Pathfinder Module: "We Be Goblins Free!" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

We Be Goblins Free! is, as the pun-ishing title indicates, the third Free RPG Day module featuring the famous goblin "heroes" of Reta Bigbad, Chuffy Lickwound, Poog, and Mogmurch.  I played Mogmurch (the alchemist) in a play-by-post game and while it was fun, I think the silly antics of goblins really come across better in a more immediate setting.  Anyway, this fourteen page adventure (plus a table of contents and ads) is handsomely illustrated and in full colour.  It's a solid experience, but I think the writer over-estimates the damage output of these little goblins which leads to some surprisingly tough encounters (especially if players are trying to get into the spirit and not taking optimum actions every round).

SPOILERS!

Since they last appeared in We Be Goblins Too!, our famous band of goblins have becomes chieftains of the Birdcruncher tribe!  (and the famous Squealy Nord is an animal companion)  But being the boss gets a bit boring after a while, so the rank-and-file have put together a series of amusements to keep their new leaders occupied.  The scenario starts with some low-risk, low-reward games, like an obstacle course, a firework-shooting competition, a bizarre head-chopping-off, and the classic "killgull" (played with a vulture, naturally, because the seagulls were accidentally eaten).  It's all rather silly (especially the decapitation!), but a good way to get players into the spirit of being goblins.  In the game I played in, each of us insisted we were *the* chieftain and it was pretty fun. 

The middle part of the adventure has the first real encounters.  The goblin chieftains are on the hunt for truffles, but a wagon of Scarzni (Varisian bandits) are in the way.  The PCs have the advantage of surprise and the four bandits are only CR 1/2 each, so there's an opportunity to do some goblinesque things like setting fire to their wagons, attacking their dogs and horses, and so forth.  It was good.

Next up are two more battles over truffles against an assassin vine and a harpy named Isidra.  This is where the difficulty of the module ramps up significantly, as assassin vines can easily grapple and do constant damage to a character, while the harpy can captivate targets or do flying hit and run attacks that are hard to counter.  The goblin PCs just don't do much damage (even Reta, the fighter, does only 1d4+3 in melee) so it takes a *long* time to wear down opponents with hp in the 30s (assuming the attacks even hit in the first place).  For an adventure that's supposed to be kinda relaxing and humorous, easier encounters would better foster the mood and encourage more creativity by players.

The last part of the module has the PCs return to their village after gathering truffles only to find that an effigy made in their honour has suddenly become animate and is attacking!  I like the explanation that the skull of Vorka (the cannibal goblin druid from We Be Goblins!) was used in the effigy and that's where its dark power has come from.  This thing has 52 hit points and hardness 5, meaning that really only the alchemist's bombs (if he saved them) or Poog's channeled energy (if he figures out they'll work on the effigy despite it being a construct) can harm the creature.  Again, a really fun, cinematic idea brought down by an unrealistic expectation of what the goblins can handle.  Hopefully, GMs will be flexible and get into the spirit of the adventure by allowing some alternative solutions to the problem--otherwise, a TPK is very possible.