The elves of the Mierani Forest have been hiding something from outside eyes for hundreds of years, but now, this sinister secret has escaped. What at first seems to be a sudden uprising in unsanctioned banditry in the Riddleport hinterlands is in fact something altogether more menacing—the dark elves have come to Varisia. Yet the threat presented by the drow from below may be nothing compared to a new threat from the skies above. Can a new group of heroes save the world from the Second Darkness?
This volume of Pathfinder kicks off the third Pathfinder Adventure Path campaign—Second Darkness—and presents a detailed gazetteer of the intrigue-filled streets of Riddleport, details the Gold Goblin Gaming Hall and several of Riddleport's most popular games of chance, and presents a half dozen new monsters native to the Riddleport region. It also contains a bonus adventure that presents a typical Riddleport thieves' guild.
For characters of 1st to 3rd level.
Pathfinder is Paizo Publishing's 96-page, perfect-bound, full-color softcover Adventure Path book printed on high-quality paper that releases in a monthly volume. Each volume is brought to you by the same staff which brought you Dragon and Dungeon magazines for over five years. 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. Because Pathfinder uses the Open Game License, it is 100% compatible with the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game.
ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-115-2
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I ran Rise of the Rune Lords (RotRL), and felt honored to participate in the bold new world of AP's of a rival of WotC. I recall orchestrating the RotRL AP well enough, but it was filled with growth spurs that could dissuade lesser DM's from taking the reigns (although it boasts a breathtaking first chapter, the Skinsaw Murderes, and the nefarious Hook Mountain Massacre).
Not so with this first chapter of Second Darkness. It starts strong and easy for even a novice DM to run a smashing game. Just let "everyone have a blast" be the motto, and I think you'll be hard pressed to be bored or frustrated. Much of the kinks are worked out, and Paizo has mastered their field.
First AP for me so didn't know what to expect
Dennis Baker
(Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16)
—
I've never DMed an adventure path before, I did run Red Hand of Doom which is close but not quite it. I found that for the money this is a very rich source book. I would give it 5 stars but as someone pointed out I'm not sure the storyline is compelling enough to engage my players directly. The good news is that the individual pieces look like a blast, it's just the main storyline I'm not entirely certain about. My plan is to see how they react. If they don't play by the plan them I think there is enough source material here I can use the parts and play the adventure piecemeal and still have a great time.
I don't particularly care for the set piece but it might grow on me. I'm more likely to use it if the players fail to take the main hook in the adventure.
Other notable "really cool" stuff. The Player's Guide is great (you only get this with the subscription though), my players love it and it's a great way to get them engaged in the gameplay. The beastiary is filled with some great critters and very well presented. The magic items in the players guide and in the main adventure are also very nice.
Hi, there will be NO SPOILERS in this review. And before you flame me, I LOVE Paizo and want to marry them and have a million of their babies. But I was dissapointed by this highly anticipated first chaper of Adventure Path three.
Review:
Adventure Path Part one: 2.5 stars
Fluff, Set Piece Adventure, art: 3.5 stars
I didn't feel like the first part of the adventure was written well enough to really hook the players. A key NPC is not fleshed out enough to be truly compelling. It's also a very specific 'genre' of game -- a small-time mafia story -- and your PCs might not go for it unless you prepare them to play in that genre.
Even with such prep and even with characters made for the setting, I can see the players easily ignoring the main hook and leaving the adventure plot far behind, which I don't feel should be a risk in the very first adventure of a campaign.
The first 'Set Piece' adventure I thought was a better intro to the city of Riddleport, but it is too linear. I preferred teh writing in LB1: The Last Baron or any of the Darkmoon Vale adventures.
The story arc for this path is a different matter: it's a bit Hollywood and maybe a tad cheesy, but will work well for a 'big' campaign ... if the plotwriting gets better.
It would be interesting to see this AP redone as a Starfinder AP, actually.
I haven't played this AP nor read any of the starfinder materiel yet still waiting on orders so I wouldn't know how it work. Thoug how easy some of the conversions seem I can't see it being overly difficult.
Zaister wrote:
I wouldn't hold my breath.
The rise of the runelords and curse of crimson throne but came out in recent years so maybe a year or two for this one?
I would like to see some kind of roadmap has for these products as they are dated and people have grievances about sections so if they can be tidied up and refined then i think thats going to be a win for Paizo and the consumers
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Also, the original Runelords and Crimson Thrones volumes were mostly sold out at the time they made the hardcovers. Second Darkness, however still fills up the warehouse and continues to do so even though the prices of all issues were reduced by 75%.
