RSS RSS Facebook Twitter Email
Pathfinder / Adventures / First Edition Adventures / Adventure Finder / 2nd Level

Midgard Adventures #1: To the Edge of the World (PFRPG)

4.00/5 (based on 3 ratings)
OPDMA1E

Print Edition Unavailable

Add PDF $3.99

Facebook Twitter Email

To the Edge of the World... And Beyond!

This Midgard adventure takes your adventures into the exotic islands of the Western Ocean, to meet the lich queen, raise monsters from the depths, and visits lands far beyond the local hamlet and gatehouse— not bad for a low-level adventure!

To the Edge of the World goes beyond a typical low-level grind of rats and goblins, to an adventure of bigger thrills and a wilder ride for true heroes.

A wild adventure that players will never forget. This is a classic-style Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 2nd level PCs near any coastline.

Product Availability

Print Edition:

Unavailable

PDF:

Fulfilled immediately.

Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

OPDMA1

See Also:

Average product rating:

4.00/5 (based on 3 ratings)

Sign in to create or edit a product review.

Search Thread

Search this Thread:

The Exchange Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Quarterly

I am rather proud of this strange little adventure. I decided to design a low-level scenario as if the PCs were not just some noobs, but as if they were characters of destiny who could meet a lich-queen or hear the songs of the sirens, and live.

Probably one of the wilder low-level adventures you'll see for Pathfinder, and that's saying something!
Contributor

Woohoo!!!!Nice cover.
The Exchange Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Quarterly

It's that Pat Loboyko fellow.

That feller's got some skillz!

Going to be a few days before I can buy. :(

I did wonder at the MA2 on the previously release module!
Liberty's Edge
Lilith wrote:
That feller's got some skillz!

The interior art is pretty awesome as well!

Silver Crusade

DAT MASK

That really is quite an eyecatching cover. Pickin' up. :)

Finally got it. Very epic for a low level adventure.

Review up here and on DTRPG...quite an impressive adventure Wolfgang...really enjoyed this one.

Cool!
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Nice review, KTFish7 - this is also on my list!
The Exchange Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Press, RPG Superstar Judge
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Thank you for that review, KTFish7! When you break some of the tried-and-true traditions of the low-level grind, it's always hard to tell how that will be received. The internal playtest went well, and I was confident in the design, but then there's always the question of how it does in the wider world...

I am very happy to see this adventure get a strong first review!
Wolfgang Baur wrote:

Thank you for that review, KTFish7! When you break some of the tried-and-true traditions of the low-level grind, it's always hard to tell how that will be received. The internal playtest went well, and I was confident in the design, but then there's always the question of how it does in the wider world...

I am very happy to see this adventure get a strong first review!

Always a pleasure Wolfgang...am hoping to finish Crossroads tonight so I can get back into the actual Midgard Setting book to get it done soon.

Very neat adventure. The second half was quite a bit more sandboxy then I was expecting. Not a complaint, just unexpected. I love the idea of the talking grimoire that gets the party out of trouble, and into deeper trouble.

I do have a question though. On page 4 of the pdf it talks about Simez Rothgazzi (LN male human geomancer wizard 6/geomancer 7). Where does geomancer wizard and geomancer come from?

-Kcinlive
Contributor
Kcinlive wrote:


I do have a question though. On page 4 of the pdf it talks about Simez Rothgazzi (LN male human geomancer wizard 6/geomancer 7). Where does geomancer wizard and geomancer come from?

-Kcinlive

Kcinlive, they were things originally going to appear in Journeys, but we never finalized a draft of the geomancer that suited us--and we ran out of space. I do have another draft on the geomancer at this point, and am ensuring that it works with the Midgard ley line rules.

Keep your eyes out for a New Path from Kobold Press at some point in the future. I'll put the wizard school in that pdf, as well.

Thanks for asking!
ChristinaStiles wrote:
Kcinlive wrote:


I do have a question though. On page 4 of the pdf it talks about Simez Rothgazzi (LN male human geomancer wizard 6/geomancer 7). Where does geomancer wizard and geomancer come from?

-Kcinlive

Kcinlive, they were things originally going to appear in Journeys, but we never finalized a draft of the geomancer that suited us--and we ran out of space. I do have another draft on the geomancer at this point, and am ensuring that it works with the Midgard ley line rules.

Keep your eyes out for a New Path from Kobold Press at some point in the future. I'll put the wizard school in that pdf, as well.

Thanks for asking!

You know, this is the second time I've seen you reference ley lines and rules and a future product. You really have to stop teasing like this!!!

:)
Christina Stiles wrote:

Kcinlive, they were things originally going to appear in Journeys, but we never finalized a draft of the geomancer that suited us--and we ran out of space. I do have another draft on the geomancer at this point, and am ensuring that it works with the Midgard ley line rules.

Keep your eyes out for a New Path from Kobold Press at some point in the future. I'll put the wizard school in that pdf, as well.

Thanks for asking!

Very cool. I look forward to it.

Liberty's Edge

Wow, what a great review, Mr. Fish! :)

I think this line says it all:

" ...earned a 6 star rating from me, rounded down to a 5 for the purposes of this forum. A true treat, and well worth the price of admission folks!"

I'm going to run this tomorrow as a one-shot. (Okay, actually a two-shot -- two sessions over a few days.) I gave my players several options, and they all said "that Edge of the World thing? that sounds cool!"

So: I'd really like to hear from people who have played through this! What works well, what can be avoided without loss, what are ways to crank up the awesome?

many thanks in advance,

Doug M.

Hm: looks like I'm going to need to blow another $15 on "Journeys to the West" in order to run this properly.

Really?:

Yeah, really. JTTW has the expanded versions of Karn'lothra and Leviathan Island. I suspect I can get away with handwaving Karn'lothra -- the PCs don't have to spend much time there -- but that's not going to work with Leviathan Island.

What do moonflower coccoons do? What *is* godflesh anyway, and what effects may eating it have other than visions? What's at all those locations on the map -- Bubble Tower, Comet Tower, Vault of Kaer Turog, Deep Tunnels and Air Bubbles? None of these are explained in the module; they're all detailed in JTTW. If my PCs want to explore Leviathan Island -- and, come on, why wouldn't they? -- I really need to get JTTW. Otherwise, their dramatic cruise to the edge of the world on a living, floating island is going to consist of "you fight some mongrelmen, and maybe a gelatinous cube".

I gotta say, that's a little annoying.

-- Also: *why* does the Book of Vael Turog summon Leviathan Island? I mean, the book is an intelligent NPC, and the whole plot of the module assumes that it successfully persuades the PCs to do this. (I suspect that part might need some spackling in actual play. "So, this book we just met wants us to cast this spell out of it. Whaddya think, guys?" "DM, do we know what kind of spell?" "Well... no, you're not sure." "I don't know, man." "Yeah, sounds sketchy. Let's just stuff the book in the backpack and run." It seems an odd oversight in a module that opens with four different ways to force the hook.) So, what's the book after?

Well, I'm committed to running it tomorrow. So, once again, any suggestions are very welcome.

Doug M.
Contributor
Kcinlive wrote:


You know, this is the second time I've seen you reference ley lines and rules and a future product. You really have to stop teasing like this!!!
:)

Well, some ley line rules are in the Midgard Campaign Setting. I'm finalizing a draft on the geomancer over the next few days, in between other Kobold Press projects.

I do like to tease, though. :)

Picked the CS up when it came out and liked what I saw there. Just anxious to see how it is developed further. Will wait for more key line material with bated breath!
Contributor

Thanks! It shouldn't be too much longer now.
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Okay, two more questions.

1) Can someone explain Midgard's cosmology to me? In particular, when you get to the edge of the world, what exactly is there? The description in the module is vague: "it seems that you are approaching the end of the world: a huge greenish-black wall holds in the ocean, though there is a crack in that wall—a crack you are headed straight toward." But in Journey To The West, it's very clear that the edge of the world has an immense cataract of ocean falling off the edge. And then there's something about the World-Serpent? Is that the greenish-black wall? Is the Leviathan squeezing through a crack in its coils? It's really hard to tell just from reading this.

2) Why does the Leviathan head to the Star Citadel?

I don't understand:
On page 12 we are told "the star bearers will inform them that the Leviathan has been enchanted to bring them to the Star Citadel, though the source of this enchantment is ancient." And this enchantment seems to keep working -- later we're told "if the PCs take the beast away, run another one of the encounters from encounter 9 and then have the Leviathan return to the court. It doesn’t want to go where the PCs want to go, really." And finally, on page 19 it says "the Leviathan is not willing to return to the Western Ocean unless bridled and commanded to go."

Okay, that's fine -- but then what's this enchantment? Is it from the King and Queen, or is it older than them? We're told "If the PCs refuse to offer the Leviathan, King Ioratas and Queen Astrakia demand an explanation for the unharnessed and uncontrolled Leviathan’s presence." This implies that it's not their doing. On the other hand, we're specifically told that they want the beast to butcher and render it. So it would make just as much sense if it is their enchantment. In which case, they're probably just annoyed to find that the Leviathan they called has "owners". But which is it?

3) I'm still struggling to make sense of the situation at the Star Citadel.

It's confusing:
The King and Queen want to butcher the Leviathan. Abdiel has the bridle. So why don't they just tell the PCS, "Thanks for bringing the Leviathan! Well done! Here's a chest of gold and a ticket back home. We'll take over from here." Or, alternately, "You have trespassed on our domain! Into the dungeons with you... Okay, Abdiel, start sharpening your knives."

The only way I can make sense of this is if the King and Queen believe the PCs "own" the Leviathan, and are bound to act accordingly. That would make sense. (Although it ignores the mongrelmen. In fact, the whole module ignores the mongrelmen after that one combat. Yet wouldn't they have a stronger claim? But, okay, never mind them now, say they're all in hiding or something.) If the Royals feel they must acknowledge PC ownership, then one hand, they can't just grab the beast. But on the other, they can hold the PCs responsible for its actions (and it's large, clumsy and dangerous). And on yet another, they can look the other way while Abdiel kidnaps the PCs and forces them to sign over their rights. So that works -- but is it what the module intends? Because it's not very clear.

I start running this tonight. We probably won't reach the Star Citadel at the first sitting. Still, clarification would be welcome.

thanks in advance,

Doug M.
The Exchange Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Press; RPG Superstar Judge
3 people marked this as a favorite.

The trouble with short modules is that sometimes, you run out of room. This was originally meant to be 16 pages, but it got bumped to 24 in an effort to cover more player options. It still had to make a lot of crossreferences to Journeys to the West. Anyway, your questions!

1) The cosmology is that the world serpent metaphorically and sometimes literally encircles the world, keep the air and oceans in as a great wall. There are some cracks in it. You should feel free to modify it. The Edge is just a boundary between the mortal world and the fey world. Treat it as you please.

The cover image takes some artistic liberties.

2) Leviathans hatch and the Citadel and are enchanted to return. A little like salmon.

3) The PCs do own the Leviathan and hold the book. The King and Queen do have to offer the PCs something. The module intends a wide open situation where the PCs get to decide how the Leviathan is disposed of (or saved), so having the King and Queen dictate the resolution is bad from a couple of angles. And hey, they can be sticklers for protocol just because it amuses them. It's their house.

And you are right, the mongrelmen get largely ignored. You could play them as villains, hapless pawns, or entirely slumbering in the cocoons (which was my thought, but hey, you're the GM).

And reviewed here, on DTRPG, sent to GMS magazine, posted about it on Lou Agresta's RPGaggression and submitted it to Nerdtrek. Cheers!
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4
1 person marked this as a favorite.

HOLY CRUD!

HOW DID I MISS THIS?!?!!?!?

WTF.. I must be in a drunken drugged up haze sometimes. Honestly. Started writing AP stuff and got deep into PFS and everything went by in a blur.

Forgot to keep track of my Kickstarters.

You're probably thinking, "What the hell is Jim going on about?"

Jim is going on about these reviews are talking about the cool adventures happening in and around Nethys Maw and Karn'lothra.

Jim created those.

Jim is starting to tear up. (happily)

sniff!

I COMMAND YOU ALL TO BUY THIS NOW! BUY IT AGAIN AND GIVE IT TO A FRIEND!

I'm going to run this soon as part of the Freeing Nethus mythic adventure path.
Community / Forums / Paizo / Product Discussion / Midgard Adventures #1: To the Edge of the World (PFRPG) All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Product Discussion