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Pathfinder Chronicles: Heart of the Jungle (PFRPG)

4.50/5 (based on 6 ratings)
Pathfinder Chronicles: Heart of the Jungle (PFRPG)
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The Jungle Awaits

From tropical coasts, where greedy colonial powers pillage the land, to remote jungles and rolling savannas of mystics and lion-riders, the Mwangi Expanse is a region of boundless opportunity. Underneath the steaming jungle canopy, the lost ruins of ancient giants shelter isolated tribes, bloodthirsty predators, and screaming hordes of demon-worshiping apes. Sites of ancient magic lie almost forgotten to the outside world, and a steady stream of bold explorers ventures into the trackless wilderness after legendary fountains of youth and cities of gold, never to return. For the jungle is a living, breathing entity, and it’s always hungry... Heart of the Jungle is the perfect supplement for any jungle campaign.

    Inside this 64-page book, you’ll find:
  • New rules for adventuring in the jungle, including hazards like diseases, fungi, poisonous plants, insect swarms, quicksand, and more.
  • Nine new jungle cities, from the colonial trade town of Bloodcove to the cyclopean astrologer-fortress of Jaha, complete with full statistics and maps.
  • Information on the many cultures of the Mwangi Expanse, encompassing both the major human tribes and the jungle’s more alien and monstrous denizens.
  • A detailed gazetteer of some of the Expanse’s most legendary adventure sites, from the crashed flying city of Kho to the City of Hungry Spires.
  • More than a dozen new maps of cities and jungles, each one highly detailed for GM reference or artistically rendered for player handouts.
  • Five new monsters, including the flesh-eating botfly, the ancient jungle treant, and the terrifying ape-men known as angazhani.
  • Massive random encounter tables for multiple jungle adventure terrain types.

by Tim Hitchcock, Jason Nelson, Amber Scott, Chris Self, and Todd Stewart

This book is intended for use with the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, but it can be easily used in any game setting.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-247-0

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Hero Lab Online
Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscription.

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Excellent PCS book

5/5 —

Having owned a few of the Pathfinder Chronicle/campaign setting books now this one stands out as easily in the top 3 books of it's type ever done by Paizo. Even without all the hard game rules of the core line this book deserves 5 stars and is as close to a non-rule based "must have" book as one can get just for how it can strike the imagination.

While it does tie in with it's semi-companion book Sargava The Lost Colony, and the pirate islands book which the name escapes me at the moment but whose region is adjacent to the Mwangi Expanse, it can entirely stand on it's own. Even going beyond just the PF game I would say this is one of if not the top jungle setting I've seen done for any game system (and on that note, it wouldn't be all that hard to narratively convert either). That independence from the rest of the world also makes it such a great campaign setting... it truly is a more wild and free place than all the rest of Golarion. Even more so than the Linnorn Kingdoms (although side note, that was another great book). It is flat out rife for old school adventuring.

It's really just an honestly fun read. Sit down with a drink and even if you didn't plan on using the setting, although as a GM if you didn't then trust me that by the time you're done with it you will, you'll enjoy reading about it. I had the extra advantage of reading it on a back porch on a hot muggy summer day last year so it added to the ambiance. ;) It's a great, mostly unexplored chunk of the Golarion setting that is presented in a function and enjoyably readable way.

Lots of detail providing a solid sandbox setting

4/5 —

I was worried that this gazetteer would be a rehash of bad stereotypes about Africa, but was pleasantly surprised to see that Paizo drew upon all the complexity of that continent, providing a robust sourcebook. Not having read the Serpant’s Skull Adventure Path to which this ties, I got this book without that campaign to see if the setting would appeal to me. I found within the pages of this sourcebook an excellent balance of fluff and crunch; from the descriptions of lost kingdoms, to stats for diseases and quicksand – plus a nice selection of jungle monsters.

The book also includes random encounter tables divided by terrain (with monsters and events, such as flash floods) in the appendix. Even if you are not a DM that rolls encounters during the game, the random generator for each terrain provides a robust pool of ideas for building an outdoor adventure. One critique I have is that some of the illustrations for the cities and lost kingdoms were neither Paizo’s quality maps nor a drawing showing the location. Instead there are eight rough sketches of locations, covering nearly ¼ to ½ a page each, which did not add any extra detail to the description of these places.

Additionally, using Senghor as the name of a city was a big misfire. To those familiar with Africa, it is the equivalent of naming an NPC Paris (it jars the suspension of disbelief). Despite these last two critiques, the Heart of the Jungle provides an amazing amount of detail, and rich ideas for a sandbox-style campaign set off the beaten path. Although I highly recommend this guidebook for the wealth of fluff and crunch, I have rated it 4 stars for the approximately 2-3 pages that should have been used for more useful material, rather than being taken up by the rough sketches of locations.

It's a Start, but it Needed More

3/5 —

Heart of the Jungle is a solid book, I just feel it could have taken things to the next level.

PROS:
*Great details on the hazards of jungle travel, with some really nasty surprises.
*Wide variety of settlements and wilderness types (Senghor, Bloodcove and Usaro are some of my favorites)
*Awesome monsters in the back (though only 4!). Botfly's are nasty.

CONS:
*Not enough art and too many maps. Now I love maps, I'm a map junkie, but I would have given up half those maps for art of the denizens of the Expanse. The 4(or 5) Mwangi people could have really befitted from art of them next to each other. (and hell the info on they and they other races is just lacking).
*Speaking of maps, as neat as the idea of the hand drawn maps are as a GM I would rather have detail maps. Even with my limited drawing skills I could still draw "tribal" maps like the ones that take up too much space in this book.
*This book could really use stat blocks for NPCs
*They talk about shamanism and animism but with out any real mechanics behind it. At least with the Dragon Empires we have Kami stated and talking about it but in the Mwangi Expanse it almost seems like a joke, like it's people are stupid for adhering to their taboos. That is very disappointing.
*It does an adequate job of setting a mood of the Expanse but other books do it better. Serpent's Skull(in particular the "Plague of Light" shot story) and River into Darkness does a better job of this.

In closing I'd say that I would have given his book 4 stars if I had bought and reviewed it when it came out. But now, it's lacking as a book in comparison to later Pathfinder Campaign books like the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Rule of Fear or Isle of Shackles. I wish this book would be redone in the current style, though I know that won't happen. I hope they make further books in the Mwangi Expanse so we get better representations. That said, it's still a good books if you love the Mwangi Expanse, but don't just stop with this book.

It's a Jungle, Running a Jungle. This makes it easier

5/5 —

Jungle Campaigns are different, and if you aren't prepared, your campaign can hit the quicksand of player apathy. This suppliment takes you through the pitfalls and really helps make a campaign memoriable. Check out my full review: Heart of the Jungle

Excellent!

5/5 —

I previously bought Osirion, Land of Pharaohs from Paizo and was rather disappointed--and thus almost made the mistake of not buying this top-notch work. My group just started playing the Shackled City adventure path, which is set in a jungle. Luckily for me, this book came out just after we started and it's perfect for really any jungle campaign. The wealth of detail on the many cities and key adventure sites is just right, plenty to explain what each is about but leaving room for the GM's imagination. There are also a lot of maps in different cool styles. The monsters at the back, unlike a lot of the new monsters I come across, are actually believable and useful and will definitely find a home in my campaign. The section on natural hazards is very well done and easy to use. The only bit I was left wanting more on was the info on various cultures of the area. However, the very wide coverage (with maps!) of the cities and sites more than made up for it.

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Sweet. Thanx!

Really like this one BTW.
Contributor
James Jacobs wrote:


The harvestmen and the bat men are going to be statted up in Pathfinder Adventure Path bestiaries during Serpent's Skull sometime around this winter.

Sweet :)

The Bat men sound like a they were inspired by one of the Solomon Kane stories.I'll have to dig out my REH stuff again, been years since I read it.
Contributor
DM Wellard wrote:
The Bat men sound like a they were inspired by one of the Solomon Kane stories.I'll have to dig out my REH stuff again, been years since I read it.

The sasabonsam actually come from real-world vampire legends and mythology from Ghana, Togo, and the surrounding region. The harvestmen likewise derive (in -much- looser form) from another monster of central/west African origin. I tried to actually dip into some mythology from various African cultures at points in my sections, which previously I'd known very very little about. Some pretty rich stuff.

Hey Todd, what books were you using?

(lol)
one time I did gnome+half fiend template=kongamato bat people;
it was a good thing.

I also had a scifi book by Alan Dean Foster called Into the Out-Of that was full of kikuyu tribe's shetani. They're pretty crazy.
The Exchange
Todd Stewart wrote:
DM Wellard wrote:
The Bat men sound like a they were inspired by one of the Solomon Kane stories.I'll have to dig out my REH stuff again, been years since I read it.
The sasabonsam actually come from real-world vampire legends and mythology from Ghana, Togo, and the surrounding region. The harvestmen likewise derive (in -much- looser form) from another monster of central/west African origin. I tried to actually dip into some mythology from various African cultures at points in my sections, which previously I'd known very very little about. Some pretty rich stuff.

Thanks so much for this Mr. Stewart! I have a book of African Mythology at home and I was hoping that this AP wouldn't just all be REH and other Euro-takes on Africa as "the mysterious/dark/unknown" continent, but have some real African stuff in it, too!

Yeh I'm always happy to learn stuff from other mythologies..still a good dose of REH and ERB doesn't hurt in a fantasy game
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

While working on a data set for PCGen for this book, I came upon some discrepancies with the Bestiary stat blocks. I'll put them up as errata here:
.
.
.

Angazhani

  • only 2 stats are odd
  • not enough skill points, but if Knowledge (Religion) is deleted, it works out
  • Knowledge (Religion) +14 is not possible with 12 HD and Int 12

Giant Botfly / Botfly Swarm

  • only 1-2 stats are odd
  • Stealth should be +14
  • CMD should be 6 (14 vs. trip)
  • Swarm Special Attack disease not specified
  • Swarm Special Attack suffocation not specified

Hippopotamus

  • only 1 stats is odd (same for companion)
  • CMD should be +24 (+28 vs trip)
  • not enough skill points
  • Sense Motive should be +2 due to Alertness

Tobongo

  • only 1 stat is odd

I have some questions regarding the "Natural Hazards" section.

-Several of the diseases (boot soup, green haze, pulsing puffs, red drip) are fungal diseases. That is, their type is listed as "disease (fungus)". Are there special rules governing fungal diseases?

-Some of the diseases and poisons have effects that do not note duration. For example, the initial effect of spider vine poison (page 6) is "paralysis." How long is the duration of this paralysis? Permanent? Similarly, the dysentery and firegut diseases cause the victim to be staggered, but again, don't note for how long. Help?
James Jacobs wrote:
Spanky the Leprechaun wrote:

Hey, um...

when are the
chimp men, bat men, and harvestmen gonna get statted up?

Charau ka will be statted up in the revised Campaign Setting Hardcover due out this fall.

The harvestmen and the bat men are going to be statted up in Pathfinder Adventure Path bestiaries during Serpent's Skull sometime around this winter.

You know I was wondering what the heck a Charau-ka was as I was reading this. I may have to pick up the Campaign setting even if I never plan on running anything set in Golarion. There is enough generic advice here that I don't have to change much of anything to adapt it to my own furry world.

Todd Stewart wrote:
The sasabonsam actually come from real-world vampire legends and mythology from Ghana, Togo, and the surrounding region. The harvestmen likewise derive (in -much- looser form) from another monster of central/west African origin. I tried to actually dip into some mythology from various African cultures at points in my sections, which previously I'd known very very little about. Some pretty rich stuff.

Nice to see someone using African critters in the book; I remember a very old Dragon article by Charles Saunders (of Imaro fame) that statted up almost a dozen African monsters, like the Sasabonsam, the Nandi Bear, and many more. Including, yes, Mokele-Mbembe.

Hmm, while I'm talking about African/Mwangi monsters, I wonder how one would write up Gustave, the supposed super-killer crocodile from Central Africa who (according to legend) routinely kills adult hippos?
Zaister wrote:

While working on a data set for PCGen for this book, I came upon some discrepancies with the Bestiary stat blocks. I'll put them up as errata here:

.
.
.

Angazhani

  • only 2 stats are odd
  • not enough skill points, but if Knowledge (Religion) is deleted, it works out
  • Knowledge (Religion) +14 is not possible with 12 HD and Int 12

Giant Botfly / Botfly Swarm

  • only 1-2 stats are odd
  • Stealth should be +14
  • CMD should be 6 (14 vs. trip)
  • Swarm Special Attack disease not specified
  • Swarm Special Attack suffocation not specified

Hippopotamus

  • only 1 stats is odd (same for companion)
  • CMD should be +24 (+28 vs trip)
  • not enough skill points
  • Sense Motive should be +2 due to Alertness

Tobongo

  • only 1 stat is odd

Not sure what the issue with having 'only 1-2 etc stats odd' is. Even if a 12 HD monster had some 'obligation' to begin with 3 odd stats, they get a stat point every 4HD. Put 2 in an odd stat and 1 in an odd stat, and you have four even and two odd stats.

Does anyone know what religion Father Maasu Abwedoma (p.35) follows?

On a different point, it looks like the "villain" Mwangi, the demon-worshipping slaving Bekyar, are located south of the published areas. Interesting decision.
Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Mazym wrote:
On a different point, it looks like the "villain" Mwangi, the demon-worshipping slaving Bekyar, are located south of the published areas. Interesting decision.

why is it interesting?

Dragnmoon wrote:
Mazym wrote:
On a different point, it looks like the "villain" Mwangi, the demon-worshipping slaving Bekyar, are located south of the published areas. Interesting decision.
why is it interesting?

To me, and this is just a hunch, it means that the Bekyar homeland is not going to be developed, at least not for a while. If there was an expectation that the PCs would want to charge in and stick it to the slavers in a big way, I think this would be on the map.

Nantambu - in River into Darkness, this is a "village" that was abandoned due to the presence of hostile elves. In Heart of the Jungle, Nantambu is a successful city and center of culture with nothing about hostile elves.

Did I miss an official change or errata or "retcon" list?
Contributor
Mazym wrote:

Nantambu - in River into Darkness, this is a "village" that was abandoned due to the presence of hostile elves. In Heart of the Jungle, Nantambu is a successful city and center of culture with nothing about hostile elves.

Did I miss an official change or errata or "retcon" list?

There's a mismatch between 'River into Darkness' and the Campaign Setting book, with the text in RiD talking about an abandoned village, and the PCCS talking about the city. I went with the longer PCCS entry on the topic. Off the top of my head, I don't recall which source was published first.

Additionally, the map in RiD doesn't include a village of Nantambu, it includes a village of Nantamou. It's possible that the text in RiD uses the wrong name, -meaning to say Nantamou rather than Nantambu- and it's something of an autocorrect error on a proper name. Though it places Nantamou in a similar area as Nantambu was later placed in the PCCS.

Plus the elves wouldn't have much to be hostile to Nantambu about, since their beef was with foreign slavers and miners.
Scarab Sages

I am quite intrigued by the book but am trying to create campaign that runs out of Alkenstar,does the book at all give info on the relationship even geographical between Mwangi and it's neighbors?

Amazing book.
Eric Hinkle wrote:
I wonder how one would write up Gustave, the supposed super-killer crocodile from Central Africa who (according to legend) routinely kills adult hippos?

Dire Crocodile (3.5)

another dire crocodile (3.5)
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