Pathfinder Adventure Path #69: Maiden, Mother, Crone (Reign of Winter 3 of 6)

Not to impressed with this one as I was the last two. But the next two volumes are the ones I am really interested in anyway.

I didn't really care much for the monsters in the bestiary in this one other then the Azgenzak. I really didn't like the art for the Sangoi and found that it's DR was silver instead of cold iron to be insulting. I don't care for demons(or devils) and the multi legged polar bear really lacked besides we already got a cool polar bear like monster in AP volume 46. Well the ice centaur one wasn't bad though.

Lol if Dragon78 doesn't like them, I probably will :D

And what's wrong with the artstyle of the Sangoi? Please tell me it isn't drawn in the artstyle like the Wolpertinger, Melfesh Monster and the one-eyed pterasaur thing, then I will agree with you.

Insulting?

"Insulting" is a rather odd expression for a design decision. One may not agree with the design choice, but the designer does not try to offend the reader. Let's keep it in perspective.

No. Clearly, Jason was very insulting to cold iron and far too accommodating to that dastardly silver!

I don't care for demons(or devils)...

0_0

I thought the Sleipnir/Frost Giant centaur was awesome. I'll admit, I thought that the 8 legged Polar Bear was just going to be kind of lame, but I actually like the abilities they gave it.

I must say, the Bestiary this issue is uncommonly good. Not just the statistics--which are flavorful and fun and do not appear to have any errors, but the writing itself. Some real word-craft went into this gang of horrors, and I am excited to use any and all of them.

I really didn't like the art for the Sangoi and found that it's DR was silver instead of cold iron to be insulting.

Silver and cold iron are somewhat interchangeable in folklore. Both are 'pure' metals. It's also kind nice to throw players who think fey=cold steel for a loop.

Loved the Dvezda Marches article. It was a real treat to see a primarily non-human "country" examined close-up. Really dug the different ethnicities for centaurs too. :) I believe this is the most focus centaurs have gotten yet in Golarion, and they get some Iobaria-specific cultural details for GMs and PCs both to use.

It's a scary place to explore when you get down to it though. Knowing you're walking over what's almost a completely dead country, with the ancient plague still coming up from the ground...brrr... The history of Daruthrost in particular plays into that. You don't even need any current supernatural elmeents to make that place incredibly creepy.

And with that setting the tone, the island of Zvartjan just comes across so much worse because of it. After walking through a place that might be described as Skyrim with no living NPCs and standing buildings, seeing and hearing that island is enough to make even adventurers hop on the NOPEtrain to @#$%thatville.

I love Drugenza's portrait, because taiga giants are awesome and because, holy crap, elk anter earrings!

What is so bad about the art of the Sangoi? Is it the design or the artstyle?

The artwork for the sangoi actually reminds me of the fairy tale anthologies I read as a kid. It's a dark version of the illustrations found in those books. And for me personally, that's freaking awesome.

The artwork for the sangoi actually reminds me of the fairy tale anthologies I read as a kid. It's a dark version of the illustrations found in those books. And for me personally, that's freaking awesome.

It reminded me of that and that damned storybook from Monster.

speaking of childhood trauma...

Mikaze wrote:

The sangoi entry has me extremely curious about just what kind of destiny might really be awaiting those "marked" children. Potential PC background there.

I think it might be best, and by best I mean worst, if there really isn't any destiny involved at all -- the little bastards are just horribly paranoid.

Congrats! You just made these things so much worse. D:

In truth, that was my intention. There *IS* no real grand destiny, but good luck convincing the sangoi of that. Like any good conspiracy nuts, every argument against them is in their minds only *MORE* evidence of the conspiracy at work.

Their solution to that? Be EVEN MORE horrible!

"Insulting" is a rather odd expression for a design decision. One may not agree with the design choice, but the designer does not try to offend the reader. Let's keep it in perspective.

Well actually...

Just got to do a partial read.

Man, this adventure. Some might view it as "dungeon-crawly" at a glance, but for groups that pursue it there's a LOT of intense roleplaying potential here. It definitely feels "lived in", and there's no shortage of characters that could easily be allies, enemies, frenemies, or antagopals depending on how the PCs approach the situation.

I'm really liking the Hut reconfigurations. This is only going to get weirder as it goes along, isn't it? :)

Thanks Mikaze!

Wow.

Granted I have only studied this for about a half an hour, and I haven't read or dissected it thoroughly, but first impressions?

Tim knocked this sucker out of the park. Interesting NPCs, neat dungeons, cool story.

James Jacobs often says, "If you want to learn how to make better adventures, then read other people's adventures."

With some humility I am going to be studying this one. If people are enjoying the AP so far, I think they're in for a real treat.

Thanks Jim!

Ironically, I'm just about to start reading Shackled Hut. I'm a little behind on my AP reading.

Jim Groves wrote:

"Insulting" is a rather odd expression for a design decision. One may not agree with the design choice, but the designer does not try to offend the reader. Let's keep it in perspective.

Well actually...

Every great comedian needs a straight man. ;D

I have mixed feelings about the Sangoi, while I like its artwork and everything about it, this creature sure cuts a lot of creatures from the list at once.

1st its dressed like a Jester, so there goes the Jester fey.
2nd it has exactly the nails the mahaha should have.
3rd it has the ability (to become a cute animal and give children a false sense of safety) that a Nekomata should have.
4th the name blocks out Strigoi.

So its really a mixture of all kinds of folklore creatures, but very different.

I still hope to see Nekomata, Strigoi and Mahaha (and a real jester fey) in a future paizo poduct tho.

If a character gets the weapon used by the centaur at the end what feats would they need to use it effectively? I know the barbarian who wants to be a mammoth lord is gonna want this.

The artwork for the sangoi actually reminds me of the fairy tale anthologies I read as a kid. It's a dark version of the illustrations found in those books. And for me personally, that's freaking awesome.

It just flat-out reminded me of the pictures in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Anybody remember those things, by Alvin Schwartz? They marketed those things to children.

As to whether that's awesome or not, it depends on the feel you want, and how susceptible you are to nightmares. I have to admit I wondered if somebody was pranking me, because I didn't see that in the book on my first pass through, and seeing it on the second made me drop the book and want to flee.

A few questions regarding the Marislova situation (page 38).

If she is killed, does she revert back to her original form?

Can her original form be revealed through True Seeing?

Does the magic that transform her emanate a magic aura?

Can her transformation be dispelled, intentionally or by accident?

What is the source of her transformation (beyond the usual "magic of Artrosa" handwave...), I'm guessing a "polymorph any object" since it is the only effect besides "baleful polymorph" that is permanent.

Is there any chance of the same thing happening to a PC, either by accident or intent?

A few questions regarding the Marislova situation (page 38).

Since this is in the product thread, rather than the GM Reference thread, I'll put the answers in spoilers:

Being a fan of both Kingmaker and demons, I'll have to get this one just to see what it says about Kostchtchie and Iobaria.

And a silly pair of questions, what are the new monsters in this one? And what is the story being told in the Pathfinder's Journal for this AP?

The monsters are: Azgenzak (an Aberration, "prosaically called 'sacks of burning eyes'" - basically a worm with a fire theme), Andrazku (also known as Misogyny demon), Kokogiak (ten-legged polar bear who can fascinate prey with its gaze, exhale a blizzard, and imitate sounds like a leucrotta), Sangoi (fey, and creepy), Svathurim (Huge, eight-legged frost-giant centaur).

And the Pathfinder's Journal is by Keving Andrew Murphy, continuing the stories about Norret and Orlin from his web fiction, as they pay a visit to Whitethrone (in this issue, a dollshop).

The adventure in this adventure path is really good. I am not very happy about the hooks or the reason characters would want to do this adventure. Very weak, and not even that easy to fix from a gm's point of view.

Kajehase: thanks for the answers. Those monsters certainly sound suitably bizarre.

I and my players just played this and finished it tonight.

When I read through the adventure the first time I found it confusing as to how it would actually all work, and I didn't appreciate it, especially after the amazing scope of the previous adventure.

But after we completed it, I felt like it really made my campaign.

It's good. This is a truly great adventure in a great path so far for us 6 months into it, and I wanted to say this adventure is much better than I gave it credit for.

This is now available for purchase and play on the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop. If you already own the PDF, you can sync your account to pick it up for only $7.

Pathfinder RPG - Reign of Winter AP 3: Maiden, Mother, Crone for Fantasy Grounds

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