lastblacknight's page

There is a lot to like about this document - only the one thing gets my goat up....

I can't edit the PDF and enter character info (it's not fillable), you have a love bit of art and I have to enter it in all by hand arggh!

This was fun but ran way over time.

I had a GM who had prepared brilliantly (3D maps etc...) and was playing with a decent spread of PC's (11,9,9,8,7) all who had played together previously and are experienced PFS players.

We ran to about 7.5 hours; which is appropriate for finale but could be very tight for a Con. A party of PC's prepared, coordinated and supporting each other should may get that time down but don't bank on it allow for time to run over.

The issue is a lot of high-level play and effects to consider; When I run this a GM I will be putting in extra time in on the books and putting together reference tables, and stats beforehand.

I really enjoyed playing this one; when playing advise your PC's to play smart (avoid the meatagame of course) but if they make a sensible suggestion - go with it - our party completed this scenario because we cooperated and listened to each other over the 7.5 hours.

I am a bit apprehensive about running it myself but I will be recommending allowance for extra time because it's time well spent

I will come back with an EDIT to this review after running it.

I ran this for Free RPG day in Sydney, A table of first-timers for PFS (but experienced 3rd Edition players).

Everyone at the table played a pregen; 5 of the existing 4th level iconic and 1 played a 3rd Level Quinn.

I gave the table a warning before starting the session as the initial encounter worried me but they worked together as a team and it was fine but challenging.

As a GM note the scale of the Pyramid as each square on the map is 10ft (the scale really works for the adventure).

The day finished with 9 new signups to the society including people signing up on their phones at the table as I was writing up the chronicle sheets.

EDIT: I found out that you had to play 3rd Level Pregens only, I allowed the 4th level pregens as the mod was 2-4 and the balance worked out fine. Could have been tricky otherwise as the skill synergies didn't quite work on the 3rd level pregens (there was no way to identify items etc..), Everyone still had fun.

This was an awesome session (ok, Mike Brock was running it for us and he is a great GM). that aside... This was one of those games you remember for years.

As a player you will need to be organised and maintain your focus in every single room; it demands your party works as team - there is no other option.

This scenario brings a party together, the best advice I could give you is to know when you've had enough because this one can get unforgiving very quickly...

Bring a friend or some of your regular PFS players if you can and heed any warnings given in the briefing.

Good Luck and may the odds be in your favour...

This is an enjoyable read. I love the flavour of Irrisen and the Peoples of the North.

The twists are nice; I enjoy that the story doesn't conform to others out there.

The Pathfinder Novels are an easy way to get more understanding and colour in the worlds we bring PC's into and through.

(I played up at high tier with a Lvl 7)

Wow, this one comes out of the box screaming - easily one of my favourite sessions of the con. Great cinematic opening.

Ok so without giving anything away it's a bit tough but this one has everything; an involving story, an Elven Queen and the Tanglebriar...

I am looking forward to running it for my tables - When running I'll make sure that everyone is paying attention in the briefing and make I on top of the running tactics combat, as it's challenging that's for sure (a real brown shorts moment).

At the end of the session we had a real sense of accomplishment as it brought everyone together.

Kudos to Ryan on this one, it was great.

I have GM'd and played the mod and would highly recommend it to anyone.

That said, this is a mod for experienced players, it's a little tough for newbie's first introductory game into society play. (but as a second or third game it would be fine with the right group).

There are some great role-playing moments, coupled with some clever combat pieces that will stretch jaded players and delight newbie's whilst the PC's get a chance to be bad without being evil.

The sessions have run pretty much to time, around 4-5 hours.

when GM'ing take the time to prepare the skill tests and if you have them print out or pre-draw your maps (there aren't many).

As a PC bring a well-rounded character.

I really enjoyed playing this one and am looking forward to GM'ing it.

Some of the other reviews might be a little confusing; basically the first part of the module allows room for some roleplaying and the final boss fight is one that will be remembered.

When GM'ing take the time to read through the tactics the boss uses. In fact read the module twice before running it.

I played this a while back now and I am looking forward to running for my guys soon.

I find the difference between an ‘ok’ session and a great session is GM preparation, luckily, I had a GM who had run the adventure before and who brought a whole lot of energy and gusto to the game.
None of us had experienced this exotic place before, none of the party could speak the language (but that is who it should be landing in a new city) how often do you get that feeling of a fish out of water?

We were a party of mixed player experience levels and while some of us play together regularly - the real challenge was working together as a team against intelligent enemies who actually behave like PC’s would (which is great, why wouldn’t a BBEG be buffed if his home is being attacked? Seriously?)

If I had any advice it would be to take the time to get to know the strengths and weakness of your fellow party members - work together as team and you'll have a great game.

I loved the experience I gained from this one – and I have a chronicle worthy of some respect (and it was well earned).

See you at the table people!

It's nice to not to have to draw every facet of an adventure.

The most useful set of maps for me is the boats and the shop fronts. Whilst having the one ship shown with the levels is great. For ship-to-ship combat especially with moving vessels, winds, realism and adding drama (as they drift apart), nothing beats being able to move the boats themselves instead of drawing outlines on your own grid. You can show the vessel moving in.

I purchase the pdf's; print off the required vessel, laminate and then cut to the shape that suits the vessel. Then with a ocean flip-mat you then have a really enjoyable encounter.

As for the Shops - it's a quality touch that the shops floor plans are identical to some of the flip maps of the city streets.

These maps are a great tool at convention play; for the speed they offer during a session and they look great in your home game as you can 'give' your players the boat they purchase.

This was great fun. We had high-levels stopping by our table for Healing Channels, a lot of shouting, teamwork and funny hats.

I guess you get out what you put in. It's a relief to know that when something bad happens, the different tables deal with appropriate challenges but also that their results can be seen. Area effects do spill over (if co-ordinated by GM's) and more than once the cry went out for 'delay poison' or aid

The attraction is with these games several tables of people are all working towards a common goal. It's looks like it takes some co-ordination and organisation to run but it's a memorable experience and it's these type of events that put me on a plane once a year to fly to PaizoCon.. The energy at these events is pretty cool.

It helps to have the maps pre-drawn and ready, a time-keeper and have pregens ready to go to keep things moving.

I got lucky enough to play the mod at a Con and will be delighted to run for tables in the future as a GM.

It's got everything; the tension will keep you guessing - the challenges are real and everybody at the table gets a chance to shine. A really well crafted scenario. It wouldn't take much to fit this in to any OGL campaign either.

enjoy.

These guys are a small development outfit; they seem really dedicated to the product and at this time Pathfinder; you are going to pay money for add ons (you can buy bundles of books and with the exchange rate - I am in Australia - it's not heaps of cash but not free). You get a pretty clean product and updates do come out regularly.
I have had issues with licencing (after a system died - it took days to sort with the difference of times in the US to Australia) and creating custom magical items can be a trial - yes there are work-arounds, and you can go into the editor but this should be as simple as creating a PC, NPC etc.. and it isn't yet).
That said, it's value for money. I can and have generated full characters for conventions/games in minutes. You might have to wait for the occasional release to be available. (but usually no longer than a week)
It a product I recommend to friends and gamers at the table; GM's are used to seeing the sheets at tables and I can see myself using it years from now.
It's easy to use (except for the editor, which is probably lovely if you know what a bootstrap is?)
Printing of sheets, print off Gear and Abilities it references source books you may require for PFS.

The last niggles (and they are only niggles); there is no level progression view/report.
• Gestalt isn't supported and the last which they are addressing is customised character sheets. (edge case I know)
• Calculations - it would nice to have a break down of how totals are made (things like Skills, AC, CMD) as sometimes some traits aren't included and this reporting view/export would allow for quick error checking.
• Another nice to have is a play card (the have an "In-play" function but who has a laptop open at the table). The inplay function allows you to turn on and off in game effects; stunned, blind, buffed etc.. it's of limited use unless your screen is in front of you. A print view with conditions in a table form would be more useful.
• Location specfic boons are dealt with (so that +2 to diplomacy in Irrisen is accounted for)
• accounting for XP on multi-part modules is a pain (it’s locked into 1 per entry)

Some last tips
I recommend printing landscape (print 2-up landscape to get most sheets one page, simple).
Copy and paste your boon into the edit screen of the Prestige Awards. You’ll then see it come up when you print your journal – it comes in handy when playing.

Have a look at the demo and make up your own mind. It is free.
(This review changes with releases).
EDIT: Last edit Mar 2014

These get used every session and a fair bit at conventions too. I keep mine in card sleeves and am able to pass them round a table or even put one down next to effected figurine(s).

They save time and prevent arguments (the pictures get the occasional chortle too). They are also colour coded.

Very happy with the purchase..

I rather like this one; I have run it a couple of times now.

It's solid and allows for some roleplaying from the start. The adventure can be as slow or as quick as you like it depends on the group playing etc..

All classes have can participate (even druids)and it's satisfying to the end.

The spoilers touch on help for DM's running it

I enjoyed running this one, (I had the benefit of all those who had run/played it before me).

Yes. this is one tough session, it can be a bit long, but your players will respect you afterwards. Experienced players will help gameplay in some aspects, But there is a good hook to be there (I would have thought a little background on the village closest to the Manor might have been a good idea as well) and really if you are careful you may not kill off a party of newcomers to the game, again knowing your pc's and the enemies they are to fight can really help here.

The Manor gives you enough room to be clever and be appropriately devilish. There are any number of ways the PC's can go about their tasks so it suits any sort of build or group. As a GM really do your preparation for this one; know the skills of your NPC's and make sure you have the map sorted out.

Overall a really good challenge for experienced players coming into PFS from 3.5 - go easy on the new guys.

This book has some great stuff in it, and really it's just not the same on PDF. (Moonspeaker is a great PRC too).