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Pathfinder Adventure Path #67: The Snows of Summer (Reign of Winter 1 of 6) (PFRPG)

3.60/5 (based on 20 ratings)
Pathfinder Adventure Path #67: The Snows of Summer (Reign of Winter 1 of 6) (PFRPG)
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Chapter 1: "The Snows of Summer"
by Neil Spicer

The Reign of Winter Adventure Path begins with an exciting new adventure from RPG Superstar winner Neil Spicer! Every 100 years, the Witch Queen Baba Yaga returns to the nation of Irrisen to place a new daughter on the throne, but this time, something has gone wrong. Far to the south, winter cloaks the forest near the village of Heldren with summer snows. The heroes venture into the wood and discover a magical portal to the frozen land of Irrisen, whose supernatural winter will soon engulf all of Golarion unless they can discover the fate of the otherworldly witch Baba Yaga—a quest that will take them through snowbound Irrisen to even stranger lands beyond.

“The Snows of Summer” is a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 1st-level characters. This volume kicks off the new Reign of Winter Adventure Path, and includes a gazetteer of the villages of Heldren and Waldsby, details on the cultural and magical legacies of Irrisen, and several new monsters in the Pathfinder Bestiary. Author Kevin Andrew Murphy launches a new Pathfinder Journal novella in this exciting volume of the Pathfinder Adventure Path!

    This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Reign of Winter Adventure Path and includes:
  • “The Snows of Summer,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 1st-level characters, by Neil Spicer.
  • A gazetteer of two villages—one in Taldor and the other in wintry Irrisen—to help flesh out the characters’ environs, by Rob McCreary.
  • A look into Irrisen’s legacies and mysteries GMs can use for this campaign, written and compiled by Rob McCreary.
  • An alchemist’s journey to Irrisen’s capital of Whitethrone in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Kevin Andrew Murphy.
  • Four new monsters, by Neil Spicer and James Wilber.

ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-492-4

The Snows of Summer 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 (639 KB zip/PDF).

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

Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscription.

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3.60/5 (based on 20 ratings)

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Cool Story, But Too Punishing

3/5 —

I liked the story of this module. I also liked the gimmick of it, to an extent, with the focus on weather as a very real hurdle to overcome.

However, the first part is so hard that my players really had trouble enjoying themselves. The weather rules could use some streamlining, and some more give. The penalty to ranged attacks was especially brutal, since many enemies in the forest flew. I did make some tweaks to make some encounters cool (playing with low visibility on Roll20 due to snow was fun). But beware: the encounters in the forest are going to be very, very hard for a level 1 party. Judging from my players' reactions, it wasn't the fun kind of hard.

Once they got out of the forest, though, it picked up. The next section was a cool town and dungeon crawl. I enjoy how alien and oppressive Irrisen feels. What really attracts me to this AP is that it's definitely not a "standard" fantasy setting. The book does a good job of making the dungeons feel otherwordly and should take players out of their comfort zone.

PROS: Does a good job of evoking a "stranger in a strange land" feeling. The second section is really nicely done, with a really neat dungeon to end the module. The story is very dark in a satisfying way-- expect your players to see terrible things happening to people in this AP. Irrisen pulls no punches, like a fairy tale if you take out all the whimsy.

CONS: Difficulty (too high for the first section). Weather mechanics can bog down gameplay, and can make some builds feel useless (like ranged attackers). If I had to run it again, I'd homebrew some stuff to get the players to level 2 before launching into this module.

Terrible premise

1/5 —

I’m a player that bailed on a game 80% of the way through this.

This book has a premise of having the players save the world when Golarion is full of very high level NPCs that any sane party would pass that torch to. This adventure path requires (among lots of other retcon surgery) that it not be set in setting like Golarion.

This book was a succession of “Why am I even here?!?” questions. Leave this one on the shelf unless you have lots of time for major plot rewriting.

Not standing up to the test of time.

2/5 —

I am a big fan of Paizo APs (I have played/GM'd 7 including this one) and this has been my least favourite.

Book 1 is just one long rail road with little motivation apart from "the world is in danger" for a basic party. The plot hook just isn't developed enough for myself.

There are too many encounters that are unnecessary (out of the first 13 encounters, 11 are combat based. One of these is 1 encounter that combines 3).

The GM was advised in the book to put us under a compulsion spell to make sure we stayed on the path the adventure wanted us on. I do not think this is good AP planning to encourage good roleplay.

I do love Paizo APs but this one just doesnt stand up to some more recent APs whose quality are outstanding.

3/5 —

Player review.

An interesting start to a campaign. Lots of role play and some interesting encounters to keep the combat types happy. I have two grumbles though. One is that the encounters seem arbitrary, just set to sow off the events taking place. I'd have much preferred to just get on with the story than keep having to have unnecessary encounters when GM description will do. Secondly, like most AP's, there just isn't the opportunity to sell stuff and buy equipment. After several AP's this just gets old.

A heavy-handed introduction to a most promising campaign

3/5 —

I just finished taking a group of 4 PCs through the module. While we had a lot of fun, I still had some gripes with a few things.

The trek through the Border Wood is a string of seemingly disconnected encounters. Yes, I get that most of them are there to illustrate the transformation of the woods but it felt like a theme park ride from one "Here is a strange monster, kill it!" to the next.

I definitely recommend to significantly condense this part down to the major encounters.

I also did not like the way the Black Rider just forces the PCs to take up his mantle. Sure, good-aligned characters might have some issues with trying to help a supposedly evil witch, but this solution seems too imposing.

Lastly, as written, the book fails to adequately introduce its final villain. The entire time the PCs think they are going to face a certain character but then end up fighting their out-of-office replacement who has not even come up in any way in the adventure. There is a line late in the book about how he scries on the party and how that should introduce him to the players but I don't really see how that would work.

But it is absolutely not all bad.

Plot-wise, this is the most epic exposition to an Adventure Path I have run so far. The PCs are sent off by the herald of an almost divine being to find out what happened to his mistress when they have just barely hit 2nd level!

Also, Neil Spicer added some really nice touches to the encounters. Even the ice elementals have first names! Everything has a reason and a motivation for being where it is, they are just not very likely for the PCs to find out about, so in the end it just seems random to them (see above).

I also liked the general atmosphere: The sense of dark fairy-tale and haunted forest comes across very well, right down to the wintery village oppressed by an evil overlord (or overlady, as it were).

All in all, I rate this 3 stars because the plot and atmosphere are nice, but the trek through the forest was just too much of a drag to rate this any higher in my opinion.

However, if you are willing to invest some time as a GM, I am sure you can easily add at 1 star.

All the ingredients for a great adventure are there, you just need to throw them into a cauldron, stir, and cackle.

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Nick O'Connell wrote:
How is rise of the runelords anniversary edition different from regular adventure paths ?

I am not sure exactly what you are asking but the anniversary edition of RotRL is the first AP updated from DnD3.x to Pathfinder rules and tidied up into a single volume.

However it also has a slightly different 'look', so I guess that is what Liz is referring to. The new look has a lot of similarities to the Beginner Box in style IMO. It has border decorations and stuff.

Thanks for explaining
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Product image and description have been updated to match the finished product.
Scarab Sages
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Is that baba yaga on the cover?
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Stratagemini wrote:
Is that baba yaga on the cover?

That's Valeros, silly!

Paizo Employee Developer
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Stratagemini wrote:
Is that Baba Yaga on the cover?

It is dear Grandmother!

Paizo Employee Creative Director
Jam412 wrote:
Will this AP take the layout of Rise of the Runelords Anniversary edition or stick with the traditional look?

The layout of Reign of Winter will look pretty close to the standard layout for all Adventure Paths, although the magic items will be using the new format as begun in the Rise of the Runelords hardcover and carried on in Ultimate Equipment.

Every Adventure Path has minor cosmetic changes to the look, but overall, the layout of Reign of Winter will look more like Shattered Star and previous Adventure Paths than it will the Rise of the Runelords hardcover.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Adam Daigle wrote:
Stratagemini wrote:
Is that Baba Yaga on the cover?
It is dear Grandmother!

I don't know. Without the flying cauldron she could also be Louhi from Finnish Mythology, what with the earth freezing and all (see the epic poem, Kalevala, or the film, Sampo)

Liberty's Edge

Is it odd that I am excited about the Path using a blue color scheme?
Sovereign Court Developer
Laschoni wrote:

Is it odd that I am excited about the Path using a blue color scheme?

Nope! We're excited here, too! :)

Contributor

Gah! Big bug!
Paizo Employee Developer
Rob McCreary wrote:
Laschoni wrote:

Is it odd that I am excited about the Path using a blue color scheme?

Nope! We're excited here, too! :)

Yep! What Rob said!

Andrew did a gorgeous job designing the look of this AP.
Contributor
WampaX wrote:
Adam Daigle wrote:
Stratagemini wrote:
Is that Baba Yaga on the cover?
It is dear Grandmother!
I don't know. Without the flying cauldron she could also be Louhi from Finnish Mythology, what with the earth freezing and all (see the epic poem, Kalevala, or the film, Sampo)

Louhi shows up in Artifacts and Legends in the Dancing Hut entry, and since the Dancing Hut takes a prominent place in the adventure path (not much of a spoiler since it's the title of one of the volumes), I'm guessing there's a reasonable chance of encountering her there too.

I think there's also an oblique reference to her Sampo in the AP novella, assuming James left it.
Dark Archive

Are you guys increasing the price for the ap's after Shattered Star?
Silver Crusade
Kevin Andrew Murphy wrote:
I think there's also an oblique reference to her Sampo in the AP novella, assuming James left it.

SAMPOOOOOO!!!!

Looking forward to that Irrisene fiction!
Contributor
Mikaze wrote:
Kevin Andrew Murphy wrote:
I think there's also an oblique reference to her Sampo in the AP novella, assuming James left it.
SAMPOOOOOO!!!!

Ask for it by name!

Mikaze wrote:
Looking forward to that Irrisene fiction!

Likewise. Hope everyone enjoys it. I love doing novellas.

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Kevin Andrew Murphy wrote:
Mikaze wrote:
Kevin Andrew Murphy wrote:
I think there's also an oblique reference to her Sampo in the AP novella, assuming James left it.
SAMPOOOOOO!!!!

Ask for it by name!

Mikaze wrote:
Looking forward to that Irrisene fiction!
Likewise. Hope everyone enjoys it. I love doing novellas.

The MST3K Russo-Finnish Troika was my initial plunge into the greater mythologies of the frozen north. It was a fun, strange trip and I'm giddy that this AP and materials will pull from that larger cannon.

EDIT:

brad2411 wrote:
Are you guys increasing the price for the ap's after Shattered Star?

The Blog and thread discussion of such things

Contributor
1 person marked this as a favorite.
WampaX wrote:
Kevin Andrew Murphy wrote:
Mikaze wrote:
Kevin Andrew Murphy wrote:
I think there's also an oblique reference to her Sampo in the AP novella, assuming James left it.
SAMPOOOOOO!!!!

Ask for it by name!

Mikaze wrote:
Looking forward to that Irrisene fiction!
Likewise. Hope everyone enjoys it. I love doing novellas.
The MST3K Russo-Finnish Troika was my initial plunge into the greater mythologies of the frozen north. It was a fun, strange trip and I'm giddy that this AP and materials will pull from that larger cannon.

Poetic geekery fact: The Kalevala (which I have a copy of) is written in Old Norse Flowing Meter, which is a fancy way of saying heavily alliterated trochaic tetrameter, or in more layman's terms, the same meter Longfellow used for "The Song of Hiawatha" (which is not a Native American meter, but sufficiently exotic that it sounded right). I drew on this and a number of the other old meters of the north for the AP tale.

Will there be kennings, speaker of Grimnir's lip-streams?
Dark Archive

Thanks WampaX I missed that blog.
Contributor
Kajehase wrote:
Will there be kennings, speaker of Grimnir's lip-streams?

Some kennings, yes. A bit more barbieing. ;)

Mikaze wrote:

So many of us have fled from Helgen so many times already, I can't believe we're actually going towards the place now.

;)

Where exactly is Helgen? I looked through all the books I possess and didn't come across it on any maps.

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Man behind the Screen wrote:
Mikaze wrote:

So many of us have fled from Helgen so many times already, I can't believe we're actually going towards the place now.

;)

Where exactly is Helgen? I looked through all the books I possess and didn't come across it on any maps.

Near Falkreath.

How many pcs would this AP handle?

Thank you Mead
Man behind the Screen wrote:
How many pcs would this AP handle?

APs assume 4 PCs.

Helgen is the town you start in in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. By the end of the tutorial, you are more or less fleeing Helgen. The town is in the hold Falkreath.
Paizo Employee Developer
Man behind the Screen wrote:
Mikaze wrote:

So many of us have fled from Helgen so many times already, I can't believe we're actually going towards the place now.

;)

Where exactly is Helgen? I looked through all the books I possess and didn't come across it on any maps.

Seriously though, Heldren is in southern Taldor, just north of the Border Wood, which is just north of the southern border of Qadira. The closest sizable settlement is probably Zimar.

RPG Superstar 2009, Contributor
Adam Daigle wrote:
Seriously though, Heldren is in southern Taldor, just north of the Border Wood, which is just north of the southern border of Qadira. The closest sizable settlement is probably Zimar.

True. Zimar lies almost directly east of Heldren. It's the closest sizeable population.

If you crossed through the Border Wood straight south of Heldren and to its other side, you could also reach the town of Demgazi which is right on the border with Qadira.

The best map I found to view the Border Wood, Zimar, and Demgazi appears in the back section of the Pathfinder Companion Taldor: Echoes of Glory. That's what I used for researching and placing Heldren. There should be an overland map in the adventure itself which shows the town's surrounding geography, including all the roads leading to other parts of Taldor.

Another great cover.
Vic Wertz wrote:
Stratagemini wrote:
Is that baba yaga on the cover?
That's Valeros, silly!

Those dang aging penalties!

Webstore Gninja Minion
brad2411 wrote:
Are you guys increasing the price for the ap's after Shattered Star?

Yes—read more about it in this blog post here.

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

(in the voice elderly, dwarfish, minions.)

"Sampo,Sampo,Sampo,Sampo,Sampo,Sampo...."(continues for 5 mins.)

Artifact: Sampo

mill that endlessly churns out flour, salt, and gold.

*warning, owned by Baba Yaga. caution when requesting use.*

I only posted Helgen because it was there was an early post to this thread that mentioned this name. Soundef close to the town that was mentioned in the AP description of module one. Lol. I guess it was close enough. Thanks for clearing the name and location. I want to get a group ready for a pbp version of this AP. needed the location to get things rolling.

My grammar sucks on this iPhone. Please remove "it was", the it should make more sense

How big a town are we talking with Heldren here? A couple hundred? Nearer to a thousand?
Sovereign Court Developer
Phillip0614 wrote:
How big a town are we talking with Heldren here? A couple hundred? Nearer to a thousand?

Heldren is a village, so less than 200 people.

What month and year will this AP take place?
Sovereign Court Developer
New England Frost Giant wrote:

What month and year will this AP take place?

Adventure Paths are normally assumed to begin in the Golarion equivalent month when the first adventure in the AP is released, in the Golarion equivalent year. So the Adventure Path released in February 2013 would begin in the month of Calistril in the year 4713 AR.

However, Reign of Winter does not follow that assumption, as "The Snows of Summer" starts (unsurprisingly)in the middle of summer. We don't actually give a firm start date in the AP, but I would say anytime in the months of Sarenith, Erastus, or Arodus (with mid-Erastus being best) would be good. Regardless of which month the AP starts in, however, the year matches the normal AP assumption, which is 4713 AR.

Well it is summer here, in fact I have just had a swim :D

Weirdly, when I looked for the entire list of products for Shattered Star (All, not just Available Now), it also listed The Snows of Summer. A website glitch?
RPG Superstar 2009, Contributor
Bellona wrote:
Weirdly, when I looked for the entire list of products for Shattered Star (All, not just Available Now), it also listed The Snows of Summer. A website glitch?

I'm sure that's because the adventure is sooooo good, it needed to be part of two APs at the same time. ;-)

Spoiler:

Or...it could just be a website glitch. :-(

Firstbourne wrote:
DM_aka_Dudemeister wrote:
I hope this can be adapted to start in the PCs kingdom in the Stolen Lands.

At first that sounded cool, but then I realized that my level 17+ PCs would handle the situation themselves - so that wouldn't work well with the beginning of an AP.

Any suggestions on how to handle that?

A few options:

Dual-classing 1e style. Your Monarch(s) and Advisors abdicate the throne, leave almost everything behind and start new careers in new classes. Perhaps as middle-aged/old/venerable characters, scrubbing back to 1st level in a radically different class with the same personalities can be pretty fun. Maybe they're worried about their mortality and hope that the summer snows forsage a means to deal with Death...

1st level followers are sent, so long as you permit them nothing more extravagant than the Rich Parents trait. If you're feeling generous before horribly slaughtering their precious followers, give 'em this trait gratis. (I had my players send 5th level followers to find hapless Oleg from Kingmaker to Carrion Hill.)
Webstore Gninja Minion
Neil Spicer wrote:
Bellona wrote:
Weirdly, when I looked for the entire list of products for Shattered Star (All, not just Available Now), it also listed The Snows of Summer. A website glitch?

I'm sure that's because the adventure is sooooo good, it needed to be part of two APs at the same time. ;-)

** spoiler omitted **

*smashes glitch*

RPG Superstar 2009, Contributor
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Liz Courts wrote:
*smashes glitch*

Why do I imagine you as a White Witch when I read that? ;-)

Neil Spicer wrote:
Liz Courts wrote:
*smashes glitch*
Why do I imagine you as a White Witch when I read that? ;-)

Probably because of this avatar and her connections to Baba Yaga. >:D

Sovereign Court
James Jacobs wrote:
Jam412 wrote:
Will this AP take the layout of Rise of the Runelords Anniversary edition or stick with the traditional look?

The layout of Reign of Winter will look pretty close to the standard layout for all Adventure Paths, although the magic items will be using the new format as begun in the Rise of the Runelords hardcover and carried on in Ultimate Equipment.

Every Adventure Path has minor cosmetic changes to the look, but overall, the layout of Reign of Winter will look more like Shattered Star and previous Adventure Paths than it will the Rise of the Runelords hardcover.

Yay!

This has probably been asked before, but is the Winter Witch Revisited Blog considered official errata yet?

Why are these adventures more expensive than previous Adventure Paths?
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