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Pathfinder Adventure Path #79: The Half-Dead City (Mummy’s Mask 1 of 6) (PFRPG)

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Pathfinder Adventure Path #79: The Half-Dead City (Mummy’s Mask 1 of 6) (PFRPG)
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Chapter 1: "The Half-Dead City"
By Jim Groves

The Mummy's Mask Adventure Path begins with "The Half-Dead City," an exciting new adventure in the pyramid-laden realm of Osirion, Land of Pharaohs! In the city of Wati, the church of Pharasma holds a lottery allowing explorers to delve the tombs of the city's vast necropolis in search of the nation's lost glories. In the course of investigating dusty tombs and fighting their ancient guardians and devious traps, the heroes encounter a group of rival adventurers intent on keeping one tomb's treasures for themselves. At the same time, the heroes learn that a dangerous artifact has been stolen from the tomb. Can the adventurers defeat their rivals, or will they fall to the undead defenders of the city's necropolis?

This volume of the Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path and includes:

  • "The Half-Dead City," a Pathfinder adventure for 1st-level characters, by Jim Groves.
  • A double-sized gazetteer of Wati exploring both parts of this vibrant city dedicated to the dead, by Crystal Frasier.
  • A rough welcome to Wati in the Pathfinder Journal, by Amber E. Scott.
  • Five dangerous new monsters, by Jim Groves, Will McCardell, and Michael McCarthy.

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.

Cover Art by Tyler Jacobson.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-588-4

The Half-Dead City 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 (595 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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A thematic start to an Osirion AP

5/5 —

So let's start with a full disclosure - I am a massive fan of Ancient Egyptian history and also the 1999 The Mummy film (which I know are only transcendentally linked). If you asked me what I wanted to be when I was around 10 years old, I would have said an Egyptologist.

This was the first AP I bought when it first came out many years ago having only planned/run my own games in the past. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to read and run this one! Reading through it was great fun (I've read through it at least 4 times in the last 6 years). The organisation is great, the gazetteer is fun and also useful; in my opinion the best gazetteer I've seen.

The game itself starts assuming all the PCs are already in a group signed up to the lottery, so it's important to get your players talking before you start.

Now a lot of people seem to say this first book is just dungeon crawling not roleplaying and they would technically be right. BUT there are so many opportunities for roleplay as there is no time-limit on this competition per see. I've GM'd it irl and the roleplay opportunities were second to none if you try to make the most of Wati. The right role-playing group will absolutely rise to the challenge.

Some of the encounters in this can be pretty deadly for a party of 4 but managed right work well. If you have a slightly larger party, they will do well.

Overall, this is one of my favourites and I absolutely recommend if you're looking for a good atmosphere.

Part 1

5/5 —

I thoroughly enjoyed GMing this chapter of the campaign. Partly because it is set in Osirian and I am really intrigued by the fantasy Egyptian lore.

The party I am running for is (at time of completion) a human cleric of Nethys, human occulist, dhampyr sorcerer (undead bloodline), elf fighter/bard (archaeologist), dwarf unchained monk, and a human alchemist.

As for the scenario:

The good:

* The premise works. Adventuring parties come together because the tombs of Wati are being opened to explorers. It gives a decent explanation for the players to form their party. No sitting in a tavern this time.

* Three different locations each with it's own distinct feel and set of challenges. Felt very old school to me so it gets a thumbs up.

* Although I have noticed many didn't like it, I love how this has nothing to do with the actual campaign plot until the very last minute of the book. Not every campaign needs to start off face first into the plot.

The Bad:

* This book is basically three dungeon crawls. By the time my players had finished the book I was bored of describing corridors and rooms.

* There are role-play opportunities but not enough. This chapter is very heavy on the combat and the dungeon crawling.

The Ugly:

* Nothing.

Review

4/5 —

The good thing about THDC is that is set in Ossirion, the land of the exotic and the hot. The bad thing is that THDC starts slow, very slow in fact - the first third of this adventure felt more like a training session for the beginners - few monsters, few traps and some treasure. The speed began to pick up in the second third, but even then the action was uneven, and in the final third THDC did feel like a proper RPG game, but the problem was that there was little connection between the three parts. Yes, it did give us plenty of time to play-act various scenes...but this situation works only when players want to play-act; otherwise, it is just a waste of time. THDC feels more like three different adventures combined into one, and this isn't the best of feelings.

Please Paizo, improve the book binding

4/5 —

First, I need to comment on the book binding. These are very nice, magazine style paperback books. But, after paging through the first third or so several times prepping for the first session, the pages are falling out. I'm very careful with the book, nothing got pulled on, and I don't flatten the book open nor strain the binding in any way. The glue binding just starts falling apart and now a whole section of pages has fallen out completely. This is incredibly disappointing for what otherwise is a great looking book. It makes me limit how many times I dare crack open the other volumes I've received.

As for the adventure itself:
The other reviews here are right on, the adventure/encounters are good, and if you do some flavor work-up around the theme of tomb-raiding, it can be interesting - but yeah, the whole first couple adventures into the Necropolis just seem to be completely disconnected to the actual story.

I would have liked to see one or two encounters based on exploring outside in the necropolis on the way to something, running into more unexpected troubles (other than the ambush already there, I mean). It does provide some good suggestion-type details on the necropolis to make this on your own. I would suggest cutting the second adventure site in half (both the layout and number of encounters) and having the party deal with two other encounters out in the necropolis based on where they say they go.

It does, however, lend itself well to a group that isn't very experienced in a table-top rpg, and maybe that's what Paizo had in mind here. The distinct chunks of tomb exploration are a great "intro to dungeon delving", if you will. The dungeons, traps, treasure, and random encounters are all there without the risk of being away from town. That can really help a new group. And if you're a GM that makes traps more interesting than default, those fit in pretty well.

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The Exchange
Hayato Ken wrote:
Rob McCreary wrote:
We at Paizo strive to be inclusive in our world and our products. LGBTQ characters and relationships have been part of Golarion and the Adventure Path Line since Pathfinder AP #1: Burnt Offerings, and they will continue to be a part of Mummy's Mask and subsequent APs.
I hope you succeeded in mixing chliche with some new original stuff there. Those characters could be in a position of power and good from time to time too.

Both Reign of Winter and Wrath of the Reightuous have good aligned LGBTQ NPCs in positions of power, in case you are interested.

Lantern Lodge Customer Service Dire Care Bear Manager

You can see updates to the new release shipping timeframes in the customer service thread: March New Releases!

We are having some issues and hopefully will get restarted authing/spawning today or tomorrow and we expect to be able to ship Wednesday (maybe tomorrow).

Thanks
sara marie
Hayato Ken wrote:
@Majuba: Did you get access to the pdf already today as a subscriber?

Yes *dance*

Thx Lord Snow, only played RoW first installment in PFS mode, so missed a lot of story and WotR i´m in died down.
Seems i have to get my fingers on them sometime, but first the Mummy :D

So, if i subscribe there today, do i get the PDF too already?
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

You get the PDF when your order ships. Not all subscribers have had their orders ship yet, such as myself :)

Keep in mind, it's not a guarantee that the product will ship early, especially during busy times such as the holiday period.
Hayato Ken wrote:

Thx Lord Snow, only played RoW first installment in PFS mode, so missed a lot of story and WotR i´m in died down.

Seems i have to get my fingers on them sometime, but first the Mummy :D

So, if i subscribe there today, do i get the PDF too already?

You'd get it as soon as it shipped - not sure if you're too late to be included in the first run of subscriptions. (Or if you're late enough that it would spool right away as an individual order...)

Ah, I see you went for it - what did it do?

Not sure yet. It gave me the option to start with this, but can´t find it in my downloads.

Actually i´m a bit disappointed. Bought the PFO Soundtrack too, thought it´s already available, but of course it´s not.

They arent scheduled to start shipping until March 12th and they expect to finish on March 21st. Your order should ship (and the PDF become available) sometime between those dates.

The fact that this month some people have got access early suggests to me that they're pushing a few smaller batches through to iron out any bugs with the latest rollout of the new software. As a general rule though, I've found it's best to calibrate one's expectations by keeping an eye on the "should finish shipping subscription orders" date - ie March 21st.
Liberty's Edge
2 people marked this as a favorite.

I don't expect it, but if my shipment processed by the 14th that would be awesome because it's my birthday and I'd love to spend my birthday reading through the first Paizo AP I've ever subbed.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Samy wrote:
I don't expect it, but if my shipment processed by the 14th that would be awesome because it's my birthday and I'd love to spend my birthday reading through the first Paizo AP I've ever subbed.

I hope it happens Samy! And I hope you enjoy it!

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Jim Groves wrote:
Samy wrote:
I don't expect it, but if my shipment processed by the 14th that would be awesome because it's my birthday and I'd love to spend my birthday reading through the first Paizo AP I've ever subbed.
I hope it happens Samy! And I hope you enjoy it!

You wrote it, Jim, so I know that I'll enjoy it! I can't wait :D

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
Tirisfal wrote:
You wrote it, Jim, so I know that I'll enjoy it! I can't wait :D

What a wonderful thing to say! Thank you!

I'm proud of all my Paizo projects, but (with help) this one has come together really, really well. I look forward to people getting it so we can talk about it. I think it sets the stage for Crystal and the other authors quite nicely too. This is gonna be a great AP.
2 people marked this as a favorite.

I'll tell ya, this is the one I've been waiting for since I found Pathfinder, or really since I bought 'I3: Pharaoh' with my allowance money. Really looking forward to this one arriving!

I'm just wondering, what is the reasoning for waiting until one's individual product ships for that person's pdf download to be available? I mean, once the first copy of the AP ships to the first person, couldn't the download be made available to all of the subscribers? The people who are getting their shipments first get further rewarded with an early download. I am ignorant to the process, so maybe each subscriber's download needs to be individually activated or something. Anyway, just curious.

Is it a huge deal? Nah, a few more days wait won't kill me. But I want my pdf now! ;-)
mbauers wrote:
I'm just wondering, what is the reasoning for waiting until one's individual product ships...

:) - You're asking the same question many of us asked when AP #1 shipped, and many of them since then.

The answer at the time (and I believe still) has to do with credit card policies and not charging until the item is actually shipped. Since they can't charge, they can't release, since technically someone could call up and cancel, or perhaps a credit card would fail.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

Yup! You're really buying the print product and getting the PDF as a bonus. A thank you for subscribing, which helps them plan their print runs. It is illegal (I think) to charge your credit card for a product that has not been shipped to you.

A simple way to remember it: You're buying a book and not a PDF. If the book is not ready to ship, you have to be patient.

And honestly, they should be shipping any time now!
Scarab Sages
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

I'm so excited for this AP! I just got into Pathfinder in October and Mummy's Mask made me a subscriber. I love ancient Egyptian stuff. I grabbed Entombed with the Pharaohs and The Pact Stone Pyramid to tide me over but now that it's so close to shipping I'm getting antsy refreshing my email every few minutes...Can't wait to see what you wrote, Jim! :D

Has anyone gotten there shipping soon email because I haven't even gotten that yet?

For those who have gotten the PDF, what are the new monsters like?
Scarab Sages
Dragon78 wrote:
Has anyone gotten there shipping soon email because I haven't even gotten that yet?

From the March shipments thread, Sara Marie has said that only about 1/3 of the subscription orders have been spawned, due to some unforeseen issues with the recent site update and the subscription services. LINK

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Dragon78 wrote:

Has anyone gotten there shipping soon email because I haven't even gotten that yet?

For those who have gotten the PDF, what are the new monsters like?

You may have already received this last week - it was in a new format and I think a different subject line... yes, mine just said "Paizo Order # 3XXXXXX".

The Bestiary has a nifty elemental outsider, a tiny construct, a small magical beast (that reminds me of a creature I edited for Wayfinder #10), a sort of baby phoenix, and (of course) some delicious new swarms.
Liberty's Edge
Jim Groves wrote:
It is illegal (I think) to charge your credit card for a product that has not been shipped to you.

I dunno about that. My online comic book shop charges the card when I place a pre-order for a product that comes out six months later.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
Samy wrote:
Jim Groves wrote:
It is illegal (I think) to charge your credit card for a product that has not been shipped to you.
I dunno about that. My online comic book shop charges the card when I place a pre-order for a product that comes out six months later.

That might be a policy decision. If so, I think it is a wise one. There's difference between placing a holder and actually charging.

Dark Archive
Majuba wrote:
Dragon78 wrote:

Has anyone gotten there shipping soon email because I haven't even gotten that yet?

For those who have gotten the PDF, what are the new monsters like?

You may have already received this last week - it was in a new format and I think a different subject line... yes, mine just said "Paizo Order # 3XXXXXX".

The Bestiary has a nifty elemental outsider, a tiny construct, a small magical beast (that reminds me of a creature I edited for Wayfinder #10), a sort of baby phoenix, and (of course) some delicious new swarms.

So which Iconics are on the cover of the Bestiary opener?

There also might be a significant difference between pre-ordering in person and subscribing online.

Kevin: Interesting question. It's actually Merisiel and Ezren.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Sara Marie wrote:

You can see updates to the new release shipping timeframes in the customer service thread: March New Releases!

We are having some issues and hopefully will get restarted authing/spawning today or tomorrow and we expect to be able to ship Wednesday (maybe tomorrow).

Thanks
sara marie

Semi-related note. Thanks to a hash-up on my Debit Card, when Paizo sent the payment authorization to my bank it came back declined. I was unable to get it fixed until yesterday. When I went back into my subscriptions to try & re-send my payment authorization, it looked like I was already past the deadline for this month. Is there any way I can get that fixed? Not certain where I should be sending this query to, though I realize this thread isn't it.

Webstore Gninja Minion
Irnk, Dead-Eye's Prodigal wrote:
Semi-related note. Thanks to a hash-up on my Debit Card, when Paizo sent the payment authorization to my bank it came back declined. I was unable to get it fixed until yesterday. When I went back into my subscriptions to try & re-send my payment authorization, it looked like I was already past the deadline for this month. Is there any way I can get that fixed? Not certain where I should be sending this query to, though I realize this thread isn't it.

Any concerns with your orders and subscriptions should be directed to Customer Service, either by forum or email. I've sent a message to CS regarding your request. :)

Paizo Employee Paizo Customer Service Algorithm
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Greets Irnk,

I was able to update your pending subscription order to use your new payment method. We should try processing it when we run our next authorization run.
If you ever have any questions or find yourself in need of assistance just hop over to the customer service messageboards and we'll set things straight for you. :)
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Thank you very much!

You may want to check mine as well. Not that there was a problem mind you, I just really really want this AP. :)
Jim Groves wrote:
Samy wrote:
Jim Groves wrote:
It is illegal (I think) to charge your credit card for a product that has not been shipped to you.
I dunno about that. My online comic book shop charges the card when I place a pre-order for a product that comes out six months later.
That might be a policy decision. If so, I think it is a wise one. There's difference between placing a holder and actually charging.

If I recall correctly what Vic Wertz had said before, it is a requirement in the contract with the credit card companies. Stores that do not abide by it are at risk of losing the ability to process credit card transactions.

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Can the "sorta baby phoenix" be taken as a improved familiar?
Majuba wrote:
The Bestiary has a nifty elemental outsider, a tiny construct, a small magical beast (that reminds me of a creature I edited for Wayfinder #10), a sort of baby phoenix, and (of course) some delicious new swarms.

Neat!

Don't suppose anyone would be willing to spoil these a little more?

-Kcinlive
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Kcinlive wrote:
Majuba wrote:
The Bestiary has a nifty elemental outsider, a tiny construct, a small magical beast (that reminds me of a creature I edited for Wayfinder #10), a sort of baby phoenix, and (of course) some delicious new swarms.

Neat!

Don't suppose anyone would be willing to spoil these a little more?

-Kcinlive

Heaping praise on them wouldn't hurt anyone either...:)

Grand Lodge
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Jim Groves wrote:
Tirisfal wrote:
You wrote it, Jim, so I know that I'll enjoy it! I can't wait :D

What a wonderful thing to say! Thank you!

I'm proud of all my Paizo projects, but (with help) this one has come together really, really well. I look forward to people getting it so we can talk about it. I think it sets the stage for Crystal and the other authors quite nicely too. This is gonna be a great AP.

Jim Groves wrote this?! I should have looked at the author sooner. I was excited, but now I'm EXCITED!!! =D

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
xebeche wrote:
Jim Groves wrote:
Tirisfal wrote:
You wrote it, Jim, so I know that I'll enjoy it! I can't wait :D

What a wonderful thing to say! Thank you!

I'm proud of all my Paizo projects, but (with help) this one has come together really, really well. I look forward to people getting it so we can talk about it. I think it sets the stage for Crystal and the other authors quite nicely too. This is gonna be a great AP.

Jim Groves wrote this?! I should have looked at the author sooner. I was excited, but now I'm EXCITED!!! =D

We authors live for this moment. I can hardly wait for you folks to get this, so we can talk about it!!!

What are the new monsters names? And what are the swarms?

Wait, I just noticed Erik Keith's title - Paizo's got Customer Service Algorithms now?!

. . . . So Jim, when do you think they'll replace you with an algorithm? (I think it's safe to say they'll start with the Freelancers before they move on the in-house writers, y'know, to work out any bugs).
Shadow Lodge
Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

The waiting... so much waaaaaaaaiting
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
The Block Knight wrote:

Wait, I just noticed Erik Keith's title - Paizo's got Customer Service Algorithms now?!

. . . . So Jim, when do you think they'll replace you with an algorithm? (I think it's safe to say they'll start with the Freelancers before they move on the in-house writers, y'know, to work out any bugs).

I............

I don't know what my nickname would be with Staff?! After seeing what happened to Sebastian, you must be careful about what you wish for!

Joking aside, we freelancers get our Contributor tags, which I know many of us take pride in. :)

PS: If I ever was Staff, I'd probably ask for a unique owl avatar to replace this one.
Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
2 people marked this as a favorite.

I hereby begin the campaign for Jim's avatar to be changed to a potoo bird.

(Go ahead, google it. You can thank me later.)
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Robert Brookes wrote:

I hereby begin the campaign for Jim's avatar to be changed to a potoo bird.

(Go ahead, google it. You can thank me later.)

HA!

Our definition of "thanks" might vary. ;-)
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Jim Groves wrote:
Robert Brookes wrote:

I hereby begin the campaign for Jim's avatar to be changed to a potoo bird.

(Go ahead, google it. You can thank me later.)

HA!

Our definition of "thanks" might vary. ;-)

Oh gods why did I google that... Those horrible, horrible eyes... Can't sleep, bird will eat me

Seriously though, really looking forward to reading this Jim. Haven't found one of your adventures I haven't enjoyed yet.
Contributor

The tantalizing authorization email has arrived. I'm so close!
Silver Crusade
2 people marked this as a favorite.

WOO! Got my order pending e-mail! :D

...

D:

F5 F5 F5 F5
Grand Lodge

So how long does it normally take between authorization email and shipping/getting the PDF? I don't want to break my F5 key.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Sometimes a day.

Sometimes a week.

I suggest an email server that refreshes itself :)
Dark Archive

How is the fiction in this one (Seem to recall them saying there is a new format for it?)
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
Kevin Mack wrote:
How is the fiction in this one (Seem to recall them saying there is a new format for it?)

Kevin, I haven't read the story yet but it looks like traditional AP fiction to me. It has some nice illustrations and even a map of one of the scenes!

Gancanagh wrote:
What are the new monsters names? And what are the swarms?

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
Gancanagh wrote:
Gancanagh wrote:
What are the new monsters names? And what are the swarms?

I'm sorry, as a policy I impose on myself, I leave the first round of spoiler tidbits for you guys—the fans. I'll be glad to comment on them once they're announced, but I am leaving that privilege to subscribers.

As I side note, I used to be the guy who would answer questions first! Like back in 2008. I'm just leaving that fun for someone else now.
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