Pathfinder Module: "Crucible of Chaos" [RPG]

 

NO SPOILERS

Crucible of Chaos by Wolfgang Baur is one of my favourite of the early GameMastery-branded Pathfinder modules.  I ran it some months ago in my “Roots of Golarion” campaign, and found it one of the highlights of the campaign.  Like another one of my favourites of the early modules (Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale), Crucible of Chaos gives the players a lot of agency.  There’s a wide variety of motivations, approaches, and goals they can have in this one, which makes it exactly the opposite of the clichéd railroad adventure.  And depending on how they play it, it could be the springboard for a whole new series of adventures.  Another advantage is that the location where this adventure occurs is left intentionally open, so the GM can slot it pretty much wherever they like without creating canon or story issues.  But it still provides a memorable addition to the lore of Golarion.  I’ll also add that the artwork (both the cover and in the interiors) is excellent, with some of it effectively scary!  All in all, this one’s a winner and is definitely worth tracking down.

SPOILERS!

In Crucible of Chaos, the PCs will discover the ruins of Ulduvai, one of the legendary flying cities of the ancient Shory civilization.  The adventure starts with the premise that the PCs have discovered the lost city high in an unnamed mountain range far from civilisation (allowing for GM flexibility on the precise setting) after following a new magic item called an Unerring Compass.  Exactly how or why the PCs came into possession of this compass is also left open for the GM to devise depending on what’s going on in the campaign, though a few suggestions are given.  This may require some advance planning for the GM, but is better than a “one size fits all” solution that may be anything but.

In Part 1 of the adventure, the PCs reach a valley in the mountains warmed by geothermal heat.  The valley has a sort of “Lost World” feel, with dinosaurs, lizardfolk, and even a new creature called “zothians” (a kind of lizardfolk-centaur!).  There’s a lot to explore in the valley, and the module provides both a list of random encounters and some fixed location-based encounters.  PCs might try to bulldoze their way right to Ulduvai, or they may gather information and treasure from the areas around it.  Again, it’s pretty open-ended.  PCs who manage to make peace with the lizardfolk and visit their village can gain some really useful tidbits that make success in Ulduvai itself more likely.

In Part 2, the PCs can explore Ulduvai in any way they wish.  The Lovecraftian-backstory to why the city crashed is key to understanding what’s happening there now.  Millennia ago, cabal of powerful wizards worshipping Azathoth (a god of mysteries and secrets) discovered a powerful artefact called the shoggoth stone and brought it to Ulduvai.  Thinking that a ritual would provide them power and immortality, they instead inadvertently transformed every living creature in the city into an immense, fleshly mass of fused viscera!  Although three of the wizards had enough magical wards to survive the experience and exist to this day as undead, the city has been infused by pure chaos.  For the PCs, this backstory plays out as an atmosphere of inexplicable and unnerving phenomena in the city.  Multiple sidebars and examples are provided to help the GM create this feeling of uncanny dread as the PCs explore, and as a sidebar mentions, it is atmosphere that keeps every adventure from becoming just routine battles with different scenery.  One of my favourite bits are the rules on getting lost, which has the GM secretly track where the PCs are going as if the map is turned 90 degrees!

There’s a ton for the PCs to discover in the ruins of Ulduvai, and what they’re interested in is left completely up to them.  Some groups may be keen to discover why the city crashed (once they realise it was a flying city to begin with), a goal that can be helped by the discovery of an extensive library (with several named texts), the chance of meeting the chief of the derhii (flying apes), or conversation with the three surviving cultist-wizards.  Each member of this latter group is fully fleshed out (pardon the undead pun) with their own motivations, domain, and artwork, and can serve as either “mini-boss” combats or as opportunities for intrigue and role-playing.  Another goal some groups may have is getting the city flying again, something which requires tracking down some scattered magical items, figuring out how they fit into the city’s unique architecture, and rebuilding some damaged parts.  This is the sort of thing that can make for a unique campaign, and sidebars provide the GM with advice on how to make this easier or harder depending where they want the campaign to go next.  The PCs I ran the adventure for decided Golarion wasn’t ready for the emergence of a flying city, and, perhaps wisely, left its location a secret.  Finally, some groups might be pure treasure-hunters, hoping to loot as much as they can and get out quick.  There’s plenty of valuables in the city to make it worth their time.

Apart from the all of the mysteries and dangers in the city—invisible bridges, electrical generators, trapped demons, etc.—the real threat in the city is the shoggoth, which is a CR 15 creature!  As the module is for PCs of Level 8, this is not a monster that should be fought, but instead used as a tool by the GM to invoke terror, drive the action forward and—if a lesson needs to be taught—grab up and consume a foolish PC.  As a potential big climax to the module, PCs can discover a ritual to destroy the shoggoth by destroying the shoggoth stone that summoned it, but it’s not easy and, one begun, has to be done quickly before the shoggoth arrives.  I used this when I ran the module, and it was fantastic—tense and exciting. 

I’ve been gushing about Crucible of Chaos, and some of that could be the hazelnut coffee talking.  But nonetheless, I think it’s a great adventure and a memorable campaign centrepiece.