For ages untold, a gemstone monolith has pierced the heart of the Echo Wood. Now, as civilization intrudes upon this enigmatic splinter, a strange life once again stirs in the depths—one with ties to undying evils and a might beyond time itself. The promise of wealth and power calls to glory-seekers from across the Inner Sea region, tempting them into a labyrinth of monster-haunted vaults, defiled tombs, arcane laboratories, and worse, as they seek to unveil the secrets locked below the legendary Emerald Spire.
Pathfinder Module: The Emerald Spire Superdungeon is the largest adventure ever set in the world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Designed for characters of a wide range of levels, this megadungeon opens with challenges appropriate for 1st-level characters and can carry parties to 13th level or higher. Within this deadly super-adventure, you'll find:
Lethal dungeon levels crafted by the creators of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and a host of fantasy gaming's greatest authors and designers.
A gazetteer of Fort Inevitable, a bastion of merciless order near the Emerald Spire serving as a base for exploration or a launchpad for more adventures.
Insights into the region and plots taking central stage in the upcoming Pathfinder Online massively multiplayer online RPG.
A bestiary of the Emerald Spire's myriad monstrous menaces and inscrutable inhabitants.
Dozens of new treasures, maps, side-plots, and more!
The Emerald Spire Superdungeon is intended for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder campaign setting, but can be used in any fantasy game setting.
Written by Keith Baker, Rich Baker, Wolfgang Baur, Jason Bulmahn, Ed Greenwood, Tim Hitchcock, James Jacobs, Nicolas Logue, Erik Mona, Frank Mentzer, Chris Pramas, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Michael A. Stackpole, Lisa Stevens, and James L. Sutter
Cover Art by Jesper Ejsing
We just finished this adventure, and what a ride. It is quite difficult, we lost a ton of characters, but almost everything felt fair.
I completely disagree with the "lack of RP" there are plenty of opportunities and tons of lore for the fans of Golarion. (The end level was... just amazing, what a reveal!)
Some levels are really mean, and it will frustrate players no doubt, but if they want to be challenged, and you like playing to the will of the dice gods, they will have a blast.
We loved the characters on Fort Inevitable and it is most fun when paired with Thornkeep. We ended up doing a lot of sidequests and meeting very interesting NPCs (Dremagne, Iliara Starcloak, Oritian, Abernard are some of my favorites) *When I say interesting NPCs, I mean that they have a lot of potential, not that they come fully fledge and with 3 pages of backstory as some GMs might expect from a written adventure. (I'm fond of the simpler NPC, so I can have fun making them my own)
I was going to give a rundown of the levels, but I feel it would had too many spoilers and I liked the feeling of surprise that we had with every new step we took towards the bottom.
Number of Sessions; 26 over 1 year 1 month.
Hours of Playing; 165+
Major NPC Deaths; 2
Character Deaths; 11 (Strix Medium, Aasimar Cavalier, Gnome Inquisitor (2 times), Undine Hellknight, Fetchling Wizard, Grippli Monk, Human Armiger, Half-Orc Oracle, Aasimar Warpriest, Suli/Elf Tecnomancer)
The final party that completed the Spire were; Grippli Monk, Aasimar Warpriest, Suli/Elf Tecnomancer, Human Gunslinger)
Spoilers:
Hardest Enemy; Lady of Thorns and Lady Estrekan of Almorain Blue
Hardest Level; 13 Throne of Azlant; for Abadar, Lady Estrekan and the Abraxas trap destroyed our group. We ended up with just 1 survivor. An incredible way to finish the Crowned Skull Quest
Best moment of the Campaign; Klanky (Controlled by our Tecnomancer) defeating the final boss of the Spire
I Completely recommend this adventure. Is not just a Superdungeon, it's an amazing story to be retold over and over.
I had blast playing this for PFS. We finally finished it. Some levels are crazy hard if the DM runs it correctly. You could be fighting 2-3 encounters at once.
We had a couple players refuse to come back and play. They couldn't handle the pressure. Another player packed his stuff up like every other session crying for mommy :). We made our diplomacy rolls and so he stayed.
I played a paladin. I loved it. Talk about being heroic. I probably saved a dozen player deaths during the sessions with paladins sacrifice.
I would make sure you have some strong players and a well-built group. I would say you need a tank, healer, and rogue. Don't be afraid to max the table out and enjoy the beat down.
One of the most "rail-free" modules for pfs - as gm you may put amazing roleplay opportunities there - there are enough backstory for npc`s (town and dungeon alike) to make them alive and have motivation. Combats are neat, exploration are neat, layouts are neat. My favorite module.
A huge dungeon crawl with minimum roleplay. I can't say the fights are easy... however most PFS gruops of The Emerald Spire are power gamers that put all source on combat. Just not challenging enough.
If you prefer roleplay or investigaion, skip this. It's made for buttkickers that want to build high-level PFS characters(with more gear than average).
I would not recommend this, but for who enjoy "draw a dungeon, than kill them all, get the treasure", that's what you're looking for.
I am running it for a group of players and everyone is having a blast. This module could have definitely been a five star rating if it weren't for all the errors such as wrong monster stats and conflicting tactics.
I did the same thing Haladir. I wasn't too interested in PFO, but wanted to support the project anyways and get Emerald Spire. Totally looking forward to getting my hardcopies.
I completely forgot the Michael Stackpole was working on a floor. It's been awhile since I've read something by him. Great author though. Really excited he contributed.
I did the same thing Haladir. I wasn't too interested in PFO, but wanted to support the project anyways and get Emerald Spire. Totally looking forward to getting my hardcopies.
I completely forgot the Michael Stackpole was working on a floor. It's been awhile since I've read something by him. Great author though. Really excited he contributed.
ME three...
Oh, a Stackpole level! In the center is a fusion engine that if it takes 1 point of damage, the whole level explodes. :-)
I liked Thornkeep, and I will certainly buy this! :)
I just wonder how many chambers each level has, i.e. how big the levels actually are? Small enough to fit a flip-map, or perhaps more like levels in Castle Greyhawk?
I liked Thornkeep, and I will certainly buy this! :)
I just wonder how many chambers each level has, i.e. how big the levels actually are? Small enough to fit a flip-map, or perhaps more like levels in Castle Greyhawk?
Each level fits on a flip mat; same as Thornkeep's levels.
I liked Thornkeep, and I will certainly buy this! :)
I just wonder how many chambers each level has, i.e. how big the levels actually are? Small enough to fit a flip-map, or perhaps more like levels in Castle Greyhawk?
Each level fits on a flip mat; same as Thornkeep's levels.
I wonder if we'll get a Flip-mat pack for this like we did for Thornkeep...
I liked Thornkeep, and I will certainly buy this! :)
I just wonder how many chambers each level has, i.e. how big the levels actually are? Small enough to fit a flip-map, or perhaps more like levels in Castle Greyhawk?
Each level fits on a flip mat; same as Thornkeep's levels.
I wonder if we'll get a Flip-mat pack for this like we did for Thornkeep...
They'll be making it, so I suspect the answer is yes:
PFO Kickstarter rewards wrote:
$100 - RPG Print Pack Add-On
For Backers who want to get the Emerald Spire Superdungeon and Flip-Mat Multi-Pack in print as well as PDF. The RPG Print Pack includes a hardcover print edition of the Emerald Spire Superdungeon, featuring an exclusive
cover available only to Kickstarter backers; a print edition of the Emerald Spire Dungeons Flip-Mat Multi-Pack; a print edition of the Pathfinder Tales novel The Crusader Road; and an Emerald Spire Campaign Cards game
accessory. Also includes 2 bonus Reaper metal miniatures!
I liked Thornkeep, and I will certainly buy this! :)
I just wonder how many chambers each level has, i.e. how big the levels actually are? Small enough to fit a flip-map, or perhaps more like levels in Castle Greyhawk?
Each level fits on a flip mat; same as Thornkeep's levels.
Hmm, I was hoping for bigger levels, but perhaps the rooms will be in general a bit smaller than in Thornkeep?
BTW, did you guys ever discuss the possibility of doing big levels that would be on two or three flip-mats? Since it appears that you're publishing several sets for Emerald Spire anyway? Just being curious... :)
Yep—there will be a giant pack of Flip-Mats that match the multitude of levels.
And we should have it at PaizoCon.
I hope there are flip-mats for all the levels, as the Thornkeep maps were short one level. I’m guessing it was probably because it was only one level (and they are ‘flip’-mats), but I would been ok with just a general square grid on the other side.
Yep—there will be a giant pack of Flip-Mats that match the multitude of levels.
And we should have it at PaizoCon.
I hope there are flip-mats for all the levels, as the Thornkeep maps were short one level. I’m guessing it was probably because it was only one level (and they are ‘flip’-mats), but I would been ok with just a general square grid on the other side.
I'm pretty sure that was because the first layer of Thornkeep was designed to also work as a MMO dungeon, and it turns out for MMO dungeons having more space to move around is much better for gameplay. If you take a look at the first level it's huge. That would take multiple flip mats to have out at once.
I hope there are flip-mats for all the levels, as the Thornkeep maps were short one level. I’m guessing it was probably because it was only one level (and they are ‘flip’-mats), but I would been ok with just a general square grid on the other side.
I'm pretty sure that was because the first layer of Thornkeep was designed to also work as a MMO dungeon, and it turns out for MMO dungeons having more space to move around is much better for gameplay. If you take a look at the first level it's huge. That would take multiple flip mats to have out at once.
Someone is going to ask this, it may as well be me: is this a subscriber module or add-on?
I'm not sure how I feel about this. I liked the environs part of Thornkeep, and some of the dungeons seemed neat. But many, many people did not like the Thornkeep dungeons. It really seemed like too much was going on in too little print space, and that's a lot of the feeling I'm getting here.
Someone is going to ask this, it may as well be me: is this a subscriber module or add-on?
I'm not sure how I feel about this. I liked the environs part of Thornkeep, and some of the dungeons seemed neat. But many, many people did not like the Thornkeep dungeons. It really seemed like too much was going on in too little print space, and that's a lot of the feeling I'm getting here.
From the product description:
Quote:
The Emerald Spire Superdungeon is not part of any subscription, but Pathfinder Module subscribers who preorder this book will receive a free PDF edition of this book when the print edition ships. (Note that you will need to have an active Pathfinder Module subscription at the time The Emerald Spire Superdungeon ships in order to receive the PDF for free.)
When will the flip mat super set be made available for pre order? Also hoping to get PDFs of all 16 maps. Assuming the maps become available for pre order, will a similar PDF deal apply?
We'll be putting up preorders for the print edition of the Flip-Mat set soon. The PDF edition will be available when the print edition is released in June. (The PDF edition will be a subscription benefit for Pathfinder Maps subscribers who preorder the maps, not Pathfinder Modules subscribers.)