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

3.90/5 (based on 12 ratings)
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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Perfect For My Group

5/5 —

I started GM'ing this over the past weekend, and my players were quiet taken with the "straight to delving" aspect of this AP. Having experienced past Adventure Paths, they enjoyed not being the center of attention. Jim Groves did an excellent job of combining an old school feel of dungeon delving adventures with the flow of Adventure Paths to date.

Disappointing Start

2/5 —

When I learned that Paizo was going to put out an Egyptian themed AP, I was excited. When I heard that the first adventure would feature dungeon-delving and a rival adventuring party I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, having now read The Half-Dead City, I feel it could have been much better. So what went wrong?

Likes
1) Exciting themes: Egyptian tomb-raiding featuring lots of death traps and a rival adventuring party
2) The author does a good job with room descriptions which are lush with detail and give the adventure an atmosphere of mystery and dread that is appropriate to the themes
3) The first dungeon-crawl features a very evocative Water Flooding Room Trap.
4) The third dungeon-crawl has clues to the fact that the PCs are not the first ones to explore the temple. It's a nice mystery which is related to the rest of the adventure path

Dislikes
1) Slow start: The opening of the adventure seems like a huge time waster with lots of speeches and a sham tomb selection lottery (i.e. there is no real element of chance with regards to which dungeon-crawl the PCs will enter first). The PCs also cannot gain much in the way of meaningful information from this opening scene. Since it's the start of the campaign, why not just start with the adventurers standing outside the Tomb of Akhentepi with a short explanation of what went on before?
2) The first two dungeon-crawls have little to no bearing on the rest of the adventure which makes them feel more like a series of linked Pathfinder Society Scenarios than the start of an adventure path.
3) Unfortunately, as written, the Water Flooding Room Trap (mentioned above) malfunctions and leads to the room being filled to a maximum of 2 feet of water?!? As stated in the adventure texts "There is little danger of drowning, even for Small creatures, but smaller creatures such as animal companions or familiars might require assistance, and any PC who falls unconscious into the water will require immediate aid to avoid drowning." Seems really anti-climactic even for a 1st level party.
4) The ambush encounter is bland and unavoidable
5) The other Rival Adventuring Parties: The adventure introduces a half-dozen other adventuring parties. Unfortunately, they are featured in a single roleplaying encounter, the sole purpose of which is the introduction of The Scorched Hand, which is the main rival party of the adventure. It would have been nice to have these other rival adventuring parties to be encountered in the first two dungeon-crawls because there is currently little chance to do any roleplaying during the first two dungeon crawls given that the enemies almost exclusively consist of vermin, constructs or undead.
6) The Scorched Hand: I was hoping that the adventure would provide a timeline and guidance on how the main rival adventuring party would explore the dungeon in parallel to the PCs. As it currently stands, the DM is given no guidance for how to play the rival party beyond "You should deploy them wherever makes the most sense for your story and campaign " and as a result, it is assumed that the Scorched Hand merely waits patiently for the PCs to arrive.
7) The fact that there is only one way to access each and every level of the three dungeon-crawls makes the adventure feel like more of a railroad than it should. A good dungeon-crawl would allow the PCs to approach from several different directions. Yes, in this adventure, the PCs can choose to go left instead of right, but there is only a single entrance on every floor and the PCs must find this entrance in order to proceed.
8) Finally, because the rival party is not showcased enough in the rest of the adventure, it didn't feel satisfying to me for it to be the last encounter and it's quite possible that a party completing this adventure might feel as if they had not really achieved any meaningful milestone. Sure, the Scorched Hand paid off some thugs to ambush the PCs earlier in the adventure and their leader has ordered some sort of temple guardian to block the PCs way, but there's a good chance that the PCs may not even find out that the Scorched Hand had any roll in this until they actually come face to face.

Overall Impression

I feel disappointed by this adventure and think that this is a missed opportunity on many fronts. I would have much preferred that the three dungeon crawls be combined into a single larger one that required multiple forays to completely explore. I would have also preferred it if the adventure allowed the PCs to interact more with the rival adventuring party and featured more puzzles and obstacles that needed to be solved by thinking on the players' part rather than just rolling dice.

Simple Hook, Good Adventure

4/5 —

Short Version: If your players build characters who are interested in exploring tombs, this'll be great. But don't expect the adventure to steer them there.

I prefer APs to start with a bit of a bang to get everyone emotionally invested along with getting the path moving. This takes a different approach, basically assuming that you have a party of adventurers looking to explore some tombs and... hey, there are tombs here.

It's kind of old-school that way and complements the tone of the path well, but isn't to my taste.

The tombs themselves are exactly what they should be: a nice mix of traps and combat encounters. The adventure is also structured very well to allow some roleplaying with Pharasmins and rival explorers.

The back matter is mostly taken up by a description of Wati (the setting of this and the next installment). The bestiary is thematically appropriate and features several new monsters that surprise the players in the adventure itself.

The story is in a new format that focuses on a location featuring in the adventure and features several handout-quality images and maps. The entire thing could also serve as a spoiler-free handout, which is actually really cool.

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Dragon78 wrote:

Nice cover.

She isn't Osirioni because she is an archeologist who isn't supposed to read from a particular book that will awaken the mummy;)

I see what you did there. Well done.

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
zergtitan wrote:

*wearing gas mask*

"Are you my mummy?"

:)

The write up says "...potentially capable of animating the dead..."

So allow me to respond with...

"Just this once! Everybody Lives!"

Muh-waaaa-haaa-haaaaaa!
Dragon78 wrote:

Nice cover.

She isn't Osirioni because she is an archeologist who isn't supposed to read from a particular book that will awaken the mummy;)

Of course, you have to be a librarian for it to actually work.

Definitely not keen on the cover. Doesn't feel appropriately Osirion/Egyptian/mummy/pharaoh-like at all.

Looks pretty "generic", actually (well, other than the wacky hat).
1 person marked this as a favorite.

I'm not a really big fan of the cover myself, but i'm probably a big fan of what is inside of this AP!
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Who drew the lady on the cover?

With her book and the decorations/colors of her crossbow she looks like carrying Christmas presents...

@Gorbacz: sorry, no idea.

Ruyan.
Paizo Employee Developer
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Gorbacz wrote:
Who drew the lady on the cover?

The cover artist for the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path is Tyler Jacobson.

Ummm, yeah that's not the greatest cover ever folks.

Really not.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Well, I like it!
Silver Crusade
4 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I count three completely rad hats on the cover, so I like it.
4 people marked this as a favorite.
DM_aka_Dudemeister wrote:
I count three completely rad hats on the cover, so I like it.

Agreed. MOAR FABULOUS HATS!

Silver Crusade

Quite frankly, awesome hats are one of the things I fully expect from this AP, considering this is Osirion. :D

Regarding the art style, I like it. It's like it exists in some place between most Pathfinder artwork and Team Fortress 2, and that's awesome. :)

Now there may be some disappointment that the art isn't in a more realistic style for the Osirion-centric AP, but c'mon, there's going to be a lot more art than just the covers, and quite a lot of it'll likely be in line with the covers of the forthcoming Osirion book and People of the Sands.
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Tinkergoth wrote:
DM_aka_Dudemeister wrote:
I count three completely rad hats on the cover, so I like it.
Agreed. MOAR FABULOUS HATS!

Sadly,no one is wearing a fez. Fezes are cool. ;)

(Shoots the fez with a laser pistol.) ;)

That cover is great! The heroine is not Osiriani because most heroes of raid-the-pyramid type adventures aren't Egyptian. Makes sense to me. But who is she? Taldan? Only looking more forward to this than I was before.
Silver Crusade
5 people marked this as a favorite.

Honestly, I hope this AP has a lot for Osirioni heroes rather than selling it mostly as "go plunder this culture's heritage".

That and this cover lady might very well be one of those rivals mentioned in the description. :)
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

*Puts new Fez on Feros's head*

Never waste a good Fez.

I don't have a problem with the art style at all, suits the Paizo's other artwork and it is beautiful.

I just don't really like the Skeleton enemy picture, been there done that.

And yet the skeletons are the only ones dressed in Egyptian style garb;)

I can't wait to see what new monsters are this one.

The egyptian-styled skeletons worry me a little bit, I wouldn't like one of the spots in this small bestiary to be wasted on just another skeletal-humanoid undead creature...
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

They're probably just skeletons, but if not, I wouldn't consider an interesting new skeletal creature a waste.

I do because there are enough of those around to use instead, Gaki, Gashadokuro, Baykok, Skeleton, Skeleton Warrior, Gallowdead, and many, many others I forgot about probably.
Jim Groves wrote:
DM Crustypeanut wrote:
Quandary wrote:
Will this be like Crypt of Everflame, i.e. geared to locals getting their toes wet in the mythos, or is it more like Serpent's Skull/Indiana Jones-style i.e. more geared towards outside interlopers/adventurers? That just sets up some of the assumed motivation/interest in the surrounding NPCs, although players can and will take contrary approaches to any of that.

Considering that the Ruby Prince has opened Osirian's doors to foreign archaeologists, I'm betting its the latter - outside interlopers/adventurers. I know from previous modules that Cheliax and the Pathfinders both have their fingers in Osirian, and it is likely the Aspis Consortium does too.

And considering that there seems to have been a 'lottery' for who gets to delve into the tomb, its even more probable that they are foreigners they're getting to go adventuring in the tomes - not only does Osirian bring in foreign gold to help its economy, but those who die - as tomb raiding is not the safest of jobs - are foreigners, not natives - and who cares about foreigners as long as they buy stuff before they go adventuring?

Or... It is not an "either/or" choice but a "both/and" situation where you can choose to be a foreigner or be a local and either option is valid. There's no reason a native citizen couldn't see these foreigners arriving and decide to take their own chances, right?

And adventurers don't just buy stuff, they sell stuff. Of course, they reinvest in good adventuring gear, but many antiquities are sold- usually at the first available location that can afford to absorb items of value into their economy. Which attracts wealthy buyers, collectors, and special interests with money to spend from all over the Inner Sea. This in turn churns the local economy nicely on every level, because it's not just the adventurers that require goods and services. and when local people have an influx of money, they have the ability to spend more. It becomes like a localized...

Makes sense!

I am definitely in agreement that it stimulates the economy, which is likely the reason the Ruby Prince did it, aye? In my Road to Damnation campaign, the players started out in Eto, where I attempted to feature that sort of stimulus, though they eventually embarked as one of the many expeditions (mostly foreign) heading off into the desert for shenanigans.

Also.. that woman.. calling it right now she's an Ustalavan Osirionologist who is part of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye. Maybe a bard? An Archaeologist Archetype? Doesn't look like she's wearing armor (or light armor at best), and she looks to be carrying either a wand or a rod.. and I don't see any religious symbols.

So I'm betting Bard. :D

Looks like a wand with a snake motif, looks too small to be a rod I think.
DM Crustypeanut wrote:

Also.. that woman.. calling it right now she's an Ustalavan Osirionologist who is part of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye. Maybe a bard? An Archaeologist Archetype? Doesn't look like she's wearing armor (or light armor at best), and she looks to be carrying either a wand or a rod.. and I don't see any religious symbols.

So I'm betting Bard. :D

She's also carrying a book with a big ol' scarab on it, which are sacred to the church of Pharasma - maybe its the Osririon Book of the Dead?

Mikaze wrote:
Now there may be some disappointment that the art isn't in a more realistic style for the Osirion-centric AP, but c'mon, there's going to be a lot more art than just the covers, and quite a lot of it'll likely be in line with the covers of the forthcoming Osirion book and People of the Sands.

"C'mon"?

You'd think the first book of a certain AP would sort of do it on the cover. *shrug*

No biggie. Just personally not too interested in the cover, and I won't be showing it to my players, as they would be pretty disappointed and would run counter to their expectations (which can affect how invested they are in the campaign).
Sovereign Court Developer

Part of Osirion's theme is foreigners coming to Osirion to plunder its tombs and history (much like foreign explorers did in Egypt), and the cover character represents those people. While people can of course play native Osirian characters in the campiagn, we also wanted to make it clear that non-Osirian characters are just as valid choices.

We also tend to illustrate major characters, often villains, on the covers, and since this adventure involves an NPC adventuring group as rivals to the PCs, that informed the choice of this volume's cover figure. She's not Ustalavic, and she's not a member of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye, but she's got her own story and loyalties...

Rest assured, there's plenty more Osirion-themed art to appear, both within the adventure itself and on upcoming covers. It would be boring if all six covers had pyramids, pharaohs, and mummies, after all! :)
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

Oh wow!

Just seeing this now!

I like the cover! Beyond that, Rob McCreary has said anything I would say on the matter. HEY! Since he's the Developer, that's probably a good thing!

I did that right for once!
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Mikaze wrote:

Honestly, I hope this AP has a lot for Osirioni heroes rather than selling it mostly as "go plunder this culture's heritage".

If I can talk the other GM in our gaming group into running this, I plan to play a half-Chelaxian Osirioni Wizard. I'll plunder my own heritage, thank you very much. :)

Or maybe I should keep trying to make characters that are a little less like myself.... :P
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Shadar Aman wrote:
Mikaze wrote:

Honestly, I hope this AP has a lot for Osirioni heroes rather than selling it mostly as "go plunder this culture's heritage".

If I can talk the other GM in our gaming group into running this, I plan to play a half-Chelaxian Osirioni Wizard. I'll plunder my own heritage, thank you very much. :)

Isn't that Evelyn "Evie" Carnahan O'Connell from the Mummy movies? Part british, part egyptian, with the book of the dead(Necromancer spellbook).

Great now I have the urge to stat the entire cast as Pathfinder characters....

Evie:Wizard(/fighter in past life)
Rick:Gunslinger
Jonathan:Rogue
Ardeth Bey:Cavalier

Imhotep:Mythic Mummy Necromancer
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
zergtitan wrote:
Shadar Aman wrote:
Mikaze wrote:

Honestly, I hope this AP has a lot for Osirioni heroes rather than selling it mostly as "go plunder this culture's heritage".

If I can talk the other GM in our gaming group into running this, I plan to play a half-Chelaxian Osirioni Wizard. I'll plunder my own heritage, thank you very much. :)

Isn't that Evelyn "Evie" Carnahan O'Connell from the Mummy movies? Part british, part egyptian, with the book of the dead(Necromancer spellbook).

Apparently, yes. Man, it's been a long time since I saw those movies.

Well, my character concept is completely different, because...um...it's a guy?

EDIT: And apparently the picture I had in my head for this guy was Ardeth Bay. I guess my character will be a very confused ripoff of The Mummy.
Webstore Gninja Minion
zergtitan wrote:

Great now I have the urge to stat the entire cast as Pathfinder characters....

Evie:Wizard(/fighter in past life)
Rick:Gunslinger
Jonathan:Rogue
Ardeth Bey:Cavalier

Imhotep:Mythic Mummy Necromancer

I approve—now get statting.

3 people marked this as a favorite.

Very much looking forward to this volume and the kick-off of this series. Jim Groves will be exceptional as always.

I especially look forward to an adventuring party (preferably all-Shoanti) making sure the Half-Dead city stays only half-dead.
Ask a Shoanti wrote:

Jim Groves will be exceptional as always.

Man, those last three words sure are redundant.

You just need "Jim Groves will be."

And it will be known.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
5 people marked this as a favorite.

Cheapy, "will be" is very passive language.

Jim Groves is exceptional.

;)
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

I like the cover art! Somehow the style of that lady reminds me very strongly of the later Monkey Island titles.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

I dig the cover. It has flair, style, and I totally get the female character.

Do we know if this is still on track for a February release or is this getting pushed back to March?
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

It would work well for February as it is the first volume of a new AP so it shouldn't conflict in marketing during the same month as the last volume of the other AP. It would also help getting thier AP schedule back on track.
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber
Aaron Scott 139 wrote:
Do we know if this is still on track for a February release or is this getting pushed back to March?

It is listed in my subscription shipment for February 21, if that is any indication.

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Apparently there was a little New Year's cleaning in the subscription shipment schedule and now the Mummy leaves its sarcophagus on March 21.

Darn got pushed back to march:( must be those darn demons from the current AP causing this delay;)

Even though it as been pushed back a bit it still is getting close.So because it's original start date was in February do you think that the other two iconics can be revealed now?
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Jim Groves wrote:

Cheapy, "will be" is very passive language.

Jim Groves is exceptional.

;)

I think we can cut that down to just "Jim Groves is".

Maybe even "Jim Groves".

That says it all, I think.
Sovereign Court Senior Developer
Nick O'Connell wrote:
Even though it as been pushed back a bit it still is getting close.So because it's original start date was in February do you think that the other two iconics can be revealed now?

I'll give you one:

Spoiler:
Kyra

There is a pattern emerging - any guesses as to the last iconic?
Rob McCreary wrote:
Nick O'Connell wrote:
Even though it as been pushed back a bit it still is getting close.So because it's original start date was in February do you think that the other two iconics can be revealed now?

I'll give you one:

** spoiler omitted **

There is a pattern emerging - any guesses as to the last iconic?

Thanks! :)

Dark Archive
Rob McCreary wrote:
Nick O'Connell wrote:
Even though it as been pushed back a bit it still is getting close.So because it's original start date was in February do you think that the other two iconics can be revealed now?

I'll give you one:

** spoiler omitted **

There is a pattern emerging - any guesses as to the last iconic?

All divine casters So uh Lini maybe?

Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Balthazar the iconic summoner or Lirienne (sp?) the iconic gunslinger.

Since they are from around the right region.
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