paizo.com Recent Reviews of Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)paizo.com Recent Reviews of Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)2023-09-29T21:11:43Z2023-09-29T21:11:43ZPathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG): The Revolution Begins! (5 stars)Hrothdanehttps://paizo.com/products/btpy9g0q?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-97-In-Hells-Bright-Shadow2019-05-26T19:47:01Z<p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>After a delightfully flavorful opening scene, this book delivers on one of the central promises of this AP almost immediately by making the players take charge of creating a revolution. Every step of the way, I felt like our characters were making progress towards building our resistance in ways that made sense considering our strength and influence. The challenges are varied and good, and the characters are memorable. There's also a satisfying minor villain that is set up at the beginning and dealt with at the end, making this book have an ending that feels significant, but not too much for a book 1.</p>
<p>As a side note, Hell's Rebels is an AP about rebelling against repressive authority SHOULD have girl (and trans) power, so idk what the hells people were expecting. Anyone who disagrees is free to go find people that agree with them more in hell's vengeance (and is also free to stay the hells away from me).</p><p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>After a delightfully flavorful opening scene, this book delivers on one of the central promises of this AP almost immediately by making the players take charge of creating a revolution. Every step of the way, I felt like our characters were making progress towards building our resistance in ways that made sense considering our strength and influence. The challenges are varied and good, and the characters are memorable. There's also a satisfying minor villain that is set up at the beginning and dealt with at the end, making this book have an ending that feels significant, but not too much for a book 1.</p>
<p>As a side note, Hell's Rebels is an AP about rebelling against repressive authority SHOULD have girl (and trans) power, so idk what the hells people were expecting. Anyone who disagrees is free to go find people that agree with them more in hell's vengeance (and is also free to stay the hells away from me).</p>Hrothdane2019-05-26T19:47:01ZPathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG): Solid Start (4 stars)ComicViolencehttps://paizo.com/products/btpy9g0q?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-97-In-Hells-Bright-Shadow2017-11-09T15:48:52Z<p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>This is a solid start to an adventure path. It does a good job of gathering together PCs from different backgrounds and making them invested in accomplishing the objectives of the adventure path. The villains are remember-able and easy to hate and the plot does a good job of encouraging the players to go to places and do things, but doesn’t make them feel railroaded. The only reason I am not giving this book five stars is because some of the fights were unfair for lower level PCs and because the NPC backgrounds that were provided seemed to not-sych with the main plot and sometimes directly contradict the main plot’s themes (see spoilers for more information). This adventure path will go downhill in future books (see my review of other books for more details), but this book is solid and a good start. </p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p><p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>This is a solid start to an adventure path. It does a good job of gathering together PCs from different backgrounds and making them invested in accomplishing the objectives of the adventure path. The villains are remember-able and easy to hate and the plot does a good job of encouraging the players to go to places and do things, but doesn’t make them feel railroaded. The only reason I am not giving this book five stars is because some of the fights were unfair for lower level PCs and because the NPC backgrounds that were provided seemed to not-sych with the main plot and sometimes directly contradict the main plot’s themes (see spoilers for more information). This adventure path will go downhill in future books (see my review of other books for more details), but this book is solid and a good start. </p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>ComicViolence2017-11-09T15:48:52ZPathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG): The best Paizo AP? (5 stars)Gorbaczhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy9g0q?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-97-In-Hells-Bright-Shadow2017-02-02T07:56:43Z<p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>•DISCLAIMER•: This is a single review for all adventures in this AP.
<br />
Hell’s Rebels is the best Paizo Adventure Path. Of all the AP, it is the one that’s most coherent, approachable and GM-friendly. This review applies to all 6 books because their quality and style are so consistent that you don’t even notice the fact that they were written by 6 different authors. </p>
<p>Let me quickly list some of the most important things which Hell’s Rebels gets right:</p>
<p>1. It has a clear, believable and complex plot which goes from point A to point B to point C while at the same time allowing for multitude of side treks, optional quests and player-driven initiatives.
<br />
2. It goes full on Golarion. It touches upon core themes of the setting and is heavily nested in its history. It provides the much-anticipated opportunity to punch one of the biggest evils of the setting in the face. One warning: you can’t just lift HR and drop it into other settings without massive amounts of work.
<br />
3. The BBEG is front and center, introduced in adventure 1, encountered and fought against several times across the campaign. He’s evil, callous, quirky, nasty, brutal, amoral and good at being bad. He’s right up there with Ileosa from CotCT.
<br />
4. The campaign starts in one city and mostly stays there, with some small side-treks and one bigger detour which, fortunately, is also urban.
<br />
5. There is a cadre of sympathetic, recurring allied NPCs to play second fiddles to the PCs. There are also enemies whom you can interact in ways other than roll for initiative. The RP opportunities are plenty.
<br />
6. The cast of both allies and opponents is diverse in every sense of that word.
<br />
7. The players get opportunity to discover some of the setting’s secrets and, to a limited yet satisfying degree, reshape it without causing a Realm-Shattering Event.
<br />
8. The ending is epic to the core and fitting for a campaign of this scale and magnitude.
<br />
9. Episode 4 is a special issue with extra page count, longer adventure, more support material, an excellent article on Aroden and much, much more!
<br />
10. I love the blue colour theme for this AP AND Wayne Reynolds did the cover art. Double victory!</p><p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>•DISCLAIMER•: This is a single review for all adventures in this AP.
<br />
Hell’s Rebels is the best Paizo Adventure Path. Of all the AP, it is the one that’s most coherent, approachable and GM-friendly. This review applies to all 6 books because their quality and style are so consistent that you don’t even notice the fact that they were written by 6 different authors. </p>
<p>Let me quickly list some of the most important things which Hell’s Rebels gets right:</p>
<p>1. It has a clear, believable and complex plot which goes from point A to point B to point C while at the same time allowing for multitude of side treks, optional quests and player-driven initiatives.
<br />
2. It goes full on Golarion. It touches upon core themes of the setting and is heavily nested in its history. It provides the much-anticipated opportunity to punch one of the biggest evils of the setting in the face. One warning: you can’t just lift HR and drop it into other settings without massive amounts of work.
<br />
3. The BBEG is front and center, introduced in adventure 1, encountered and fought against several times across the campaign. He’s evil, callous, quirky, nasty, brutal, amoral and good at being bad. He’s right up there with Ileosa from CotCT.
<br />
4. The campaign starts in one city and mostly stays there, with some small side-treks and one bigger detour which, fortunately, is also urban.
<br />
5. There is a cadre of sympathetic, recurring allied NPCs to play second fiddles to the PCs. There are also enemies whom you can interact in ways other than roll for initiative. The RP opportunities are plenty.
<br />
6. The cast of both allies and opponents is diverse in every sense of that word.
<br />
7. The players get opportunity to discover some of the setting’s secrets and, to a limited yet satisfying degree, reshape it without causing a Realm-Shattering Event.
<br />
8. The ending is epic to the core and fitting for a campaign of this scale and magnitude.
<br />
9. Episode 4 is a special issue with extra page count, longer adventure, more support material, an excellent article on Aroden and much, much more!
<br />
10. I love the blue colour theme for this AP AND Wayne Reynolds did the cover art. Double victory!</p>Gorbacz2017-02-02T07:56:43ZPathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG): Story of Rebellion in Adventure Form (5 stars)rkotitanhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy9g0q?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-97-In-Hells-Bright-Shadow2016-07-01T14:20:32Z<p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>My first review on Paizo. I felt as I needed to for this path. The path is, overall, my favorite that I've read. On a personal level I classify it as the 'BEST' path for me as a DM. On to In Hell's Bright Shadow...</p>
<p>Points of Praise
<br />
- Interesting Villains (Use mint at your peril!)
<br />
- Interesting NPCS in General (Venseldek and Rexus are both beloved by my party)
<br />
- The confined setting (that continues throughout the path for the most part) allows the ability to give your PCs very deep story based roots.
<br />
- The sections laying out the city of Kintargo and the major players there give a lot of ground for those roots to dig into.</p>
<p>DM Recommendations
<br />
- The beginning can be clunky (something I didn't notice until my group started). Either find a way to get them together when the shoe drops or be sure that they know each other previously. It goes without saying but I'll stress, "Make sure they want to start a revolution!"
<br />
- The game plays out over weeks so be on the look out for players who build crafting munchkin characters and maybe try and steer them away from it.
<br />
- Stress silver weapons. The campaign trait of the Kintargo Nobility can get you a good silver 2 hander.
<br />
- Flesh out the weeks with personal story elements to give the passage of time weight.</p>
<p>Not my favorite book in the path but still a 5. I'm pretty sure book 3 or 4 are easily my favorites.</p>
<p>Enjoy!</p><p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>My first review on Paizo. I felt as I needed to for this path. The path is, overall, my favorite that I've read. On a personal level I classify it as the 'BEST' path for me as a DM. On to In Hell's Bright Shadow...</p>
<p>Points of Praise
<br />
- Interesting Villains (Use mint at your peril!)
<br />
- Interesting NPCS in General (Venseldek and Rexus are both beloved by my party)
<br />
- The confined setting (that continues throughout the path for the most part) allows the ability to give your PCs very deep story based roots.
<br />
- The sections laying out the city of Kintargo and the major players there give a lot of ground for those roots to dig into.</p>
<p>DM Recommendations
<br />
- The beginning can be clunky (something I didn't notice until my group started). Either find a way to get them together when the shoe drops or be sure that they know each other previously. It goes without saying but I'll stress, "Make sure they want to start a revolution!"
<br />
- The game plays out over weeks so be on the look out for players who build crafting munchkin characters and maybe try and steer them away from it.
<br />
- Stress silver weapons. The campaign trait of the Kintargo Nobility can get you a good silver 2 hander.
<br />
- Flesh out the weeks with personal story elements to give the passage of time weight.</p>
<p>Not my favorite book in the path but still a 5. I'm pretty sure book 3 or 4 are easily my favorites.</p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>rkotitan2016-07-01T14:20:32ZPathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG): A Solid Start (4 stars)Kelanenhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy9g0q?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-97-In-Hells-Bright-Shadow2016-03-13T21:28:19Z<p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>I just finished running my group through this and we had a good time.
<br />
Pros:
<br />
The rebellion sub system - This is the best subsystem yet IMO.
<br />
Interesting sandbox type missions.
<br />
A different type of AP that is a nice change of pace.</p>
<p>Cons:
<br />
Taking on the mantle of the Silver Ravens feels artificial.
<br />
The villains main goal is very odd.
<br />
Information between the players guide and this adventure is disjointed, some things are given away in the players guide that are supposed to be discovered in the adventure. </p>
<p>I would probably give this adventure 3 1/2 stars but I rounded up since the adventure is closer to 4 stars than 3.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>I just finished running my group through this and we had a good time.
<br />
Pros:
<br />
The rebellion sub system - This is the best subsystem yet IMO.
<br />
Interesting sandbox type missions.
<br />
A different type of AP that is a nice change of pace.</p>
<p>Cons:
<br />
Taking on the mantle of the Silver Ravens feels artificial.
<br />
The villains main goal is very odd.
<br />
Information between the players guide and this adventure is disjointed, some things are given away in the players guide that are supposed to be discovered in the adventure. </p>
<p>I would probably give this adventure 3 1/2 stars but I rounded up since the adventure is closer to 4 stars than 3.</p>Kelanen2016-03-13T21:28:19ZPathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG): This is how it's done. (5 stars)Cole Deschainhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy9g0q?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-97-In-Hells-Bright-Shadow2016-03-12T01:55:13Z<p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>What, only three reviews so far? For shame!</p>
<p>Perhaps because people are satisfied and trusting to that...</p>
<p>But I want to get on record here:</p>
<p>For a very long time, the Adventure Paths have been pretty good to great, but nothing really compared to the excellence I experienced in Curse of the Crimson Throne.</p>
<p>Imagine my surprise when an AP that revisits a very similar idea- rebellion in an urban setting to throw off the shackles of an upstart despot- proved to be the first real contender to unseat CotCT from the top spot.</p>
<p>This first adventure manages to combine challenge, a bit of humor (outlawing mint? REALLY dude?), and a sense that the city of Kintargo is worth fighting for.</p>
<p>The campaign as a whole is brilliant, and this initial adventure does a great deal to lay out that groundwork. If you're not a subscriber, and you're just looking for a starting point to kick off a city-based rebellion campaign, this right here is the go-to option. I cannot recommend this one too highly.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>What, only three reviews so far? For shame!</p>
<p>Perhaps because people are satisfied and trusting to that...</p>
<p>But I want to get on record here:</p>
<p>For a very long time, the Adventure Paths have been pretty good to great, but nothing really compared to the excellence I experienced in Curse of the Crimson Throne.</p>
<p>Imagine my surprise when an AP that revisits a very similar idea- rebellion in an urban setting to throw off the shackles of an upstart despot- proved to be the first real contender to unseat CotCT from the top spot.</p>
<p>This first adventure manages to combine challenge, a bit of humor (outlawing mint? REALLY dude?), and a sense that the city of Kintargo is worth fighting for.</p>
<p>The campaign as a whole is brilliant, and this initial adventure does a great deal to lay out that groundwork. If you're not a subscriber, and you're just looking for a starting point to kick off a city-based rebellion campaign, this right here is the go-to option. I cannot recommend this one too highly.</p>Cole Deschain2016-03-12T01:55:13ZPathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG): A good first leg to an urban sandbox AP (5 stars)Porridgehttps://paizo.com/products/btpy9g0q?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-97-In-Hells-Bright-Shadow2016-02-27T23:45:31Z<p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>(<b>Preliminary note:</b> Hell's Rebels is a series of urban sandbox adventures. Like most sandbox adventures, these adventures especially benefit from a DM who is willing (i) to tailor the adventure to the motivations and goals of the particular party, (ii) to allow players to be proactive, and to shape the adventure around their decisions, and (iii) to allow the party to try (and succeed at) dealing with problems in unexpected ways. So while these adventures run fine "out of the box", they work best with experienced and flexible DMs who are willing to put in a little extra work.) </p>
<p>We had a lot of fun with this adventure. There are lots of role-playing opportunities, and a fair number of opportunities for a "special ops"-style parties willing to use things like stealth, trickery, or diplomacy to work around potential combat situations. </p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p><b>Overall assessment:</b> In Hell's Bright Shadow was a lot of fun. It wasn't <i>quite</i> as enthralling as the very best AP 1st legs (like Burnt Offerings or Smuggler's Shiv), but still a very good entry. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>(<b>Preliminary note:</b> Hell's Rebels is a series of urban sandbox adventures. Like most sandbox adventures, these adventures especially benefit from a DM who is willing (i) to tailor the adventure to the motivations and goals of the particular party, (ii) to allow players to be proactive, and to shape the adventure around their decisions, and (iii) to allow the party to try (and succeed at) dealing with problems in unexpected ways. So while these adventures run fine "out of the box", they work best with experienced and flexible DMs who are willing to put in a little extra work.) </p>
<p>We had a lot of fun with this adventure. There are lots of role-playing opportunities, and a fair number of opportunities for a "special ops"-style parties willing to use things like stealth, trickery, or diplomacy to work around potential combat situations. </p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p><b>Overall assessment:</b> In Hell's Bright Shadow was a lot of fun. It wasn't <i>quite</i> as enthralling as the very best AP 1st legs (like Burnt Offerings or Smuggler's Shiv), but still a very good entry. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars.</p>Porridge2016-02-27T23:45:31ZPathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG): Recommend strongly (5 stars)Kadinhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy9g0q?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-97-In-Hells-Bright-Shadow2016-02-03T15:56:27Z<p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>When I heard Paizo’s AP for the second half of 2015 was going to involve rebelling against House Thrune, I was very excited. So while I was predisposed to like it because of content, a year of excitement also had the potential for a substantial let down. Fortunately, it did not disappoint. I am not generally one to gush, but I really feel like there’s no other reaction I can have to Hell’s Rebels. After I read the first volume, I spent every month chomping at the bit for my next subscription order to ship so that I could read the next installment.</p>
<p>I have now run In Hell’s Bright Shadow, and it’s a great first level adventure to read and run—-and play, judging by the reactions of my players. It has a mix of story, investigation, and dungeon crawls that make the first few levels feel like more than something to get through so you can be higher level. The humanoid NPCs are a little vanilla, but they make great allies for forming a rebellion. And if your players want a tiny, non-humanoid ally of either the good or evil persuasion, they will have that opportunity as well.</p>
<p>I cannot speak highly enough of the Kintargo gazetteer. Usually I find gazetteers kind of boring, but this one gave me tons of information I could use in my adventure. It helped me flesh out my players’ backstories so that they could feel involved in the city. As examples, I have a tengu who’s created a little cadre of tengu merchants on Bleakbridge, a professor at a secretive school for half-elf girls, and a member of the city dottari who’s trying to recruit some like-minded colleagues (while keeping her extracurricular activities secret from her boss).</p>
<p>I was dubious about the rebellion rules because I haven’t really enjoyed my experience with the kingdom building rules—-too easy for one or two people to do everything while everyone else sits their twiddling their thumbs. The decisions in the rebellion actually allow for a lot of role-playing, though. I have had one player take charge of the system, but other people input what they want to be doing.</p>
<p>If you like urban adventures or have a long- (or short-) standing desire to take on house Thrune, Hell’s Rebels lives up to all expectations.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>When I heard Paizo’s AP for the second half of 2015 was going to involve rebelling against House Thrune, I was very excited. So while I was predisposed to like it because of content, a year of excitement also had the potential for a substantial let down. Fortunately, it did not disappoint. I am not generally one to gush, but I really feel like there’s no other reaction I can have to Hell’s Rebels. After I read the first volume, I spent every month chomping at the bit for my next subscription order to ship so that I could read the next installment.</p>
<p>I have now run In Hell’s Bright Shadow, and it’s a great first level adventure to read and run—-and play, judging by the reactions of my players. It has a mix of story, investigation, and dungeon crawls that make the first few levels feel like more than something to get through so you can be higher level. The humanoid NPCs are a little vanilla, but they make great allies for forming a rebellion. And if your players want a tiny, non-humanoid ally of either the good or evil persuasion, they will have that opportunity as well.</p>
<p>I cannot speak highly enough of the Kintargo gazetteer. Usually I find gazetteers kind of boring, but this one gave me tons of information I could use in my adventure. It helped me flesh out my players’ backstories so that they could feel involved in the city. As examples, I have a tengu who’s created a little cadre of tengu merchants on Bleakbridge, a professor at a secretive school for half-elf girls, and a member of the city dottari who’s trying to recruit some like-minded colleagues (while keeping her extracurricular activities secret from her boss).</p>
<p>I was dubious about the rebellion rules because I haven’t really enjoyed my experience with the kingdom building rules—-too easy for one or two people to do everything while everyone else sits their twiddling their thumbs. The decisions in the rebellion actually allow for a lot of role-playing, though. I have had one player take charge of the system, but other people input what they want to be doing.</p>
<p>If you like urban adventures or have a long- (or short-) standing desire to take on house Thrune, Hell’s Rebels lives up to all expectations.</p>Kadin2016-02-03T15:56:27ZPathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG): Let the Revolution Begin! (4 stars)Ikoshttps://paizo.com/products/btpy9g0q?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-97-In-Hells-Bright-Shadow2015-12-20T22:28:24Z<p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>Overall, “In Hell’s Bright Shadow” is a solid start to this adventure path. My players had a fine time with it! Given the tighter focus of this AP make certain your PCs are primed to rebel, which can be accomplished, of course, by constructing appropriate backstories in addition to the requisite AP traits. Otherwise, taking on the mantle of the Silver Ravens can feel quite artificial. This is not the AP to shoehorn in the wandering so-and-so PC with no motivation or genuine attachment to the city. </p>
<p>The mission focus in the first half of the adventure makes it excellent for shorter episodic sessions. The villains are easy to hate (a good thing in this case) and the NPCs are instrumental yet never run the risk of overshadowing the players. Pinning down a certain invisible saboteur by mere chance provided my table much celebration. For any on the fence regarding the rebellion mechanic, I can only advise you to give it a chance and it will provide an added level of cogency to the arc. Players were delighted to see their insurrection grow. </p>
<p>My only quibble rests with the RP aspect of the adventure. As a campaign focused on RP, I did expect a bit more non-combat interactions written into the module. Well-developed NPCs, which the adventure does provide, do not guarantee roleplaying. Novel situations and dilemmas in which well-developed NPC and PCs interact hits the spot, of which this opening adventure could benefit more. Even so, GMs who put in a bit of side work can provide that extra spark. Understandably, page count is always a constraint when determining the composition of an adventure. So, for perfection, drop in a few extra set pieces into Part 1 and 2 that require players to think and speak rather than roll initiative.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)</b></p><p>Overall, “In Hell’s Bright Shadow” is a solid start to this adventure path. My players had a fine time with it! Given the tighter focus of this AP make certain your PCs are primed to rebel, which can be accomplished, of course, by constructing appropriate backstories in addition to the requisite AP traits. Otherwise, taking on the mantle of the Silver Ravens can feel quite artificial. This is not the AP to shoehorn in the wandering so-and-so PC with no motivation or genuine attachment to the city. </p>
<p>The mission focus in the first half of the adventure makes it excellent for shorter episodic sessions. The villains are easy to hate (a good thing in this case) and the NPCs are instrumental yet never run the risk of overshadowing the players. Pinning down a certain invisible saboteur by mere chance provided my table much celebration. For any on the fence regarding the rebellion mechanic, I can only advise you to give it a chance and it will provide an added level of cogency to the arc. Players were delighted to see their insurrection grow. </p>
<p>My only quibble rests with the RP aspect of the adventure. As a campaign focused on RP, I did expect a bit more non-combat interactions written into the module. Well-developed NPCs, which the adventure does provide, do not guarantee roleplaying. Novel situations and dilemmas in which well-developed NPC and PCs interact hits the spot, of which this opening adventure could benefit more. Even so, GMs who put in a bit of side work can provide that extra spark. Understandably, page count is always a constraint when determining the composition of an adventure. So, for perfection, drop in a few extra set pieces into Part 1 and 2 that require players to think and speak rather than roll initiative.</p>Ikos2015-12-20T22:28:24Z