Pathfinder Module: "Clash of the Kingslayers" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Winner of the first RPG Superstar contest, Clash of the Kingslayers is an interesting, original module.  It has one awesome cinematic sequence, but the story and plot as a whole need some work.   I'd recommend it with the caveat that the GM might want to rewrite some of the story background to make it fit better into the Golarion setting.  It's also one that GMs need to put some prep time into (I tried to run it just from the book and made a bit of a hash out of it!). 

SPOILERS!

Clash of the Kingslayers starts with the PCs arriving on the bridge leading to the dwarven tower fortress of Glimmerhold.  There are a few (extremely short and vague) adventure hooks to get the PCs to Glimmerhold, but it'll be mostly up to the GM to customise something for their group.  The action starts immediately as an extraplanar rift opens up over the bridge and disgorges several "doomguides", half-fiend dwarven spearwomen mounted on flying rams!  The attack naturally causes a panic amongst the crowds on the bridge, and I like how the module gives a lot for the PCs to do in terms of rescuing civilians, dealing with the rush toward the gates, and keeping themselves safe all at the same time.  From the PCs' perspective, they'll have absolutely no idea who's attacking or why.

Once the battle is over with the PCs (presumably) victorious, they're ushered into a meeting with King Ezelgar.  There's a dilemma for the PCs I really like where the king asks them to swear an oath of fealty, which means may either have to violate their consciences or risk offending the leader of the city.  Ezelgar thanks the PCs for what they've done and explains that Glimmerhold has been assailed in recent days by a variety of troubles.  In the middle of Ezelgar's speech, however, three divine curses strike the city--turning ale into poison, gold into lead, and awakening a kaiju-sized lake beast that begins to attack the city.  Ezelgar urges the PCs into action, declaring that the monster is the spawn of Angrammora, a dragon he killed a century ago that cursed him and the city with its dying breath.  But he doesn't want a (seemingly-suicidal) assault on the creature attacking the city--instead, he says the key to breaking the curse is to visit the ruins of Sigreir's Pledge, a monastery destroyed by the dragon just before Ezelgar slew it.

There's a lot to unpack here!  First, the monster assaulting the city is named Legangrammor and it's a nine-headed half-dragon hydra!  It's CR 12, but in an adventure for 10th level PCs, the group would have a reasonable chance of defeating it if they're smart.  Second, Ezelgar is lying!  He wasn't brave enough to face Angrammora, and instead allied himself with loathed, Lamashtu-worshipping outcasts from Glimmerhold called the Mistbreather Clan.  They helped him slay Angrammora so he could return to the city as a great hero and ascend the throne, but they also burned the monastery of Sigreir's Pledge to the ground and killed (almost) everyone within (the dragon had nothing to do with it).  Third, the terrible curses inflicted upon Glimmerhold aren't due to Angrammora, they're divine vengeance from Torag, Father of the dwarven gods.  I don't quite get why Torag has waited a hundred years to punish Ezelgar (not to mention a lot of innocent dwarves in the city).  Setting-wise, fairly direct intervention like this seems pretty unusual for Golarion, and I don't know if this module's premise really fits.  There's also something about Rovagug being involved, which confuses me.

The second part of the module sees the PCs heading to the monastery.  The first challenge they'll have is getting out of Glimmerhold without fighting Legangrammor and several doomguides, though magic they have available at this level may make it pretty easy.  Getting from Glimmerhold to the monastery requires a journey into the Mindspin Mountains, and the module includes several customised and interesting random encounters that can occur along the way (something I always appreciate).

Part three takes place in the subterranean monastery itself, and this is the bulk of Clash of the Kingslayers.  At first glance, this looks like a standard dungeon crawl.  The PCs proceed room by room fighting monsters and recovering treasure, with foes like belkers, spectres, fire elementals, "guiltgorger giants" (new monsters), and a cool dwarven monk.  The "boss" of the monastery would then be Helrún, a dwarven cleric/wizard who has survived, entombed within the monastery, for over a century through magic!  It was her constant prayers that swayed Torag into action in the first place.  However, Helrún isn't the bad guy in this scenario, and the PCs may very well be inclined to ally themselves with her once they discover the truth about what Ezelgar did.  But there's a catch!  As I said, this isn't the standard dungeon crawl it first appears, because partway through the PCs' exploration, the monastery gets up and starts walking!  In fact, it's transformed into a colossal object called the Agronach and starts marching towards Glimmerhold to destroy it.  For the PCs, this means they're suddenly trapped as everything goes topsy-turvy.  Each room in the monastery has a description for its normal state and for its transformed state, and there are some cool "special effects" created by the transformation.  (I should add it would require a lot of work by the GM to prep for all this, so don't try to run the module cold)

With the Agronach on its way to destroy Glimmerhold, the PCs have a real dilemma.  There's probably no way they're going to be able to destroy the Agronach directly (it's got 784 hp, SR 50, an AC of 42, and fast healing 20!), but if they slay Helrún it'll stop.  In the alternative, they can slay King Ezelgar, an act that will also bring the curses on Glimmerhold to an end.  I would have left it right there with a really interesting moral dilemma, but the module makes it much easier by having Ezelgar inexplicably follow the PCs all by himself and try to ambush them (not something one really imagines a cowardly dwarven king doing).  In any event, the module provides a lot of cool detail on what happens if the Agronach reaches Glimmerhold, and it'd be an incredibly cinematic experience for the players.

After a brief conclusion, the module contains an appendix with full stats and flavour for the doomguides, King Ezelgar, Legangrammor, and the guiltgorger giants.

Overall, I can see why Clash of the Kingslayers won the contest--fighting within/upon an enormous invulnerable construct on its way to smash a city is pretty freaking cool, and not the sort of thing PCs get to do everyday.  On the other hand, there are some story elements that need work and perhaps a minor rewrite would make it fit better with established setting lore.  All in all, I'd say that the module isn't the best written, but it certainly is memorable.