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I was very pleasantly surprised by Plunder and Peril. I expected it to be fun, but I had no idea how much cool stuff Paizo could pack into a 50-page mini adventure path. I want to mention specifics about this adventure that I enjoyed, so spoilers are to follow.

Although the book does offer ways to play each of the three modules separately, they are interconnected and would be much better enjoyed as a whole. Plunder and Peril can also serve as a replacement for GMs who aren’t happy with Raiders of the Fever Sea, the second part of the Skull & Shackles campaign.

I had a lot of fun with Rum Punch in the town of Lilywhite. PCs getting to participate in festivals and contests can often make for entertaining and humorous roleplaying. A drinking contest is just such a piratey thing to do. One of our characters managed to set a record. Others barely made it to the bucket in time to get sick. We laughed a lot!

Dangerous Waters was equally well-written. PCs have the chance to get to know and befriend many unique NPCs, all with their own quirks and agendas. We also really lied meeting the triton Jenesara and the brine dragon Kelizar. How often do 5th level players meet a dragon and live to tell the tale?

Black Coral Cove was a great conclusion to the trio of adventures. The PCs chasing a pirate ship while mounted of hippocampi was a very exciting scene. The calcified Fearsome Tide was a terrifying sight, and Orsilir’s sudden appearance was very unexpected. Luckily, all our players made it to the end, but it was a pretty close battle.

We were delighted to find that by the end of Plunder and Peril, our group had two ships and their own secret base. They’ll have to invest a lot of money and make a lot of repairs, but since the adventure was quite lucrative, they’re going to do their best.

The artwork was really gorgeous. The images of Hyrix, the Comozant Wind, Kelizar, Jemma Redclaw and Jaspin Hinsin are especially wonderful. The detailed information and maps of the Magpie Princess and its crew were also very appreciated.

This was an awesome adventure. Highly recommended!

City of Locusts was a satisfying and exciting end for a fantastic adventure path. Its pace is quite fast, so PCs had better be ready to fight, and fight hard.

Drezen will be pretty much under constant attack, so the more troops and allies PCs have managed to make, the better off everyone will be. Even NPC companions from the first adventure can be of help in this final installment.

Encounters with the final villains of Wrath of the Righteous may prove to be emotional for players. The battle with the Storm King was deadly and horrifying. He may be one of the most powerful opponents ever encountered in an adventure path. Areelu was also a dangerous foe, and her destruction will be satisfying for any PCs who have been personally hurt by her actions. The saddest and most unexpected battle was against the fallen spirit of Terendelev. Our players were heartbroken to know their rescuer had been suffering this whole time.

By the end of the adventure, players will be very pleased with all they’ve managed to accomplish. At 20 levels and 10 mythic tiers, characters will be as strong as they could ever hope to be. The module even offers advice for what such mighty characters may want to do next, such as start their own kingdoms, organizations or religions.

I love adventures written by Richard Pett. His vivid descriptions of locations, characters and bizarre treasures are always a delight.

Highly recommended!

Although Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth diverges the PCs from their main quest for a little while, it is still a highly exciting adventure with a scary setting, high rewards, and a truly thrilling conclusion.

Our PCs were honored to have one of their Gods actually appear to them and personally ask for their aid. It’s not very often that characters come face to face with a deity, so Iomedae’s appearance was an unexpected treat. The magic items she lent the players to help them on their quest were very interesting artifacts as well. I’m not quite sure why she felt the need to give us a history exam first, but it’s not my place to question the Gods.

The Ivory Labyrinth was a weird setting and felt like more of a sandbox than I would have liked, but I was glad for the fun encounters of weird monsters and unexpected allies waiting within. I especially liked the opportunity to resurrect Malakia, the unfortunate Astral Deva.

I also appreciated that PCs are given a chance to save the fallen Herald of Iomedae. Simply killing him when his fall from grace wasn’t his own fault would have been too sad. Redemption is a big part of this adventure path, and our group liked to help others wherever they could.

The battle with Baphomet was an incredible event, a feat that only mythic characters would have been able to manage. Actually slaying a demon lord isn’t something players get to do every day. Needless to say, we all had great fun with that.

There are a lot of nice little things to mention about Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth as well; the art continues to be fantastic. The portraits of Ylleshka, Svendack and the Bonepowder Ghoul are quite worthy of note. Dawnflower’s Kiss was a wonderful gift. Our cleric, who had the Touched By Divinity trait (with Sarenrae as her parent) was overjoyed to wield that weapon!

Highly recommended!

The Midnight Isles proves itself to be another interesting chapter in the Wrath of the Righteous campaign. Although I didn’t find this part to be as good as the three previous chapters in this campaign, it was still quite a lot of fun and well worth the play time.

The player characters will find themselves in a lot of ugly and dangerous places this time. Normally being surrounded by so many enemies would probably get them killed in a matter of minutes, but they’re all pretty high level at this point, so as long as they stay together they should survive.

There’s quite a bit of wandering around trying to find information about a mining operation for evil crystals. I personally didn’t find that part very engaging. It also seemed a bit awkward when good-aligned PCs have to do amusing things to entertain a succubus. Our paladin wasn’t pleased about that!

On the plus side, there are lots of scary battles to fight, and many powerful evil to destroy. Although they don’t do battle with her, PCs do get the opportunity to come face-to-face with the Succubus Queen Nocticula, which makes for a pretty fascinating encounter.

The artwork throughout the book is some of the best I’ve ever seen. Some of my favorites include the images of Mutasafen, Ursathella, Vellexia, and of course, the amazing depiction of Arueshalae on the cover.

Recommended!

Wrath of the Righteous continues to be a fantastic story. Demon’s Heresy isn’t as intense or as high stakes as the two previous chapters in the campaign, but it is still equally engaging and offers big opportunities for story and character development.

Wrath of the Righteous character traits pay off in big ways I never expected. I was playing a PC with the Touched By Divinity trait who was shocked and delighted to learn the news of her heritage. What a wonderful twist that was! Other characters also had interesting revelations about themselves depending on which traits they’d chosen. I was really impressed by the way each PC was given a personal story arc in this chapter that fit in so well to the overall adventure path. It was so enjoyable to play through.

This chapter also introduced Arueshalae, my favorite NPC of the entire campaign. What a strong, complex, loveable character she is! Her heartfelt desire to redeem herself is truly inspirational, and the love she shares with her chosen PC is really sweet.

Once again the artwork through the book is fantastic. There are interesting and challenging villains who are a pleasure to defeat. Lots of unique and pretty magical items, too.

Highly recommended!

Sword of Valor is an enjoyable, worthy sequel to the Worldwound Incursion. The heroic (and now mythic) PCs must help their beloved city by marching into Drezen and reclaiming it for the Crusaders. Drezen is a huge place that offers many exciting encounters, enemies, treasures and chances for the players to prove themselves true champions.

Once again players have the opportunity to connect with their NPC allies from the first chapter, as well as make new friends. The NPCs in Sword of Valor are complex, layered, likeable people. Not all of them are what they seem, and PCs can take a hand in helping them solve their problems and reach their potential. This makes to very interesting story-telling and gives players a chance to develop their own characters as they interact with NPCs.

Mass combat rules start to really come into play at this point. GMs and players who like new challenges may enjoy this feature. Our group did not, so our kind GM managed to work around that part and found that offering more traditional combat rules worked just as well.

Reclaiming the city and citadel are fun victories for the players and their characters. The sword of valor itself is a wonderful artifact that will go a long way to protecting the city of further invasions. This helps the story because players can now go on with their travels and adventures without having to worry about crazy things going on behind their backs.

This adventure has a lot of great story to it and was super fun to play.

Highly recommended!

The World Wound Incursion starts off with an epic event that forever changes the city of Kenabres. PCs won’t need any extra incentive to become heroes in this adventure; before they even know what’s happening they’ll be thrown head first into a dangerous cavern where they must rely on each other and newfound NPC allies to survive.

The NPCs are all very complex and interesting people. They have their own unique personalities, motivations and secrets. They also share interconnected histories that won’t become revealed until the player characters take time to get to know them. The friendships the players build with these NPCs can affect the rest of the adventure path. Having these NPCs be important helps players invest in their well-being and makes things very interesting.

Players will have the chance to help their city, fight evil outsiders, form alliances with noble defenders, and face off against a powerful Oracle and an ancient wardstone with thousands of lives on the line. The stakes are amazingly high for the first chapter of any adventure path, and the rewards for success are equally high; the PCs will get their first taste of mythic power.

Mythic levels will give players high-level abilities they’ve never been able to experience before. Characters become astounding heroes of legend who can go on to battle powerful enemies and accomplish great deeds. This is seriously fun.

I can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed this adventure. There are wonderful NPCs, thrilling battles, interesting settings and huge rewards. The artwork is also very high quality and there is a nice chunk of information about the city of Kenabres at the end of the book.

Highly recommended!