The Shackled City Adventure Path
delericho
Legend
5 out of 5 rating for The Shackled City Adventure Path
I ran this from start to finish some years ago, and it still ranks as one of my best-ever campaigns. (Perhaps worth noting that I ran the magazine version - the hardback adds an extra chapter early on.) The campaign is very dungeon-heavy and very combat-heavy, but is very well done and worth checking out even just to mine for material. I do have two criticisms, although neither is really fair: 3.5e really starts to drag at high level, so a campaign from 1-20 does show up this problem; and as the first of the 'modern' Paths this is somewhat primitive compared with more recent ones - even by the time they did "Age of Worms" they had realised the value of providing complementary material to the adventures themselves.
I ran this from start to finish some years ago, and it still ranks as one of my best-ever campaigns. (Perhaps worth noting that I ran the magazine version - the hardback adds an extra chapter early on.) The campaign is very dungeon-heavy and very combat-heavy, but is very well done and worth checking out even just to mine for material. I do have two criticisms, although neither is really fair: 3.5e really starts to drag at high level, so a campaign from 1-20 does show up this problem; and as the first of the 'modern' Paths this is somewhat primitive compared with more recent ones - even by the time they did "Age of Worms" they had realised the value of providing complementary material to the adventures themselves.
Zaran
Adventurer
4 out of 5 rating for The Shackled City Adventure Path
This AP was actually made for DnD 3.5 . It takes the PCs from 1st to 20th level. The interesting thing is pretty much keeps the PCs in one area until the start going into the Outer Planes. It always gave me a Sigil type vibe . Probably because of how huge the city was and the uniqueness of it. I don't remember much of the plot but I do remember it was fun.
This AP was actually made for DnD 3.5 . It takes the PCs from 1st to 20th level. The interesting thing is pretty much keeps the PCs in one area until the start going into the Outer Planes. It always gave me a Sigil type vibe . Probably because of how huge the city was and the uniqueness of it. I don't remember much of the plot but I do remember it was fun.
Remus Lupin
Adventurer
4 out of 5 rating for The Shackled City Adventure Path
I really enjoyed this game. I played as a Wizard and had a really good time.
I really enjoyed this game. I played as a Wizard and had a really good time.
Dr. Strangemonkey
First Post
4 out of 5 rating for The Shackled City Adventure Path
Note: I do not actually remember if the volcano explodes.It's a great idea for a mega-adventure locale and highly adaptable to whatever larger game or setting you want to run it in. We used Iron Heroes for it, worked out fine. Among the larger group of my gaming companions tales of this game are still told.
Note: I do not actually remember if the volcano explodes.It's a great idea for a mega-adventure locale and highly adaptable to whatever larger game or setting you want to run it in. We used Iron Heroes for it, worked out fine. Among the larger group of my gaming companions tales of this game are still told.
4 out of 5 rating for The Shackled City Adventure Path
This is the very first Adventure Path. As such it had a few issues, but all in all, especially in the extended and updated hardcover edition, Paizo did a great job. Due to its popularity, you can also find a ton of fan-created additional material, side-quests and general improvements. It features some of my favorite adventure sites/dungeons and npcs/villains and it's sufficiently generic to be usable for all kinds of D&D settings. The first few modules lack a bit of coherence, but since everything's set in or around the city of Cauldron which is described in sufficient detail to serve as an interesting base for an entire campaign, that didn't bother our group much. Since it's a bit reminiscent of a classical mega-dungeon setup, you may not like it as much if you aren't into that kind of thing at all.
This is the very first Adventure Path. As such it had a few issues, but all in all, especially in the extended and updated hardcover edition, Paizo did a great job. Due to its popularity, you can also find a ton of fan-created additional material, side-quests and general improvements. It features some of my favorite adventure sites/dungeons and npcs/villains and it's sufficiently generic to be usable for all kinds of D&D settings. The first few modules lack a bit of coherence, but since everything's set in or around the city of Cauldron which is described in sufficient detail to serve as an interesting base for an entire campaign, that didn't bother our group much. Since it's a bit reminiscent of a classical mega-dungeon setup, you may not like it as much if you aren't into that kind of thing at all.
Lwaxy
Cute but dangerous
5 out of 5 rating for The Shackled City Adventure Path
Dungeon-heavy and battle intense, it has some plot twists and turns you likely won't suspect and requires some thinking along instead of ust following the plot. GM also has the options to adust the timing to run other small things along the side if he so wishes, as the story does not rush the PCs along. Love it.
Dungeon-heavy and battle intense, it has some plot twists and turns you likely won't suspect and requires some thinking along instead of ust following the plot. GM also has the options to adust the timing to run other small things along the side if he so wishes, as the story does not rush the PCs along. Love it.
Starfox
Hero
3 out of 5 rating for The Shackled City Adventure Path
I ran this as a player converted to Mutants and Masterminds sword and sorcery. It was a bit of a slog. Maybe something was lost in translation, and maybe our party's general lack of curiosity undermined things (my character had an Int of 6 or so). Having befriended some NPCs early on, I felt these got lost later in the adventure path. Still, the city and other scenery was lovely, and some of the situations it set up were very cinematic.
I ran this as a player converted to Mutants and Masterminds sword and sorcery. It was a bit of a slog. Maybe something was lost in translation, and maybe our party's general lack of curiosity undermined things (my character had an Int of 6 or so). Having befriended some NPCs early on, I felt these got lost later in the adventure path. Still, the city and other scenery was lovely, and some of the situations it set up were very cinematic.
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4 out of 5 rating for The Shackled City Adventure Path
Note that this review contains spoilers (obviously?). Shackled City is almost two separate campaigns. There is the first 3/4's, where the party becomes intimately involved with the city of Cauldron and ultimately its saviors, and then there is the last 1/4, where the party heads off to deal with a heretofore unknown threat. As the first AP, the first part of Shackled City has some really excellent moments. There is plenty of dungeon-crawling, so groups who are averse to dungeons should avoid this AP. Having said that, in the early chapters of the AP, the city of Cauldron provides ample opportunities to branch out with roleplaying, side quests, and character development. The setting is the star, and this first portion culminates with an excellent siege on the city that allows the characters to really step up and become heroes for the city they've come to know. Compared to the rest, the latter portion of the adventure seems disjointed and tacked on to the rest of the AP. This is something that can be mitigated with some work on the DMs part, but the adventures in the end are also somewhat uninspired dungeon crawls. I have a feeling that a lot of groups might be happier just wrapping up the campaign early and skipping the last couple of chapters. Overall, the combats are very difficult and were designed to challenge a group of 6 PCs with a solid understanding of the rules. There are a few encounters in particular that have the potential to be a TPK, including a certain Erinyes archer, and an attack by a team of assassins, so DMs will need to carefully consider the capabilities of their groups, or how the campaign might recover in the face of near or complete TPK. Taken as a whole, the Shackled City provides a great foundation for some very compelling adventures and role-playing. There are some places that really seem to beg for a little more attention, but any additional work put in by the DM will really make the AP shine. Fortunately, there are plenty of wonderful player-created resources out there to embellish the AP, many of which are truly top-notch. I don't recommend this AP to novice DMs, but then, I probably wouldn't recommend any AP to a novice DM. For a veteran DM willing to add some of his own personal touches, though, this adventure really has the potential to be a memorable campaign that will be talked about for years.
Note that this review contains spoilers (obviously?). Shackled City is almost two separate campaigns. There is the first 3/4's, where the party becomes intimately involved with the city of Cauldron and ultimately its saviors, and then there is the last 1/4, where the party heads off to deal with a heretofore unknown threat. As the first AP, the first part of Shackled City has some really excellent moments. There is plenty of dungeon-crawling, so groups who are averse to dungeons should avoid this AP. Having said that, in the early chapters of the AP, the city of Cauldron provides ample opportunities to branch out with roleplaying, side quests, and character development. The setting is the star, and this first portion culminates with an excellent siege on the city that allows the characters to really step up and become heroes for the city they've come to know. Compared to the rest, the latter portion of the adventure seems disjointed and tacked on to the rest of the AP. This is something that can be mitigated with some work on the DMs part, but the adventures in the end are also somewhat uninspired dungeon crawls. I have a feeling that a lot of groups might be happier just wrapping up the campaign early and skipping the last couple of chapters. Overall, the combats are very difficult and were designed to challenge a group of 6 PCs with a solid understanding of the rules. There are a few encounters in particular that have the potential to be a TPK, including a certain Erinyes archer, and an attack by a team of assassins, so DMs will need to carefully consider the capabilities of their groups, or how the campaign might recover in the face of near or complete TPK. Taken as a whole, the Shackled City provides a great foundation for some very compelling adventures and role-playing. There are some places that really seem to beg for a little more attention, but any additional work put in by the DM will really make the AP shine. Fortunately, there are plenty of wonderful player-created resources out there to embellish the AP, many of which are truly top-notch. I don't recommend this AP to novice DMs, but then, I probably wouldn't recommend any AP to a novice DM. For a veteran DM willing to add some of his own personal touches, though, this adventure really has the potential to be a memorable campaign that will be talked about for years.
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