Pathfinder Module: "Feast of Ravenmoor" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Feast of Ravenmoor is a 32-page, full-colour (with excellent artwork) module for third-level characters.  The adventure involves some classic horror tropes, but in a way that makes for a nice Pathfinder homage rather than clichéd storytelling.  I played through this with my multi-classed psychic/monk and had a blast.  It’s a module that doesn’t require ultra-optimized PCs, and it has a great mix of role-playing, mystery solving, and exciting set-piece action scenes.  Having read through it for the purposes of this review, I’m also impressed by how non-railroady it is.  Players have a lot of freedom to decide how to progress, and the GM is given good guidance on how to respond to different courses they may take.  This isn’t a super-long or dense module—I’ve played some individual PFS scenarios that were far more complex.  But Feast of Ravenmoor is an all-around excellent adventure and a good showcase for newer players on the fun that Pathfinder can offer.

SPOILERS

Feast of Ravenmoor is very much a classic horror story transplanted into a fantasy setting.  There’s an isolated, backwards town of eccentric locals.  There’s a secret cult that abducts outsiders and sacrifices them.  There’s even a corn maze and a dark ritual for a final showdown!  But although the plot isn’t exactly original, all the individual elements come together nicely for a really enjoyable adventure.

The adventure hook involves the PCs being hired by a government bookkeeper in Magnimar to investigate the recent disappearance of a tax collector sent to the remote village of Ravenmoor.  The hook is simple and direct, and the module hand-waves the journey to Ravenmoor (instructing GMs they can place some mild wilderness encounters along the way if they want to). 

The adventure really starts when the PCs get to Ravenmoor and start looking and asking around.  Ravenmoor is a pretty strange village, with unusual local customs that are sure to get the adventurers’ attention.  The first encounter sets the tone, as the PCs are accosted by an errant stirge that turns out to be a kid’s beloved pet!  How the PCs deal with the stirge (my group killed it) affects the initial attitudes of several villagers.  The first third of the module is pretty open-ended as the PCs investigate and gather clues.  Eventually they’ll meet the town’s mayor, who invites the group to attend the “Founders’ Festival” later in the day (and to stay the night at his mansion since there’s no inn in town).  The mayor, however, is the leader of an evil cult!

In a well-developed backstory that’s integral to the plot, Ravenmoor was infiltrated by a pair of faceless stalkers (shapechanging, blood-sucking aberrations) several decades ago.  The faceless stalkers gradually turned some of the townspeople away from worshipping Desna to worshipping Ghlaunder, the evil god of disease and deception.  Through monthly sacrifices, worship of Ghlaunder has brought prosperity and abundance to the village.  But only about a quarter of the villagers are part of the cult, and most people in the village are perfectly nice and completely unaware of what’s going on.  To help fully flesh out Ravenmoor, the inside front-cover of the module contains a map of the town, there’s a little gazetteer near the beginning, and a two-page appendix gives an overview at the end of the module.  There’s a lot for the GM to work with in making Ravenmoor more than just a forgettable backdrop to an adventure.

The middle part of the adventure is also open-ended.  The festival is well-developed, with descriptions of some (really gross) local foods and games that the PCs can participate in.  (I might have to swipe some of the mechanics of the games for other adventures down the line).  However, the PCs don’t have to attend the festival—my group didn’t because we were too busy skulking around the mayor’s house!  There are clues there that point to what really happened to the tax collector.  Despite several claims that he absconded with the tax money for Riddleport, he was last month’s human sacrifice!  I enjoyed the investigation parts of the adventure, though admittedly my PC was perfectly suited for it what with his ability to occasionally read minds.

If the PCs don’t figure things out early and decide to stay the night (either in the mayor’s house or camping near the village), there’s an attempt by the cult to abduct a PC.  The module admits the abduction is not likely to be successful, but guidance is given for what to do if it is.  I really like how this scene is written as well.  It’s a local family attempting the abduction because they don’t want their own daughter to be next, and if any member of the abduction team is hurt, the others rush to their aid.

Either through investigation or chasing after fleeing cultists, the PCs will find their way to a seemingly-abandoned farmhouse at the edge of the village.  There’s some more classic horror elements here (a collapsing floor, a demonic scarecrow, misbegotten degenerates kept in the barn, etc.) before the big showdown in the corn maze.  Here, the PCs have to navigate through the dark labyrinth while surviving hit-and-run attacks before reaching the center where the ritualistic human sacrifice is about to take place.  The mayor and several cultists are here in full regalia, and, the best part, is that when the mayor is killed, a massive demonic insect-thing bursts out of his chest!  It’s a very exciting and effective piece of body-horror and a good twist for players who think they’ve just won.

The module takes the time to offer some useful advice on what happens to Ravenmoor after the cult is revealed and defeated, which is very useful for GMs who still want to make use of the setting after running the adventure.

As I said, it’s not the most original set-up for an adventure, and some wiseacres may almost immediately guess the gist of what’s happening in the town.  Despite that, all of the elements are put together so well that it’ll still be an enjoyable experience to see how it all plays out.  I’d strongly recommend Feast of Ravenmoor for anyone who can enjoy a classic horror homage in a Pathfinder context.