Pathfinder Legends: "Curse of the Crimson Throne: Seven Days to the Grave" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

I finally got a chance to sit down and listen to the audio version of Seven Days to the Grave, Chapter 2 of the Curse of the Crimson Throne AP.  I thought it was done really well.  The voice acting remains top-notch, even if there's less of the trademark Valeros humor as in previous installments (which is probably fitting, given the dire theme of the plot).  Speaking of the plot, I was curious to see how the writers for the audio version would handle the very free-form nature of the adventure in the original AP.  It turned out nicely, with the main bad guys getting the attention they deserved, a clear explanation of what's been going on and why, and a great lead-in to Chapter 3.  

As with all of these Pathfinder Legends, discs, the recording is fairly short--the two-disc set I have comes in at 110 minutes, but the final few tracks of Disc 1 are just music.  In other words, this isn't like a full audio book (despite the price approaching it), so just be aware of that before purchasing.  The physical CDs come with a nice sleeve introducing the four Iconics featured in the adventure (Merisiel, Valeros, Harsk, and Ezren).

SPOILERS!

One of the things I appreciate most about these audio versions is how they give insight into NPCs that appear in the adventure.  Once again, I totally should have listened to this before running Seven Days to the Grave at the table, because I love how the audio version handled Ishani Dhatri and Tayce Soldado.  It also did a great job with Lady Andaisin and Reiner Devaulus, with their interaction a perfect way to give plot exposition in a natural, engaging way.

Of course, it's also interesting to see where the audio version varies from the written version.  In the audio version, the sewer wererats (represented by a new character, Eries) are actually quite helpful to the adventurers.  Some of the events in the AP (like the vampires outside the toy shop, the false cures, etc.) are omitted.  And despite conventional tabletop wisdom, the party very much splits up in the audio version, as Ezren and Harsk fall ill from Blood Veil and are taken to the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden for "treatment", Valeros deceives a nurse in order to get inside (by pretending to be Harsk's lover!), and Merisiel (reunited with Kyra in a really cute scene, following up a great plot thread from Chapter 1!) investigate the sunken ship. The ending is great, with the sound of the bridges to Old Korvosa being destroyed just as the Iconics emerge from the Hospice, nicely setting up the next chapter.

There are fewer fight scenes in this one (probably wise, as the lack of a narrator always makes them confusing).  It can drag a bit as the Iconics pursue separate investigations each leading toward the same conclusion that the listener already knows.  All in all though, this was a fun, mostly faithful recreation of the written version and I'd recommend it.