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Pathfinder Adventure Path #42: Sanctum of the Serpent God (Serpent's Skull 6 of 6) (PFRPG)

2.70/5 (based on 3 ratings)
Pathfinder Adventure Path #42: Sanctum of the Serpent God (Serpent's Skull 6 of 6) (PFRPG)
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Chapter 6: "Sanctum of the Serpent God"
by Neil Spicer

In their lightless sanctuary, an army of serpentfolk gathers to bring the world above to its knees. The skull of the dead god Ydersius has fallen into the hands of his worshipers once more, and fanged fanatics now commence the rites to resurrect their slain deity. Only the heroes stand between the serpentfolk and their insane plot to unleash one of existence’s foulest tyrants once more upon the world. Can the PCs gather the weapons and allies they need to strike back against the snakes and slay their decapitated god once and for all, or will their failure to do so usher in the Age of the Serpent? Decide the fate of an entire world in this, the climax of the Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path!

    This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path includes:
  • “Sanctum of the Serpent God,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 15th-level characters, by Neil Spicer
  • Aids and advice to continue your war against the serpentfolk even after the climax of the Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path, by James Jacobs
  • Secrets of the sinister snake cult of Ydersius, beheaded god of the serpentfolk, by Rob McCreary
  • The triumphant conclusion of the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Robin D. Laws
  • Five new monsters, by Jesse Benner, Rob McCreary, and Neil Spicer

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. Pathfinder Adventure Path volumes use the Open Game License and work with both the Pathfinder RPG and the standard 3.5 fantasy RPG rules set.

ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-307-1

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Sanctum of the Serpent God is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild.

Download the rules for running this Adventure Path and Chronicle sheets — (495 kb zip/PDF)

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At Least It's Finally Over

2/5 —

I did not enjoy the Serpent's Skull AP very much, and it's not easy to disentangle that from my assessment of this module. I think it was a solid module that caps off an AP that wasn't good at all. By itself, it's not bad. But it wasn't good enough to act as a satisfying conclusion to Serpent's Skull.

The module's structure is that of two large dungeon crawls with some climactic plot culmination in between. The first dungeon crawl is... ok. You need to find the NPC maguffin and fight some morlocks in order to do so. It really feels like a diplomatic approach should be workable here, since canonically the morlocks and serpentfolk are enemies, but I digress. This dungeon has the same problem as virtually ever Serpent's Skull dungeon has: a ton of repeated encounters against the same enemies, over and over again. This dungeon does make an attempt to add variety, and is somewhat successful, but it's shackled by my poor experience with the previous module and I just had no patience for this kind of thing anymore.

Once you get your maguffin NPC (who is, admittedly, very cool), it's up to the surface to do the old "assemble an army, give inspiring speeches, etc.". Thing. There's a series of neat assassination encounters that feel very out of place but are also pretty fun. Once the army is assembled, it has virtually no further part to play in the campaign. It fights the serpentfolk off-camera while the PCs infiltrate the last boss' temple. This is very disappointing, and a GM would do well to do something to make this more engaging for the players. It's actually a pretty epic tableau for the last dungeon crawl.

Speaking of the last dungeon crawl, it's pretty standard. Evil serpent god temple, lots of high-level serpent dudes, etc. etc. At this point the AP finally adds enough variety to the encounters to make them interesting. It's not a bad romp. The last boss is an interesting gauntlet design that didn't quite work for us, but did demonstrate some cool thinking with regards to encounter design. It really did feel like a multi-phase last boss encounter, but it was a touch easy for us.

Overall the last module was ok, but it comes at the tail end of an AP that I simply cannot recommend. I might have had more fun with this book if I wasn't suffering from such burnout on the entire Serpent's Skull experience, but I also don't think that this is a world-beater of a module either. As with a lot of the Serpent's Skull modules, it might have been too ambitious and tried to cram too much into the book, with the two large dungeons and a mass combat army scenario.

Sanctum of the rollfest (with lots of snakes)

2/5 —

This adventure picks up from the previous one: the party found an important NPC - Eando Kline, imprisoned by the serpentfolk. Eando supplies key information to continue the campaign: the serpentfolk high priest Vyr-Azul is planning to bring back the serpent god Ydersius, slain ages ago by an azlanti hero.

The moment of this restoration is near and the only chance to stop it is to first, get an über-weapon from the hidden jungle city they're already in. This weapon will allow them to access Ilmurea, the underground city where Vyr-Azul operates from. After this, they need to get an army to attack Ilmurea, enter the temple fortress known as the Sanctum of Ydersius and fight the high priest and the avatar of Ydersius before the serpent god has a definite shape and is still vulnerable.

The plot is super-linear with little space for creativity. The PCs need to get the McGuffin from a dungeon before moving on to the second dungeon.

The army part is a little deceiving. When one reads the summary for the first time, it looks like there is going to be some sort of army encounters à la Kingmaker or Wrath of the Righteous. Not so. The army-recruiting section is limited to talking to different factions or tribes the PCs have been exposed to previously in the campaign and trying to convince them to join their cause. So, a series of boring skill rolls: "Roll Diplomacy DC 35 five times and succeed at least three times" is not the most exciting of play moves. Repeat for every faction changing the skill used every time. Boooooring.

Do they end up using the army for anything even remotely fun? No... the armies are supposed to be fighting in the background while our heroes enter the fortress by themselves. I can't see why they added the army section, it brings nothing to the campaign.

Oh, yes... every faction they manage to recruit gives achievement points! These pointless things are used to change the difficulty of some early encounters in the fortress dungeon. This is the least exciting use for achievement points there ever was. So, if our heroes have a lot of armies fighting for them in the background, there are four morlocks in the entrance, instead of eight? Wow. Waste of space.

Once the PCs advance to Ilmurea, the armies are supposed to do their thing while our heroes attack the fortress. This is just a big dungeon split in two sections: the ground level and the dungeon below.

The first part is pretty uninteresting, some morlocks and a lot of serpentfolk in a pretty empty fortress. The entrance of the fortress is pretty mean-looking but other than that, lackluster. Also, the new creatures are just variants of big snakes.

The dungeon below is not much different but it gets very lethal: a marilith demon followed by a new serpent monster, followed by a super-serpentfolk fighter and then the final encounter with Vyr-Azul - a 16th level evil cleric serpentfolk with six attacks and a huge snake companion - followed by the avatar of Ydersius, a big powerful snake. This is the real final encounter, one full page of stats will keep the players entertained for a while.

It's not the boring layout of the fortress that keeps this flat, it's not even the monotony of serpent-themed encounters; it's the fact that the palace is a mere succession of combat after combat with little to no room for creativity - not in the way of social interaction or puzzles but neither in the way of battlefield tactics. It's just a plain ol' huge square room with a big ass monster to slay. Again and again. "Sanctum of the rollfest with lots of snakes", they should have called it.

My rating: 2 stars. This is a mindless dungeon crawl with nothing but combat. The serpent thing gets old after the 10th combat too.

Read my full review here

A well-written and challenging finale

4/5 —

This is a good finale module. It is sufficiently-epic, well-organized, concludes all the important story lines, and has some great encounters and events.

Spoiler:

The "invasion" aspect works well if you like the prerequisite roleplaying and diplomacy. The hard work from the rest of the AP pays off here if you did it right.

The "Coils" are cleverly done. The back and forth with the Serpentfolk has worked well for our group in previous modules (the Seekers in module 4) and I think these will, too. My players will never go for the railroady assassination setups suggested, though, but this is a very minor complaint.

I really liked the sanctum. Other than its generous use of my paper and ink, it is a great final dungeon crawl with appropriate encounters along the main theme and a seriously dangerous, epic finale. If you kill those dudes, you totally won.

I thought the hunter's maze wasn't that interesting and reworked the recovery of the "weapon" (which is a cool encounter and theme) into a much smaller map. I was looking to cut some stuff, though, and a lot of this part seemed like filler to me. Given that, its written well enough, and others might like it.

Spoiler:
The proto shoggoth is really cool - another great note in the abomination sub-theme.

For me, the only big problem with this module is the ridiculously bloated maps. These three maps print out (at standard 1 inch mini scale) at about 7 feet by 9 feet EACH! I think you may have been able to trim these down a bit, guys. People print maps and use figures, but it's just not practical with these behemoths.

Overall, this is an epic finale to the AP that manages to shine through the the failings of its wayward sibling modules. Major and minor themes of the AP - the overarching story of Savith & Ydersius, Azlant & the Serpentfolk, the various factions & tribes, the ongoing skirmishes, and the beloved abominations - are all woven in nicely. Thanks to Neil Spicer for pulling it all together into a refreshingly well-written finale.

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Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Just announced for January!

The cover is a mockup, and will change prior to publication.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Vic Wertz wrote:

Just announced for January!

The cover is a mockup, and will change prior to publication.

Feel free to keep announcing future products.:)

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Woot! It's cool to see this announcement finally go out. I was running out of creative ways for dropping hints about my plans to crush everyone's Serpent's Skull campaign in the "Sanctum of the Serpent God."

That is all.

Please continue with your day.

;-)
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Ah Ha! I knew you had something to do with "Serpent's Skull" Neil... I just knew it. :)

You really had me doubting myself there. :P (I guess I just misunderstood the "hint-dropping" and thought you were writing the penultimate chapter of Serpent's Skull... not the final chapter). This is so awesome! After my Sunday group finishes KINGMAKER... this, THIS will be the next AP I run for that group. YES!

I know it's about 6 months early, but allow me to say this... Ahem...

[announcer voice] Neil Before the Godslayer![/announcer voice] And yes you can use that for the Paizo Blog post when it comes time to plug this chapter of the Serpent's Skull AP.

Excelsior!

Dean; The_Minstrel_Wyrm

"Sanctum of the Serpent God."

That might be the coolest 'old school' title for an AP chapter yet.

The evil that is Spicer begins to challenge the Louge and the Pett
NSpicer wrote:

I was running out of creative ways for dropping hints about my plans to crush everyone's Serpent's Skull campaign in the "Sanctum of the Serpent God."

That is all.

Please continue with your day.

;-)

I started reading the adventure blurbs again, trying to get a better idea of the overview of the entire campaign for Serpent's Skull when it hits me....

Savage Tide + Age of Worms on the Isle of Dread = Serpent's Skull!

Holy smokes! Obviously thats a gross oversimplification of the AP, but it sounds like this AP is going to have all of the good seafaring and jungle action of Savage Tide all while going up against deranged cultists trying to resurrect their dead/sleeping god! Pure awesome if you ask me.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut
Yasha wrote:
Savage Tide + Age of Worms on the Isle of Dread = Serpent's Skull!

Well, keep in mind, the "island action" is pretty much confined to the first adventure in "Souls for Smuggler's Shiv"...and, after that, it moves to the mainland again and a major expedition through the jungle.

Yasha wrote:
...it sounds like this AP is going to have all of the good seafaring and jungle action of Savage Tide all while going up against deranged cultists trying to resurrect their dead/sleeping god! Pure awesome if you ask me.

Seafaring action? Not so much.

Jungle action? Yes. Lots and lots of jungle action.
And ruined-city, exploration action.

Also, I wouldn't necessarily characterize the cultists as "deranged"...they are simply very, very dedicated. And quite methodical in the pursuit of their goal. The evils of the serpentfolk are unique and tantalizing. Who isn't afraid of an angry snake? Because if you're not...by the end of this campaign, you will be.

Oh, yes.

You will be. :->

My two-cents,
--Neil
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
NSpicer wrote:

Oh, yes.

You will be. :->

Awesome!

Awesome Neil! And yeah, like I said, my characterization was a gross oversimplification of the Serpent's Skull AP.

Honestly, the Jungle and ruined Cities exploration (ala Indiana Jones) was something I'd wished there was more of in Savage Tide and its really sounds like Serpent's Skull is going to deliver!

Besides..when the PCs are on a ship, they can always turn around..when you are 500 miles from nowhere in a trackless jungle...good luck getting back out!

To simplify what I meant: This AP sounds as though it will be combining some of the best traits of Age of Worms and Savage Tide. A romp through ruined cities, jungle exploration, ancient artifacts, Fanatical Cultists trying to resurrect a dead god....what more can I say?!!!!!
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

What levels will the PC's be for this part of the AP?
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut
Briccone wrote:
What levels will the PC's be for this part of the AP?

I believe the target levels were 16th thru 18th, but sometimes that gets changed as the preceding modules go through development. For instance, if an earlier module doesn't quite amass enough XPs, encounter-wise, for PCs to get to the finale as 16th level characters, then the level-band might get adjusted for "Sanctum of the Serpent God." It's in the hands of the capable Paizo developers and editors now. Though I don't believe they've started development on my turnover yet, it's probably next in line...

Silver Crusade
Yasha wrote:

Honestly, the Jungle and ruined Cities exploration (ala Indiana Jones) was something I'd wished there was more of in Savage Tide and its really sounds like Serpent's Skull is going to deliver!

Actually, most of this adventure path has a feel of "The Return of Tarzan" to it. Was that a source of inspiration?

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Not for the adventure I wrote, but I can't speak for the other authors. It did occur to me, however, that a Tarzan analogue might be appropriate somewhere in the campaign arc...even if it was just a potential character background for playing through Serpent's Skull...or a side trek NPC that shows up, etc.
Liberty's Edge

A nice image from this AP in the P-Blog!
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

We've updated the product image and description to match the finished product.
Dark Archive
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Thats a pretty big snake.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Ohhh, yeah! :->

You better run, iconics!

Merisiel's got a pretty big fang in hand, though. My money is on the stabbity elf.

15th to 17th level now, or 15th to 18th?

If 15th to 17th, glad I didn't play a dragon disciple. ;P
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Ice Titan wrote:

15th to 17th level now, or 15th to 18th?

If 15th to 17th, glad I didn't play a dragon disciple. ;P

Why?

Zaister wrote:
Ice Titan wrote:

15th to 17th level now, or 15th to 18th?

If 15th to 17th, glad I didn't play a dragon disciple. ;P

Why?

I had it set up in my build to get access to everything I wanted at 18th, I think. With a robe of arcane heritage I ended up getting the capstone of sorceror too somehow I think.

Was a while ago, and it required a lot of rules finagling.
The Exchange

Awesome cover. I want the serpentfolk guy on it as a miniature, and the villainess from part 1 of this AP too come to think of it!
Liberty's Edge

In stock! Awesome!
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8

So, when do subscribers start getting their PDFs? I don't think I've even gotten my "about to charge the credit card" email.
Demiurge 1138 wrote:
So, when do subscribers start getting their PDFs? I don't think I've even gotten my "about to charge the credit card" email.

I got my "in the next week or so we expect to ship" email earlier today.

Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Brakkart wrote:
Awesome cover. I want the serpentfolk guy on it as a miniature, and the villainess from part 1 of this AP too come to think of it!

I second that. I looked all over the place to find serpentfolk figurines for my games, but they don't seem to exist. :(

Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Urath DM wrote:
Demiurge 1138 wrote:
So, when do subscribers start getting their PDFs? I don't think I've even gotten my "about to charge the credit card" email.
I got my "in the next week or so we expect to ship" email earlier today.

Weird, I didn't get that email.

Matrixryu wrote:
Urath DM wrote:
Demiurge 1138 wrote:
So, when do subscribers start getting their PDFs? I don't think I've even gotten my "about to charge the credit card" email.
I got my "in the next week or so we expect to ship" email earlier today.
Weird, I didn't get that email.

Got my email yesterday. Of all the adventure paths, this is closest to something I would have made myself.

Really looking forward to getting this adventure and then prepping to run at some point.

"The only snakes I know of are those of Ydersius and his cursed towers. Their evil has spread to every city. Two or three years ago it was just another snake cult, now... they're everywhere. It is said that they are deceivers... they murder people in the night..."

I got the email. Never looked forward so much to someone charging my credit card.
Lantern Lodge
Kain Darkwind wrote:
I got the email. Never looked forward so much to someone charging my credit card.

Still looking forward to my email to... I just cant wait!

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

I'm looking forward to it, too!

Spoiler:

Just for completely different reasons.

Neil Spicer wrote:

I'm looking forward to it, too!

** spoiler omitted **

I expect greatness from you, Neil.

I've really enjoyed this adventure path so far, and I think that it can be more easily adapted to other specific worlds than perhaps any other since Rise of the Runelords.

A few changed names and Ydersius becomes Sertrous, the qlippoth Elder Evil and demon lord of the yuan-ti. Another twist and it is Yig/Set, perfect for a Call of Cthulhu or Conan adventure.
Dark Archive
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Black Dougal wrote:
Matrixryu wrote:
Urath DM wrote:
Demiurge 1138 wrote:
So, when do subscribers start getting their PDFs? I don't think I've even gotten my "about to charge the credit card" email.
I got my "in the next week or so we expect to ship" email earlier today.
Weird, I didn't get that email.

Got my email yesterday. Of all the adventure paths, this is closest to something I would have made myself.

Really looking forward to getting this adventure and then prepping to run at some point.

"The only snakes I know of are those of Ydersius and his cursed towers. Their evil has spread to every city. Two or three years ago it was just another snake cult, now... they're everywhere. It is said that they are deceivers... they murder people in the night..."

You can fix that. You just need two Rogues and a Barbarian/Rogue.

Though your local economy will go belly up from all the gems they'll spend on booze and hookers.
Liberty's Edge
Matrixryu wrote:
Urath DM wrote:
Demiurge 1138 wrote:
So, when do subscribers start getting their PDFs? I don't think I've even gotten my "about to charge the credit card" email.
I got my "in the next week or so we expect to ship" email earlier today.
Weird, I didn't get that email.

I did not get that Email, either. But I got the email saying its avaible at the Paizo site.

I did check and it says its pending in my subscriptions. But I usally get word that it shipped and can download the PDF before I get the email thats its avaible for the general public.

??????? Can anyone look into this?
Liberty's Edge
CapeCodRPGer wrote:
Matrixryu wrote:
Urath DM wrote:
Demiurge 1138 wrote:
So, when do subscribers start getting their PDFs? I don't think I've even gotten my "about to charge the credit card" email.
I got my "in the next week or so we expect to ship" email earlier today.
Weird, I didn't get that email.

I did not get that Email, either. But I got the email saying its avaible at the Paizo site.

I did check and it says its pending in my subscriptions. But I usally get word that it shipped and can download the PDF before I get the email thats its avaible for the general public.

??????? Can anyone look into this?

You might not hear anything until Monday.

Did you add anything to your subscription order? Can delay it some.

Plus for me sometimes I get my email real fast other times it's at the end of the pack. Plus some of my subscription items are not ready so since I have them to combine in one shipment they wait.
Contributor
CapeCodRPGer wrote:
I did not get that Email, either. But I got the email saying its avaible at the Paizo site.

That's...weird.

Quote:
I did check and it says its pending in my subscriptions. But I usally get word that it shipped and can download the PDF before I get the email thats its avaible for the general public.

As usual, the PDF is not available until the product actually ships from our warehouse. We haven't started shipping yet. Not sure about the email oddness, but I can check it on Monday when I'm back in the office.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Liz Courts wrote:
CapeCodRPGer wrote:
I did not get that Email, either. But I got the email saying its avaible at the Paizo site.

That's...weird.

Quote:
I did check and it says its pending in my subscriptions. But I usally get word that it shipped and can download the PDF before I get the email thats its avaible for the general public.
As usual, the PDF is not available until the product actually ships from our warehouse. We haven't started shipping yet. Not sure about the email oddness, but I can check it on Monday when I'm back in the office.

Yeah, we had some wackiness with the emails, but I think we've shaken it off now.

Dark Archive
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I really like the section on further adventures after this has finished up. Just wanted to say that, it is something I would like to see at the end of each AP from now on.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Yeah, that section was nice. I wish we'd have gotten an adventure seed for ressurecting Savith, though, with stats for her. :)
Dark Archive

Just finished skimming the PDF, looks awesome. The adventure, the post-campaign developments, the Ydersius piece, the bestiary (the Baregara and the Emperor of Scales are 5 stars "Wow!" beasts).

Congrats to the authors and all the Paizo staff for a great AP, from start to finish. Looking forward to play it.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Cool! I'm glad to see some folks finally getting a chance to review this one. I think this is my favorite AP adventure I've written so far...which is kind of unusual, considering I've never penned anything for high-level play before. Also, with it being the capstone to an entire AP campaign arc, I'm not sure when (or how many) players will get to run through it, but I'd love to see some actual game experiences posted here eventually.

--Neil

P.S. Kudos to Rob McCreary for developing this AP. I know he (and James) had a lot of challenges in keeping Serpent's Skull on track. But I really do think it's one of the strongest APs to date. And that's through no small effort and dedication on their part given how crazy busy Paizo's been these past few months.

Is there any information regarding the Exalted/Higher-Caste Serpentfolk in the bestiary or Article?

Thank´s!

I'd also like to chime in that this issue's "Beyond Serpent's Skull" was amazing. I liked it quite a bit more than the "Beyond Kingmaker" one, and hope for more of the same with "Beyond Carrion Crown."

Furthermore, I believe that this...

Serpent's Skull Spoiler:
marks the most powerful creature with class levels ever statted for PFRGP. Go go Sargogen!

Also:

Albus wrote:
Is there any information regarding the Exalted/Higher-Caste Serpentfolk in the bestiary or Article?

No. And I was really expecting this as well, so I'm a little confused actually. Maybe something for Bestiary 3?

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4

Neil, reading through the final volume I had to say...

Spoiler:
the Coils of Ydersius idea is pretty brilliant. For my money, THIS is the plot point that I've been looking for in this adventure path. If I were running this, I'd make the idea of reincarnating serpentfolk into other races' bodies the fundamental "reveal" of the entire AP... the "how" in "How exactly are the serpentfolk going to enslave the world."

the PCs suddenly finding out that their contacts in the PF society, Sargavan government, Red Mantis society, and so on are in fact reincarneted serpentfolk pulling the strings would be epic.

Anyway, kudos to you for the idea.
Lantern Lodge

still haven't even gotten my preparing to ship email, much less the one that unlocks the pdf for this... is everything ok? or is it just more Email wierdness like above?
Lantern Lodge
sarokcat wrote:
still haven't even gotten my preparing to ship email, much less the one that unlocks the pdf for this... is everything ok? or is it just more Email wierdness like above?

I'm not sure what the issue was with the emails, but on my end it shows we sent an email on 02/07/11 10:39:32 AM and the other was sent 02/09/11 12:33:31 PM. I will resend the confirmation email for you.

Just in case there was any confusion, you don't need the email to "unlock the PDF". It will automatically get added when we ship the item, regardless of whether or not the email goes through correctly.

And please don't forget, if you have concerns about your order, you can always contact us through the customer service forum or by email at customer.service@paizo.com.

thanks
sara marie
raidou wrote:

Neil, reading through the final volume I had to say...

** spoiler omitted **

First off, I loved this adventure. Neil did a great job, especially considering that designing a good high level adventure is no mean feat. However...

Spoiler:
The Coils of Ydersius wasn't his idea. They're mentioned way back in the Campaign Setting, under the "Organizations" section, along with a number of other minor groups. That said, I'm glad Neil utilized them - and I hope future authors flesh out some of the other lesser organizations in the future.

The Blackfire Adepts intrigue me...
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut
raidou wrote:
Neil, reading through the final volume I had to say...kudos....

Thanks, Eric! But, as Generic Villain pointed out...

Spoiler:

The original idea for the existence of the Coils of Ydersius appears in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting sourcebook. When I got the assignment for Serpent's Skull and what ultimately would become the largest single showdown with the serpentfolk in the entire adventure path, I pretty much went mining for data on any reference to them that I could find. And, the concept of the Coils of Ydersius seemed like the perfect element to invoke in this adventure. I also wanted to put some more meat around them and actually showcase what a member of that organization would be like (i.e., stat them up), while also providing several potential encounters with them so it would give a better sense of how the serpentfolk could infiltrate virtually any society.

Regardless, I'm glad to hear it resonated with people. That was one of my favorite parts of the adventure writeup. Thematically and storywise, I think it should add a lot to the player experience...if for no other reason than the fact that each PC will have to face one of the assassins on their own without any help from the rest of the party. That alone should drive home their danger.


--Neil
Paizo Employee Creative Director

Yeah; the Coils of Ydersius (and Ydersius himself) are from my homebrew campaign. It's always fun to see how other folks develop those ideas, though! :-)
Liberty's Edge
Neil Spicer wrote:

Cool! I'm glad to see some folks finally getting a chance to review this one. I think this is my favorite AP adventure I've written so far...which is kind of unusual, considering I've never penned anything for high-level play before. Also, with it being the capstone to an entire AP campaign arc, I'm not sure when (or how many) players will get to run through it, but I'd love to see some actual game experiences posted here eventually.

--Neil

P.S. Kudos to Rob McCreary for developing this AP. I know he (and James) had a lot of challenges in keeping Serpent's Skull on track. But I really do think it's one of the strongest APs to date. And that's through no small effort and dedication on their part given how crazy busy Paizo's been these past few months.

Neil/James/Rob,

Amazing job with this one! Front to back, SS is one of the stronger AP's in terms of writing and flavor. This one is definitely one of my top favorites of the Pathfinder AP line up. I thought that the article on continuing the adventures was excellent, and I hope that this remains a staple in the capstone adventures.
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