Rule of Fear and Carrion Crown...how good are they?

[daddystabz]

I haven't played pathfinder in quite some time and I haven't been the biggest fan of it overall. However, I have the itch currently to do a fantasy game in a dark Gothic setting similar to Ravenloft. I was told to look into Rule of Fear and the Carrion Crown adventure path.

How do these products compare to the content and atmosphere of the old Ravenloft setting and would you say it is superior to the newer Wizards of the Coast Shadowfell setting and Heroes of Shadow?

[HappyDaze]

I can't really compare it to the 4e stuff, but it's merely ok in my eyes. I strongly prefer the Slyvannia source in Nights Dark Masters for WFRP 2e for horror fantasy.

[Stolen seconds]

I'm currently running a group through Carrion Crown, and it has a great gothic flavor (although the initial adventure can get a bit obnoxious). I've only read a bit of the 4e stuff, so I can't make a strong comparison, but the AP can be a great spooky campaign.

[OmegaZ]

The first book of Carrion Crown, Haunting of Harrostone, just won an Ennie Award. I've read it through and I'm playing in book 2 now, its a very fun adventure path. Only thing I would change is having the BBEG meet the PC's besides at the VERY end, as its written. Its not hard to throw him in though.

As for Rule of Fear I have to say its my favorite region book in Golarion, tied with Kaer Maga's City of Strangers book. The details on the history, counts, counties, mysteries, conspiracies, and hauntings of Ustalav are great for making your own adventure and fleshing out Carrion Crown. I'm particularly fond of Bastardhall in Varno and want to either read or make an adventure based off of it.

[Count Buggula]

I haven't played it yet, but reading through Carrion Crown my impression was very favorable. I love the flavor of the haunts in the first book, and I think if done right could be super creepy.

It's not gore-type horror, it's more classic suspense and creep-you-out kind of horror, which happens to be exactly what I like.

[lastblacknight]

It's lovely campaign so far (I am running book 1 for my gang).

It's moving at a slower pace than I expected initially but since they are first level, running pure pathfinder for the first time and I have allowed a Stryx as well. It's only to be expected.

Without spoiling anything; I am letting the sense of impending doom build, they know something isn't quite right and they are really getting into it.

Rule of Fear is great. I start each session with a little titbit about the country they are in before we do our recap. I am also using it to build player knowledge for the next books to maintain continuity.

Just wishing I had waited for Wizkids figs or at least the paper ones....(seriously though I enjoy your products paizo, you take the time to do it right).

[Beckett]

I am really enjoying them. Like above, I don't know about 4E stuff, but very Ravenlofty.

Besides a few things:

some of the later books in the AP, I think 4 & 5, start going less Ravenloft and more Cthuhlu, which I didn't care for. It's not that they where bad, but I think that Cthuhlu stuff is very over done, and I really wanted to keep Ustalav and PF seperate from that. It also tries to force the players to work with vampires even though there is no way some concepts would, ever, but that's okay because grey area means superKOOL automatically, in book 5, I believe. A little heavy handed and rather than force players to ignor their characters motivations and beliefs should have offered other things to bypass that section of the adventure, in my opinion.

Otherwise, I love what I see so far. I honestly wish that the Players Guide and Ustalav Guide had more mechanics and crunch to work the flavor, but that's just me.

As a book that is sort of a tour d'<Dark> Realms, it does well with a lot of the "classic" moster types.

monsters of all stripes:

You get werewolf lords, variaty in Lycanthropy, Strahd wannabees, Nosferatus, Lich (and funnily Lich wannabees), Frankenstien (aka Adam from Ravenloft) both in the commonly incorrect monster brute and the moral issues of the original, dark old cults, Dark Old One cults, "dagon" cults, and witches and alchemists. Probably too much witches and alchemists.

Haunts (sort of like traps for Clerics) are awesome, and beat the crap out of actual traps in all ways since 1st Ed.

Great plots and ideas.

[Schadenfreude]

I haven't read Rule of Fear, but on reading the Haunting of Harrowstone, it struck me as one of the best gothic horror adventures I've ever seen. I recommend the AP if you're a fan of horror.

[Biobeast]

I've DMed many of the Ravenloft stuff in 2E and also enjoy the Call of Cthullu game.

My ratings:
HoH: Awesome, with some DM work filling out Ravengro.
ToB: Great,
BM: OK (the 2nd part was better then the 1st part)
WoW: Good

My group hasn't gotten to the last 2 yet. My feeling is AtoD will be good, and SofG will be OK at best.

[Brandon Hodge]

Biobeast wrote:

SofG will be OK at best.

Tough crowd.

[Biobeast]

Brandon Hodge wrote:

Biobeast wrote:

SofG will be OK at best.

Tough crowd.

Sorry that's my sense of what my group likes, but if it ends up being different I'll post an update right here.

[HappyDaze]

Biobeast wrote:

BM: OK (the 2nd part was better then the 1st part)

Sounds like a conversation from a retirement home...

[Brodyz]

My group has finished HoH and we are playing out a couple of side treks on the way to TotB. We are having a blast. Rule of Fear is a great sourcebook overall, and I have also used material from Classic Horrors Revisited and Undead Revisited, as well as sprinkles of 3.5 Libris Mortis and the Book of Vile Darkness. I busted out my box of 2e Ravenloft for more flavor ideas, as the Van Richten Guides and the Children of the Night books still contain a wealth of material that can be converted. In fact, the Children of the Night books are great for the Side Treks to add flavor and XP depending on which track you use.
I am a huge fan of gothic horror and Lovecraft, so I love everything I have read in the chapters that we have not gotten to yet. Usually as I prepare for an upcoming session I will modify things to my liking, in keeping with the style of my group. For example, if there are 3 of the same creatures in an encounter, I modify 2 of the three so that each monster is a little unique and a little surprising.
Everyone has opinions based on what they like, and IMHO, the Carrion Crown AP is awesome.