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Pathfinder Adventure Path #68: The Shackled Hut (Reign of Winter 2 of 6) (PFRPG)

4.30/5 (based on 11 ratings)
Pathfinder Adventure Path #68: The Shackled Hut (Reign of Winter 2 of 6) (PFRPG)
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Chapter 2: "The Shackled Hut"
by Jim Groves

The winter portal has closed, but the heroes now find themselves trapped in the frozen land of Irrisen with an urgent quest—to find Baba Yaga! In order to track down the missing Queen of Witches, the heroes must brave the monster-infested capital city of Whitethrone, where Baba Yaga’s Dancing Hut has been captured and put on display. Will possession of the miraculous artifact lead them to the Witch Queen, or will they die a cold death at the hands of Irrisen’s White Witches?

This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path continues the Reign of Winter Adventure Path and includes:

  • “The Shackled Hut,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 4th-level characters, by Jim Groves.
  • An exploration of the ecology and the origins of the cunning and dangerous winter wolf, by Russ Taylor.
  • A look into the cult of rebels and revolutionaries who revere Milani the Everbloom, by Sean K Reynolds.
  • A dangerous introduction to Whitethrone’s aristocracy in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Kevin Andrew Murphy.
  • Four new monsters, by Jim Groves, Dale C. McCoy, Jr., and Sean K Reynolds.

Each monthly full-color softcover 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 world’s oldest fantasy RPG.

ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-493-1

The Shackled Hut 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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4.30/5 (based on 11 ratings)

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3/5 —

Player review.

I'll be honest that after playing this chapter I was not all that impressed. The story was good but it was the usual AP elements that disappointed me. For a mostly urban adventure we found that the setting stopped us being able to buy and sell so we felt woefully unprepared. APs don't seem to want you being up to party wealth levels. But the story was good and we all enjoyed that element a lot.

Heckled Shut ... Hucked Shelt ... Sheltered Hulk ...

5/5 —

An adventure by Jim Groves ... groovy.

Ahem! Having ran my group of five through this adventure, here's some quick pros and cons.

WE LOVED:
- the feel of a nasty fairy tale
- the tower, everything, the encounters, the theme, the NPCs, big freaking <REDACTED> fight!
- the journey events until Whitethrone. Well, everybody knew it's the Mandatory D&D Road Movie With Random Encounters, but everybody enjoyed it
- GRETA!
- The Hut, <REDACTED>, <REDACTED>, big cool payoff that topped the <REDACTED> fight in epicness
- GRETA!
- The act like a <REDACTED> part with <REDACTED>
- magic items, especially the ones introduced in the adventure.

WE DIDN'T LOVE

- the <REDACTED>. Apart from <REDACTED>, the team found it a bit jarring to have a more-or-less railroady string of feels-like-random encounters IN a city. Cities are about going wherever you want however you want, they said.

- the <REDACTED> part with the <REDACTED> - that was a bit of "do X, Y and Z to open the red door" videogamey.

Overall, the level of fun and enjoyment at the table was great and we're looking forward to more of your adventures. I'd rate this 4,5 stars, but since you should be nice if you can be nice, this one gets 5 stars from me. I'm sure I'll enjoy further adventures from Jim!

Extremely good encounters, but structure could be improved

4/5 —

I divide my AP experience into 3 sections: Adventure, Supplements, and Layout/Art

The maps and art for this volume were terrific. The painting of Merisiel with the Mirror Men is a favourite of mine. I especially like the inside cover material, and use it in my campaign. 9/10

The majority of the supplemental material was outstanding. The articles on Milani and Winter Wolves were useful and interesting.
Most of the monsters in the bestiary were interesting. However, the Mirror Man was one of the most creative and creepy offerings I have seen in an AP in a long time. Kudos to the designer and artist.
Unfortunately, the fiction in this AP did not keep my interest.
8/10

I understand that the authors of this adventure and the prior one communicated and collaborated a great deal, and I think it is evident in the smooth transition between chapters, and the uniform handling of NPC's.
The adventure is filled with many fascinating encounters and adversaries: including the woodsman's wife, the gate guard, the goblin alchemist, the entirety of the Clocktower, and the pipers.
However, there were some things about the "storyboarding" of the adventure which seemed weak when my group played it. There is an extended journey at the beginning, and while some of the encounters are excellent, there are perhaps too many. Similarly, there is a huge number of encounters just inside the city gate. On the other hand, there is very little general information on the city as a whole. And as a specific example, the overgrown Merchant's Quarter lies directly between the gate and the safehouse, but there is no GM advice on how to handle the passage. While I know that there are many details on the city available in other products, I feel one or two encounters could have been cut to provide more information, or perhaps some encounters not tied to the gate, clocktower, or forest.
My players complained that Whitethrone provides the first opportunity in the AP for them to seriously upgrade their equipment, and the first encounter they have after that opportunity is with a foe that destroys weapons.
Overall, it was an engaging read and a fun group of sessions to run. 7/10

Lots of useful pages

4/5 —

Recession review located here

Are the reviewers actually playing this or just reading ?

5/5 —

So, I wanted to write this review because I've read some well worded and, well frankly nitpicky reviews about this adventure path. It really started to strike out at me that many people are reviewing this adventure without using the kind of language that would lead me to believe they actually played it.

I have GM'd the first 2 parts of RoW and this adventure was amazing. It was probably up there with some of the best games I've played. I had a lot of resources for this game, including the white dragon evolution set, all the paths of prestige materials, irrisen land of winter, all the maps, land of the linnorm kings, people of the north, the cards, all of it. And it paid off in spades.

I actually found this quite a flexible game to GM. I'm a ruthless GM, and I have 20 years of experience being ruthless. And my players are pretty damn good at getting by that as well, as the best players are.

Instead of being a letdown, I found that by the time the clocktower part of the game had been reached, just for narrative flow it was time to start playing fast and loose with the source material. It's more important that the story you are telling with the PCs is heroic, fluid and balanced. I just let it naturally evolve, and if the PCs want to cut to the chase and get the hut after Logrivich, no problem. It's about making a great experience, not necessarily being "railroaded by the book" as some have complained. If something is anticlimactic, don't do it ! You have to be completely familiar with the source in order to be comfortable doing this. No reading with the players as you play! You, the DM, should be using this story to great effect, and if it needs a little nip and tuck here and there, then so be it.

For example, Greta almost immediately became part of the group. My group is small, and I allow the players to play up to 2 characters at a time, which is great because, not only does it solve balance problems with the power of the party, but as a bonus if somebody dies, the player is not sulking in the corner of the room all the rest of the game. They have at least a second chance. And it also gives the players a chance to play some of these great NPCs in this adventure. So, Greta was snatched up and became a memorable PC right away. Even I let them play Nadya Petska at points during the game.

The story we created thanks to this amazing source material was really memorable. I've read all the books in the series and I think 3 and 4 I might need to take a heavier hand to... but I don't know until I play with the party. I'm sure as hell going to let them roll fluidly through it, and if stuff isn't working or if the party is tired of combat, I make tactical decisions. It really makes for a better game.

Anyway I wanted to put this out there since I was reading so many very technical reviews that didn't seem to reflect how the adventure actually plays. They might be technically right if you're at game con arguing with Monte Cook on the merits of game design, but it's not about that for me, it's more about the fun everyone has, and how the "movie in the mind" is playing out.

Bottom Line - Highly recommended.

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Liberty's Edge
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Quick art thoughts:

Page 83 - The picture of the Mirror Men and Merisiel may be one of the most beautiful piece of art I've seen in a Pathfinder book.

Page 31 - Feiya looks amazing in this piece.

Page 85 - Courage Heart, Milani's herald has a vague Greek/Roman look to her with is really refreshing in Pathfinder.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Mirror Men, bwahahaha. My subscriber copy shipped, so people should be getting it now.
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Mike Silva wrote:

Page 31 - Feiya looks amazing in this piece.

Roberto Pitturru did capture my good side rather well.

They ain't called Mirror Men are they?

otherwise tell me more about these mirror monsters!
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

F5, F5, F5, F5...
Grand Lodge
Kevin Mack wrote:
So anyone have there copy yet?

Yep.. this morning :)

Grand Lodge
Sincubus wrote:

They ain't called Mirror Men are they?

otherwise tell me more about these mirror monsters!

Yea they are. (Technically Mirror Man)

Mirror Man spoiler:
They are a CR5 faceless, blind sensing creature and the perfect creature for making an entire area go on high alert hehe

It shipped! Can't wait to read through it tonight.
Gorbacz wrote:
F5, F5, F5, F5...

Aye, same here.

Nice glass of whiskey, a fine PDF...tonight's going to be a good night.

And interesting! A creature from the Midgard Bestiary. Is that the first non-ToHC PF 3rd party book used in Pathfinder?
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16

Just got my PDF too, but my girlfriend's over so I can't really look at it. : (

Until she goes to bed.

Still, she's out smoking for a moment, so I'm flipping through bits. Really like the look of Part Three. Can't wait to really read it.

(Oooh, and a writeup on Milani, who's one of my favorite Golarion deities.)

I have never gotten into the pdf's...I must have a couple of oodles of those things that I have never opened or used...

I also do not have a cell phone...just an answering machine and e-mail...

Boy am I an old fashioned cave man..."OOK OOK DM SMASH HERO...GRRR!"

Man, I'm still waiting for my copy to ship out. I'm guessing that it's because I'm having the whole of Carrion Crown shipped at the same time and they're having to dig it out first. With any luck, it will ship out today and I can at least skim the PDF a bit.

When something ships out tend to vary quite a bit - but they're usually done by the end of the week they begin sending stuff out (at least I've never had to wait longer than that) - the only thing I can recall someone from Paizo saying will cause a delay is if you add something to your order after the "we're going to start shipping things in so-and-so many days" e-mail has been sent out.
The Exchange

And us no subscribers (lack of choice is my excuse...) wait 8 more days before the PDF arrives... *sigh*
Cheapy wrote:

Nice glass of whiskey, a fine PDF...tonight's going to be a good night.

And interesting! A creature from the Midgard Bestiary. Is that the first non-ToHC PF 3rd party book used in Pathfinder?

Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary and Book of Fiends get called out a lot, I believe.

What are the monsters in this bestiary?
Kajehase wrote:
When something ships out tend to vary quite a bit - but they're usually done by the end of the week they begin sending stuff out (at least I've never had to wait longer than that) - the only thing I can recall someone from Paizo saying will cause a delay is if you add something to your order after the "we're going to start shipping things in so-and-so many days" e-mail has been sent out.

Oh, I'm not really complaining or anything. I'm just getting anxious. In large part because I want Carrion Crown on my doorstep, but also because I want to read over this new part of Reign of Winter. At the same time, I should be getting the Inner Sea World Guide and Ultimate Combat delivered today. So hopefully browsing over them will keep me occupied.

Sincubus wrote:
What are the monsters in this bestiary?

mirror men (which are AWESOME), pied pipers, a herald of milani, and winter redcaps, IIRC.

Can't wait for the MIrror man and Pied Pipers!!!!!

Winter Redcap? Do they have white caps with snow on it instead of blood? Lol :p

Not too much on Heralds.

This is officially the first product I've received in my subscription to the Adventure Paths, and I could not be any happier to have started with this book. I just got the shipping notification and am so eager to download my PDF!

Anyone who doesn't have an Adventure Path subscription but buys them really needs to consider getting one. Not only are you saving a bunch of money but you get it early too.

I put this off for way too long!

Well I would take a Subscription on PDF anytime, but I don't trust the mail around here enough to take a subscription on the Printed Books as well...

Too many ordered stuff hasn't been brought here.

I think a subscription for only PDF would be lovely!

Slight correction. There's the winter fey template with the winter redcap example.

Thanks Cheapy! What would the monster fans off this community be without you ;)
1 person marked this as a favorite.

If I had to guess, "Slightly delayed in their gratification of knowing which monsters are in here." :)
1 person marked this as a favorite.

This book is gorgeous. Someone please high-five the entire art/layout department.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

Slight correction.. Those are "dawn pipers", and they are fey. :)

Can't wait to read more about those! Both Mirror Monsters and Pied Pipers (which will probably be something like the Dawn Piper) were somewhere on my wishlists!

Ah, yes. I was going from un-caffienated memory. Amusingly, half of the monsters in the bestiary are holding something up above their heads in their left hand.

I wonder if Mauxpaudi from Chillblight is a winter redcap.

What sort of information does the book give us in its article covering winter wolves? For that matter, which if any other Pathfinder books have gone into detail covering winter wolves, worgs, and other lupine monsters?

Thank for your answer, Jim
Liberty's Edge

My subscription hasn't shipped yet, so I can't answer this for myself.... How big is the Hut, and the entrance thereto? If a player wanted to play a druid with a mammoth companion, hoping eventually to be a mammoth rider, is there any hope for that to work out on this AP?
Webstore Gninja Minion

I would say the Hut is very...mutable in its interior, and I'm sure the exterior entrances are fluid as well...
Liberty's Edge

OK, thanks. I'm going to tell the player to go ahead, and if he gets into trouble a book from now, I'll blame you :)
Liberty's Edge

(Of course, I can already see parts of the first adventure where he'll get into trouble, but it's all part of the fun.)

Mine hasn't been shipped... I wonder if ordering older products to be shipped with your subscription delays the shipping? >.> Or maybe I'm just unlucky. Damn living in Australia. *grumblegrumble*

Ah well. I still can't want to get my hands on it!
Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Pathfinder Accessories, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Between its Swallow Whole Ability and one of the rooms being 50+ feet wide and 55 feet long, then yes it can possibly transport a mammoth (Does The Mammoth Rider get the Huge version or the Elephant/Mastodon Companions which is Medium-sized?
Sovereign Court Developer

While there shouldn't be any problem holding a mammoth inside the hut, it's exterior door is pretty much a standard 5-foot-wide door. For Large creatures, they can simply squeeze to fit through the door, but Huge or larger creatures (such as a mammoth) would need to make an Escape Artist check to fit through the door (Core Rulebook 193-194).

Of course, if you're running the campaign and you know you have a mammoth rider, you could simply say the hut's front door is 10 feet wide, and a mammoth would then only need to squeeze to get inside.

Spoiler:
Alternatively, you could say that the mantle of the Black Rider works like a "key" for PCs with Large or larger companions, allowing those creatures to squeeze through the door even though they are technically too big to do so.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Rob McCreary wrote:

While there shouldn't be any problem holding a mammoth inside the hut, it's exterior door is pretty much a standard 5-foot-wide door. For Large creatures, they can simply squeeze to fit through the door, but Huge or larger creatures (such as a mammoth) would need to make an Escape Artist check to fit through the door (Core Rulebook 193-194).

Of course, if you're running the campaign and you know you have a mammoth rider, you could simply say the hut's front door is 10 feet wide, and a mammoth would then only need to squeeze to get inside.

** spoiler omitted **

Or...

Spoiler:
You can have the mark of the black rider treat your mammoth like the rider's horse and allow your character to summon and dismiss his mammoth at will. plus add this by describing to the mammoth rider then when the rider's mark is placed on him his mammoth's fur gains a noticeably darker shade.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Any passing resemblance between the dawn piper and Cantus the Fraggle Minstrel is purely coincidence or not? :)
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

Yep!

I just googled this Cantus. I can't say I'm seeing it. But I hope you enjoy the adventure!

Congrats Jim!
Contributor
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Or you could put Oil of Slipperiness on the doorframe.
Silver Crusade

If it hasn't already, the "big animal going in the hut" notes need a mention in the GM Reference thread. :)

Does Elvanna's stats appear in this volume ?

Nope, only her class levels in the city "stat" block as a notable NPC ^^;.
Kevin Andrew Murphy wrote:
Or you could put Oil of Slipperiness on the doorframe.

Or butter. I hear butter works well.

But what would you do if it did get stuck in the door?

Well, it's already covered in butter, so the only option is to make an offering to the god of fried food.
3 people marked this as a favorite.

AP SPOILERS:
After reading it, I really like this adventure. It has some very traditional stuff in here that have a very Grimm feel to it, while still taking risks. The biggest risk I see is Granny Nan cooking children and feeding them to the trolls. Still, this entire adventure path is oozing with fairy tales. Dragons, kidnapped maiden, evil witches, trolls, and children. A fresh take on fairy tales!
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