Great plot, two cool plot twists, goes out of its way to make both outdoor and dungeon skills necessary, wide variety of monsters, some creatures introduce new players to grapple and other combat perks... so well done!
For a part 1 of three, this does a lot more than most, which often just act as a wasted scenario to set up the 2nd and 3rd scenarios - this one actually can stand on its own.
Its all you can ask for - great lore, great roleplay opportunities, skill and combat encounters, and frankly a hard to solve puzzle, that can have great, neutral, or even BAD consequences for players! It will make your killbot munchkin players cry.... drink their tears of sadness and rejoice they have never bought a skill or listened to boxed text.
Too disorganized for its supposed low player skill
There is no plot or point. Some of those issues *might* be excusable if it was intended purely for new players, as it claims, but the module is not written to be kind to new players.
Play First Steps I and 2 and We Be Goblins instead
Hard to fully comment without spoilers, but this amazing piece of writing, with some very cool skill/puzzle elements, ends up bogging down at points, enough to be annoying for extended eriods before you get back to the amazing parts.
The author alone is a must-buy - Adam Daigle! Always good material
This scenario does exactly what it sets out to do:
- introduction to rules
- time for some roleplay
- basic combat, but involving some tricks and not super straightforward - an excellent learning experience!
The only possible ding would be its focus on teaching, and not pure combat. But that is the entire point of it!
This scenario is also particularly useful for Online play, as it allows plenty of opportunity for new players to learn how to use Roll20 or their VTT of choice without being rushed or hassled!
Well done!
Soundly written with both pace and roleplay in mind
The scenario hit the nail on the head for me in a number of areas:
- The Players had sometimes conflicting goals and had to split their forces or make hard choices
- Some encounters could be made much easier purely via THINKING and asking questions, not just feats and ultimate equipment tricks.
- The Tea party was a brilliant way to enjoy/force some roleplaying that had actual consequences.
- the (not final) encounter was complex, in depth, and required a ton of cooperation on the party. Players with utility abilities and spells were stars in this one.
- the scenario had several 'tension builders' where we had no idea if something was going to kill us all or just do a little damage. at all times, we felt a sense of urgency and uncertaintly!
This book reminds me in some ways of classic RPGs from the old days, with tons of charts to determine some background pieces... except these charts are far more detailed and optional. There is some *really* good material in the first couple chapters to, in a matter of minutes, have a very detailed background for any NPC or lazy/undecided/unmotvated player. it is really, really good material!
If you hate that, the book is worth it alone just for the massive new array of traits spread across all categories. pages and pages, including a lot of new race traits (not to be confused with racial traits). Worth the price right there.
Then theres a ton of great GM only material for building a campaign, and ill just say it is high quality, ill be here all day if i describe it all.
The surprise gem near the end is a brilliant stroke - they have taken the successful concept of Fame from Sanctioned play (where characters earn fame with a particular Faction, and can then spend it on minor perks) and now have a system in place for 'regular' players not in sanctioned play to earn Fame in i guess what youd call 'the general world'. Its taking a popular concept from sanctioned play and allowing a Gm running a non-sanctioned game to award his players Fame in his campaign, which they can spend on minor perks. Brilliant and not just slapped together, the section is extensive.
Whether you want the player helper stuff (or instant NPC background in 2 min), or the traits to give a new host of options to players to choose, or just basic campaign material, or this new non-sanctioned fame for your campaign, this book has it, and would be worth the price if you just wanted one of those four categories.
I just checked the latest (may 6th) PFS resources list and this is not on it yet. Some of the boons seem like they will not be allowed, but thats just a guess.
Either way, this book is incredible. The subject matter, the Empyreals, are fascinating to read about before you even get to stats. But then theres a HUGE list of new potential sources for divine casters... Id guess they have 24 Empyreal lords and their individual domains and boons and special rules for Obidience to them.
Definitely 6-star if it was for my home campaign. i just pray the ban stick doesnt wack this guy for PFS sanctioned play.
Huge huge amount of material though, especially if you want to have a divine magic source but find classic gods boring - pick an Empyreal Lord!
A lot more material than I expected but nothing for players
As a campaign setting, you usually dont expect much for players, certainly not traits, which are almost always in the primers or player companions for a subject. But you do often see some new feats or items or subdomains that can filter down, and this did not have them. I am still giving it 4 stars because it is a campaign setting and didnt promose them - Im just used to getting a few from others in the Settings Series.
That said, the actual content exceeded expectations! Firstly, there were WAY more Fey listed than I expected. Sprite dryad nymph leprachaun, i figured those. But there were many more! Very nice surprise.
Secondly, all those additional ones i mentioned are drawn from classic mythology (be it greek, norse, etc) and they not only readily admit it, but help you track down other sources that might add flavor - very cool! No weird stuff pulled out of this air here - these all have 'real world' connections and hence all kinds of wikis or classic lit books you could use as additional material.
Best of all, this product has THE BEST art i have seen in a settings edition yet, both in quantity and quality. Whoever is in charge of the layout of this product needs a raise. The writing is top notch, but its the design that pushes it from 3-star functional to 4-star impressive!
Fairly strong recommend if you are a GM (not player) that has any interest at all in this subject matter. It is a pure lore book tho ( a darn good one), so don't be surprised that there arent new feats and subdomains.
Well i got it today and the quality is amazing. The hardcover, the paper used, the brightness and clarity of the ink... 6 amazing issues all in one volume. Right there its at least 4 or maybe even a 5 star, its that nice.
I had vaguely recalled some blurb about 'bonus material' when i ordered it but i was ordering it for the comics, not that stuff.
The bonus material is AMAZING, for both gamers and non gamers!
First off, its SIXTY PAGES of material. The comics end on page 161, the book ends on 221. Its a gigantic amount of material!
For non gamers - you have incredible quality prints of all the alternate covers, exclusive covers, some dramatic scenes from the episodes - art material lets call it.
For player gamers, it has tons of material and maps and player-oriented background material on the city of Sandpoint, then gorgeous full-page copies of all the iconic Pre-gens, focusing on art and writing. of course it has a nice stats block too, but you can find those anywhere. this being them to life, especially a 6-inch tall drawing of each.
Then for GMs it has a 2-3 page mini scenario for each major encounter from the comics (maybe 8-10 total) with a gridded map, monster tokens shown in place, stats for all that, and AGAIN, giant awesome art of the major villain of that chapter. hard to describe how much having a giant goblin looking at you revs the engine as you read about his camp.
A++. I am debating buying a copy for all my players about to run rise of the rune lords, as the comic would be an easy intro to the location and world, and its Sandpoint gazeteer with maps and major townsfolk roleplay material could be invaluable. But thats a chunk of change for 5 players lol.
When he drops it on the table video, it didnt seem that heavy to me. when i went to lift it out of the box, i almost dropped it before i got a second hand in there!
This is a serious amount of metal, and that leather is SO SMOOTH to the touch. this is not a book make to look like a leather and metal bound tome, this IS a leather and metal bound tome!
the artwork in envelopes are also vastly better quality than what the video presents. the stock they are on cant be called paper, not sure what the industry term is for it. it is extremely thick and durable and the colors just shine off it.
