Pathfinder Legends: "Curse of the Crimson Throne: Edge of Anarchy" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

Pathfinder Legends are full-cast audio plays produced jointly by Paizo and Big Finish, and they're available both on CD and via download.  This week, I listened to the CD for Edge of Anarchy, the first chapter of the Curse of the Crimson Throne set.  I thought it was fantastic!  A couple of years back, I listened to the Pathfinder Legends version of Rise of the Runelords and thought it was pretty good but pricey given the length; I think criticisms like that were taken to heart, because at least this chapter of Curse of the Crimson Throne is almost twice as long.  The voice acting continues to be spot-on (Valeros cracks me up), and the writer of the adaptation really understood all of the little nuances of the AP.  There are some differences, but they're honestly all improvements--I wish I had known and used some of them when I ran the first chapter of the AP last year!  Although sometimes the action scenes are still hard to follow (since there's no narrator), the professional music and sound effects keep things moving.  I'll go into more detail below, but the general takeaway is that this one is well worth the purchase.

The physical CD is a two-disc set with full-colour liner notes featuring cast credits and little introductions to the four Iconics that stand in for the PCs.  In Chapter One, these four are Merisiel, Valeros, Ezren, and Harsk.  The running time is given as 110 minutes, which sounds about right--there's not the super-lengthy filler music that was so annoying in Rise of the Runelords.  

SPOILERS!

In this section, I'll talk about some of the interesting similarities and differences to the story as presented in the original AP. The big plot points of the AP are tracked fairly closely by the audio play, and even some of the side encounters (like the street preacher of Groetus and the trouble with imps) are incorporated.  There's also some smart little name-drops of NPCs like Glorio Arkona, Zenobia Zenderholm, and others that will become important in later chapters.  However, a few key scenes are different, and there's an emphasis on some subplots over others.

One big difference right off the bat is that, since the protagonists are Iconics and already have backstories, no one has a personal connection to Gaedren Lamm.  Instead, they're in Korvosa because Kyra (the Iconic Cleric) is missing after coming to the city to investigate reports that a cult of Urgathoa was operating in it (foreshadowing!).  But things get back on track as Zellara summons the Iconics in the same way, offering to help them find Kyra if they deal with Gaedren Lamm.  An elegant solution.

When the Iconics return to Zellara after bringing Lamm to justice, she tells them to "follow the broach."  This is a clever way to highlight the importance of the object which logically leads the party to the queen, rather than the risk in the original AP that the party might never realise its importance.  The initial encounter with the queen is something I really wish I had done: she is completely overwrought, sobbing, and the listener feels real sympathy for her--so the later reveal of her cruelty and treachery have some real impact.  In addition, Sabina Merrin gets a major role in Chapter 1 as the one that organises the Iconics' missions.  The relationship between her and the queen is given a lot of attention, and even a scene where the Iconics aren't present.  It's great, and something I wasn't really able to accomplish while running the campaign.  

Highlighting Sabina does have a cost, however, as Field Marshal Kroft (the main liaison for the PCs in the AP) barely appears in the audio play.  On the other hand, Vencarlo Orisini is used to great effect, and I love a new scene where we witness him and Sabina having a verbal duel.  It really brings out their shared backstory.

The big Trinia Sabor chase seen is exciting, and culminates in the Iconics accidentally chasing her right into the clutches of Sabina.  This sets up the climactic execution scene where Blackjack appears.  He has a fun cockney accent, and I like how the Iconics help the rescue in small ways (Ezren makes duplicate Blackjacks to confuse the guards, Harsk sets chickens loose, and so forth).  I think Blackjack may be grooming Merisiel as his replacement, so I'll be interested to see how that develops in future chapters (and if Kyra shows up).