The Bleeding Hollow Deluxe Adventure (PFRPG) PDF

4.50/5 (based on 2 ratings)

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The Bleeding Hollow is a survival-horror themed adventure for the Pathfinder RPG. It's 133 pages of adrenaline pumping excitement for up to 6 players of 4th level to 6th level.

In this adventure, the players are drawn to the small wilderness town of Westden Falls to clear the surrounding environs of a particularly nasty clutch of harpies. Of course, nothing is as easy as it looks, and the players soon find themselves embroiled in an internecine struggle between two ancient enemies.

Everyone becomes collateral damage and the players must use every ounce of wit, survival instinct and tactics they possess simply to survive—let alone help those in need... This is not an adventure for the faint of heart, or the foolishly good. Hard moral choices will have to be made that will make your players question their every moral fiber.

This sandbox adventure is designed to allow the players to drive the story, and not to lead them. The choices they make will have great significance and possible repercussions as the events unfold and the clock ticks down...

As we say, "Heroes are usually fools that don't know well enough to stay in their quaint little village and turn to farming. A shoemaker retires, adventurers get unmarked graves..."

Will you be the heroes of the Bleeding Hollow or will you just be fertilizer?

Written by Brian Berg, Rick Cox, PJ Harn and Bernie McCormick. Foreword by Frank Mentzer.
Pages: 133
Extensively bookmarked and hyperlinked to the d20pfsrd website to ensure ease of play.

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4.50/5 (based on 2 ratings)

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A truly deluxe adventure

4/5

***** PRELIMINARY REVIEW*****
So, I’ve done a thorough read through of the module in preparation for running it for my group. Not surprisingly, don’t read further if you want to avoid major spoilers.

There’s a lot to like about this module, and I’m chomping at the bit to get started. The amount of information is a little overwhelming but very well organized and presented. NPC info is truly excellent, such as the copious background info presented on the residents of Westden Falls. It will take a couple of read throughs to really absorb everything, but I can see my players wandering through the town, having very organic conversations with NPCs, with myself working in the text blocks on key discussion points as needed. There are some NPC details that are almost red herrings, e.g., did the mayor and the constable eliminate the prior mayor, will the Party investigate why he doesn’t seem to have aged in years? It’s truly irrelevant to the adventure, but could well distract “completionist” players who feel like every piece of info must be relevant, and given the deadline of the summer solstice, those side quests could come back to haunt them.

I also love how the plot is designed to slowly unfold. My group has been told that they’ve been asked to investigate the disappearance of the missing dwarven diplomat (one of the provided adventure hooks). They’ll learn about the harpy attacks and head off towards the church and Bertram’s End, probably assuming that the missing dwarf might be one of their victims. I imagine it won’t be until 2 or 3 sessions into the adventure that they’ll learn the true threat.

So, as I’ve been preparing for our first session, the biggest downside I've noticed is the inadequacy of the maps. The one page maps of Westden Falls and Bertram’s End are very good, and I made player maps by scanning them and cropping out the DM-oriented info. A bit annoying but perfectly workable. Much more concerning are the tiny and broken up battle maps for the church/crypt and the mine. The church map is no bigger than one half of a column on one page, maybe 2” by 4” at most. The map of the catacombs is even smaller. The mine at Bertram’s End doesn’t even get a unified map. It’s broken up into individual segments separated by encounter info, so you have no overall sense of what the mine looks like. In a module of such excellent quality, it’s a glaring oversight.

Finally, I can’t help but mention that there are a couple of references to sexual violence being committed by the gnolls against the captives in Bertram’s End. I’m sure others will disagree, but it was jarring and unnecessary. Overall, the module is strongly recommended, and I can’t wait to get started. It’s well written, highly detailed, and with a gripping story. At the moment I’m giving it 4 stars due to a couple of weaknesses, but I’ll reevaluate based on how much my group enjoys it.

***** NOVEMBER 2017 UPDATE *****

I just ran an 11-hour kickoff session with my group of six 5th level characters, who had a blast. They made it through Westden and the Old Church. On the trail of the missing dwarven diplomat, they made the rounds in Westden and met with many of the key NPCs, who were easy to flesh out due to the excellent background info. They took an instant disliking to Alden but loved Magda Stonejaw.

Since I have six players, I decided to up the ante by running the ankheg encounter with the crossing of the Nelec bridge, with a wandering bulette attacking them from behind, as I hoped to drive them across the icy bridge with the monsters in pursuit. While they took substantial damage, they prevailed against the monsters. I also had them face both the dire wolves and the harpies simultaneously at the Old Church, and I upped the skeletons in the crypt to make it a more interesting horde-type combat. Overall, they had a great time and are looking forward to the next session.

Unfortunately, the map problem is more serious than I suspected. The map for Westden Falls is excellent, and while there are no maps for any of the buildings, no serious encounters are anticipated so it’s not really a problem. The map for the Old Church is terrible. It has no numbering, so even though the text refers to “area 6” or “area 7” for example, those areas aren’t designated on the map. It is so small and detailed it is difficult to replicate by hand on an erasable board, so I copied it into in to Paint and printed it as a 4-page map that I taped together. Due to the small size and resolution of the original, my battlemap was fairly blurry. The map for the crypt is the same, and I suspect is a reprint, as the crypt is supposed to be underground, but the “crypt” map seems to have bushes and other exterior features.

***** JANUARY 2018 UPDATE *****

In our second session, the party discovered the slain flight of elves, battled Gurzan the lycanthropic ogre, learned of the missing seed to the Tree of Life, and then journeyed to Bertram’s End to discover it occupied by gnolls. After scouting the perimeter of the town, they assassinated the two sleeping ogres and liberated the women prisoners from the stables in dramatic fashion, swiftly defeating the gnoll guards and wolves. Would have been nice to have a map of the stables, since it nearly turned into the site of a major battle. Although they had planned to draw some of the gnoll army into the barn and set it on fire, when they realized just how many gnolls were mobilizing they fled into the woods with the rescued prisoners, but not before catching a glimpse of an irate Ironmaw. The women described just how ghastly the gnoll occupation is and revealed the separate groups of men, children, and wounded prisoners.

Heading next into the mines to find a safe location for the liberated prisoners, the map problems again became evident. The mine levels are small and not particularly interesting, other than a couple of clever obstacles and traps to overcome that provide a nice break from the combat in the town. Again, there are a couple of areas referenced in the map description that are not indicated on the map itself. Overall, I think the mines could have been done much better. They were glad to meet Bertram/Pyrite, and by discussing the missing dwarven diplomat and not looting his supplies and treasure, they gained his cooperation and a shelter for the liberated women prisoners. But, the mines really don't figure into the plot, other than providing a diversion, and there's no real role for Bertram/Pyrite, despite the excellent background info.

After leveling up, they plan to liberate the men and weapons from the forge, and perhaps create a small force to lead against the gnolls. Not sure they realize just how difficult this might be!

***** JANUARY 2018 UPDATE #2 *****

So, demonstrating the sand-box style to the adventure, our third session (also about 10 hours) led to a partial victory for the Party. After leveling up, they led another raid on Bertram’s End and managed to free the male prisoners held in the forge (in which I included the missing dwarven diplomat that sparked the adventure), fending off 2 patrols of gnolls and an ogre, with the help of the sorcerer’s newly acquired Fireball spells. They were not, however, able to liberate or destroy the gnolls’ armory.

Their next step involved some much delayed reconnaissance, as the Party’s druid used Wildshape to further explore the town as a rat, as well as the looming storm to the north as an eagle, which revealed the presence of Jirak Thoole’s titular Bleeding Hollow. Some in the Party wanted to rescue the children being held in the townhall, while others lobbied for a decapitation attack against the gnolls’ leaders in the inn. Eventually, after learning of the children being sent to Jirak Thoole as sacrifices, they decided to strike against the corrupted druid himself. The provided battle map is fairly good, although I used Pathfinder’s Bigger Forest Flip Mat. An epic battle unfolded in which the Party took heavy damage and nearly lost several PCs, but they eventually prevailed and were able to take down Jirak before he could Wildshape into an air elemental and escape.

While savoring their victory against Jirak, the Party will next turn their attention to liberating Bertram’s End, or at least rescuing the children. They also plan to seek out the elves and help purify the Arsae Laidir, and possibly return to Westden to investigate the suspicious Mayor. We’re now 30 hours into the adventure and still have plenty to do.

This is still an excellent adventure, but the lack of quality maps keeps it from being five stars and generates a lot of additional hassles for the GM. Still, we’re having a great time and I highly recommend this adventure.


Shadow Lodge

Now available! Old-school sandboxy survival horror at its best!

Shadow Lodge

Now the #2 Pathfinder category product at DriveThruRPG!

Shadow Lodge

Looks like two five-star reviews on DTRPG so far.

Megan Robertson wrote:

This is a cinematic, epic adventure, chasing the party across a wide and scary landscape as they struggle to survive with body and mind intact let alone rescue anyone else - they scarcely have time to draw breath long enough to remember why they came to Westden, a once sleepy rural town.

This is an adventure that should linger on in the memories of all those who participate in it, cinematic in scale, dramatic in scope, granting a freedom of action within a structured story in elegant style. Now to round up some players...


Needs a review here...


It's on my list. At the very latest once I have my print copies of Reaping Stone and this, there'll be a review...

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32, 2012 Top 4

Endzeitgeist wrote:
At the very latest once I have my print copies of Reaping Stone and this, there'll be a review...

:-)


And finally reviewed - first on Endzeitgeist.com, then submitted to Nerdtrek, GMS magazine and posted here, on OBS and d20pfsrd.com's shop. Cheers!

Shadow Lodge

Thanks for the review Endzeitgeist!


I wish this had battlemaps available such as you did for The Reaping Stone - would fix the only significant problem with the module. Otherwise it looks great!

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