Pathfinder Module: Crypt of the Everflame (PFRPG)

I just got through running this for my PF group. Half of the PCs were new role-players and it was the first time I've ever run a game before. For a module, it worked wonders as far as making it simple to run and engaging for players. The adventure gives just enough story to make it engaging for the PCs without making it too intrusive for those who just want to bash heads in. As far as running it, it makes it as simple as possible to run. It explains everything pretty well to new GMs and provides a nice variety of gameplay. I do have a few gripes, however.

- My group found it to be too easy. This may have been my fault, as I didn't think to adjust the difficulty, but at the base level, my PCs didn't have too much resistance, even during the boss.
- The maze is really tedious. No one in the group enjoyed it one bit.
- Unlike all the other encounters, the book didn't properly explain the mechanics of fighting a bat swarm. This may not have been an issue had the GM owned a Bestiary, but mine came in the mail after I had finished running the adventure. Every other encounter was explained in much better detail.

Other than that, I really liked it.

I got into Pathfinder via the Intro mods of Pathfinder Society. About a year into playing, I found myself gravitating towards modules and discovered Crypt. My players throughly enjoyed the adventure - so much so that many of them have stuck through it's sequels (Masks of the Living God and City of Golden Death). It's a classic dungeon crawl, but more so thanks to the city of Kassen being a hub for pure role-playing.

If you are looking for a first level module that can help gel a group together, be sure to give this one a shot!

The PC group had a great time with this module, but I must confess that I substituted a few of the creature encounters in the crypt to give the adventure some variety. Too many skeletons in the closet!

I ran this for my group when we made the transition to PFRPG. We had previously run 3.5e Savage Tide and Star Wars SE Dawn of Defiance.

I ran this (along with the 2 follow-on adventures) as a "monster races" campaign with 6 players. It's a classic "go to the dungeon and bring back a mcguffin" style of adventure, although it does a good job of wrapping a plausible story around this idea and presenting it in a way that doesn't feel artificial. Just enough of the backstory is revealed to the PCs for them to have an idea of what's going on, without giving too much away.

The encounters made sense in the storie's framework. The challenges were a good mix of middling to challenging. There were a number of useful call-out boxes to explain rule differences for those coming to PFRPG from 3.5.

All said, it's a solid introductory adventure and introduction to PF the game and the setting.

Crypt of the Everflame is the default adventure module for those new to Pathfinder. It’s a simple, straightforward scenario, complete with full monster stat blocks and every specific rule detailed out so other Pathfinder sourcebooks are unnecessary to reference while running the adventure. This was the first Adventure Module I bought, and I am glad that I picked it up, as it is a great read and I learned quite a bit from it. However, after running through the module four times (twice as a player and twice as a GM), I don’t think that it is entirely successful in practice. Something about it doesn’t quite gel into a memorable, engaging experience.

The general premise of the module consists of each player being one of several young adventurers sent out on a jokey, rights-of-passage-ish holiday tradition, embarking on what essentially consists of a haunted house adventure. As a player, the best quality in the Crypt of the Everflame is its sense of mystery. What is this strange tradition? What are the townspeople exactly up to? Trying to answer these questions is a lot of fun. Once the players get to the Crypt, something seems a little askew, and the sense of mystery only deepens as the players go deeper in the tomb, finding more dead bodies than there probably should be inside.

The problem is…you find out quickly exactly what happened here. The players will run into an NPC pretty early on in the quest who, although quite crazy, can easily explain everything that happened before the PCs got to the Crypt. This completely destroys the sense of mystery, and was a missed opportunity on the writer’s part. The rest of the scenario consists of what essentially feel like “random encounters”, as each room has some sort of mindless creature trying to attack you for no complex reason. Yes, there is a backstory to all of these enemies written out for the GM, which are again quite fun to read, but those backstories don’t translate well to the players.

The encounters are varied in terms of enemy types and each battle has its own style and flavor. However, certain PC builds will feel quite useless in this: ranged fighters will find the claustrophobic map (built around one of Paizo’s gorgeous flip mats) thwarting their talents, while anyone specializing in mind affecting spells or effects finding themselves unable to do anything. Clerics are kings from beginning to end here, with a party with multiple clerics likely to have an easier time than a balanced party (although a trap or two will utilize a rogue’s talents, and one battle requires some sort of area of effect spells). I would consider the encounters to be varied but unbalanced.

There are a number of occasions when the players and GM can role play a bit, most notably in town before the PCs go out on their adventure, and again when they meet the NPC in the Crypt. It’s definitely not role play heavy, but it’s there for players that want to explore it. For those that like to think and solve puzzles, there are a few opportunities here (most notably some traps, as well as a few enemies that are quite tricky at first level, such as incorporeal undead). Exploration in the module is also moderately strong, as finding keys and ways to open new areas that aren’t immediately obvious, making the game not feel so railroaded.

I have also run the sequel to Crypt of the Everflame (Masks of the Living God) twice, which is, in my estimation, a lot more clever and fun to run through. If you are planning on GM’ing the sequels, you should probably start with this in order to connect the plot all the way through.

For new players and people that like to own and read modules, I highly recommend Crypt of the Everflame. Every encounter is detailed with backstory that is fun to read and makes you feel like you inhibit the world, even if most of those details will be completely lost to the players running through the module. A lot of the general enemy types are laid out, and new GM’s can run it without referencing other sourcebooks. It makes a great standalone piece that is very streamlined and easy to run. However, be warned that the module falls quite short of classic status, with early momentum stalling at the halfway point, and a sense that most of the battles are fairly generic without tying together to any larger story.

STORY 5/10
The backstory of the town, the crypt, and the yearly trek that connects the two is quite interesting. However, the story stalls as the PCs learn before the halfway mark what exactly went wrong, making the second half severely lag until the final encounter.
EXPLORATION 7/10
The maps, including the journey to the Crypt from Kassen as well as the GameMastery flip-mat map “Dungeon”, allow for some interesting exploration options. Learning how to unlock new areas is half of the fun.
PUZZLE-SOLVING 8/10
The module makes the most of turning Pathfinder's rules systems into fun games of puzzle-solving. Various traps and puzzles are in store, which tease the mind a bit in between battles.
COMBAT 6/10
Most of the combats here aren’t all that memorable, but chances are, every possible party makeup will find one of the encounters challenging, depending on what they are lacking. The final encounter is quite strong, and potentially deadly.

Overall: 6.5/10

Most recommended for: New GM’s, as well as those looking to upgrade to a larger adventure from the Beginner’s Box. Also recommended for someone that wants to run the sequels, Masks of the Living God and City of Golden Death, for a larger overall adventure.