When a trove of fireworks falls into the hands of the goblins of Brinestump Marsh, the people of Sandpoint fear an explosive invasion. But there’s more afoot in the soggy wilderness than goblin hijinks and dangerous pyrotechnics. An investigation reveals mysteries and menaces aplenty, but also a treasure holding the answer to not just one of Varisia’s greatest mysteries, but a conspiracy spanning continents and empires. Can the adventurers piece together a puzzle that links the owner of a sleepy village tavern to the unsolved destruction of a fortress-settlement? And can they withstand the ancient forces and secret destiny that have waited for them for decades?
This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Jade Regent Adventure Path and includes:
“The Brinewall Legacy,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 1st-level characters, by James Jacobs
An exploration of the hinterlands surrounding the town of Sandpoint, a region that’s anything but peaceful, by James Jacobs
A look into the mysteries of the oni, cunning fiends that can assume humanoid forms, by Mike Shel
Murder in a distant land in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Dave Gross
Four new monsters by James Jacobs and Tim Nightengale
Each monthly full-color softcover 96-page Pathfinder Adventure Path volume contains an in-depth adventure scenario, stats for several new monsters, and support articles meant to give Game Masters additional material to expand their campaign. Pathfinder Adventure Path volumes use the Open Game License and work with both the Pathfinder RPG and the standard 3.5 fantasy RPG rules set.
ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-361-3
The Brinewall Legacy is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The rules for running this Adventure Path and Chronicle sheet are available as a free download (532 KB zip/PDF).
Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:
This one was low-level play done right. It starts as generically as is possible (goblins attack, yeah, yeah, we've seen this before). But it builds out of that in an intriguing way, and before long you're at the really cool megadungeon setpiece. The dungeon is done quite well, and my group had a lot of fun with it. There were varied encounters, and interesting NPCs. I also liked the schedule mechanics, where the monsters would change position based on the time of day, and the actions of the PCs.
Our group is doing fine with the much-maligned Caravan rules. We're also using the Ultimate Relationships ruleset, which is working quite well. We're leaning into the travel and NPC relationships portion, which is a novel addition to a campaign. It worked for us, but it might not for you.
One final thing I liked is that the travel allows a GM to really add a lot of stuff to the AP if they want to. There's a lot of cool locations you can take the caravan through, and it's great for adding on sidequest stuff.
I've been running this AP for 3 years now and as we're drawing to the close of book 6 I realized I never put in a review for this book. The adventure itself is a great kick off, sets up the mystery and by the end it makes it very clear what the AP is about to the players. Brinewall is a great location offering memorable battles and rping.
The supporting NPC cast introduced offers plenty to work with for DMs and players and adds a great dimension throughout the campaign.
The only qualms are the unnecessary caravan rules and romance rules. Just ignore these. In conclusion, highly recommend this book for a level 1 adventure and the AP as a whole.
This was a fantastic module. I have never seen an adventure go from small encounter to full-fledged adventure to epic campaign so naturally. I also really like the way the module foreshadowed the Tian (Asian) elements in the story.
Like many GMs these days, I run my games entirely in PbP and my gaming group and I have never physically met. Because of this, I really value the artwork in an adventure path because I need it for digital "handouts," battle maps, and encounters. Again, "The Brinewall Legacy" comes through as much as I could expect.
The Adventure Paths I've read seem to all include some additional mechanics to keep the game fresh. In Jade Regent, these mechanics have to do with caravaning, which is an important sub-theme in the game.
I don't recommend the relationship mechanics, as they felt a bit "Dragon Age" for my taste. A good GM should be able to let relationships develop organically.
The caravan rules are fun, but IMHO a little too simple. In my group we use them, but rather than deciding the combat, they just influence it. They also determine the results of NPC fights in a quick and satisfactory manner. This hybrid system is working well for us.
The only other modifications I made to the module had to do with consolidating and abridging the Brinewall Castle dungeon crawl that forms the third act. I only did this because of the slower nature of PbP gaming. I also eliminated the portion of the beginning that had to do with the group meeting. Instead, I began the game right in Brinestump Marsh, and gave the PCs a short backstory to explain how they all got there. Probably not necessary at a gaming table, but in PbP this saved us literally a week of time.
The end boss of the module was also a lot of fun to role-play, and for the PCs to battle. Warning: He's tough! You might want to power him down a bit or use easier tactics if your player group is inexperienced. Mine was not, so I let them have it as published and we were a little worried about a TPK. It didn't happen, but the dice could have gone either way.
In all, it took us nine months to play through this module in PbP. We are now 3/4 of the way through Night of Frozen Shadows, and I will review that module once we complete it. So far, it is also a very good adventure.
Five stars all the way for The Brinewall Legacy. This is excellent value for your entertainment dollar.
Overall this is the start of my favorite of the APs.
Highlights
- Massive Goblin fight
- Very fun story that has a nice slow burn that begins here
Lowlights
- Too many forced NPCs at the start. I did away with them
- The castle is huge and can be tedious esp if you play it as a PFS mod.
- Not a fan of the caravan rules
I've ran this as campaign and we had a great time with it. I've also gotten to play it as a PFS module and it still holds up. I just wish it wasn't so combat focuses in that castle. Seems to drag on.
Second: it says there will be a detailed look at Sandpoint and its environs, will this article be different from that found in Pathfinder 1? Like time will have moved forward so to speak?
Second: it says there will be a detailed look at Sandpoint and its environs, will this article be different from that found in Pathfinder 1? Like time will have moved forward so to speak?
Second: it says there will be a detailed look at Sandpoint and its environs, will this article be different from that found in Pathfinder 1? Like time will have moved forward so to speak?
It will indeed be different.
The article in Pathfinder #49 will have a statblock for the town of Sandpoint and that's about it. The rest of the article will focus on the region AROUND Sandpoint, detailing areas like Pauper's Graves, The Pit, and other adventure sites within a few hours' walk from town.
Question, If someone wanted to play a samurai or a ninja, being as they dont start in tian xia but are going there, what are some ideas for starting this off?
There's a good chance this AP will be the MOST story oriented AP we've done yet, in fact. We'll see!
This makes me feel better about retaining my AP subscription. I'm not entirely sure why, but "oriental adventures" don't ever interest me. Maybe it's the focus on the cliched elements at the expense of story that bothers me.
I'm willing to hear more now that Mr. Jacobs made the above statement.
Question, If someone wanted to play a samurai or a ninja, being as they dont start in tian xia but are going there, what are some ideas for starting this off?
Those topics will be covered in the Jade Regent Player's Guide.
Slowly turning my "Gonna cancel my subscription for this AP since I hate Tian Xia" around.
True, oh so true, Ice Titan.
But please tell me, what does "most story oriented AP" mean? So far APs were judged between railroad and sandbox - so this is a railroad AP with more flavor?
Slowly turning my "Gonna cancel my subscription for this AP since I hate Tian Xia" around.
True, oh so true, Ice Titan.
But please tell me, what does "most story oriented AP" mean? So far APs were judged between railroad and sandbox - so this is a railroad AP with more flavor?
Ruyan.
"Most story oriented" means that the NPCs are going to play a more important role in this Adventure Path than any one we've done yet. And also that it's more of a railroad than a sandbox... although I kind of detest the phrase "railroad" since it's such a popular one to use when picking on an adventure.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Gorbacz wrote:
Wait...
Does it mean that...
"We be Goblins!" is a PREQUEL to this AP? And the PCs in "Brinewall Legacy" are supposed to stop the goblin PCs?
Awesome.
Either the WBG entry, or possibly Hyrum's announcement of it did say that it would be a prequel to it. I suspect that WBG might be about getting the fireworks from where they are found to the tribe, whilst the bit in this moght be about getting the fireworks from the tribe to the citizens of Sandpoint.
"Most story oriented" means that the NPCs are going to play a more important role in this Adventure Path than any one we've done yet. And also that it's more of a railroad than a sandbox... although I kind of detest the phrase "railroad" since it's such a popular one to use when picking on an adventure.
Personally, I use "linear" when I don't want it to be critical, and "railroad" when I do want it to be critical.
There's a third kind I've played - one where the PCs are just observers and play NO part in the events. Those are the most annoying ones of all - and I have a friend who loves writing those kind of events. Ugh.
"Ah! I see what's going on here. Okay, I go to the tavern and wait for the next thing to happen, because clearly what I do doesn't matter."
There's a third kind I've played - one where the PCs are just observers and play NO part in the events. Those are the most annoying ones of all - and I have a friend who loves writing those kind of events. Ugh.
Argh.
I'm playing in such a campaign, in which the DM keeps the epic tone of the story to his desired levels simply by hardrailing our characters into "fringe" events, where the outcome seems constantly predetermined and our actions ineffective in the overall balance.
It's causing some unpleasant strife between long time friends.
*Looks at map* Brinewall is kinda far from Sandpoint ... I guess they have to get you started toward Tian Xia even with the first adventure. Also more goblins + fireworks = me happy.
I'm playing in such a campaign, in which the DM keeps the epic tone of the story to his desired levels simply by hardrailing our characters into "fringe" events, where the outcome seems constantly predetermined and our actions ineffective in the overall balance.
I have been waiting for this material to be released ever since I read about Tian Xia in the original Pathfinder Chronicles Setting Sourcebook. Once I saw the playtest material being released for the Ninja and Samurai classes, I had a feeling something like this was coming.
I personally really like the way this is being approached. Instead of starting the campaign in Tian Xia, we are taking the players (who already should know nothing of the setting), and sending them to the other side of the world, being strangers in a strange land.
I am very excited to see this come out, and will make a stand right now to my gaming group that this is one Adventure Journal I will be playing in, and NOT running. ;-)
There's a third kind I've played - one where the PCs are just observers and play NO part in the events. Those are the most annoying ones of all - and I have a friend who loves writing those kind of events. Ugh.
Those aren't railroads, though. Those are amateur novel readings.