Update: The Interactive Maps files have been fixed, and folks should be able to download the new versions now. If it's not working for you at first, try refreshing and/or waiting a bit for the cache to clear.
Still weird though, that the PDF has a different color scheme than the actual printed product (or the Player's Guide PDF!). I'm hoping that his can be fixed so that all PDFs for this AP have the same color scheme.
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Still weird though, that the PDF has a different color scheme than the actual printed product (or the Player's Guide PDF!). I'm hoping that his can be fixed so that all PDFs for this AP have the same color scheme.
Update: The Interactive Maps files have been fixed, and folks should be able to download the new versions now. If it's not working for you at first, try refreshing and/or waiting a bit for the cache to clear.
Looking at the printed one and the PDF, I guess we got the "color corrected for the printer" cover.
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I can't wait to get my subscription copy (still wending it's way across the pacific, sadly). I've been one of those asking for a megadungeon AP for years - I'm so excited to see how Paizo did it. :)
Mine is still wending its way across Ohio, and has been since Jan 28. I live 184 miles (296 km) from the spot where it's been sitting all that time.
Sad to say Roll20 is NOT currently working on this AP, per their monthly Twitch stream that just got done.
Paizo and Roll20 had their wires crossed they said when Paizo said they were. Troubles in Otari is what they are working on.
Tom
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Sad to say Roll20 is NOT currently working on this AP, per their monthly Twitch stream that just got done.
Paizo and Roll20 had their wires crossed they said when Paizo said they were. Troubles in Otari is what they are working on.
Tom
That is news to me. I'm sorry, I gave misinformation. I am working on a monthly stats report of what our VTT partners have just released and what they are about to release. I anticipate starting 2/19.
No problem Aaron, these things happen, just so frustrated with Roll20 these days and their odd product selections since the start of PF II.
Starfinder as well but it is what it is sadly :(
But Looking forward to the VTT report :)
Tom
I would absolutely love to run a very combat-heavy campaign.I would have thought every single PF2 AP so far is "very combat-heavy"...?
Hi! That's a very old comment you're replying to... Found it on page 1.
You're right, the APs are largely pretty combat heavy! I'm in book 5 of Age of Ashes, and I've had to do a lot of manual work to fit it better to my less combative table. I'm less unsure about it now but back in June I was definitely not convinced a mega dungeon could work with more combat and dangerous encounters stripped away. Having read Gauntlight, I think I could still make it work for at least some of my players.
By the way, the interactive map of Level 1 is missing 3 of the 4 secret doors present in the non-interactive map. Only the one is area A4 is present, the ones in areas A12 and A13 are missing.
This one is 1-4/5. The last one goes to ... 13 I think. I could be misremembering.
Sorry if I missed these details, but what levels does this cover? (Is it 1-5 like other first volumes of APs?) How high will this limited series go?
I think this one should put you right about level 5 after you finish.
I am pretty sure the next two volumes will be three levels each, as it's supposed to ended with the players hitting 11.
Yeah, I checked the notes in the back of this volume, and apparently this one is 1-4 (should reach 5 at the end) the second is 5-7, the third is 8-10. The upcoming Ruby Phoenix one is 11-14, 15-17, and 18-20.
I asked JJ a few days ago about running the BB ("Menace Under Otari") followed by "Troubles in Otari" (ending at level 5), and then going into this AP, and how starting at five levels up might affect it. His suggestion, which I like, was to run the BB, and then start new characters for the AP, interspersing the parts of "Troubles" at appropriate places in the AP.
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Yeah, I checked the notes in the back of this volume, and apparently this one is 1-4 (should reach 5 at the end) the second is 5-7, the third is 8-10. The upcoming Ruby Phoenix one is 11-14, 15-17, and 18-20.
I asked JJ a few days ago about running the BB ("Menace Under Otari") followed by "Troubles in Otari" (ending at level 5), and then going into this AP, and how starting at five levels up might affect it. His suggestion, which I like, was to run the BB, and then start new characters for the AP, interspersing the parts of "Troubles" at appropriate places in the AP.
Well, yes, but perhaps that's the wrong way to phrase the question.
A preferred approach would be to change the premise of Menace Under Otari in some fashion and use that opportunity to expand the profile of the town there and get the PCs more into dealing with NPCs within it. Then run the dungeon part of Menace -- changing the last encounter in Area 19 and move the PCs into AV1 from there. Don't level them after Menace before Area 19 -- just move them into AV1 at level 1 and use milestone levelling when they should "ding" lvl 2 in AV1 at the appropriate time. Yes, it will mean a lot longer at level 1. What of it?
There are further hooks built in to AV2 for some of the encounter zones in Troubles in Otari. Some are explicit, some are not. The big explicit one is the Abandoned Fish Camp (which has a flip mat to support it). You can play with the level challenges there to increase them from CR2 to CR 4/5/6 easily enough; eyeball it for your group.
There are many opportunities to weave in Menace under Otari and Troubles in Otari into Abomination Vaults as a seamless whole. That certainly will be my approach, and I would guess, the approach of most GMs who choose to use them.
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A preferred approach would be to change the premise of Menace Under Otari in some fashion and use that opportunity to expand the profile of the town there and get the PCs more into dealing with NPCs within it. Then run the dungeon part of Menace -- changing the last encounter in Area 19 and move the PCs into AV1 from there. Don't level them after Menace before Area 19 -- just move them into AV1 at level 1 and use milestone levelling when they should "ding" lvl 2 in AV1 at the appropriate time. Yes, it will mean a lot longer at level 1. What of it?
And I would take the opposite approach; letting the characters start AV at level 2 instead of 1, especially if they're genuinely new players. That will give newer players a bit more breathing room to learn tactics and abilities, as well as allow them to push forward to level 2 early if they want. It would take clearing chapter 1 almost entirely to get enough XP to get to level 3, and there's not quite enough XP to get to level 4 from chapter 2 so odds are decent they'd catch up to the AP by the time adventure is over.
Either way works, if it works for you and your players.
So, would it be possible to get an update of the PDF of this adventure re-exported with the correct color settings?
Any update on when JPG's will be rolled out for AP's. I don't think people expect Paizo to instantly make them available for all of the past AP's at once but it would be a nice gesture to make them availble for the new AP's as they are released. Becuase...VTT's like FG get higher res images because they are a licensed partner. We have an internal VTT task force looking onto direct-to-customer options.Can you start releasing higher resolution map files for us that aren't embedded into a locked pdf?
I know they exist because FG gets them and they are higher res than the ones I can rip from the pdf.
I thought that was already a thing. Wasn't there a blog a few months ago about providing us with non pdf maps?
I believe this is our last blog on the subject: Changes to Digital Map Assets
"...all digital versions of new Pathfinder Flip-Mats, Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics, Pathfinder Flip-Tiles, Starfinder Flip-Mats, and Starfinder Flip-Tiles products will contain the PDFs our customers are used to as well as VTT-friendly JPGs ready for upload and use on the virtual tabletop platform of your choice."
Re AP's:
"This is on our list to do, it's just a question of both figuring out the best format/resolution/etc. for these assets and digging back into hundreds of adventures to pull out the multiple maps in each to convert them. One advantage the standalone map products have over in-adventure maps is that they were originally created to be printed at 1-inch scale, meaning there's already a lot more detail in the image than there are in a lot of maps that are intended to be printed at much lower scale. So, know that we're working on it and will keep everyone posted once we have more information on our plans going forward."We have not rolled out JPGs for APs at this time.
We are making exciting progress on facilitating VTT play however, you should expect PDF Interactive Maps for APs to continue for the foreseeable future.
So, would it be possible to get an update of the PDF of this adventure re-exported with the correct color settings?
I'll check on that.
Thank you, Aaron!
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I pre-ordered this book at my FLGS, but eventually got tired of waiting for it (it finally arrived two weeks ago). However,encouraged by comments from Steel_Wind and others, I did something I’ve only rarely done: I purchased it as a PDF.
I was going to write a review of the book a while ago, but on my son’s birthday I was informed that my mild flu symptoms had tested positive for Covid-19 (UK Variant). I had contracted it at work from a colleague. What a birthday gift for my son, and actually my whole family, huh? It took a few weeks, but fortunately we’re all fine now. There’s also a positive aspect to this: I had plenty of time to read and write during the isolation period, more than I’ve had in years! :)
I’m glad I bought Ruins of Gauntlight, because it’s a fantastic adventure! It is a textbook example of how to write a great dungeon crawl. I love that it starts in media res, right outside the gates of Gauntlight, with minimal background exposition. You’ve been hired to do a job, and that’s it. In this regard it reminds me nicely of many old skool D&D adventures, specifically Castle Caldwell and Beyond, which was the very first D&D module I ran back in the day. This method also leaves a lot more space for the actual adventure.
I’m impressed at so many things, I don’t know where to start! James has managed to cram a lot of great content into these pages. As others have already noted, the whole place feels very organic and natural, even the maps are well-designed and ”logical”. This is a place where *everything* is there for a reason, and a great deal of thought has been put to hazards, encounters and treasure distribution. I also love how the history of the place is present everywhere, and there are many minor and major mysteries for the PCs to discover. I won’t go into any detail, you want to discover them yourself. In many ways it also reminds me of the Ruins of Undermountain boxed set, which in my opinion is the best AD&D era superdungeon.
My only ”problem” with this adventure is that the body text font is a bit hard on my eyes, and thus especially skill checks tend to be hard to spot among (occasionally lengthy) room descriptions. On the other hand, tighter format means more content, and in this case it truly is more "bang for your buck". Maybe the skill checks could be bolded in future APs to make them stand out better among all that body text?
I strongly feel Abomination Vaults should have been a flagship product and the first Adventure Path for 2E. As a whole it is the best AP Paizo has put out in years, and Ruins of Gauntlight is definitely one of my favorite Paizo modules ever. It showcases all the best 2E mechanics in a fantastic fashion, and (IMO) this AP is way more approachable and easier to run than Age of Ashes. It takes place in a contained environment, yet close enough to smaller and bigger settlements, so that the PCs have access to lodging, gear and information. It has a well-written plot that probably fits most groups as is, without any modifications. It is just hands down better in every aspect than any of the previous 2E APs.
Even if you don’t like dungeon crawls, you should check out this adventure. The ground floor alone is worth the full price, and the rest of the levels are also chock-full of the same goodness! This adventure absolutely ROCKS, so gear up and haul your asses to explore the mysterious depths of Gauntlight!
Amazing work, Jacobs! Definitely five out of five! :)
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I agree thoroughly. I always love James’ level one adventures and this one is no exception. It’s a beautifully done adventure.
My only ”problem” with this adventure is that the body text font is a bit hard on my eyes, and thus especially skill checks tend to be hard to spot among (occasionally lengthy) room descriptions. On the other hand, tighter format means more content, and in this case it truly is more "bang for your buck". Maybe the skill checks could be bolded in future APs to make them stand out better among all that body text?
One thing I do with my PDFs is when I am reading the adventure for the first time, I highlight all skill checks in yellow and treasure in green (most, if not all, PDF readers should be able to do this - certainly Acrobat and Foxit can). I also highlight other text that I think is important (maybe a fleeing from combat threshold for a creature, or something like that). I'd recommend giving this a shot as it can really help you remember the important bits. I then print out the PDF for use at the table, and will write in it as necessary, like crossing out items the party finds or traps disabled.
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My only ”problem” with this adventure is that the body text font is a bit hard on my eyes, and thus especially skill checks tend to be hard to spot among (occasionally lengthy) room descriptions. On the other hand, tighter format means more content, and in this case it truly is more "bang for your buck". Maybe the skill checks could be bolded in future APs to make them stand out better among all that body text?One thing I do with my PDFs is when I am reading the adventure for the first time, I highlight all skill checks in yellow and treasure in green (most, if not all, PDF readers should be able to do this - certainly Acrobat and Foxit can). I also highlight other text that I think is important (maybe a fleeing from combat threshold for a creature, or something like that). I'd recommend giving this a shot as it can really help you remember the important bits. I then print out the PDF for use at the table, and will write in it as necessary, like crossing out items the party finds or traps disabled.
Well, that would certainly help. I didn't know that you can highlight text in different colors. I only have Acrobat Reader, but I'll try if I can do it. Thanks for the tip, Fumarole! :)
I also like the 3-book APs. Makes it more likely to run it all. I wouldn't mind if there would be one 6-part AP and two 3-part APs every year.
Is there any chance that we might get updated PDFs with the correct color palette, like the player's guide has? This book is affected by this error, as well as Part 2 and 3.
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will this be set up in Foundry VTT?
In so many ways it reminds me of Temple of Elemental evil and the sub-plots help keep the players digging through.
Yep, based on the hardcover compilation (and linked to the the PDF of that bok)
Abomination Vaults Hardcover Product PageAlso, they talked about it in the blog announcing the Foundry partnership:
Next month, the truly massive Abomination Vaults Adventure Path arrives as an all-inclusive deluxe module, coinciding with the release of the hardcover adventure compilation.
Now on Pathfinder Infinite: Abomination Vaults GMs Guide.
Cool. Excellent GM's guide! Well done, Ron!