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.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 6-98: "Serpent's Rise" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Sometimes it's good to be bad!  Serpent's Rise is a one-of-a-kind scenario, in which you get to play members of the Aspis Consortium and punish those annoying Pathfinders for years of their self-righteous interference with free trade and good business.  It's not offered that often (only 4- or 5-star GMs can run it), so definitely jump at the chance if you get one.  I got into a game at a play-by-post convention and it was a really interesting and memorable experience.  This review is based on playing in that game and then reading the scenario afterwards.

SPOILERS

This is a big scenario, and it's clear a lot of time and effort went into it.  The gist of Serpent's Rise is that the Aspis Consortium is ready to strike back at the Pathfinder Society for decades of meddling in its affairs.  The PCs play pre-generated, 7th level members of the Consortium as they undertake a daring (and risky) plan: infiltrate the Society's annual Grand Convocation, penetrate Skyreach, rip a hole in the Hao Jin Tapestry to set free Consortium forces trapped inside, and then steal a legendary artefact called the Sky Key!  It's a really cool way to see things from a different perspective.

One of the things that makes the scenario work so well is the pre-generated characters.  Each has a  distinctive personality and motivation for undertaking the mission, different skill-sets, and some cool artwork.  Just look at that guy on the cover!  In addition to the character sheet, each player receives a special handout at the beginning of the scenario that details their PC's personal mission(s) during the adventure.  This is somewhat like the old faction missions from early PFS scenarios, but the ones here all require some significant time and attention and tie in well to the pre-gen's backstory.  Each of the pre-gens has a particular role on the team, so there's not even a briefing in the traditional sense: instead, a particular pre-gen (Rataji) is the leader of the group and the handout for his player contains the mission goals and plans he's to share with the others however the player running him wishes.

The first portion of the adventure takes place during the Grand Convocation, an event where hundreds of Pathfinders from all around the Inner Sea assemble to discuss policy.  The PCs have to wait until the keynote speech is given at an outdoor parade ground before they can infiltrate Skyreach, so until then they have preparations to make and personal missions to complete.  For example, one of the PCs is tasked with stealing a set of keys from Janira Gravix, while another PC (the one I played, a brawler named Zurnzal) needs to steal a Pathfinder's identity and frame them for the heist to sow confusion.  There's a lot of open-ended possibilities on what will happen here.  The scenario is actually a really good introduction to the Grand Lodge, as PCs may visit the statue of Dervin Gest, the Wall of Names, the on-site menagerie, and more.  There will be a lot of plates in the air for the GM to keep spinning as the PCs will likely need to split up to accomplish their various tasks.  Success in this phase of the scenario makes the later parts easier, and I thought it was an interesting and exciting way to begin.

When it comes time to infiltrate Skyreach, the PCs have to sneak or bluff their way past various guards and patrols.  The scenario handled this intelligently, as one bad roll wouldn't sink the entire team's efforts but blindly attacking everything isn't likely to succeed either.

The Consortium agents first task is to slip into the vaults below Skyreach to steal Aram Zey's (the PFS's Master of Spells) notes on the Hao Jin Tapestry (an entrance to a magical demiplane).  The vault is protected, of course, by both traps and guardians (foo creatures, which are like giant animals capable of replicating stone statues).  With the notes in hand, the PCs know the ritual to tear a rift in the tapestry--but first they have to get to it.

Reaching the tapestry requires getting past a trio of Pathfinder guards forced to miss the Grand Convocation as punishment for a previously failed mission.  The three Pathfinders have surprisingly detailed (and interesting) backstories which, unfortunately, the PCs will probably never get to learn.  I especially liked Ralirio, a Kalistocrat who uses firearms because he hates the thought of getting dirty from fighting "filthy miscreants" and because guns are so expensive they're an obvious sign of wealth.  I might have to make a Ralirio for regular play sometime!

Assuming the PCs get past the Pathfinder guardians, performing the ritual is easy and the tapestry rips open to disgorge a veritable army of Aspis agents and native inhabitants that have been misled into believing the Pathfinder Society is their enemy.  This all ties into previous scenarios and storylines.  As the armies pour out to wreak havoc and destroy at will, there's a surprising twist.  One of the tapestry's inhabitants, a young green dragon named Gazwyr, wants to join the infiltration team on the last leg of their heist.  How this works is that one of the players can set aside their pre-gen and run Gazwyr, which is pretty cool--one doesn't get to play a dragon very often!

The big finale takes place when the PCs breach the remaining fixed defences separating them from the Sky Key.  This artefact is a pretty big deal (there's a whole season named after it), though I have to confess I haven't played any of those scenarios and don't know exactly what it does.  Anyway, the Society has one last trick up its sleeve:  Aram Zey himself has caught wind of the heist and is going to personally fight, to the death if necessary, to protect the Sky Key.  This was a really tough fight, as Aram Zey is an 11th level wizard, has time to prepare defences, has some clever tactics, and the GM is allowed to use any PFS-legal spell once during the battle through the character's arcane bond.  It was an exhilarating encounter when I played it, with Aram Zey flying around invisibly, mocking us with dry condescension, and blasting us with chain lightning, fire snake, and more.  I was running Gazwyr (the green dragon) at this point, and he got killed!  But I figure, if you have to die, getting killed by the Master of Spells is a pretty good reason.  In fact, we came very close to a TPK and only managed to pull out a victory by surviving the initial onslaught of high-level spells and then wearing Zey down when he only had the low-level stuff left.  Interestingly, one of the PC's special missions is to trap the dead wizard's soul in a magical lantern so he can't even be brought back from the dead--I'm not sure whether/how this plays out in later scenarios.

With Zey dead and the Sky Key in Aspis hands, the PCs are successful and the scenario ends.  There's not much of a written epilogue, which usually annoys me, but this is clearly a set-up to a big storyline, so I understood why.

I could quibble with a detail here or there, but really, I only have positive things to say about Serpent's Rise.  Even speculative faults like players embracing getting to be evil to do gross things is headed off with good advice to the GM on how to remind players that these are serious professionals on an important mission.  This scenario is a special treat for PFS players, and the writer really came through.  Play this one if you can!

Pathfinder: "Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition Poster" [RPG]

Since I spent a few years of Sunday nights running the adventure path, I figured I earned the right  to prominently display the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition Poster in my gaming room.  It's a big, movie-sized poster proclaiming "The Runelords Rise Again!" (really just one in this campaign, but a bit of hyperbole is understandable)  It's obviously a marketing poster designed for game stores, but I think the image of Karzoug fighting Valeros and Seoni is a classic bit of fantasy and I'm happy to show it off.

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: "Museum" [RPG]

I've played or GM'd on the Museum flip-mat a surprising number of times in PFS and SFS.  It's been the Blakros Museum in Absalom, the Museum of Natural Philosophy and History in Azir, a garden outside a tavern in Axis, a manor house, and at least one or two other things--Paizo scenario writers really like this flip-mat!  But I have to admit, it's a really handsome and well-designed mat.  Although a double-sided map, it cleverly contains three floors of exhibits, paintings, statues, a curator's workshop, an outdoor garden (complete with benches and a fountain!), latrines, a lecture hall, a cool room of taxidermied animals and monsters, and more.  The interior rooms are diverse and well-detailed, with plenty of room for all sorts of encounters; but I appreciate there's just enough exterior to handle encounters breaking in (or spilling out) of the museum.  The gridlines are clear but not distracting, and it of course features Paizo's patented formula of allowing pretty much any sort of marker to work.  This is a flip-mat you're bound to get a *lot* of use out of in organised play, or in any urban-focused homebrew game.  The only tiny caveat I'll mention is that the layout of the museum isn't 100% consistent with that of the Blakros Museum in some early PFS scenarios, so you may need to make some adjustments.  With that detail to one side, this is a sure-fire winner.

Pathfinder Society Faction Pin: "The Exchange" [RPG]

I've only gotten to use this pin a couple of times, since my "Venture-Supply Agent" character, Tallossin Trailmarker, died and got zombified in The Mists of Mwangi early in his career.  Still, I like the design for the Exchange--it's very clear what's being symbolized (unlike the designs for others).  The pin comes with a clasp that will definitely keep it secured, though as a collector I keep mine in the original baggie and on the card.  The back of the card contains a capsule description of the Exchange as well.  It's a nice little product and the price is right.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 0-13: "The Prince of Augustana" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I just finished running The Prince of Augustana through play-by-post at subtier 1-2.  It has an interesting premise/backstory and a couple of good NPCs to role-play with.  Most of the scenario is a fairly standard dungeon crawl, and there's not much in the way of creativity with the encounters or antagonists.  This isn't one that's going to tax a GM's prep time or a player's comprehension of the story.  I had fun running it though, and, despite its age, it remains a very playable scenario.  It'd be a good choice for groups looking for a fast, relatively straightforward experience.

SPOILERS

The briefing is delivered by an irritated Venture-Captain Wallace at the Pathfinder Lodge in Augustana (a major port and Absalom's second-largest city).  Wallace explains that a dirty, dishevelled, and probably quite mad individual arrived at the lodge clutching a wayfinder and telling a ridiculous story.  But the link to the Society means an investigation is necessary, so the group is introduced to the individual, Gandros.  The man, obviously stinking of the sewers, raves about being the "Prince of Augustana" and of a "portal to the demon lands" that drove him from his "palace."  The PCs' mission is to track Gandros' trail to its origins and figure out if there's really a portal and how he obtained the wayfinder.  V-C Wallace warns the group that the sewers under Augustana are the territory of a street gang called the Steel Wyverns, but that there's also a group of beggars living underground in a sort of safehouse run by a priest called the Almsman.  It's certainly an original premise for an adventure, and Gandros can be a really fun and memorable character if the GM goes whole hog in portraying his particular brand of ostentatious ego-driven delusion.

The entirety of the rest of the scenario takes place in the sewers--yuck!  Contracting filth fever is a constant risk, but given its 1d3 day onset time it's not likely to impact gameplay (though it might make for an annoying condition to clear afterwards).  The first encounter is against a few Steel Wyvern gang toughs, one of whom is an alchemist.  As originally written, this encounter was both harder and more interesting because the toughs' weapons had reach but they were across a channel of sewage, so they had the advantage.  But when spiked chains were made non-reach weapons in Pathfinder, this becomes a more conventional brawl.  If the PCs are smart, however, they'll grab some of the alchemist's splash weapons because the next encounter is against something many players dread: swarms!  I'm as guilty as the next player in usually forgetting to swarm-proof my characters, and these things can inflict a lot of damage (plus, the swarm attacks in the vicinity of a pocket of trapped sewer gas that explodes if open flame is nearby--a fun touch!).

The PCs will inevitably come into contact with the Almsman, a masked priest of Abadar, and his Sanctuary for the city's downtrodden.  Some good role-playing can be done here (as well as some of the faction missions).  It turns out that the Steel Wyverns are on their way to attack the Sanctuary because the Almsman is refusing to help them, so this is one of those fun encounters that the PCs know about ahead of time and can be the defenders (and set an ambush).  It's a good opportunity for players to exercise some creativity and use some game elements they rarely get to, like setting traps, location-triggered spells, etc.  I only wish the scenario had made some better underground terrain and debris/junk for the PCs to work with.

The finale takes place when the PCs reach Gandros' living quarters--the (now sealed off) basement of a store that use to cater to the nobility in Andoran before the People's Revolution.  There, the PCs will learn that the "demonic invasion" was really just an accidental summoning of some dretches and that the"portal to the Abyss" is really just a painted pattern on the wall.  Still, the story here is tragic, as Gandros has been living for decades with the corpse of his father (the owner of the store before it went out of business) and, in this light, his madness becomes more tragic than hilarious.  The scenario is open-ended about how the PCs deal with Gandros on their return to the surface, with one good option (that my PCs came up with by themselves) to have the Almsman serve as his caretaker.

Unlike some early season scenarios, The Prince of Augustana isn't particularly deadly.  Level 1 PCs serve at the will of the dice-gods, of course, but for the most part the encounters here are certainly manageable.  Depending on how much role-playing takes place, this might be one of those scenarios that some optimized groups race through in two hours.  Nonetheless, I liked the scenario--it has a good feel, and a change of pace from the sometimes very-dense and complex later season scenarios can be healthy.  And who knows--maybe someday we'll see Gandros again!

PaizoCon 2011 Pint Glass [RPG]

I've just spent about five minutes of my life trying to think of something non-obvious to say about the PaizoCon 2011 Pint Glass.  But . . . nope, I've got nothing!  The design looks like the picture, it really is dishwasher safe, and it really will hold a pint of liquid.  So if you think goblins are cute, want to celebrate the year 2011, or just like to drink beer and don't have enough glasses, this could be the one for you!