The final cards of a powerful artifact based on the legendary Harrow deck finally lie within the grasp of the heroes who seek to defend the very future of reality from being set in stone, but fate itself has its own plans. Will the heroes of Stolen Fate make their own way into an unknown future and clash against the very creators of this potent magical artifact, or is destiny truly a force that cannot be withstood?
The Worst of All Possible Worlds is a Pathfinder adventure for four 18th-level characters. This adventure concludes the Stolen Fate Adventure Path, a three-part monthly campaign in which a band of adventurers are thrust into the role of the defenders of destiny itself. This adventure also includes new magical items and treasures to be discovered, including the final 18 powerful cards from the Deck of Destiny, and several brand new monsters to test even the mightiest of heroes.
Each monthly full-color softcover Pathfinder Adventure Path volume contains an in-depth adventure scenario, stats for several new monsters, and support articles meant to give Game Masters additional material to expand their campaign. Pathfinder Adventure Path volumes use the Open Game License and work with both the Pathfinder RPG and the world’s oldest fantasy RPG.
Written by: Luis Loza.
ISBN-13: 978-1-64078-520-5
The Stolen Fate Adventure Path is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The rules for running this Adventure Path and Chronicle Sheets are available as a free download (774 KB PDF).
Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:
This is it! The final book in the three part Stolen Fate adventure path. I couldn't finish The Destiny War, so my expectations for book 3 weren't great. However, after a rocky start, this final part really does deliver a rewarding finale to (IMO) a deeply flawed AP.
Straight out of the gate, we are subjected to a Convoluted & Unnecessary sub-system to accrue Negotiation Points with a magical tradesman. Really Paizo? 2+ pages for a pointless minigame to haggle over the price of a McGuffin that the adventure cannot continue without?! It's BS like this that makes me lose interest. Stop it.
Next we have another scavanger hunt for more cards. This mostly consists of weird mini-games. The less said about Kingdom Chase the better. Honestly, I skipped most of this chapter, as it was dull AF.
Fortunately, things improve at the start of Chapter 2. Remember those cards you've spent the last 2.5 books gathering? Well, the BBEBG comes out of the woodwork and now they're gone. On the plus side, since we're finally done collecting cards, the adventure can actually develop some momentum in the run up to the climax.
We are treated to a ghost NPC cameo whose only purpose is to remind us how great Curse of the Crimson Throne was in comparison to contemporary Pathfinder APs. Oh, those were the days. I hope you developed a strong connection to the ghost NPC cameo in the 5 minutes since she appeared, as now you have to go and rescue her.
Climbing the Tree of Answers reads like a really fun and unique set piece. Time for another Convoluted & Necessary sub-system to accrue Argument Points in a debate with some witches. I'll grudgingly admit that this scenario warrants the use of a sub-system, whereas haggling with a merchant does not. The book even acknowledges that the sub-system could be replaced with honest-to-goodness roleplaying! Unprecedented vision!! Give that man an eNNIE!
The book wraps up with a brisk romp through a demon-infested manor house, before transporting you to the BBEBG's demiplane for the final battle.
I really enjoyed this book, after it abandoned the whole card collecting aspect and focused up on the story. I would never run this AP as written, but the quality of Worst of All Possible Worlds has made me at least consider using the narrative skeleton of the AP for a heavily modified campaign.
I recognize one of the creatures on the cover mock-up. If that ends up staying, then mein gotts, what an absolutely amazing final boss that'll end up being.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
I'll predict right now that the end quote is from Voltaire's Candide. But I'm not sure if it will be "... to encourage the others," or about going to work in the garden.
Betting for returning creatures from 1e in this volume too.
Returning creatures are updates of existing ones, but they were either obscure or got renamed.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Heads up, I downloaded my subscription PDF (single file version) and the zip didn't include an interactive map book like they usually do. I haven't checked the one file per chapter version yet.
Pathfinder Maps Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
It is in the one file per chapter download. (Although it's just labeled with the name of the adventure, rather than having Interactive Maps in the filename.)
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
My watch has ended, and I've skimmed through the adventure to get to the Continuing the Campaign bit. At PaizoCon, we were told that there would be a number of hints about the next few adventure paths there.
Yeah. Yeah. WOW.
My very vague thoughts:
I don't want to get too heavily into detail just yet. Some of them are fairly generic plot seeds that could happen anywhere. Others hint at exactly where they're going to occur. Some of them are probably lower in level. There are two that... we're either going to 20th level, or a certain 1e ruleset is in the pipeline, or possibly both. There's one that will leave me very surprised should it happen in the Inner Sea and not tie into Tar-Baphon or maybe Treerazer. One has to be one of the three currently announced upcoming APs, I have a sneaking suspicion that a second hint ties into a different one, and one of them could relate to the third. I doubt that Season of Ghosts is the only time we're going to Tian Xia, and I think that we're going to get more Lost Omens books set outisde of the Inner Sea. I can't wait until more of us get our subscriptions so we can start speculating in earnest. This is going to be fun. (And I do hope the devs are willing to tell us what ties in with which hint when the time comes)
Oh, and the adventure proper looks very good, building upon both the earlier installments and previous works dealing with the Harrow. And don't think I didn't catch the Starfinder hint.
My watch has ended, and I've skimmed through the adventure to get to the Continuing the Campaign bit. At PaizoCon, we were told that there would be a number of hints about the next few adventure paths there.
Yeah. Yeah. WOW.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh, and the adventure proper looks very good, building upon both the earlier installments and previous works dealing with the Harrow. And don't think I didn't catch the Starfinder hint.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Grankless wrote:
Evan Tarlton wrote:
My watch has ended, and I've skimmed through the adventure to get to the Continuing the Campaign bit. At PaizoCon, we were told that there would be a number of hints about the next few adventure paths there.
Yeah. Yeah. WOW.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh, and the adventure proper looks very good, building upon both the earlier installments and previous works dealing with the Harrow. And don't think I didn't catch the Starfinder hint.
It's so cool...
** spoiler omitted **
Yup!
Spoiler:
Given that his body transformed to look like the Peacock Spirit after he was killed ("killed"?), I'm pretty sure that's his new body and not just a metaphor.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Evan Tarlton wrote:
Grankless wrote:
Evan Tarlton wrote:
My watch has ended, and I've skimmed through the adventure to get to the Continuing the Campaign bit. At PaizoCon, we were told that there would be a number of hints about the next few adventure paths there.
Yeah. Yeah. WOW.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh, and the adventure proper looks very good, building upon both the earlier installments and previous works dealing with the Harrow. And don't think I didn't catch the Starfinder hint.
It's so cool...
** spoiler omitted **
Yup!
** spoiler omitted **
Oooooooooh - I wish I had known and subscribed this month. The 28th feels so far away.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
logic_poet wrote:
I'll predict right now that the end quote is from Voltaire's Candide. But I'm not sure if it will be "... to encourage the others," or about going to work in the garden.
The end credit text is:
Spoiler:
The future is not set. There is no fate, but what we make for ourselves.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
And now for the adventure proper
(Here, There Be Spoilers):
The harrowkin are a great idea that keep the "travel around Golarion to find the cards" device fresh. A part of me wonders if they shouldn't have been around for the entire AP, but perhaps that might have gotten old by part 3. Chapter 2 is the real standout. The use of all Norse related monsters and themes was an absolute masterstroke, and I'm very fond of encounters that can be solved with cleverness rather than (entirely with) violence. There are implied ways to get the objects needed to get to the Harrowing Three without killing anyone, and very real benefits to doing so. I'm glad that the PCs have a chance to talk the Three down, because their plan has some very philosophical aspects that the right players would have a blast debating. The final confrontation with Raven is a bit weak, possibly. She's set on her path and won't be deterred. That's understandable, but it's not as interesting as the lead-up. However, there are a couple of ways to make it better. The first is to make sure that The Betrayal makes it all the way through to the last fight. The second is to have Zellara tell you about Raven, and rule that the PCs can bring that up to knock her off her game (represented by bonuses to Demoralize checks, to Bon Mots, etc). She has an interesting backstory, and she's also in her way someone else wronged by our old friend Gaedren Lamm. Seeing Zellara again was logical, and making her murder a catalyst for Raven's descent into evil is a brilliant use of continuity. Then, of course, comes the matter of the Deck of Destiny. There are a few suggestions for how to deal with it. Destroying it is possible, but trying to do it will have the Three show up to stop the PCs unless the players did really well with their talk with the Three (or failed to convince them and had to fight them already). The Three are probably more appropriate as final bosses anyway, even though a part of me would prefer completely talking them down. And then there's what they players see when/if they do destroy the deck, which we will hopefully start talking about soon.
So yeah, I'm super happy with this adventure, and the AP as a whole. Very well done, one and all!
