Its Chronicle Sheet and additional rules for running this module are a free download (217 KB zip/PDF).
It's been a long time since I DM'd a game and found this module an easy fix to run after the BB. All my players had a blast, it was fun to run for a returning DM and extremely well created. The big meanie at the back of this book is pretty tough, but other then that... 5 stars! Don't hesitate on adding this one to your collection!
I just ran this a few times for some local groups, and everyone found it very enjoyable. The map is setup in a way where there is a logical break between gaming sessions. As it was a crypt, most people guessed correctly about what they would be seeing inside, but that didn't take any of the fun away. From slaying baddies to dealing with traps, the players had fun.
The only reason why this wasn't a 5 star is there were a few effects that weren't easily fixable, especially since the party was made of level 1 PCs. Also, I'm sick of swarms. They only slow things down.
I ran this adventure in combination with Hollow's Last Hope (HLH) as the start of a new campaign and the players and I really enjoyed it.
Spoiler:
I had the people of Kassen contract Blackscour taint just as the festival of the Everflame was starting. I added the Elder Tree and Ulizmila's hut encounters from HLH to the overland travel part of the adventure and had the players find the ironbloom mushrooms in the lower level of the Crypt.
I found the adventure itself to be a good introduction for my players who had never used Pathfinder rules (CMB, CMD, changes to the new feats, etc...). The dungeon was a bit linear and I had to remove one or two encounters so that it didn't become too much of a slog, but overall the players had a good time. The story of Kassen and Asar also serves as a good start for any far reaching campaign plot as the nature of it is left fairly open.
I'm planning to follow it up with the Falcon's Hollow modules as I wasn't really impressed with the Masks of the Living God adventure.
I ran this adventure for a mixed party which included first time roleplayers, long time gamers who had never played pathfinder before, and one person who played pathfinder before, and they all really loved it. It does a great job of explaining rules/concepts to the DM, while providing a immersive experience to the players. I ran this with the dungeon flip map which turned out great. Can't wait to start Masks of the Living God!
After a long break from role-playing, this was my first experience with the new Pathfinder rules. I appreciated the way feats, skill checks and other game mechanics were explained in the text. It made my first DM session in years much, much easier.
I was also very pleasantly surprised by the story and the Crypt design. It was well-thought and nicely written. Modules have come a long way since 1979! I highly recommend this module for beginners or GMs looking for an excellent crawl to customize. Great work!
Wow! I have been away from playing Pen and paper RPGs for about 3 years now, much to my chagrin. Over the past year, I had toyed with the idea of picking up the Pathfinder RPG and finally did around Christmas time last year (2009). Crypt of the Everflame was the first module that I had bought for the system and I must say WOW! It was possibly the best 1st level module I have ever read. I felt like I was back in my formative teen years getting ready for the big game that upcoming weekend! It was clear and concise with enough detail that you wouldn't be stammering around for explanations to your players about the individuals they encountered. However, if was also flexible enough to allow you to make changes on the fly! Very well done! With the new Pathfinder RPG and modules like this coming out, I am ABSOLUTELY looking to getting back into the Pen and Paper genre! I highly recommend this module and am eagerly looking forward to the sequel (Masks of the Living god) and climactic conclusion in the third book (City of Golden Death) of the Price of Immortality arc! Keep up the good work Paizo! Im off to order some more modules...
When I kick off a new campaign, the kind that begins with a bunch of 1st level PCs scrambling for every copper piece they can strip off a dungeon, I make sure of some things.
Among the values that I consider most important to a campaign is it's feel. Playing a bunch of low level lackeys should be very different than playing the high level tough guys who are there to save the world. Accordingly, I strive to pronounce that feeling of "building your legend from the ground up" to my PCs in the first levels of play. I make many encounters that relay on naturally dangerous things, such as a poorly constructed bridge over a foaming, freezing cold river, or perhaps even getting caught in a thick forest while a storm is raging in the sky above.
This mentality is prominence in Crypt of the Everflame. The adventure is set to make the players feel as if they are in the shoes of young men and women, going for a memorable adventure to prove their worth, without actually taking any great risk to their life. When they came to realize that something real was going on, my players were actually terrified (well, the PCs were, and the players played it well). What begins as a nonlethal journey quickly becomes an awesome dungeon crawl with varied encounters and hazards.
I ran this module from pdf online, so I cannot speak on the physical quality of the product.
What I can attest to is the amount of fun (A LOT) both me and my players had. Nothing is very complicated in this campaign, yet it challenges the players to use their wits to bypass traps and enemies that a normal head-on collision would not have easily overcome. Great job in balancing simplicity with challenge, Paizo!
Also, I like the fact that the CR and total experience are listed next to every room. I am a huge believer in efficiency and that improves saved me a lot of time, time that I used to make the module more enjoyable for everyone.
One of the best things about this module is the production value. The pages are all of a nice magazine-quality stock, the artwork is well-done and appropriate to use as a game aid.
For those of us who have moved from 3.5 to Pathfinder it was also nice to have some "hand-holding" on the differences between those two systems (and the PF beta). The only down side (as previously mentioned) is a need for more boxed-text. Not a lot, but a bit more could have helped.
This module is also well-suited to those of us who need something to plop down in our own campaign world. Very little tinkering is needed to mold it to the home brew I've been running for about 7 years. Keep up the good work, Paizo. :)