Pathfinder Module: "Carrion Hill" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I ran this for a group of PFS players running Level 4 pregens, and things . . . didn't go well.  They TPK'd in the first encounter, which I think can be partially blamed on bad luck, partially on bad tactics, and partially on having PCs just a tad under the APL that the module expects.  This review is based on running the module up to that point and on having read and prepared the rest of it.  Despite how things went for my particular group, I genuinely like Carrion Hill.  It's a very atmospheric module, the setting is interesting, and the antagonists are memorable.  It's a fairly straightforward adventure to run, and won't overly tax GMs--but it's also not a simple dungeon crawl either.  As for its Lovecraftian-inspiration, I would say: don't expect an RP- and investigation-heavy game like a true Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario.  This is still Pathfinder, and while there is clear inspiration from the Cthulhu Mythos, the combat in this one comes fast and furious.

SPOILERS

Carrion Hill is set in the eponymous town, a location rich with history in the gothic nation of Ustalav.  The plot is sparked by your classic "cultists summoning an eldritch horror from beyond", and, as these things are wont to happen, the horror breaks free and starts terrorising the town.  In order to have any realistic chance of defeating the creature (a "Spawn of Yog-Sothoth"), the PCs must first weaken it by tracking down and killing the three surviving cultists who summoned it in the first place.  In terms of structure, the scenario can be divided into six parts: the hook, the investigation, the three cultist hideouts (which can be done in any order), and the big battle at the end against the Spawn.  There are a lot of references and inspiration drawn from the Cthulhu Mythos throughout the entire module, but I hope people who play this don't think true Call of Cthulhu RPG games are anything like it!

There's very little lead-up to the adventure hook; as written, the PCs are walking through the streets of Carrion Hill (for a reason determined by the GM; I liked the suggested one of seeing if Carrion Hill would be a good site for a Pathfinder Lodge) when they hear a town crier saying that the mayor needs heroes and is offering a reward.  Once they arrive at the mayor's mansion, they're escorted in for some boxed text explaining that a series of attacks have occurred over the past few hours in Carrion Hill, all coming from below and destroying small buildings in the process.  With his guards trying to contain the growing panic in the streets, the mayor offers financial incentive for the PCs to figure out what's going on and prevent further attacks.  It's a pretty standard briefing, but it gets the job done and gets the PCs into the action quickly.

Investigating the mystery starts with the PCs being escorted to the site of the first attack, a shattered home covered in a strange black sludge and featuring signs of an enormous creature bursting its way free.  The devastation and clues are described well (as is the omnipresent, gloomy rain), and the PCs will have no difficulty realizing that the creature emerged from a not-so-secret door leading into ancient crypts under the city.  Following the stairs down, they'll soon reach the so-called Sunless Grove, an immense cavern of suitably Lovecraftian description, which is where the cultists originally summoned the Spawn.  Right now, however, a ghoul is feasting on the corpses of a couple of cultists (who didn't survive the Spawn's appearance) while simultaneously reading a book (the famous Pnakotic Manuscripts) used in the ritual.  The ghoul doesn't attack right away, and with a very high Diplomacy check and some bribery, the PCs can get the book without a fight.  Combat is likely, however, and this was the encounter that unfortunately ended my run-through of Carrion Hill after just a couple of hours.  Ghouls are always nastier than their CR would indicate because their ability to paralyze foes with any of their three attacks (on a full attack) means that one bad save can take a PC out of the fight.  The ghoul here also has six levels in Rogue, so even if a GM doesn't go coup de grace crazy, sneak attack damage on paralyzed foes can add up quickly.  I don't think it's an unfair fight for four PCs of levels 4-6 (especially because the players have time to prepare and talk over tactics and positioning), but it is certainly a challenging one for parties with low Fort saves or lacking elves.  Anyway, assuming the PCs survive the encounter, they'll learn from the clues in the Sunless Grove that three cultists fled the scene of the summoning, and that the beast will be weakened if they're slain.

One of the cultists the PCs can track down is a necromancer named Rupman Myre, who runs a brick-making factory using zombie slave labor!  The encounter takes place above and around vats of molten chemicals and contains a lot of different options for movement.  At just four rooms, this is the shortest of the three "kill the cultists" section of the module.  I like the little touches, such as how panicked Myre is about the Spawn as demonstrated by his actions and the dialogue he shouts.

A second cultist, Arlend Hyve, is a historian and alchemist (with seven levels of Rogue) who operates out of an abandoned temple to Aroden.  Hyve keeps violet fungi in order to make poison, but I don't imagine he'd be too hard to beat.  The violet fungi, on the other hand, could prove a surprise to over-confident PCs.  Again, the setting descriptions here are really done well.  This section is also fairly short.

By far the longest section about tracking down cultists is the one with Waldur Crove.  Crove runs an asylum which is extensively detailed in the module: two floors and 39 labelled rooms!  Even drawing it on flip-mats would be time-consuming.  There's a lot for PCs to wade through in the asylum: dangerous lunatics, even more dangerous orderlies, morlocks, a pit with a monster that was original to this module (the Chaos Beast), and then the final battle against Crove (who has levels in Cleric and Wizard, with a focus on conjuring).

The Spawn of Yog-Sothoth attacks the PCs wherever they are when the third cultist is killed, meaning that the final encounter location could be in one of three places.  This is certainly exciting and cinematic, and doubtless the players will be surprised and unprepared.  The Spawn is a CR 10 creature and would run roughshod over most groups, but, if they've killed the cultists, it can have up to six negative levels and should be far more manageable.  The module does a good job addressing various permutations of what the PCs could do during the adventure, and giving the GM advice accordingly.

I should mention that the artwork throughout this module is really good.  The picture of the ghoul in the Sunless Grove (on p. 9) is perfect, and the various cultists and monsters have an appropriately creepy feel.  The inside front- and back-covers are filled with maps, and they're clear and functional.  The module comes with a two-page appendix describing Carrion Hill, and I was happy that there was enough to keep it from being a generic backdrop.  The town has an extensive history, and I would like to see it used again for further adventures.

Despite my group's premature demise, I'd encourage you to give Carrion Hill a chance.  It's a strong, self-contained, atmospheric scenario that has excellent descriptive writing and solid encounters.