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?
"Empty Graves,” a Pathfinder adventure for 4th-level characters, by Crystal Frasier.
A double-sized article that peers into the gods and faiths of Ancient Osirion, by Rob McCreary.
A terror-filled night in a family tomb in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Amber E. Scott.
Four desert-dwelling monsters, by Crystal Frasier, Thurston Hillman, and Will McCardell.
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.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-589-1
Empty Graves 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:
I was disappointed in the previous adventure. Too my surprise, Empty Graves is vastly superior to it's predecessor. The adventure is well written, and not just filled with undead as one would expect. Dealing with the chaos of a city under attack, and the repercussions of that make for a varied, and exciting adventure. The support articles in this volume provide further depth to the world. My only complaint on them is that these really should have been provided much sooner than here. For an AP with so many references to them, we should have known much sooner, and not just from a blog post. My only other complaint is that the main villain is kind of dull. While still a major threat as he is, he just seems dull as a character. Despite this flaw, this is a good volume and recommend it to anyone wishing to run Mummy's Mask, or even if you plan to run your own Osirion adventure.
A solid urban adventure with a good bit of sandbox
NPC's : 5 stars - well detailed (even minor ones) - and good motivations all around - many of the details of the smaller NPCs help create a breathing city. Bonus points for the most interesting NPC mentioned (but not detailed) from the first volume making an appearance and having interactions with the group.
Monsters: 5 stars - good variety - many you don't see in adventures very often and used in interesting ways. There are only a few 'place monster here for exp curve' types of encounters - and even they fit into the location and situation well without needing to stretch ones imagination as to how they live in the location they are found. One encounter in particular stands out towards the end of the adventure as (in my opinion) particularly fantastic.
Encounters: 5 stars - well done and nice mix of traps thrown in - not enough to keep your players searching every five feet but enough to make them cautious. I like the fact that many of the encounters are or have diplomatic sides to them - which means that the party isn't forced to kill everything they meet.
Location: 4 stars - it's Wati - and the necropolis - I can see groups tired of being in the same place - but due to the situation it doesn't feel like the Wati from the first adventure.
Sandbox: (no stars for or against) - this adventure keeps your group within the city (if they want to accomplish the goals) - however outside of that it's very open ended in how they encounter things - what they choose to do - how they choose to go about the adventure - I have a feeling no two groups will have the same experience - if you like less on-rails gaming you will like this one - as it's a preference type of situation I am not saying this is good or bad - that's more up to your own opinion.
Additional Material - 4 stars - this might be mean of me - but minus one star because there wasn't enough of the excellent deity writeup! I like the new monsters (with one exception - but that's just a personal thing so your mileage may vary).
I very rarely read the fantasy - so no opinion on that part.
Overall - a very solid adventure with a great mechanic that helps keep the pressure on your group. Recommended if you are running the AP - and I'd say usable as a plop down in almost any campaign with a few tweaks.
Short Version: The rare well-implemented urban adventure with equally solid back matter.
This adventure hits some high points: ample chances for roleplaying, an extended investigation with thorough guidelines for managing the pace, and an interesting smattering of battles.
What bumps it to five stars for me, though, is that it keeps the PCs firmly in center stage and does not let up on the urgency. Those are the two biggest weaknesses in most urban adventures and this one does a good job addressing them.
Aside from the adventure itself, you get a Pathfinder Journal in the new handout-ready style, a very appropriate selection of monsters, and a hefty article on the gods of Ancient Osirion/Egypt.
If I were running a game in Osirion, Thuvia, or Egypt, I'd consider picking this up in PDF just for the back matter.
It would be a cool resource to have all this sort of stuff online to DL for free, though I guess some might some day been re-used. Some of my favourite things are authors notes or stuff. Such as Bill Webb's original RA notes, annotated books (e.g. Hobbit, DL)
Speaking of psychopomps, I really enjoyed your use of the various forms of them in this adventure. It is kind of hard, IMO, to find a way to incorporate them into adventures since they aren't generally antagonistic (which is the main way PCs will interact with them), but they fit in here very organically both in the adventure as well as- in a larger sense- the story that is going on around them in Wati.
I agree wholeheartedly. I am enjoying seeing psychopomps put to use.
I love psychopomps. I should; I created them (with a teensy bit of help from Wes Schneider), so I was really excited to get handed an adventure where the outline was basically "zombie apocalypse." Psychopomps are cool creatures, but it's hard to use them as opponents when you're the GM unless the PCs are being jerks (stealing souls or raising the undead or whatnot). For Empty Graves, I stole a few of my own notes from a planar campaign I've been planning for a few years.
Hopefully everyone has a good time with these. I love tossing in neutral monsters when I can.
I love psychopomps. I should; I created them (with a teensy bit of help from Wes Schneider), so I was really excited to get handed an adventure where the outline was basically "zombie apocalypse."
Speaking of Zombie Apocalypses, I really enjoyed the way this one was structured, as a series of events of increasing intensity alongside more traditional encounter areas. It really gives a sense of the sort of zombie horror you'd see in movies and such (especially that first outbreak). I wish the scene at Feldgrau in Carrion Crown part 3 had been structured a little more like this module.
I love the Ammit-looking creature in the bestiary and the set pet, but I wish the Ammit-looking psychopomp was higher CR, 3 is kinda low for one of the most powerful creatures in all mythology.
I hope Ammit will make an appearance as well.
Not a huge fan of the adventure itself this time, i'm not a fan of humanoid undead, and the adventure is loaded with those, and not ones I like, but more like Wights and Ghasts which I really don't like.
My question is more, "What do clerics of Wadjet rant about on street corners?"
This is all the book gives.
Spoiler:
The great River Sphinx, the heart of Osirian life in both ancient and modern times, is embodied in the snake goddess Wadjet, who is said to dwell in the papyrus marshes in the river’s delta. Wadjet is the patron and protector of Osirion, and she nourishes the kingdom as the River Sphinx sustains the land and its people. A teacher and giver of wisdom, Wadjet is the mother of the uraeuses(Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Osirion, Legacy of Pharaohs 63),the race of two-headed winged serpents who are her emissaries and spirits of caution, guidance, and protection.
Wadjet appears as a woman with the head of a cobra, with winged arms outspread in a protective pose, or as a winged cobra with a woman’s face, raised and ready to strike in defense of her land and people. A protector of kings, Wadjet supports Ra and Horus as deities of rulership, but as the guardian of all Osirion, she works with Khepri to protect the common folk as well.
Wadjet is a patron of pharaohs, and the uraeus is part of the royal regalia of Osirion. Although she has temples in many of Osirion’s major cities, countless smaller shrines to Wadjet stand along the banks of the River Sphinx. Oracles are particularly common in Wadjet’s priesthood, and the pharaohs of Osirion have long looked to them for insight and counsel.
Any possibility of getting just the gods article? I am playing this campaign, not running it and don't want to spoil it. I am playing a cleric of Osiris. I was hoping that there would be a way to just get the double-sized article on the gods. I can find out all the domains, subdomains, and favored weapons online, but I was hoping for descriptions and any flavor text that would be in the article. Don't really think it is worth $16 just for the one article.