Pathfinder Adventure Path #174: Shadows of the Ancients (Strength of Thousands 6 of 6)

Announced for December! Product image and description are not final and may be subject to change.

Hmm so big bad might have gotten defeated in book 5 and this is "Oh s!~@ their masterplan triggered anyway?" book. I do wonder who is villain on Akiton though, whether its mr ant king or not :O

O man, with this AP and the Magic Book it will make spell casters way more versatile, and with the grand bazaar for items martials will be able to keep up, I do wonder how will this magic abilities will work for martials playing in the AP

Curious to hear how subscribers like this one.

Heads up that clicking on the image still takes me to the old placeholder.

Heads up that clicking on the image still takes me to the old placeholder.

Yes, we have some image bugs that are frustrating. We are back Monday. :)

So stoked for this book!! Wonder if we'll get some magical new capstone feats!

Curious to hear how subscribers like this one.

I am GMing a party that has just finished the first book of this AP. We love it so far! Encounters have come from different directions and often been a surprise to the characters who are just trying to go to magic school. They have decided most of the teachers are pretty incompetent, but have enjoyed some of the mechanics (like free druid/wizard archetypes) and finding certain niches at the school they can make their own.

In August we had finished the Circus AP, which got us through the COVID lockdowns, and it was an absolute blast. We were wondering if this AP would equal that experience, and so far it is going well. We have one person who has done RPGs for decades, a couple that have played for a couple of years and one total newbie, and everyone is enjoying this setting. I find these APs amazing to GM -- lots of basics are done but still interesting places to insert character backstory items or other personalized additions for this particular party.

Anyone receive this yet?

It was moved to January.

I think it's a January product: Preorder, expected approximately 26 Jan 2022

I think it's a January product: Preorder, expected approximately 26 Jan 2022

Does this push back QuestftFF then?

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

I think it's a January product: Preorder, expected approximately 26 Jan 2022

Does this push back QuestftFF then?

No. We will ship both, assuming they are in.

Roll20 intends to have this product available at launch. We will add a button link to the product page to make it easy on January 26.

Did this book get pushed to Feb, or is the website playing evil tricks on me?

Did this book get pushed to Feb, or is the website playing evil tricks on me?

You are correct. The product is now listed on our Release Schedule page for February. Honestly I'm surprised by that too. The offices will be open on Monday and I'll double check. It all depends on what has actually come into our warehouse. :)

xNellynelx wrote:

Did this book get pushed to Feb, or is the website playing evil tricks on me?

You are correct. The product is now listed on our Release Schedule page for February. Honestly I'm surprised by that too. The offices will be open on Monday and I'll double check. It all depends on what has actually come into our warehouse. :)

I am told it didn't arrive in time for the January release, so it has been moved to February, yes.

Aaron Shanks wrote:

xNellynelx wrote:

Did this book get pushed to Feb, or is the website playing evil tricks on me?

You are correct. The product is now listed on our Release Schedule page for February. Honestly I'm surprised by that too. The offices will be open on Monday and I'll double check. It all depends on what has actually come into our warehouse. :)

I am told it didn't arrive in time for the January release, so it has been moved to February, yes.

Thanks for checking Aaron, you're the best.

I'll be crying over here until Feb if anyone needs me.

For subscribers, I didn't see it in my upcoming subscriptions screen. Should I pre-order or will it go straight to the side-cart when it arrives at the warehouse?

For subscribers, I didn't see it in my upcoming subscriptions screen. Should I pre-order or will it go straight to the side-cart when it arrives at the warehouse?

This is a question that should be emailed to Customer Service. customer.service@paizo.com

It is not listed in the January Subscription announcement post, while #175 is. Hm.

I expect January: 175, February: 174 & 176, March: 177.

Another month's wait on this?

Flogging a dead centaur here, but I'm sure print subscriber's would not mind being charged now, getting immediate access to PDF and having the physical product shipped when it evntually completes its pilgrimage from the Orient.

EDIT: If someone cancels their order after getting PDF, you just tell them "Tough", your order is locked in and cannot be cancelled after PDF delivered.

I have money burning a hole in my pocket and Paizo be like; "No! Not until we can send out the dead tree copies! Those forests we murdered to make them must not have died in vain!!" ... or something like that, maybe.

But yeah, kinda' annoying having to wait. First World problems suck.

Doesn't stop them from disputing the charge and getting the money back.

Bah, ruining it for everyone else.

EDIT: Although saying that, how does that work with Drivethru, for example? I have ordered a book using print-on-demand + PDF. Their website strongly indicates an order cannot be cancelled after the PDF copy has been downloaded, although I have never looked too closely at the fine print, as I've never tried anything as shady as disputing the charge to get a free PDF.

Surely they would not continue to offer that service, if it was so vulnerable to abuse/manipulation?

They've also said before that there are legal reasons they can't charge until the physical book is shipped, because subscribers aren't buying the PDF, they're buying the print book, with a free benefit of the PDF. So charging for the print book when they aren't actually sending it yet, is not legal for them to do. Amazon preorders work the same way, you get charged when your book ships.

To be honest, they should just remove the availability dates or add just the expected quarter of the year, as the exact dates no longer hold any value. I can't remember a single book not delayed in the last 6-7 months, maybe LO:MoM was on time. Right now, I know that whatever date they announce, it will be delayed and immediately lowers my expectations and hype for any book. I'd prefer a mysterious date, instead of pushing it time and time again.

Nah, most people like to know when they’ll get charged.

Back cover text:

Save the Magaambya!

The heroes return to the Magaambya magic academy to find that the villain they vanquished on a distant planet had long ago set up a sinister contingency scheme. Students and teachers have been twisted by evil magic, and the heroes must engage in legendary trials to free them. While a monstrous foe thrashes through the Magaambya, it’s up to the heroes to save the school from utter destruction! The Strength of Thousands Adventure Path reaches its dramatic conclusion with “Shadows of the Ancients,” a complete adventure for 18th- to 20th-level characters.

I know there might be logistical issues in doing so, but suggest that an email be sent to all recent subscribers with a notification when availability/shipping for this book is imminent.

I had kind help from customer service when cancelling my sub with Quest for the Frozen Flame releasing before 174 comes out, but the suggestion with all that to just keep watching the site for release date information and then to resub then is... archaic.

Managing subscriptions through forums posts and through email communication is something I haven't done with any other product or service. An overhaul is overdue.

Thanks, though, for an excellent game and products that spark our imaginations and bring people together.

I know there might be logistical issues in doing so, but suggest that an email be sent to all recent subscribers with a notification when availability/shipping for this book is imminent.

I had kind help from customer service when cancelling my sub with Quest for the Frozen Flame releasing before 174 comes out, but the suggestion with all that to just keep watching the site for release date information and then to resub then is... archaic.

Managing subscriptions through forums posts and through email communication is something I haven't done with any other product or service. An overhaul is overdue.

Thanks, though, for an excellent game and products that spark our imaginations and bring people together.

Thanks for your feedback. I'll share it with customer service. Shadows of the Ancients is not yet in our warehouse. When it is, we will promote the product via email, social media, and this site in multiple places. It is an awkward time to be managing subscriptions, but our customer service team will make it right. Thanks for your patronage and patience.

One day I shall get my answers on how this ends. Onward to March!

Aha, I've finally found the explanation for the gap in my bookshelf. I was about to email support. Looking forward to this Adventure. :)

Okay, I just got the next adventure path book, Quest for the Frozen Flame, what's the deal with having the second adventure path released before we even finish the previous adventure path? Just seems curious.

Okay, I just got the next adventure path book, Quest for the Frozen Flame, what's the deal with having the second adventure path released before we even finish the previous adventure path? Just seems curious.

Shipping delays, out of Paizo’s hands, as has been said repeatedly. The PDF releases after the hard copies hit the warehouse - which hasn’t happened yet.

Yeah, still makes no sense that the shipping delays have halted one book, but the other one makes it through no problem. It's just odd.

Yeah, still makes no sense that the shipping delays have halted one book, but the other one makes it through no problem. It's just odd.

Books are printed individually; clearly some snag has happened with the run for this, while no issues came up with QftFF.

Yeah, still makes no sense that the shipping delays have halted one book, but the other one makes it through no problem. It's just odd.

Not everything at a port is first-in-first-out. Imagine a container at the bottom of a pile that is constantly being added to at the same time things are being removed. It may take some time to dig it out from under the pile, while the next container gets put on top, then taken off relatively quickly.

Thanks for taking the time to explain the situation to other customers. We appreciate the camaraderie.

Val'bryn2 wrote:

Yeah, still makes no sense that the shipping delays have halted one book, but the other one makes it through no problem. It's just odd.

Not everything at a port is first-in-first-out. Imagine a container at the bottom of a pile that is constantly being added to at the same time things are being removed. It may take some time to dig it out from under the pile, while the next container gets put on top, then taken off relatively quickly.

Not the best person to ask to imagine it, I worked at a grocery store, rotating the stock was drilled into my head. :)

Has this now been delayed to March? :/

Has this now been delayed to March? :/

Unfortunately, yes.

What a bummer. I know it's out of Paizo's hands, but I'm really keen to see how this one wraps up.

Aaaaand this, dear kids, is one more reason why you don't run an AP immediately once the first book is out.

Aaaaand this, dear kids, is one more reason why you don't run an AP immediately once the first book is out.

Yeah, we started a little later so my group is wrapping up book 1 now, but my GM has mentioned to me that he's frustrated because it's clear that there are multiple dangling plot threads that would be good for him to know the end of in the last book. Obviously I didn't ask further since I'm a player, but wish I could help him somehow.

I’ve been running the campaign for my fiancé as a solo game and we wrapped up with book 4 a week ago. >_< Currently playing through The Slithering as a group of her students to pass the time!

Aaaaand this, dear kids, is one more reason why you don't run an AP immediately once the first book is out.

Not sure if you are advocating Paizo change their business practice, or suggesting that it is somehow the consumer's fault in this case?

The latter, though "fault" is a strong word.

It's always been advised to wait till you have all the books before you begin running, especially if you have a fast group.