Having waited many years to finish other material with my group, I found this hardcover so easy to instantly step into. Literally begining this new campaign within a week of opening the book. If you are suddenly forced to start a new series of adventures (TPK) this adventure path is one of the best things to have on your shelves to pull out and begin to play.

I'm still running this campaign and I love it (as do my players) this AP was the first thing to hook me on paizo (in the dungeon magazine) and the book was the first time I discovered paizo on its own and not just as "D&D". The campaign, its city setting, its npc's are all top notch (and it is't too hard to convert to other cities, sure some work is necessary, but still - it is easy, I run it in a modified Raven's Bluff). I own all the magazines, I bought the book at full price and thought it was worth every dollar - at this price it's a bargain. Month of fun, an interesting city to play with even after the campaign ended - just get the damn book...you won't be sorry, promise!

Even having the original Dungeon mags, this was well worth the purchase at full price. At $30, this is an amazing deal. Wonderful NPC depictions, a cool atmospheric city, planehopping; the list goes on.

Great, great, great. (*****)

As I say it is truly an awesome book. The one and only gripe I can even muster is the handouts not being actually a seperate booklet but needing cut away from the book bothered me. Beyond that it was freaking awesome, and the presentation is top notch. I wish Aow and STap could have gotten this treatment, ah well at least Pathfinder is going :P

From the solid feel of the book clear through the multiple chapters and the detailed appendices, this is a very well-made campaign book. Taking characters from humble beginnings to high levels, and jammed with all kinds of helpful and creative material for GMs who can't scrape the time to build their own campaign from the ground up.

The Shackled City hardcover is excellent in production and creative content.

I can only hope that Age of Worms and especially Savage Tide are given this kind of treatment!

If you like playing D&D in beautiful and mysterious settings, this is a module you have to get!

The NPC gallery is wonderully detailed and each character feels so alive. Also the setting, a city on the mouth of a dormant (?) volcano is awesome. The quality of the book and its printing is second to none, and the hardcover is welcomed considering the 416 packed pages! This module contains 2 separate full color booklets as well. One detailed map of the entire city, and one with tons of keyed maps to different locations in and outside the city. The appendix shows NPCs and their progression as well in levels. This is quite unique and adds to the quality and realism of the campaign as not only the PCs progress in levels, but also their adversaries and their allies.

In short, this module has it all and I would have given it 10 out of 10 as well. The quality is superb and the book really makes the NPCs come alive. Each NPC is described in detail and has its own personality.

I would also agree with other reviewers and call for downloadable playing aids such as maps, NPC-stats, pictures, etc. Most sites have them like Wizards.com, Necromancergames.com, etc, and it´s important to be able to download these items, print them, and use them as is.

I can only say that I really, really hope you guys also publish Age of Worms in this collectable hardcover format! Thanks for an outstanding product! You got my "5 stars" easily.

Fredrik Bermar
Stockholm, Sweden

First, let me say that I started running my players through this adventure using the Dragon Magazine versions back in April 2004. Last year, I bought this book, happy to see everything in one neat package. Now, two years after starting, my players are nearing the end of the adventure, and they are still loving it. (http://www.crater.com/gaming/Cauldron)

As for the book, I hope Paizo learns some lessons. The writing is great, 5 stars to that. But...
- the NPC-Appendix should have been a pullout booklet (it is annoying having to flip back-and-forth between NPCs),
- some stat blocks neglected to identify the source book for the monsters (leading to frantic searches at the game table).
- a downloadable collection of the art would have made my player's enjoyment more complete, as I use game-table visuals, and adorn the player's website with scans of the adventure and creatures.
- a downloadable collection of the maps would have been great. Having the downloaded maps both with and without keys would have been even better. That way I can use the maps in game play, as well as for handounts, or even in future adventures!

Hope this helps anyone thinking of buying this book! Hope Paizo listens before publishing Age of Worms!

I own all the Dungeons. I live on a different continent. I still advance ordered it from Paizo. All this was months ago and my praise is coming somewhat late. My point is the campaign hard cover was worth it.

Excellent artwork, nice improvements over the original adventures, and so far the most memorable campaign I have ever run (and over 22 years I have run a few). You will play for well over a year so it ends up being less than $1 a session. Well worth the price.

All I can say is repeat for Age of Worms (and Savage Tide) and please make available as a pay for download PDF so I can search for keywords on my laptop. This book is so big it needs an index otherwise.

The Shackled City Adventure Path is a great campaign that any player and DM of D&D who is a fan of the game will enjoy for sessions after sessions.

It will take months, if not years to end this campaign from level 1 all the way to level 20.

The qualitity of production is well above standards, the adventures are straight D&D and vary locations and aims in a way that will keep the players entertained, provided the DM likes the campaign and makes it "his own".

People who do not like dungeon delving might want to think twice before buying, but then I'd wonder why you play D&D and not another RPG, honestly. There is plenty of occasions for significant role-playing and developping character-driven plots. This is what a campaign centered around an area like Cauldron allows, so it would be too bad to not seize the occasion, but the focus of the product itself is dungeons and weird locales, really.

Really, great campaign. Way worth the money. You like D&D? Go ahead. Buy it eyes closed.