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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I have to wait for so long still, that's why I spoil myself :-p


The Store Blog list most of the monsters except for the swarms.

Webstore Gninja Minion

Dragon78 wrote:
The Store Blog list most of the monsters except for the swarms.

Ground wasp, plague locust, and scarab.


I hope the picture is from the Scarab Swarm!

Shadow Lodge

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Checks his email... Grrrrr :D

Dark Archive

The picture is indeed the Scarab Swarm.


Looks like I'll miss getting the PDF this week (got the order processed yesterday evening). Ah well, soon!

Silver Crusade

Got mine just now!

Only been able to glance through because work, stealing more glances when I can.

I LOVE what's being done with the interior covers. :)

A lot of drama is going to come out of that rival party for a lot of groups. I'm really eager to see how it plays out between each one.

Oh God the Wati article. Trying to hold off because that's going to demand absolute attention once I start.

DAT WALLPAINTING MONSTER

Just saw the sidebar on Pharasmin ethics concerning the events of the AP. Digging into that next.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

5 people marked this as a favorite.

Wall painting monster and " Aggressive Paper" are mine. :)

Silver Crusade

Oh man, poor Azaz.

I predict he's going to be the surprise popular love interest this AP.

edit-Poor Idorii too.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Mikaze wrote:
Stuff

WORKING AS INTENDED.

Pharasmin politics too. ;-)


I can't wait to get mine :X

Silver Crusade

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Tirisfal wrote:
I can't wait to get mine :X

Is good.

(for reference, Azaz is the guy on the left on the Mummy's Mask Player's Guide cover)

Also, really digging the info that's being worked into the fiction now.

The "Meeting the Competition" part is RP gold for groups like ours. Just want to say that that level of detail does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. :D

Div fans are going to be very happy.

Man it feels nice to be able to actually read the AP line again. ;)

edit-Unwrapped Harmony is both now my favorite example of that race and presents my favorite hook for that race I've ever seen. Yeah, that would be one hell of a motivation for those folks...

Scarab Sages

3 people marked this as a favorite.

I have to say, the amount of detail on the NPCs backgrounds and motivations is... awesome for a lack of a better word at this late hour. Unfortunately my group is swing the axe first, talk later, but with this I feel like I can create a dialogue among the die rolls for these people. And create drama with it.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Thank you thank you! Crystal's chapter will not disappoint either! We have an awesome line-up here!

Silver Crusade

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Jim Groves wrote:
Thank you thank you! Crystal's chapter will not disappoint either! We have an awesome line-up here!

After digging into the Wati article a bit and seeing where the first chapter leaves things, yeah, really eager to see Empty Graves. :)

It's looking like building up player investment and immersion in Wati is going to pay off big time there. And further down the line after reading the AP synopsis.


I think i'm gonna love the new monsters in this! But I do hope to see more desert creatures from mythology in the next parts as there are quit a few to cover! It would be a shame if they dont show up! I mean the demon AP only had 1 creature from myths... so this one should have much more! No time to wait till bestiary 5 cuz this ap can cover a lot of creatures from the desert!

Scarab Sages

Divs? Yay! Persia and Arabia are my favorite themes, and I can't wait for my shipping notice!


Just got my copy, and looking forward to reading it!

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Mikaze wrote:

Oh man, poor Azaz.

I predict he's going to be the surprise popular love interest this AP.

edit-Poor Idorii too.

Those poor Ubashki ;_;


Ooooh copies are going out even on a Saturday? F5 F5 F5!


Well, erm, no. That shouldn't quite be the conclusion from my previous post :)


Oh well. Next week it is then. =)


Hopefully less than 24 hours to go for the PDF for this Australian subscriber!


2 people marked this as a favorite.

This AP is off to a great start. Groves knocked it out of the park. He's a great designer and a mad handsome man, ladies ;)

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

Odraude wrote:
This AP is off to a great start. Groves knocked it out of the park. He's a great designer and a mad handsome man, ladies ;)

Thank you so much for those kind words. :D

And this is just the beginning. To follow on that baseball metaphor, Crystal has delivered another home run—and folks we've got an All-Star line-up on every level in this series. Everybody has delivered. The cartography is magnificent. The art is stunning, evocative and compelling. Every part of this AP is solid. Right down to the awesome new bestiary entries.

I'm honored to have started the show but the Golem is just getting started! This is definitely a great AP to subscribe to!


Jim Groves wrote:
Odraude wrote:
This AP is off to a great start. Groves knocked it out of the park. He's a great designer and a mad handsome man, ladies ;)

Thank you so much for those kind words. :D

And this is just the beginning. To follow on that baseball metaphor, Crystal has delivered another home run—and folks we've got an All-Star line-up on every level in this series. Everybody has delivered. The cartography is magnificent. The art is stunning, evocative and compelling. Every part of this AP is solid. Right down to the awesome new bestiary entries.

I'm honored to have started the show but the Golem is just getting started! This is definitely a great AP to subscribe to!

Aaaaagh you are killing me! Still no ship notification. Paizo doesn't do that alphabetically by last name or anything silly like that, do they? Seems I'm always among the last to get the PDF. =)


What BigWeather said! It is 4:16PM Seattle time and I'm getting edgy!

Hoped to be reading it today instead of getting productive work type stuff done!


FabioMatt wrote:

What BigWeather said! It is 4:16PM Seattle time and I'm getting edgy!

Hoped to be reading it today instead of getting productive work type stuff done!

My last name starts with 'Y' -- yours late in the alphabet too? </conspiracy>

Grand Lodge

My last name starts with B and I'm still waiting. =P


Mine with a "G", and COB in Seattle is in 24 minutes :(


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Ok, I'm REALLY loving the new splash pages!

This book looks rad. I can't wait to get a chance to sit down and read it tomorrow :DD

Liberty's Edge

Got mine! Now just need an hour to sit down and read!


I feel like I'm sailing into the wind with this observation, but I was a little disappointed with this adventure. It is essentially just a string of three dungeon crawls with Egyptian trappings. I haven't had a chance to absorb the gazetteer yet, and assume that individual GM's will find ways to enrich this early part of the AP with encounters crafted from what's available in that article, but the adventure itself seems like a bit of a slog. Having read the 'Sands of Time' article at the rear of the book, I'm confident that Mummies Mask will kick off in a big way at the beginning of book 2 and be a non-stop, two-fisted thrill ride from that point on, but this first adventure was a bit of a let down - at least for me. :(

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

4 people marked this as a favorite.
mikeawmids wrote:
I feel like I'm sailing into the wind with this observation, but I was a little disappointed with this adventure.

Well Mike, I'm sorry to hear that. I would like to offer some of my perspective on why I think the adventure is structured the way it is. Perhaps after you sit with it a little while, maybe you'll feel differently. If not, I totally respect where you're coming from. I would also like to share this with anyone who may be debating on whether to get this or not.

I am not going to post what *I* think are spoilers.. but everyone has a slightly different opinion on what constitutes a spoiler, so I'm going to play it safe. Most people won't consider what I'm about to say as a spoiler...

Spoiler:
Mummy's Mask is set around three dungeon explorations. Between the NPCs and different adventuring groups and the gazetteer, I think we do a great job of providing the GMs the tools and means to expand and customize the adventure to taste. There are certain considerations that occurred to me while writing it.

  • The Half-Dead City follows a certain theme that you see in related media and folklore. Like the Boris Karloff and Brendan Fraser movies—where everything is okay until the tombs are disturbed, and then chaos and misfortune are unleashed upon the world until the demands of the past are satisfied. To a lesser extent, you see that in the legends of a curse that befalls real world explorers when they open the tombs and remove treasures. Compare this to other Adventure Paths. Many of them begin with a sequence of events that start well before the PCs actually become involved. In this case, the meta-plot is unfolding just as the PCs are introduced to the situation, so the timing of events is slightly different. The Half-Dead City really does set the stage for larger events with a grander scope, and that is not an accident but a deliberate decision.
  • The adventure also does not start in what I call "crisis mode". There is no unifying threat, goblin raid, or suddenly problem that makes the heroes stop being ordinary people (and let's be honest, even at first level, they've ceased being ordinary already) and rush to the rescue. The Half-Dead City gives agency to the players and PCs to say, "Hey, we're career adventurers. We're in this for riches, the knowledge, the glory, the magic, or whatever reason we can imagine. We made the decision on who we want to be. We aren't just carrying 50 feet of rope, torches, and bedrolls because we've got nothing better to do. We're adventurers!" The adventure also permits the PCs the license to form their own teams and work whatever background they like on how they met and got together as a team. Sometimes the only way to grant freedom is not to impose guidelines.
  • Finally, The Half-Dead City is very traditional and classic D&D. Tracing the game back to it's earliest days (and D&D and I go all the way back to 1979), PC adventuring companies weren't always so 'defensive' and 'reactionary'. Let me be very clear here, I love the idea of BBEGs and I think helping people and nations, and fighting evil is a fantastic story driver—a technique that Mummy's Mask DOES use in its overall story. However, once upon a time adventurers got together for other reasons than the necessity of a common threat. That's a component of an old fashioned and traditional fantasy RPG adventure. For all that some folks focus on flying pyramids, Mummy's Mask really has a lot of traditional elements to it. Something I hope is a nice break between Wrath of the Righteous and Iron Gods (disclaimer: I love those APs too!)

Hopefully this sheds a little light on why it was structured the way it is. Lastly, these comments represent only my views. Our Developer may have his own. :)


2 people marked this as a favorite.

EDIT: Not sure that this is a spoiler either, but since I'm commenting on something you said in spoiler tags, I'll follow suit.

Spoiler:
Thanks for your response, Jim. The first two points within your spoiler tagged post cover the main issues I had on my initial exposure to the module. Thinking back, I cannot think of a single AP that does NOT start in ‘crisis mode’, which would explain why this first chapter of Mummies Mask jarred me. Also, the ‘chaos and misfortune’ unleashed by the heroes actions (and those of the other characters) is not really touched upon at all in this book, although presumably it kicks off in a big way at the start of book 2.

Thanks again for the opportunity to discuss. :D


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Yeah considering the description of Empty Graves

Empty Graves Adventure Description wrote:
Following the opening of its necropolis, the city of Wati is overrun by hordes of the unquiet dead. The heroes must once more brave the abandoned streets and dusty tombs of Wati’s necropolis in search of the powerful artifact called the Mask of the Forgotten Pharaoh, as well as the necromancer who is using it to create the undead uprising. But mysterious masked cultists also seek the artifact so they can bring a pharaoh from the ancient past back to life. Can the heroes defeat the evil necromancer and return the deceased to their graves, or will Wati truly become a city of the dead?

Yeah I think it kicks off on a pretty big crisis.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

zergtitan wrote:
Yeah I think it kicks off on a pretty big crisis.

Chapter Two? Certainly! It sure does and it is awesome.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

mikeawmids wrote:

Thanks again for the opportunity to discuss. :D

You are more than welcome! I don't feel very defensive about this, because these are not design decisions I make all by myself. I'm not throwing anybody under the bus however because I 100% support the design decisions that went into this adventure.

If at the end of the day, if you're still not sure you like it, that's worth knowing. And I won't try to talk you out of changing how you feel about something. I do, however, thank you for thinking about it. I really appreciate it when folks don't make a snap decision. That's all I could ever ask. :-)

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Got my copy! I was already excited to run this path before, but I'm getting more so with every page I read. I can't wait to introduce my players to the new swarms.


Any news BigWeather?

The AP is on my iPad of this morning thanks to a Shipping notification received at 3:30AM AEDT :)


FabioMatt wrote:

Any news BigWeather?

The AP is on my iPad of this morning thanks to a Shipping notification received at 3:30AM AEDT :)

Nope, nothing yet. Thanks for asking, awesome that they got around to you. Hopefully tomorrow (or today, I guess -- still a few more minutes so it's possible). Can't wait to read it. What I've read in this thread has me drooling. Egyptian-themed adventures are my absolute favorite.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Downloaded today. Skimmed over it and it looks interesting. I like that it doesn't start in 'crisis mode'. Gives the party a chance to gel and be adventurers before becoming heroes. Also love the concept of the Ahkhat. Why has this never been thought of before? Any chance of who came up with this?

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

1 person marked this as a favorite.
macabre dragon wrote:
Downloaded today. Skimmed over it and it looks interesting. I like that it doesn't start in 'crisis mode'. Gives the party a chance to gel and be adventurers before becoming heroes. Also love the concept of the Ahkhat. Why has this never been thought of before? Any chance of who came up with this?

Oh! I'll take credit for the ahkhat in a hot second. I also did the guardian scroll (AGGRESSIVE PAPER).

I am told that the ahkhat raised some eyebrows internally, and I am grateful to Adam Daigle for championing it.

To be honest, I stopped thinking purely in terms of Pathfinder and started to think in terms of other RPGs. Then I stepped backwards and started the process of making it work in Pathfinder.

EDIT: I got excited and started bragging. :D


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Sounds awesome. Probably will be weeks untill i get the book, but i hope to have the pdf soon!

Also, while Pathfinder is awesome, i think that approach could be a good way to make it even more awesome.

Paizo Employee Developer

Jim Groves wrote:

Oh! I'll take credit for the ahkhat in a hot second. I also did the guardian scroll (AGGRESSIVE PAPER).

I am told that the ahkhat raised some eyebrows internally, and I am grateful to Adam Daigle for championing it.

It was certainly weird, and I happen to like weird. It was in a design space that I've tinkered with before, but never did anything with, then Jim comes along with the ahkhat and I accepted it right away (after convincing Rob and James that it could work).

Good job, Jim!


Jim Groves wrote:
macabre dragon wrote:
Downloaded today. Skimmed over it and it looks interesting. I like that it doesn't start in 'crisis mode'. Gives the party a chance to gel and be adventurers before becoming heroes. Also love the concept of the Ahkhat. Why has this never been thought of before? Any chance of who came up with this?

Oh! I'll take credit for the ahkhat in a hot second. I also did the guardian scroll (AGGRESSIVE PAPER).

I am told that the ahkhat raised some eyebrows internally, and I am grateful to Adam Daigle for championing it.

To be honest, I stopped thinking purely in terms of Pathfinder and started to think in terms of other RPGs. Then I stepped backwards and started the process of making it work in Pathfinder.

EDIT: I got excited and started bragging. :D

When you start off being attacked the choice is taken from the PCs; its 'bad guys are attacking us, kill them'. Whereas this way its 'this could be bad, lets do something about it'.

And with the ahkhat, we have animated objects, elementals everywhere, golems of every known substance, why not something for your house to attack intruders? Sort of like a fantasy security system. But only for the wealthy of course!

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