Pathfinder Tales: "Crusader Road" [RPG]

 

NO SPOILERS

Bearing the Goblin Works logo, Crusader Road was a novel designed to tie-in with Paizo's attempt to launch the Pathfinder Online MMORPG.  The book is set in and around the location for that (ll-fated) game, Thornkeep--a small holding in the River Kingdoms.  Novelistic tie-ins to other media projects can be real mixed bags, but Crusader Road is legit!  The book really sets the atmosphere for Thornkeep and the mysterious forest around it, Echo Wood.  The plot is interesting and intriguing--definitely something different than a traditional Pathfinder story.  It is fair to say that it's so different it doesn't always feel very "Pathfinder" in terms of bringing gameplay mechanics into the story or involving other bits of setting lore, and could have been almost a standalone fantasy novel.  But despite that, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the novel.  I also *really* wish I had read it before running the Thornkeep adventure module as it would have helped to flesh out several NPCs.

SPOILERS

The novel starts out strong, telling how a disgraced noblewoman from Ustalav named Lady Tyressa has been practically exiled by being sent to found a new community called Silverlake in the wilderness near Thornkeep.  But Thornkeep's ruler, Baron Blackshield, is a classic jerk and isn't going to make things easy.  The novel is told from different points of view: Lady Tyressa herself and her son Jerrad, who starts to develop sorcerous powers linked to the fey of Echo Wood.  I love the book's treatment of Echo Wood--the fey haunting it ensure it's creepy, terrifying, confusing, and occasionally whimsical all at the same time.  The evolution of Lady Tyressa and her family from courtly sophisticates to rugged wilderness survivors is told well.  Other elements from the Thornkeep modul
e's description of the town make appearances, including a Muldoon, goblins, and the Wolfmane barbarians.

The book also features some great action scenes, with a great scene of fragile Silverlake rallying to stave off a goblin and ogre assault.  Behind the attack is another novel from Ustalav, Baron Creelisk, who pretends to be helpful while secretly scheming to steal everything out from under Lady Tyressa's feet.  Baron Creelisk has a plan (admitted far-fetched and convoluted) to raise some sort of undead army from the nearby haunted village of Mosswater to attack Silverlake.  I got a bit confused on that plot element, but didn't mind overall because the conclusion is also downright exciting.

Crusader Road does a lot with its main characters, allowing them to grow naturally through their experiences.  I wasn't really expecting much from the book--after all, both Pathfinder Online and the Thornkeep module weren't exactly stellar.  But this novel is definitely worth reading.