Pathfinder Module: "The Midnight Mirror" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I ran The Midnight Mirror recently for three friends using PFS characters and I loved it.  It’s a dark module (in more ways than one) that has an excellent and evocative setting, memorable NPCs, and a “boss” fight that’s finally worthy of the concept.  There’s loads of role-playing and investigation available, but the combats don’t hold back: the PCs I ran it for were along the low range of levels (and fighting ability), and there were several points I thought a TPK was on its way before they managed to just barely escape or emerge victorious.  If you’re looking for a challenging but well-written module that will prove satisfying on all of the various joys Pathfinder has to offer, I would definitely recommend this one.  Even the cover is awesome!

SPOILERS

The Midnight Mirror takes place entirely in Karpad, a small village in Nidal.  If you don’t know much about Nidal (and there are not a lot of adventures set there), it’s the country where, thousands of years ago, the people swore to follow the tenets of Zon-Kuthon (the god of pain and darkness) in exchange for protection from the cataclysmic events of Earthfall.  Although the residents of Karpad are some distance removed from the most zealous worshippers of Zon-Kuthon, the religion’s influence still has influence there.  Two pages of the module are an appendix that provides an overview of the village, and it’s important because what’s happening in the village (particularly strains between its human and fetchling inhabitants) are a key part of the story.  In my game, the Temple of Zon-Kuthon was particularly memorable, as the priest offers healing in exchange for the infliction of pain!  (I should say as a general note that GMs should know their players’ tastes before getting too detailed in the S&M practiced by worshippers of Zon-Kuthon).

The PCs have been enlisted by a wealthy family in another city to look into why their daughter, who married the baron of Karpad, hasn’t written in several weeks.  The adventure hook requires some massaging for Pathfinders, and some ideas for that can be found in the forums (this part could have been developed more in general, as outsiders are generally forbidden in Nidal except in the port city of Nisroch).  Anyway, once the PCs reach the baron’s manor, they’ll quickly get the scoop.  The village is under quarantine due to the spread of a mysterious ailment the locals are calling Tallowthroat; it causes the swelling of the throat until it explodes and shadowy figures emerge!  The PCs obviously need to get to the heart of the matter and investigate the origin of the disease and how to stop it (especially if they catch it themselves, a real possibility!).

The NPCs who reside in the manor are a key part of the story, and all are well-drawn with strong characterization.  There’s Stepan Boroi, the Baron of Karpad, who is paranoid and withdrawn; Anya Boroi, his wife, who earnestly wants the best for the village and her husband; a creepy ghost tied to an iron maiden in the basement (who could be an ally for the PCs!), and more.  I would really play up the manor’s gothic vibe, as it’s a key location in the module and PCs will probably spend a lot of time there, especially if they make it their home base while conducting exploration elsewhere.

In the village itself, the PCs will witness a lynch mob about to hang three fetchlings on suspicion that they’re responsible not only for the Tallowthroat but also for the recent disappearances of some humans.  I like how this encounter was structured, as the PCs can do nothing and just watch, intervene with violence, or make a series of Diplomacy/Intimidate checks to try to get the mob to stand down.  (one of the PCs in my game was terrible at combat but a master negotiator, and was rocking out on these skill checks!)

The encounter leads to the PCs meeting the captain of the village watch, a man named Lucian Groy, whose daughter is among the missing townspeople.  He’s desperate and willing to get help from anyone, even strangers like the PCs.  If they agree to take part in the search, clues will lead them to a chandlery (candle-making shop) where the PCs have to fight through a wax golem and some nasty strength-draining shadows before confronting the villain responsible for the disappearances: a Lurker in Light (a sort of crazy evil fey) who is using his kidnapped captives to enact a strange ritual to bring more of his kind into Karpad.  It’s actually a tougher fight than it first appears, as the fey can fly, has DR, may be able to turn invisible, and may be able to blind and poison multiple PCs.  On the other hand, he doesn’t pump out much damage, so if the PCs can survive the first few rounds and have some ranged weapons, they should be able to tackle him.  The PCs I ran this for nearly TPK’d the first time  and were starting to flee just before they triggered the fey’s morale condition and it flew away first.  It was an exciting, edge-of-your-seat encounter.

However, the Lurker in Light didn’t bring the Tallowthroat to Karpad, and his presence in the village to begin with requires explanation.  More poking around various avenues will lead the PCs to reveal that Baron Boroi has a major part to play in everything that’s happening in the village.  He’s not evil, but desperate, and his backstory is essential to the plot of the module.  In the manor’s basement is a midnight mirror, a magical device that allows passage to the Shadow Plane.  Almost 900 years ago, the Baron’s ancestors used the mirror to imprison several fetchlings and shae (natives of the Shadow Plane) in a mystical demiplane within the mirror because they were planning a revolution to liberate the subjugated shadow peoples in Nidal.  A decade ago, Baron Boroi made contact with the leader of the rebels, a shae named Nicasor, who still remains trapped on the other side of the mirror: Nicasor offered to help Boroi gain power in Karpad by providing a convenient place to dispose of rivals to his leadership (his brothers) in exchange for trading places with him once a year every decade.  Nicasor fulfilled his end of the bargain but now, ten years later, Baron Boroi refuses to fulfil his end!  The shadowy essence leaking out of the mirror stems from Nicasor’s cold anger, and it’s what is causing the Tallowthroat.  In other words, there’s no clear “good guy” to this story—just innocents being affected by the schemes of others.  It’s a type of grim realism that suits the story (and the Nidalese setting) perfectly.

The PCs will realize that the only way they can stop the disease is to go through the midnight mirror and destroy it from within.  This is the final third of the module and offers a great introduction to the characteristics of the Shadow Plane (and since it’s a fairly low-level module, may be the first time the PCs involved have ever visited another plane).  The particular demiplane on the other side of the mirror is a dark and distorted reflection of Boroi Manor.  Again, the flavour fits the tone perfectly.  There are threats within the demiplane, but what I really liked about the module is how it also allows more thoughtful PCs to form alliances with Nicasor and the other shae (and fetchlings) trapped there (depending on how good they are at Diplomacy, of course).  Indeed, I think the module is hard enough with just the absolutely necessary combat encounters, and groups that try to kill everything will have a *really* hard time unless they’re optimized combat machines. 

Anyway, in order to destroy the mirror from within, the PCs have to destroy its semi-sentient “heart.”  This is essentially a battle against a CR 8 shadow-infused tendriculos (a Huge-sized plantlike monster) that can paralyze PCs and swallow them whole!  In other words, it is *not* a pushover.  PCs will need a lot of luck or clever tactics in order to survive; my players used some fantastic teamwork, but even then one PC died.  After the heart is destroyed, the PCs need to leave relatively quickly because the deteriorating demiplane can be even more dangerous.  And when it’s completely destroyed (and every living thing within is expelled), the danger isn’t necessarily over!  Nicasor is bound and determined to kill Baron Boroi for his treachery, so depending on whether the PCs are inclined to intervene, they may think they’ve triumphed only to have another difficult battle on their hands.  It’s a module that really tests the morality and personalities of the PCs in a good way; there are no easy answers on what to do in this one.

It may be the coffee buzz, but I really can’t praise The Midnight Mirror enough.  I would love a sequel to return to Karpad.  It’s a hard module, and success for the PCs is definitely not guaranteed.  But great heroes can only emerge from great challenges, and this is definitely one worth experiencing whether the result is victory or defeat.