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Pathfinder Adventure Path: Abomination Vaults

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Pathfinder Adventure Path: Abomination Vaults
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When the mysterious Gauntlight, an eerie landlocked lighthouse, glows with baleful light, the people of Otari know something terrible is beginning. The town's newest heroes must venture into the ruins around the lighthouse and delve the dungeon levels far beneath it to discover the evil the Gauntlight heralds. Hideous monsters, deadly traps, and mysterious ghosts all await the heroes who dare to enter the sprawling megadungeon called the Abomination Vaults!

Pathfinder Second Edition's most popular campaign yet bursts from the pages of this massive hardcover compilation, containing all three adventures in the fan-favorite Abomination Vaults Adventure Path, a dungeon-delving campaign like no other, along with support articles, rules, monsters, and more!

Content Warning: While Abomination Vaults contains typical Pathfinder action and adventure, it also presents themes of suicide, ableism, body horror, and human experimentation. Before you begin, understand that player consent (including that of the Game Master) is vital to a safe and fun play experience for everyone. You should talk with your players before beginning the adventure and modify descriptions or scenarios as appropriate.

Note: This Abomination Vaults compilation hardcover is not included in the Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscription. Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscribers who preorder Pathfinder Adventure Path: Abomination Vaults will receive a free PDF when their physical copy ships.

ISBN-13: 978-1-64078-410-9

"Abomination Vaults" is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The rules for running this Adventure and Chronicle sheet are available as a free download (907 kb PDF).

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Foundry Virtual Tabletop
Pathfinder Nexus on Demiplane
Roll20 Virtual Tabletop

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Decent Dungeon Crawl, but not the best introduction to PF2E

3/5 —

Abomination Vaults is a decent enough dungeon crawl, but it is a rather poor introduction to PF2E - I would recommend against playing this as your first venture in Pathfinder 2E, or as a follow up to the beginner's box, as it is a high difficulty dungeon crawl that violates some of the guidelines about low level encounters to its detriment.

The setup for the adventure is simple enough - an abandoned necromancer's tower called the Gauntlight has lit up near the town of Otari, and your friend Wrin has called you in to try and figure out what is going on. Delving into the tower, you quickly determine that the necromancer Belcorra who created the tower is only mostly dead, and it is up to you to delve down into her abomination vaults, fighting your way down through ten floors of undead to lay her spirit to rest for good.

This is very much a dungeon crawl, not an RP-focused adventure; while the town of Otari is decent enough, it is barely involved in the actual adventure for the most part. Early on, there's several events that involve the town, and that's really nice for keeping the characters invested, but as you get deeper into the vaults, the town becomes less and less important; by the final three floors, Otari has been completely forgotten.

This is a pity, because Otari is only 15 minutes away from the Gauntlight, and you go back there to go to sleep every night; they could have easily given the players something to do there between each level to break up the dungeon crawl, which is otherwise generally pretty light on RP, with only a few floors in the middle having significant RP aspects to them. A lot of what you're doing is moving from room to room, killing monsters.

Belcorra, the big bad of the dungeon, has far too small a presence as well; you only start encountering her at the very bottom of the dungeon, which is a pity, as it means she gets little opportunity for characterization.

The biggest flaw with this dungeon, however, is that it is kind of brutal in the first few floors. A session zero to get a balanced party together is essential for this dungeon, as otherwise the many over-level encounters in the first half of it are likely to kill characters or even cause potential TPKs. There's a wood golem on the fourth floor which is really poorly signposted, is immune to almost all magic, and which also is resistant to physical attacks, and thanks to its configuration can easily put the characters in a spot where they're dying on the ground with no possibility of escape or being drug to safety or be safely healed. This is hardly the only encounter in the dungeon that can kill players, and the first half of the dungeon is kind of infamous for TPKs. It gets easier in the second half as the players are simply stronger than they are in the first half and have more resources, and the encounters tend to be more varied in the number of enemies in the encounter as you go in deeper.

My own group of TTRPG veteran players managed to get through the dungeon without too much trouble, though there was a character death on the third floor due to bad luck, and a temporary stand-in PC made by the DM died on the 9th floor when a player was absent for a session, with that character also dying to the same thing (multiple unlucky crits). We were never in any real danger of a TPK, though, so the dungeon, while challenging, is not grossly unfair; that being said, groups of newbies regularly struggle with this module and you see a weekly post on the Pathfinder 2E subreddit of a GM or player talking about how they're getting slaughtered by this module, looking for help with what they're doing wrong.

The dungeon is also full of monsters that are immune to precision damage, as well as a number of monsters that are immune to athletics maneuvers due to being incorporeal, which can screw up some kinds of builds, and some entire classes (gunslingers, rogues, precision rangers, investigators, grab fighters, grapple monks) are heavily penalized by the design of the dungeon as their build will not work on a number of major enemies, including the final boss.

This is a fine dungeon crawl if you are up for a bunch of combat encounters with some light roleplaying aspects here and there, but it's not the greatest module in the world - I liked it OK, but I felt like it could have been more than it was, and I've preferred Paizo's other modules to this one.



5/5 —

4/5 —

Abomination Vaults is great for what it is, a dungeon crawler that’s heavy on themes of undead and aberrations, that gets weirder and more interesting the further down you go. There’s a hub town to return to, and there isn’t as much pressure on the party.

The narrative is quite simple and can be sparse at time while you explore room to room. I felt such a lack of roleplay opportunities that I just converted some combat encounters into conversational NPC's. There are specific events that trigger in the town of Otari (a natural follow up to the Beginner Box adventure), but for the majority of the AP the town is relatively uninvolved which is unfortunate. I would've liked more townsfolk being tied into the narrative. Be aware that the entire AP from levels 1-10 stays in one location so the scope is very narrow to one town and a superficial slice of the Darklands.

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Paizo Employee Webstore Coordinator
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Announced for April! Product image and description are not final and may be subject to change.
3 people marked this as a favorite.

This product makes a ton of sense; new groups can roll straight out of the Beginner’s Box into a full campaign, all nice and tidy in one book for them. I imagine no new content?

Is Abomination Vaults really a best-seller? That’s good to know.

Is this going to be what we can expect from future three-part Adventure Paths?

This is great news!

You know, it has been very difficult to find any copies of this adventure path where I'm at (so many reasons why...). So, having them collected as a single book may be the only option I'll get!

Q: Will this compilation include the article on Nhimbaloth?
(I really hope so...)

Please & thank you.

Carry on,

--C.
Marketing & Media Manager
7 people marked this as a favorite.
Barbaric Gug Swarm wrote:
Is this going to be what we can expect from future three-part Adventure Paths?

That depends on how each one sells. It is not a guarantee. ;)

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Will this be included in any subscription or do we need to order it individually?
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Did not see that coming…

Oh wow. That's awesome.

Great!

No idea why I would buy it, since I have the 3-booklets version, but maybe as a present for someone?
Dark Archive
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I guess this is experiment on ap where it makes sense(to have everyone in same book) on whether hardcover compilation would kill sales for individual parts? O_o

Either way, this doesn't have any updates right, just compilation of all parts right?
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Is this going to be part of the subscription, because I gotta tell you, I don't really like this one enough to buy it twice.

Ooooo! I was just thinking the other day that I'd totally love if they did a collected hardcover for this AP.

So I guess I'll be buying this, as I've had an absolute blast with this campaign.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Wow! I honestly wouldn't have expected this! I didn't know Abomination Vaults was so popular to warrant a re-print like this but I won't complain, bring on the 3-part APs!
Marketing & Media Manager
4 people marked this as a favorite.

Hardcovers are not included in the subscription. Usually, we have a deal where if you have the Adventure Path subscription, and you preorder the book, then you get the PDF. We will confirm.
Wayfinders
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Interesting!

I mean, it makes sense that AbV would be popular - as mentioned, this is a pretty natural segue from the Beginner Box (although you either need to reset your characters or make new ones, given how leveling works), it's a smaller investment as a three-parter than a full-blown six-parter, and people do love their dungeon crawls.
Silver Crusade
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
RiverMesa wrote:

Interesting!

I mean, it makes sense that AbV would be popular - as mentioned, this is a pretty natural segue from the Beginner Box (although you either need to reset your characters or make new ones, given how leveling works), it's a smaller investment as a three-parter than a full-blown six-parter, and people do love their dungeon crawls.

If you lower the XP rewards based on how the encounters interact with party level, it should balance pretty quickly, and your players will feel a little more powerful on the first little bit of the Vaults before everything catches up to them.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Loving running Abomination Vaults, so super pleased that it's getting a collected edition already!
Liberty's Edge
5 people marked this as a favorite.

It's the best AP Paizo has released in many years. This treatment is a good idea.

I have little doubt that it will be regarded as one of the best, if not The Best AP for Pathfinder 2nd Ed. To characterize it as simply a "dungeon crawl" misses the mark - as well as how adaptable the adventure is in terms of its structure outside of the Ruins below Gauntlight.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Will the original pdf receive the balancing updates as well?
Marketing & Media Manager
2 people marked this as a favorite.
H2Osw wrote:
Will the original pdf receive the balancing updates as well?

This will be the first time we've created a product like this - a compilation with no expansion and/or conversion to the latest version of the game - so I don't know yet. I would expect error corrections, but what balancing updates are you expecting?

Liberty's Edge
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At least Mister Beak IIRC. James Jacobs knows about this.
Marketing & Media Manager
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The Raven Black wrote:
At least Mister Beak IIRC. James Jacobs knows about this.

Then, when the creative team has something to tell us, I will amplify them.

Developer
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H2Osw wrote:
Will the original pdf receive the balancing updates as well?

We have no plans to do so, no.

Further, there's not a lot of balancing to do. We're tweaking some encounters that have proven a bit problematic, but beyond "give a certain soulbound doll the phantom pain spell rather than vampiric touch," there's not a lot of dramatic changes.

That said, if you've seen other huge balance issues, please let us know!
Dark Archive
GGSigmar wrote:
No idea why I would buy it, since I have the 3-booklets version, but maybe as a present for someone?

Due to global shipping delays, I ended up purchasing all three parts of this AP as PDFs. I eventually received my physical copy of Ruins of Gauntlight, but it took my FLGS months to deliver, so I decided that having the last two installments as digital copies is enough.

I soon began to regret my decision, however, because I just prefer printed books over digital stuff, always (and also find them easier to read and utilize as a GM).

Then this hardcover edition was announced, and I didn't even need to think twice about whether to pre-order it or not -- even though I've already spent close to a hundred bucks on Abomination Vaults. And why not? It is not only the best 2E adventure path so far, IMO it's the best Paizo AP Paizo has published in years. It features well-designed and consistent maps, plenty of great encounters and fantastic lore, and more than a few cleverly hidden treasures and secrets for the players to discover. And, as CorvusMask said, to me it makes sense to have the whole adventure in one book. :)
Dark Archive

Ron, I get that there won't be many changes, but it'd great to have a separate illustration and handout section at the end of the book -- with maybe a few extra handouts and illustrations, if I can make a modest wish! :)
Developer
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Asgetrion wrote:
Ron, I get that there won't be many changes, but it'd great to have a separate illustration and handout section at the end of the book -- with maybe a few extra handouts and illustrations, if I can make a modest wish! :)

We have some additional art going into this (as of right now; it's not off to the printer yet, so nothing's final!). We haven't put them into an "art section" in the back like I've seen some RPG products do; that's not our style.

Ron Lundeen wrote:
Asgetrion wrote:
Ron, I get that there won't be many changes, but it'd great to have a separate illustration and handout section at the end of the book -- with maybe a few extra handouts and illustrations, if I can make a modest wish! :)
We have some additional art going into this (as of right now; it's not off to the printer yet, so nothing's final!). We haven't put them into an "art section" in the back like I've seen some RPG products do; that's not our style.

I think they mean like a handout section, like Call of Cthulhu does.

Psiphyre wrote:
Q: Will this compilation include the article on Nhimbaloth?

Repeating this because it was never answered, but also extending it to ask whether the support articles from the individual volumes of this AP will be included.

Please & thank you.

Carry on,

--C.
Sovereign Court

I seem to remember (maybe one of the interviews from GenCon/Paizo Live) that it won't include the back matter articles. Just the adventure (and presumably any NPCs/items that are directly linked to the story).
Liberty's Edge
3 people marked this as a favorite.

Some art showing what Belcorra looked like when alive would be appreciated.
Dark Archive
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Well there IS art of:
large flesh golem ghoul cultists are creating as body for her
in abomination vaults pawn collection so presumably at least her hair style was similar to that picture :p
Marketing & Media Manager
4 people marked this as a favorite.

I can't imagine not including all the back-matter articles, but the product is not done yet, so Marketing can't say. I'll see what I can find out. :)

Thank you, Aaron.

Carry on,

--C.
Dark Archive
Ron Lundeen wrote:
Asgetrion wrote:
Ron, I get that there won't be many changes, but it'd great to have a separate illustration and handout section at the end of the book -- with maybe a few extra handouts and illustrations, if I can make a modest wish! :)
We have some additional art going into this (as of right now; it's not off to the printer yet, so nothing's final!). We haven't put them into an "art section" in the back like I've seen some RPG products do; that's not our style.

Thanks for your swift reply, Ron! It's fantastic that there'll (likely) be additional art in the final product.

As captain yesterday noted, I did indeed refer to Call of Cthulhu style handout section. I personally feel that it's easier to cross reference and photocopy handouts that way, but I understand why Paizo wouldn't want to do it (=additional work on the layout process, and it'd also probably increase the page count).
Starfinder Superscriber
GGSigmar wrote:
No idea why I would buy it, since I have the 3-booklets version, but maybe as a present for someone?

I'm purchasing it for sentimentality.

Marketing & Media Manager
8 people marked this as a favorite.

With an Anniversary Edition of an AP, Paizo has added value and content. In fact, if I am not mistaken, every hardcover compilation has also updated the Pathfinder edition, either from 3.5 to PF 1, or as in the case of Kingmaker, from PF1 to PF2. This will be the first time Paizo has compiled three virtually sold out AP volumes into one hardcover so soon. Thus, not a lot of revisions. We just want to get it printed and in the hands of players ASAP. It could be for collectors as a sentiment, but I see it mostly for new players. It is a popular seller and Otari is a well developed location. We want to make sure new players can get the whole AP experience for years to come.

Will they be producing a Map Pack to go along with this? I hate drawing those maps!
Pathfinder Development Manager
17 people marked this as a favorite.

Whew! I gave this its final approval pass on Friday, and it's off to the printer now!

There are a lot of tweaks in here. Some were just necessary for the revised layout (when a new piece of art made text on the page flow differently, for example), others are minor corrections and polishes.

We've got some new art for this, including the often-requested image of a certain ghost when she was still alive.

I want to thank everyone who weighed in on issues or fixes on these forums. I looked over lots of those and made many improvements based on those--thanks!

The hardcover is formatted a bit differently, as well. Instead of looking like three volumes between two covers, we rearranged this to have 10 sequential chapters, one for each level of the dungeon (along with a few other chapters for a campaign overview, the town of Otari, info about Nhimbaloth, the adventure toolbox, and so on).

People who aren't familiar with the three-volume nature of this AP are going to find the hardcover to be very accessible; people who already have the three volumes might prefer to have it in this more cohesive whole.

I'm proud of this, and it's going to look great!
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Any way that oft-requested image could be posted to the GM forum for the AP or something? It would be immediately helpful for those of us actively running the existing volumes of the campaign.
Dark Archive
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Guess Mr. Beak with phantom pain is now a thing officially :O (if I run this campaign again though, I'm going to stick with Mr. Break with worm's repast because I love foreshadowing that spell going to show up later at use of Mr. Break's creator x'D)
Aaron Shanks wrote:
Hardcovers are not included in the subscription. Usually, we have a deal where if you have the Adventure Path subscription, and you preorder the book, then you get the PDF. We will confirm.

Aaron - apologies if I missed this previously but can you please confirm if subscribers will be getting the PDF if we pre-order the hard cover?

Marketing & Media Manager
4 people marked this as a favorite.
AJCarrington wrote:
Aaron Shanks wrote:
Hardcovers are not included in the subscription. Usually, we have a deal where if you have the Adventure Path subscription, and you preorder the book, then you get the PDF. We will confirm.
Aaron - apologies if I missed this previously but can you please confirm if subscribers will be getting the PDF if we pre-order the hard cover?

I have just asked. I have also asked that we create a workflow where such deals would be announced when we post the product to the store, in the future. Thanks!

Thanks Aaron.
Pathfinder Development Manager
2 people marked this as a favorite.
CorvusMask wrote:
Guess Mr. Beak with phantom pain is now a thing officially :O (if I run this campaign again though, I'm going to stick with Mr. Break with worm's repast because I love foreshadowing that spell going to show up later at use of Mr. Break's creator x'D)

That's an excellent substitution as well!

Grand Lodge
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

To preorder or not, that is the question.
Grand Lodge
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Paizo has turned every campaign I run into a compiled hardcover couple months after I start it. Lol.

No new content, so pass.

-Skeld
Dark Archive
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I'm going to get it anyway since 1) I don't have the AV books physically so getting this one would be nice 2) I want to see what small patches they made and new pic of Belcorra Haruvex while she was living
Dark Archive
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Aaron Shanks wrote:
Hardcovers are not included in the subscription. Usually, we have a deal where if you have the Adventure Path subscription, and you preorder the book, then you get the PDF. We will confirm.

BTW was there confirmation that if we preorder this we will get pdf as freebie?

6 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I'm still hoping the original owners of AV get the balance updates to their pdfs.
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