Carrion Crown, How does it rate?


Carrion Crown


Hi All

First, please no spoilers

Now that Carrion crown has been fully published for ~ 2 months, how does it rate among the PF AP's?

My general sense of the current PF AP's based on many posts from others is:

Kingmaker (excellant or 4/5)
Serpent's Skull and Council of Thieves (below average or 2/5)

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16

I don't really think a numerical value does an AP any justice. It really depends on what you like.

For example, I take exception to you putting the fairly-averge-quality CoT on the same level as the abysmal-and-failed SS.

Similarly, you can't give Kingmaker a blanket "excellent": some people hated Kingmaker for its lack of plot, one-shot encounters, and buggy subsystems. Others (like me) loved it.

Carrion Crown is a plot-heavy railroad. Its format is closest to Legacy of Fire. Is it "better" than LoF? Well, depends on what you like. CC has a lot more RP and puzzles and moral baggage, and LoF has a lot more combats and dungeons and heroics. What do you like?

One notable thing about CC is that it doesn't have any "dud" chapters. Most APs to date have had one section that is fairly universally acknowledged as the weak point. CC doesn't have that. (Though people do question, on a philisophical level, what the purpose of book 4 was. Though most everyone admits it's fun if you ignore the fact that it's a sidequest.)

Personally, I like CC more than most APs. Perhaps it's my 2nd favorite.

CC has glitches. The plothook for book 2 is too hard to swallow for some groups. The RP-intensity of book 3 is a turn-off for some groups. The lack of prominent villian throughout the series is a turn-off for some groups. *shrug* What matters to you, and why is it so important to keep score?


I can compare CC to the other APs I have DMd: ST (Savage Tide), RotRL, and CotCT. To be fair I have not DMd CC yet, we will be starting it in October.

CC is heavy on atmosphere and story much more so than any of the previous APs I am familiar with. Reading each volume of the AP is like reading a mini novel. While this is entertaining, it does not make the best set of adventures. I am not generally a "plot hole detective" but even my suspect ability is picking up several holes that will need to be filled in by the DM. Not a huge deal, but a bit disappointing for a story driven AP.

There are many similarities between CC and the other APs I have DMd that I will have to edit out since I have the same players. The starting hook of CC is very very similar to every other AP I have run and the lackluster Harrow mechanics from Curse show up again. I will need to edit out both of these aspects of CC before I run it.

The encounters and encounter environments seem suitable for the heavy gothic horror theme that the AP is all about. Each volume has a (not overwhelming) focus on a particular type of horror based monster. Early on in each volume of the AP the players will quickly figure out what they are up against, which to me, seems like it will be fun.

The BBEG does not really impact the AP directly until the end and frankly the BBEG is a bit of a disappointment and very similar to the BBEG from RotRL.

The Lovecraft aspects are really only present in volume 4 which seems odd to me, I would think the Lovecraft stuff would have been more suited for the endgame of the AP, not the mid-level side quest stuff. I may switch it up and put the current BBEG in volume 4 instead (toned down of course) and make the real BBEG Dark Tapestry based.

The peripheral articles introduce yet more secret societies to Golarian. While both the societies are interesting, Golarian seems to be overrun with secret societies. I wonder if the respective members bump into each other in taverns and such? It might be time to dial back on the secret societies in the world.

Overall I would rank it below each of the above mentioned APs. I do have a feeling that it will PLAY better then it reads. Time will tell. Despite the criticisms here the AP is well worth buying and running. It is well crafted and it is very obvious a lot of effort went into making it.


I've played in RotRL and I've DMed CotCT, SD, SS, and I've started DMing CC. Each had their good points and their bad points.

In general, something that's hit and miss with some of the APs is the set dressing. It's the world, the people, the side quests, the non-plot stuff.

You can't face the end boss when you're 1st level so you don't see them. There's this vast machination behind the scenes but the players don't see that, they only see the random guy trying to kill them for no reason. If the set dressing isn't enough to keep the players invested in their characters and the plot without me having to force plot points then the players aren't having fun.

Spoiler:
History of Ashes was the weak point of CotCT for my group. The fact that the serpent folk never showed up as true villains until the end despite the hype was the weak point for my group in SS. That the set dressing was never the same thing twice yet somehow it always included assh*le elves was our problem with SD.

In CotCT the strong points outweighed the weak. In SS and SD they did not. We had a poor DM and were trying out a bad set of houserule mechanics for RotRL so I declare my own judgement invalid. I do not yet know if the strong points of CC will outweigh the bad. I'll know after a few volumes.

cibet44 wrote:
The peripheral articles introduce yet more secret societies to Golarion. While both the societies are interesting, Golarion seems to be overrun with secret societies. I wonder if the respective members bump into each other in taverns and such? It might be time to dial back on the secret societies in the world.

My plan for the Order of the Palantine Eye was to model them after Freemasonry. People can find out whether or not you're a member if they look for your "sekrit decodr ring" but they don't really know what you do. You just know that a few of Ustalav's leaders have been members and they seem to donate quite a lot to the Church of Pharasma.


Thanks for the comments.

A few comments / clarifications of my own first.

1) I only commented on SS, CoT, and KM as they are the only AP's to use PF rules. I have no interest in conversions. That is a bit sad as most people prefer the older AP's. I am excited about ROTR being rereleased with PF rules.

2) the rankings I gave SS, Cot, and KM was not my own, but what I thought the average was from reading multiple threads about the various AP's. I may have misrepresented them. Generally it seemed that:

KM >> CoT = SS. So I put it at a 4, 2, 2.

It seems the two favorites from before PF rules are ROTR and CotCT which are in the 4.5 to 5 range.

Maybe it would be better to ask to rank the 4 PF rule APs??

I do appreciate some of the details given. It seems this AP is of a much different style than KM and SS, and possible CoT as well.

Grand Lodge

Havent run or played it but I overall enjoyed it and think its a good one however the weak points published above are all valid - some of the fixes I've seen such as introducing the badguy early (ep 1), introducing more plot exposition etc will assist.

Loved #1, #2 was cool but the motivation is 'we do this because we are good' and its only at the end that they get ANY thing that gets them back on the AP track, #3 is fun but some of the werewolf swords and armour thing just feels funky and its not 100% clear what the players are there for - once they work out that the Boss was killed for magical essence there isn't really a reason to hang around apart from 'we are good so we need to wrap this up', #4 is a massive side quest that really is a big WTF but as its HP Lovecraft, its cool - I bit too much combat with freaky stuff just so we can cross it off the list near the end but the finish is SWEEEEEET, #5? "We need to work with WHO now?", It serves a purpose of being morally tarnishing which fits the theme but thats about it - some good detective work however... If there was a weakpoint its #6 - you've got BBeG's (little 'E' evil) bBEG's (little 'B' Big) and a BBEG - its one bad ass after another at the end but its pretty epic - I mean its meant to be the center of evil after all so it shouldn't be a cake walk.


cibet44 wrote:

I can compare CC to the other APs I have DMd: ST (Savage Tide), RotRL, and CotCT. To be fair I have not DMd CC yet, we will be starting it in October.

CC is heavy on atmosphere and story much more so than any of the previous APs I am familiar with. Reading each volume of the AP is like reading a mini novel. While this is entertaining, it does not make the best set of adventures. I am not generally a "plot hole detective" but even my suspect ability is picking up several holes that will need to be filled in by the DM. Not a huge deal, but a bit disappointing for a story driven AP.

There are many similarities between CC and the other APs I have DMd that I will have to edit out since I have the same players. The starting hook of CC is very very similar to every other AP I have run and the lackluster Harrow mechanics from Curse show up again. I will need to edit out both of these aspects of CC before I run it.

The encounters and encounter environments seem suitable for the heavy gothic horror theme that the AP is all about. Each volume has a (not overwhelming) focus on a particular type of horror based monster. Early on in each volume of the AP the players will quickly figure out what they are up against, which to me, seems like it will be fun.

The BBEG does not really impact the AP directly until the end and frankly the BBEG is a bit of a disappointment and very similar to the BBEG from RotRL.

The Lovecraft aspects are really only present in volume 4 which seems odd to me, I would think the Lovecraft stuff would have been more suited for the endgame of the AP, not the mid-level side quest stuff. I may switch it up and put the current BBEG in volume 4 instead (toned down of course) and make the real BBEG Dark Tapestry based.

The peripheral articles introduce yet more secret societies to Golarian. While both the societies are interesting, Golarian seems to be overrun with secret societies. I wonder if the respective members bump into each other in taverns and such? It might be time to dial back on...

What plot holes did you find? I only have one really perceptive player, but I don't want to be caught off guard.


wraithstrike wrote:
What plot holes did you find? I only have one really perceptive player, but I don't want to be caught off guard.

For me...and its not so much of a plot hole but a "that would never work" is

Not going to happen:
Someone using a wand of Hold Undead to capture Vampires...never going to happen when they need a 2 to save...


wraithstrike wrote:
[What plot holes did you find? I only have one really perceptive player, but I don't want to be caught off guard.

Just off the top of my head:

Spoiler:

Vol 1: Never explained why the WW needs the ghost from Harrowstone instead of just any ghost. Makes the whole effort seem pointless to perceptive players.
Vol 2: Except for the very beginning and very end it has nothing to do with the plot. The authors, I guess, just needed a "Frankenstein" chapter, so here it is. Players may question why they are doing any of it at all.
Vol 3: Murky reasons for the players to be involved. Between vol 2 and this volume the players pretty much have to forget about the overall plot and focus on the problems at hand.
Vol 4: The players eventually get Ravens Head, yet it doesn't stop the WW at all, so what was the point? The Lovecraft stuff is a BIG red herring, it has nothing to do with the WW plot yet is set up (especially with the Cthullu idol from volume 2) to be meaningful. The players will spend an entire adventure dealing with various weird and dangerous creatures with elaborate histories and motives but then never see any of them again. Much disappointment.
Vol 5: Uses the term "serial killer" when talking about something that is hunting vampires. I'm not sure something that is killing super evil vampires could be considered a "serial killer" from the PCs perspective so immediately a moral conflict presents itself. However, despite all the hubbub about "helping" vampires little is offered as an alternative for players that refuse. Either you have to help them or kill them, no gray area (that I can detect) and I thought this volume was supposed to be all about the gray? The players are either on board or not, pretty black and white, so look out if you have thoughtful or conflicted players.
Vol 6: BBEG? BAM! Here he is! As written there is really no build up about him and the players probably have no idea who he is. They may have heard his name a couple times but I doubt they have ANY impression of him or his motives until they are rolling initiative to fight him. The forward of the AP even talks about this and the suggested solution is to incorporate him into the other parts of the AP as you see fit. Unfortunately this is the forward to the LAST volume of the AP. So consider yourself warned and make sure you do this from day 1 if it is important to you.


Wow, really...? That was the plan? Wand of Halt Undead? :/ I didn't read Ashes at Dawn in full detail until now, but I can't believe that Paizo made Radvir's plan 'fishing for natural 1'.

Scarab Sages

My biggest Plot Hole:

Spoiler:
Harrowstone: How can a level 7 cleric and half a dozen level 1 and 2 clerics and acolytes not see the problem up the hill, request reinforcements, and take care of the problem? Grimburrow's not an idiot, and considering he's a crooner, was probably around 50 years ago when the place was torched. He'd have to have his head in the sand to not nip the problem in the bud, especially considering his 4d6 channels wipe most encounters away in 1-2 rounds.


archmagi1 wrote:

My biggest Plot Hole:

** spoiler omitted **

Yes exactly. Another reason why I make NPCs in my games actual NPCs not PCs in waiting. They will all be just acolytes in my game, true NPCs. NPCs are incapable of dealing with these types of threats, that's why they need PCs to go on adventures in the first place, right?

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I think Erik covered things well. What you like will have a big impact on how good you think they are. I liked SS better than a lot of people cause I liked the hunting for a lost city aspect to it. I like gothic horror, so despite CC short comings which I think Erik covered it would rank it as my second favorite to date behind RotRL and just ahead of Kingmaker.


cibet44 wrote:
wraithstrike wrote:
[What plot holes did you find? I only have one really perceptive player, but I don't want to be caught off guard.

Just off the top of my head:

** spoiler omitted **...

Spoiler:
Vol 1: He's needed as an ingredient in the Carrion Crown potion. That's covered in Vol 3 when they learn that the Way is making something with what they've been gathering.

Vol 2: The entire trial is the by-product of the Way's use of the Beast, as they find out at the end. The same as with the events in Vol 1. At the beginning they're doing it for cash, as a favour to one of the Professor's friends, and because the Beast isn't the monster people make him out to be.

Vol 3: The Way killed their friend the Professor, set in motion events that almost destroyed Ravengro and the Beast, and are clearly doing something that is likely going to have serious consequences. If trying to stop an evil undead worshiping cult that has been leaving chaos in their wake isn't enough motivation, how about avenging a friend?

Vol 4: It's up to the GM to present the back stories to the players. There are lots of opportunities to give them that information, it's all about taking advantage of them. It provides a good break from the undead that took up the first volume, parts of the second volume, end of the third and that will come up in all of 5 and 6. Finally, it also shows that the Way is not perfect and tells them where to find them.

Vol 5: Um... can you give an example of what a grey interaction would be if the module only has black and white choices? Helping the vampires is not in and of itself evil, since the players aren't actively helping them hunt innocents or power. It isn't good however because they are helping the vampires. That's why helping them is a grey area.

Vol 6: Who Adivion is isn't really all that important to the overall plot. The Way as an organization is the main villain. Who the main villain is can easily be explained in Renchurch, and he can be introduced as a member of the Order in Vol 5 if he absolutely has to make an appearance. If anything you can easily make the "faceless" Way the main villain and Adivion simply the culmination of their plans.


My group is just about ready to start CC #5, they are having fun with the adventures as a whole but have really picked apart the plot. I think each individual AP is unique and interesting but looping them together is really a stretch. As a DM I have fun running them but get annoyed at all the errors within each adventure, I'm used to products that don't have so many errors. I would thin AP writers are experts on their system but they make mistakes and thats iritating.


Spacelard wrote:
wraithstrike wrote:
What plot holes did you find? I only have one really perceptive player, but I don't want to be caught off guard.

For me...and its not so much of a plot hole but a "that would never work" is

** spoiler omitted **

When you buy a wand it uses the lowest save for the purpose of simplicity. That way you don't have PC's trying to scour the city for a wand witha higher DC, and a GM worrying about how to price it. If you make your own wand the DC should actually be higher. If the vampire have a caster he can make the wands or you can just tell the pc's they do if they choose to investigate.

The same thing applies to scrolls also.


cibet44 wrote:
spoilers

1. Yeah I noticed that one. I will just say the ghost is the power source for the powering of the ritual.

2. Number 2 is not a plot hole. They are tasked to do a job which coincidentally leads to more WW trouble. At the end of book 2 they are actively chasing WW instead of them being a chance encounter. You can only have so many chance encounters before it starts to look fishy.
3.I thought they were there to get info on WW, and get embroiled in another WW plot. It seems these guys cause trouble where ever they do. I am seeming to think the plot hole is that any group drawing this much attention themselves really can be secretive.
4.I agree that I might have to give Raven Head some actual use for the WW.
5.I think that "serial killer" is a matter of perspective. I don't like the term when applied to vampires though. I won't use the word, and it probably should have have been used in the book. Vampires don't get a lot of sympathy votes.
6.The "no build-up" was not good. If Paizo decided to hide the villian again I hope they let the GM know about this in book 1 instead of book 6. The same thing happened in Kingmaker. Luckily I had all 6 books before I ran either one of them, and while it worked for me, that should not be the expected routine for everyone to wait 6 months.


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4. Nobody in my group uses a mace, so when I make up an NPC party who will overpower them and steal it, they won't really shed a tear for it.

5. Serial Killer or Serial Destroyer, doesn't really make a difference. It's about ending the existence of sentient creatures, and like WS said, it's a matter of perspective.

6. This has been discussed far and wide and I 100% agree with you. That was the worst thing in the whole AP. Good thing we didn't progress as fast as we could have, so I still had time to put in AA before 6th chapter.

Quote:
When you buy a wand it uses the lowest save for the purpose of simplicity. That way you don't have PC's trying to scour the city for a wand witha higher DC, and a GM worrying about how to price it. If you make your own wand the DC should actually be higher. If the vampire have a caster he can make the wands or you can just tell the pc's they do if they choose to investigate.

Even if the DC was 10 higher, basing a plan on 50% chance of success is not a good plan. I really don't know how he could have made that wand. With that info, I'll probably just remake him as a Sorcerer. With his high cha he could have pulled off Halt Undead and I never really liked the picture of Radvid. Or the fact that he uses a bladed scarf, which makes him feminine and less cool IMO.

By being a sorcerer, he can cast Halt Undead as a 6th lvl spell and if you swap his main stats (Dex and Cha), you get Cha 25. With high enough bluff and diplomacy he can easily fulfil the role of a spy without being an actual Spy archetype, and now his DC for Halt Undead is more believable 23. Still not reliable enough, but believable in order not to be a plot hole.


I dont know about taking CC as a package. Almost works better as individual adventures.

1) okie, nice
2) brilliant premises
3) great fun still
4) err..
5) Good ending
6) what, thought we ended this?

SS otoh started out brilliantly (shipwrecked on a island along with spiffy orphan nobelwoman needs help has kinda replaced the "you all meet in the pub"), but after that..
Well had its good moments like organising the ruins, but the whole premises of vast plunder kinda didnt materialise.

I do wonder, would it really totally break the game if gold earned was suddenly 10 times the usual? Especially in coinform. Especially if far away from society.. one cannot eat coins ;)

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

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My two cents:

Spoiler:

Toadkiller Dog wrote:
5. Serial Killer or Serial Destroyer, doesn't really make a difference. It's about ending the existence of sentient creatures, and like WS said, it's a matter of perspective.

Personally, I never let this bother me. Someone killing vampires vs. killing humans is still, pretty much a serial killer. And, even if you don't personally feel that way, the adventure is written primarily from the sense that the townsfolk of Caliphas don't know the victims are vampires. In fact, the constable is pretty much covering that up so it doesn't cause panic in the streets...i.e., folks would be WAY more panicked to know there are that many vampires in the city vs. just a serial killer taking out supposed "innocents" on the streets. So, within the interpretation of those living in Caliphas who don't realize the true nature of the "murders," they see it as a serial killer being on the loose. And, for any of the vampires consulted about these slayings, they very much viewed them as serial killings against their kind. So, either way, Radvir's a serial killer in my mind. He was meant to invoke a certain Jack the Ripper theme, only with vampirism as the backdrop to everything.

Toadkiller Dog wrote:
Even if the DC was 10 higher, basing a plan on 50% chance of success is not a good plan. I really don't know how he could have made that wand. With that info, I'll probably just remake him as a Sorcerer. With his high Cha he could have pulled off Halt Undead and I never really liked the picture of Radvir. Or the fact that he uses a bladed scarf, which makes him feminine and less cool IMO.

My original turnover had Radvir as a monk with the inveigler template from the Advanced Bestiary. The former gave him some potent hand-to-hand combat skills, and the latter made sure he could keep his plans secret, both from Luvick and any prying PCs trying to use divination magic to read his thoughts or determine if he was telling the truth while interacting with them. He learned his grapple techniques while traveling to and from Vudra in the silk caravan trade, and that's what he used to subdue the other vampires...not a wand of halt undead. By pinning and quickly staking his victims, Radvir could immobilize them before they could turn gaseous and escape. He and his minions then took them back to his tailor shop.

Meanwhile, the reason for the bladed scarf is two-fold. First, he's a tailor. As such, he made it. In fact, almost all of his magic items were manufactured using his Master Craftsman feat and Craft skills. Same goes for the bladed scarf. Secondly, Radvir comes from Varisian descent and the Varisians are pretty particular about their scarves, building in all sorts of utility for them. Thus, it fit the character better to wield a bladed scarf as a monk, particularly with his Whirlwind Attack feat. Or, if he wanted to put away the scarf and pummel you with a flurry of blows, that could be pretty devastating, too...particularly since at least one of those blows would invoke his energy drain attack. Personally, I liked that Rob McCreary kept the bladed scarf and that he also thought to add the new conductive weapon property to it so Radvir could still employ his energy drain attack through it as well. I liked the synergy of all these things.


Neil Spicer wrote:

My two cents:

** spoiler omitted **...

I do love when the authors of the AP adventures chime in with information like this. Brandon Hodge did the same in another thread. Great stuff and much appreciated. Thanks.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

cibet44 wrote:
I do love when the authors of the AP adventures chime in with information like this. Brandon Hodge did the same in another thread. Great stuff and much appreciated. Thanks.

You're quite welcome. As you can tell, we all had a lot of fun getting into the story of Carrion Crown and how best to integrate our various villains into it. And, inasmuch as some things might have gone slightly awry in some aspect of the final product or whatever, it's really up to individual GMs to embrace the product and make it their own by tweaking, adding, and changing whatever's necessary to have that story play out the way they need it to for their players. That's because we can't always anticipate what kind of player mix you'll have...or what their (and your) preferences might be. We try to widen things out to appeal to the maximum number of gamers, but I think GMs always need to tailor things...and even correct things, if necessary. It's part of the responsibility of being a GM.

Personally, I still like keeping up with threads like this so I can come back and help with that process...not because I feel compelled to quibble or defend every little thing. I very much see the purpose of these messageboards as helping those interested in playing the adventures get the most out of them...even if that means providing further insights into our original intentions, some new idea that came to us after our turnover, or even old ones that had to be dropped for space reasons, changed to better fit the overall campaign, or whatever. It becomes a stronger product in the end if, as authors, we stay engaged as much as we can.

--Neil

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

With Carrion Crown out, my rating of APs looks like this:

1. CotCT
2. RotRL
3. KM
4. LoF
5. CC
6. CoT
7. SS
8. SD


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I'm a huge fan of all the elements in Carrion Crown. I've only read the series so far. It's a great read. I love pouring over it and imagining what I'll do when I run it. I can't wait to run it.

Book 4 is the one I'm really looking forward to. I love H.P. Lovecraft. I really want to figure out how to layer in the atmosphere in that one.

If you love horror at all levels, I think you would enjoy this adventure path. It's best if run by a DM that really enjoys the theme and monsters explored in this AP.

They brought the Colour Out of Space to life. How awesome is that?

Liberty's Edge

Gorbacz wrote:

With Carrion Crown out, my rating of APs looks like this:

1. CotCT
2. RotRL
3. KM
4. LoF
5. CC
6. CoT
7. SS
8. SD

I would flip a few around, but largely this.

Legacy of Fire is under-rated. And I wish Children of the Void was part of a different AP since it was so much better than the rest of Second Darkness.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
ciretose wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:

With Carrion Crown out, my rating of APs looks like this:

1. CotCT
2. RotRL
3. KM
4. LoF
5. CC
6. CoT
7. SS
8. SD

I would flip a few around, but largely this.

Legacy of Fire is under-rated. And I wish Children of the Void was part of a different AP since it was so much better than the rest of Second Darkness.

I consider LoF to be very good, but not as "universal" as Kingmaker. KM has that generic fantasy appeal, LoF is pretty much for folks who enjoy Arabian and Planar themes.

And yes, Children of the Void is a shining star on a black tapestry of Second Darkness. (I can't believe I wrote that)


Maddigan wrote:

I'm a huge fan of all the elements in Carrion Crown. I've only read the series so far. It's a great read. I love pouring over it and imagining what I'll do when I run it. I can't wait to run it.

Book 4 is the one I'm really looking forward to. I love H.P. Lovecraft. I really want to figure out how to layer in the atmosphere in that one.

If you love horror at all levels, I think you would enjoy this adventure path. It's best if run by a DM that really enjoys the theme and monsters explored in this AP.

They brought the Colour Out of Space to life. How awesome is that?

I had players that enjoyed Harrowstone, but just didn't bite into Trial. They were totally uninterested in the trial itself and didn't give a damn about the fate of the beast. Had I continued with the AP, book 4 would have been a no-go too since my group loathes the primary opponents of that book (we can't take them seriously - to us, the bad guys might as well have been pokemon).


What I Read:
1. CotCT
2. RotRL
2. KM
3. LoF
3. CC
3. CoT
4. SS
4. SD

What I Played:
1. CotCT
2. CoT
3. CC
4. KM
5. SD
6. SS

Still getting around to RotRL and LoF, but my group loves city games and despises sandbox games. I'm already brainstorming ways to make Skulls and Shackles more linear, for god's sake.

As far as Carrion Crown goes though, 4 things stick out:
Mega Spoilers Ahoy

Spoiler:

1. The episodic nature of the AP becomes apparent at Book 3 and never changes. No recurring characters makes it difficult to make and keep vibrant NPCs.
2. The Cthulu-centric Wake of the Watcher, while good, sticks out like a sore thumb. Nothing that happens in the book besides "Find Raven's Head" matters, and none of the villains are telegraphed-- just dumped in the party's lap. And all of the bad guys are just weird. Book 1? Gothic horror, tense social situations, urban ex, ghosts. Book 2? Gothic horror, tense social situations, urban ex, mad science. Book 3? Gothic horror, tense social situations, urban ex, werewolves and heavy and claustrophobic man versus nature themes. Book 4? Science fiction horror, rubber suit monsters, no-win-scenario social situations, monsters that make no sense, and...
3. The Skum Date-Rape Dungeon. What the #%%!#@. What the #%%!#@ing #%%@!^$.
4. The flip-floppy black and white morality. Werewolves can't be good-- they're written as evil. Vampires can't be morally grey-- they're written as evil. I went back and re-wrote the werewolves to be morally grey as well as evil and some even as people who do good. I went back and re-wrote the vampires to be morally grey as well as evil and some even who begrudgingly do good. I found that to be the most annoying part of the AP, hands down, next to Neil Spicer having to spend like pages and pages and pages of content just to appease all of the people who rabidly clamor to kill all the vampires just because they are evil. Enjoy your non-stop combat sessions of Ashes at Dawn, then. If some people take a year to get through an AP and we take six months, that means that some people are going to spend 8 sessions in Ashes at Dawn just fighting through that entire book, and I am so sorry.

Grand Lodge

So what is the best ways to link the plots better together?

1. Have the villain known and possibly even something that says MORE clearly that the wardens spirit has been stolen.

2. Have the beast possibly have some awareness of what is said when he is being controlled, shadowed memories or dreams and share knowledge with the players. Also there is a huge university there - AND the Palatine Order... have the players get a hold of more information about the Whispering Way AND the Seasage Effergy so that when wake of the watcher comes up there is something in the way of forshadowing.

3. Given the players will have their first direct conflict with the Whispering Way, some more information and foreshadowing will help. Also prehaps have the Palatine Order take an interest and through channels feed the players information about the Way and even give them some data on the Ravenhead Mace AND the vampire situation in 5. Now the Mace is seen as something NEEDED to protect the party when confronting vamps...

Any others?


I don't have read any of the CC books, but could you possible, by the end of book 2, let the PCs slay one high in line WW agent who has some kind of diary or evil spell book with him, that explains the resurrection part? This way the players would know what they are up to and might try to prevent the WW to get the parts he needs, with the impending doom and resurrection of the tyrant looming just behind the horizon.

One problem with this approach could be, that the players tackle the books out of order ... because this happens at the end of book 2 or between book 2 and 3, it shouldn't be too difficult to make the bad things in book 3 so urgent that they can't be ignored, should the PCs really stand any chance to throw a stick into the WWs plans.

Another was would be to rewrite stuff on the fly, in other words: let the PCs decide in which order to work down their questlist ("ok, who wants cthulhu next and who the werewolfs?"), scaling the adventure to players level, but this would impose a lot of conversation work on the GM.

What really stands out about this AP is its episodic nature, you always hear about this ... but this is actually quite cool, if you don't plan to play this AP, you can just insert any of the parts into an ongoing campaign and maybe even iron out one of the "bad books" that any AP seems to have. Actually, you can do this with most AP books, but then you can't use the AP as written any more, and most of the time this takes some fiddling to get the plot done. The episodic nature of the CC AP really helps in this department and seems to really help to insert them into any setting.


Neil Spicer wrote:

My two cents:

** spoiler omitted **...

Do you still have that build?

I will have to get the advanced bestiary when I get more cash. You just made someone a little richer.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

wraithstrike wrote:
Do you still have that build?

Of course. But it's not really mine to give (or post here). Sometimes, Paizo has provided director's cut material from things that hit the cutting room floor. But usually, those elements are add-on's as opposed to replacement material. They also own all the rights to my turnover. So, I can't really post that here unless they green-light it or choose to do so themselves.

wraithstrike wrote:
I will have to get the Advanced Bestiary when I get more cash. You just made someone a little richer.

It's part of the "Advanced" series of books put out by Green Ronin several years back during the 3.0/3.5 era. Paizo uses that manual as a pretty consistent resource when doing templated creatures to add a little variety. Matthew Sernett was the primary author. Well worth picking up in my opinion.


Neil Spicer wrote:
wraithstrike wrote:
Do you still have that build?

Of course. But it's not really mine to give (or post here). Sometimes, Paizo has provided director's cut material from things that hit the cutting room floor. But usually, those elements are add-on's as opposed to replacement material. They also own all the rights to my turnover. So, I can't really post that here unless they green-light it or choose to do so themselves.

wraithstrike wrote:
I will have to get the Advanced Bestiary when I get more cash. You just made someone a little richer.
It's part of the "Advanced" series of books put out by Green Ronin several years back during the 3.0/3.5 era. Paizo uses that manual as a pretty consistent resource when doing templated creatures to add a little variety. Matthew Sernett was the primary author. Well worth picking up in my opinion.

Thanks for the info.


Kerobelis wrote:

Now that Carrion crown has been fully published for ~ 2 months, how does it rate among the PF AP's?

My general sense of the current PF AP's based on many posts from others is:

Kingmaker (excellant or 4/5)
Serpent's Skull and Council of Thieves (below average or 2/5)

Probably not much more than 2.5/5 or so, AFAIC. There are a lot of problems (all the ones noted here are all applicable and good examples) and the AP doesn't really come close to a lot of

Better than SD and CoT, but not much better than SS (gets extra points for being a horror AP along with Paizo trying to cover much of the bases, the poor #5 notwithstanding).

But not one of the better APs, overall, IMO.


I will just say that I'm currently running through Harrowstone and it is going fine. Some parts have even creeped the players out and given I have players who have been playing for years... that's a good thing.

I can see some disjointedness coming up ahead but honestly I think it will take minimal work to make sure that it isn't noticeable and frankly players hardly ever notice/care about the gaps we behind the screen see anyway.

I can't rate this vs. the other APs though as this is my first time running any sort of pre-packaged module. But I'm enjoying it and my players are too (large group, 7 people).

Scarab Sages

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber

Maybe, I'm used to playing/running investigative-type adventures from the CoC genre, because to me, the hooks are pretty obvious compared to how they hide in other games and unlike in CoC where they can be obscure or ToC where putting together clues can be challenging. Is the d20/Pathfinder engine not conducive to investigative-heavy games? How do you GMs run the skill checks involved? Do players generally get bored when forced into non-combat situations?

In KM, there are two camps of players in my current game: the diplomats and the killers. The diplomats love the various intrigues and NPC interactions while the killers tend to get bored. I wonder if the players will draw up along those lines in CC as well.


Mactaka wrote:

Maybe, I'm used to playing/running investigative-type adventures from the CoC genre, because to me, the hooks are pretty obvious compared to how they hide in other games and unlike in CoC where they can be obscure or ToC where putting together clues can be challenging. Is the d20/Pathfinder engine not conducive to investigative-heavy games? How do you GMs run the skill checks involved? Do players generally get bored when forced into non-combat situations?

In KM, there are two camps of players in my current game: the diplomats and the killers. The diplomats love the various intrigues and NPC interactions while the killers tend to get bored. I wonder if the players will draw up along those lines in CC as well.

For the knowledge checks I roll as described, my players made good use of the various libraries.

For social checks we don't roll unless a player can't think of/be bothered with something to say, but hasn't happened so far.

But then again this group consists of two players who often try to evade needless combats rather than hack through, if possible. I haven't run other systems aside from Rogue Trader, so I can't really compare with CoC.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Ice Titan wrote:

What I Read:

1. CotCT
2. RotRL
2. KM
3. LoF
3. CC
3. CoT
4. SS
4. SD

What I Played:
1. CotCT
2. CoT
3. CC
4. KM
5. SD
6. SS

Kingmaker rates way down from that for me ( though still before Serpent's Skull ), because I found the city building to be horribly tedious and the storyline to be non-existant and stopped GM'ing the AP in the second module. I kinda am sorry to never be able to GM Sound of a Thousand Screams and that I can't run Jasons directors cut of War of the River Kings, but I just prefer tighter storylines.

Ice Titan wrote:
If some people take a year to get through an AP and we take six months, that means that some people are going to spend 8 sessions in Ashes at Dawn just fighting through that entire book, and I am so sorry.

<sigh> I got an Undead Slayer Paladin in the group and I can already see that happening.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Neil Spicer wrote:
Of course. But it's not really mine to give (or post here). Sometimes, Paizo has provided director's cut material from things that hit the cutting room floor. But usually, those elements are add-on's as opposed to replacement material. They also own all the rights to my turnover. So, I can't really post that here unless they green-light it or choose to do so themselves.

Really? Because Jason Nelson seems to have no problem giving out his original material if you ask nicely, and it's not as if does so under the hand or somesuch.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

magnuskn wrote:
Really? Because Jason Nelson seems to have no problem giving out his original material if you ask nicely, and it's not as if does so under the hand or somesuch.

I believe even Jason had to secure permission to share that material from "War of the River Kings." And, again, I believe it was additional material...i.e., the director's cut of stuff that hit the cutting room floor. Not an entirely different characterization of a significant villain. But I could be wrong about that. Regardless, I'd want someone from Paizo to give a thumbs up on it. Hopefully, Rob or James or someone will notice this thread and chime in. If they say "yes," I've still got the alternate stat-block from the original manuscript.

In the meantime, I'm trying to tie off my Jade Regent turnover. And, I need to push forward with outlining my next adventure. I'll check back here periodically to see if anyone green-light's such a request. But right now, it can't be a priority for me. Maybe later.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Neil Spicer wrote:
magnuskn wrote:
Really? Because Jason Nelson seems to have no problem giving out his original material if you ask nicely, and it's not as if does so under the hand or somesuch.

I believe even Jason had to secure permission to share that material from "War of the River Kings." And, again, I believe it was additional material...i.e., the director's cut of stuff that hit the cutting room floor. Not an entirely different characterization of a significant villain. But I could be wrong about that. Regardless, I'd want someone from Paizo to give a thumbs up on it. Hopefully, Rob or James or someone will notice this thread and chime in. If they say "yes," I've still got the alternate stat-block from the original manuscript.

In the meantime, I'm trying to tie off my Jade Regent turnover. And, I need to push forward with outlining my next adventure. I'll check back here periodically to see if anyone green-light's such a request. But right now, it can't be a priority for me. Maybe later.

His Irovetti was a straight-out Fighter, with one additional level of Barbarian, so I'd say it was pretty alternate. :p

And I hope you have lots of roleplaying encounters in your module of Jade Regent. I've been endlessly worrying about the AP being too combat-focused so far. Updates on how the NPC's have progressed in regards to their personality would also be much appreciated. :D


Guys, mind the spoilers please. I'm a Carrion Crown DM who plays in Kingmaker, don't really want to read more about it. :D


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Toadkiller Dog wrote:
Guys, mind the spoilers please. I'm a Carrion Crown DM who plays in Kingmaker, don't really want to read more about it. :D

Ups, sorry. I don't think I've said too much spoilerific stuff though. ^^


I'd rather if I didn't knew that our kingdom will be involved in a multiple sided war, where one of the warring parties will be Irovetti of Pitax. :P


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Toadkiller Dog wrote:
I'd rather if I didn't knew that our kingdom will be involved in a multiple sided war, where one of the warring parties will be Irovetti of Pitax. :P

The way the AP presents it, he's got a huge neon sign over his head proclaiming so. ^^

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