Pathfinder Module: "Into the Haunted Forest" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Into the Haunted Forest is a sixteen page adventure that was originally designed to be bundled into Paizo's "Treasure Chest" product along with a deck of item cards (Elements of Power), a flip mat (Woodlands), and a map pack (Inns).  All of these products (which were also sold separately) are used heavily in the module.  My conclusion is that the need to incorporate all of these elements into a short adventure is part of the reason why it's just not a very good module.

I ran this for a group of two level 1 PCs and two PCs that were a little higher.  The plot barely holds together and relies heavily on events that are either contingent and simply may not trigger for every group or on some heavy-handed GMing to force recalcitrant groups to take part. The background and some story elements come across as more cheesy than I think they're intended, and there's a poor use of Golarion and the tone of the setting.  Last, as an adventure designed for four level 1 characters, there are a lot of encounters that could be quite deadly and they occur in a short duration with a "race against time" element that means taking rests is not optimal--the cumulative effect could easily be a sad TPK.

Paizo was putting out some *really* good modules during this time period, and I've liked some of the author's other work, but Into the Haunted Forest can be safely skipped.  It doesn't add to setting lore in a significant way and there are a lot better adventures for level 1 characters out there.

SPOILERS

The backstory involves a druid named Willowroot recovering the magical regalia of Narven, the last forest king of Arthfell (in Andoran).  In the spirit of respect, Willowroot then scattered the five parts of the regalia in different parts of the forest so that each would be in a context that best matches its elemental affinity.  But soon after doing this, the druid was murdered by a tribe of goblins, one of whom has now come back to the forest (with new companions) hoping to find the Panoply of Narven and become powerful.

The adventure starts with the PCs on a road somewhere in the Arthfell--no rhyme, reason, or possible adventure hooks are given as to why they're there or where they're going.  I think the way adventuring parties form is one of the most interesting parts of a campaign (the group's "origin story" as it were), and that adventures for level 1 PCs should at least offer the GM some ideas.  Anyway, the PCs come across a murdered hobgoblin on the road being torn apart by a pack of wild dogs.  After defeating the dogs, the PCs can examine the scene.  The key thing here, and the entire rest of the adventure depends on it, is that someone in the group has to make a skill check to spot a dagger in a nearby bush.  The dagger is pretty cool in appearance and has a name, Brightflame, but if no PC sees and takes the dagger, then the GM really has their work cut out in figuring out how to continue the plot.

The PCs next reach a place to rest just before sunset.  The Travelers Stop Inn is nicely described in the module and served well by the Inns map pack.  Shortly after the adventurers settle in at a table for some drinks or a meal, they're accosted by another (evil!) adventuring group called the Company of the Black Banner.  The Black Banners were responsible for killing that hobgoblin in the woods earlier, and although they were scared off, they recognize Brightflame on one of the PCs and claim it as their rightful possession.  Inevitably, a big tavern brawl starts in which everyone is supposed to use nonlethal attacks--because if they draw weapons or cast spells, the sheriff will use lethal force in apprehending malefactors.  The sheriff is a level 4 fighter, and one crit from his longsword could insta-kill any low Constitution spellcaster types in the party.  During the brawl, a lantern gets knocked over and sets aflame a scroll being read by a travelling scholar--this detail becomes important shortly.

As an aside, although I'll be complaining about plenty of things in Into the Haunted Forest, I should say the interior artwork is really good--the sheriff, the rival adventuring party, the magical items, and more receive high-quality artwork.

As I mentioned above, finding and having the dagger is key--without it, there's no brawl.  And if there's no brawl, then the sheriff can't seize Brightflame and arrest both the PCs and the Black Banners and tell them they're confined to the inn overnight while he figures out what to do next.  There are no guards or locks keeping the PCs from fleeing in the night, so although the module says the sheriff will put up wanted posters throughout his "shire," I imagine a lot of groups might happily go on the lam and seek adventure elsewhere.  I think the module assumes Brightflame is the lure to keep PCs involved, but many groups might not have the right makeup to tell it's magical to begin with.

Anyway, sometime in the night, the dagger is stolen from right under the sheriff's pillow!  The next day, he assembles the PCs, the Black Banners, and five other NPC suspects in the common room of the inn to hear the testimony of four different NPC witnesses.  This is way too many named NPCs to introduce in a short period of time (fourteen if we include the sheriff, the Black Banners, the suspects, and witnesses).  The idea is that the PCs will undertake an investigation to clear themselves of the theft.  Clues on the windowsill to the sheriff's room will, hopefully, lead them to the barn, where they're attacked by an owl.  The owl turns out to be the familiar of a traveling gnome sorcerer who is revealed to be the real thief, but he confesses and returns the dagger.  I think the concept of PCs investigating to clear up a mystery can be a really good one for low-level adventures, but it's poorly handled here because there's way too many NPCs for players to wrap their heads around in a short period of time and success in figuring out the culprit all comes down to finding one clue.

The next phase of the adventure involves some forced plotting.  The sheriff introduces the PCs to Professor Krane, the scholar whose work was accidentally destroyed in the previous night's brawl.  The work was extremely valuable, so to avoid debtor's prison the PCs have to agree to a deal: undertake a search for what Krane explains are five magical artifacts scattered about the forest.  If they do this, the sheriff offers to throw in Brightflame as well.  However, he's also offered the same deal to the Black Banners, and whoever gets back first gets the dagger (and if both groups appear with some of the artifacts, the sheriff keeps the dagger!).  An adventure hook is an adventure hook and I'd guess that most groups would grumble but swallow it to keep things moving, but, in-character, they could be rightly incensed by all of this--after all, the PCs are the ones who were assaulted by the Black Banners and there's nothing they could have done to stop Professor Krane's work from being destroyed.  If they were just to "accept" the deal and leave the forest to seek adventure elsewhere, I wouldn't blame them.

The Black Banners have an hour's head start on the PCs, so the latter will need to hurry if they want to catch up.  The first thing they'll need to do is follow directions from Professor Krane to a druidic altar in a grove in the woods.  There, if they can cleverly avoid an assassin vine (another hefty threat to Level 1 PCs!) they'll be able to read a series of riddles, each of which contains a clue to the location of the five parts of the Panoply of Narven.  (regarding the backstory, I have no idea why Willowroot did things this way)  The riddles aren't too hard, and, indeed, the PCs can find one of the five items sitting atop the monoliths they're presently reading.  The Black Banners missed it, and have already moved on.

Finding a second artefact requires battling a black bear in its cave, the third requires making a deal with a nixie, and the fourth is reached by climbing a tree and defeating a giant bombardier beetle.  I don't think these encounters are necessarily bad on their own, but the cumulative effect on level 1 PCs is going to mount pretty quickly given the urgency of their mission.  Each of these encounters uses the Woodlands flip-mat, though the GM is instructed to fold it so only a 1/4 of a side is visible at a time--a weird idea that doesn't work so well in practice because it's hard to keep it flat.

The search for the fifth artefact leads to the big climax, and I have to admit it is pretty cool.  The item is hidden at a (now long-abandoned) inn built at the center of the forest and guarded by a new plant monster called a Wooden Protector.  Once the battle begins, the Black Banners (who had been hiding nearby following the classic gambit of letting someone else do the work and then robbing them afterwards) joins in the fight, but one of their members (the goblin from the backstory) wants everything for himself and attacks both the PCs and his former allies!  So there's a crazy four-way fight between the PCs, the Black Banners, the goblin, and the Wooden Protector.  It's a battle-royale, and only one side can win!

Assuming the PCs return to the Travelers Stop Inn afterwards, they'll be cleared of their crimes and debts.  They'll definitely have earned a lot of XP--at least those that survived--and be in good shape for whatever adventure comes next.

I think some of the problems with Into the Haunted Forest would be ameliorated if it were designed for characters who were level 2 or 3.  The problems with the plotting still remain, as there's not a lot of incentive for the PCs to go on the adventure since the sheriff comes across as a jerk and the lure of a (potentially unknown) dagger may not be enough.  The backstory is bland and not wholly sensical.  Simply put, this one is for completists only.