OK, based on the very favorable reviews here, I took an extra 40 minutes going home to find a store that had the new Princes of the Apocalypse adventure and dropped $52.00 (inc tax) on it since I have a rare free weekend where I can read it through. And after about an hour of reading, I'm pretty much of the opinion this isn't a very good adventure and I've wasted my time and money. I just want to raise my concerns and see how others feel they can be dealt with.
Again, this is a rant about certain issues, but rather than being purely a list of problems, I want to hear what others think and how they plan on dealing with these issues.
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- My major issue with this adventure is how static it is. Everything happens in a fairly well developed and well traveled part of the world. Yet bad things apparently abound. And more so, there are all sorts of things just packed together in a way that reminds me of keep-on-the-boarderlands as much as anything.
- Just in the first part (Sighing Valley) We've got gnolls, manicores, griffons, aarakocra, and two cult locations all easily within 10 football fields of each other. And a dead body. (And as a note, the map's scale isn't consistent!) This all seems unlikely.
- It's unclear (so far) why, given a cult so evil and potentially powerful, the PCs can't just head to one of the "nearby" major cities (week away) and ask for help. I mean it sounds like they might be going there at some point. Does no one in Waterdeep care enough even if presented with significant evidence of what's going on? Now I'm hopeful there is a good answer somewhere in the module that I've not read, but it ain't obvious.
- Descriptions are sometimes sparse to the point I find it hard to follow what is going on.
- What the heck is "the Eagle" on page 47? A self-reseting (non-magical?) battering ram? I'd really appreciate some better idea what's going on here.
- How many people (total) are there at RiverGard Keep?
- also at RiverGard, what are the commoners doing here? Where do they stay? It sounds like they know about the cultists and don't like them. So are they slaves? Do they know the those occupying the keep are cultists? I've no idea. It feels like they just got tacked into a wandering monster table.
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In general, this doesn't seem to be an adventure of the quality of most of the later Pathfinder adventure paths nor of the better modules from 2e and 3e (think of the Red Hand of Doom here). Maybe it's better than the previous adventures (reviews here kept me from those) but it still feels weak.
All that said, I'm planning on running a 5e module and I've dropped a couple hours and $50 into this. So I'd love to hear what others think and how they plan on dealing with the issues raised (or why they aren't issues...)
OK I have actually read through the Adventure. So I can answer your issues.
Point1 [sblock]
[*]My major issue with this adventure is how static it is. Everything happens in a fairly well developed and well traveled part of the world. Yet bad things apparently abound. And more so, there are all sorts of things just packed together in a way that reminds me of keep-on-the-boarderlands as much as anything.
This is not a well developed part of the world. It's pointed out that bandits and monstrous humanoids are a constant issue. The cults are also starting out secret and stuff not causing issues outright.[/sblock]
Point2 [sblock]
[*]Just in the first part (Sighing Valley) We've got gnolls, manicores, griffons, aarakocra, and two cult locations all easily within 10 football fields of each other. And a dead body. (And as a note, the map's scale isn't consistent!) This all seems unlikely.
It's a valley there will be wildlife. A gang of 8 gnolls are hanging in the valley taking down creatures in the air they see. Giffons like to eat Hippogriffs so they made a nest there other then that they are just animals. The pair of Manticores have nest and pray on creatures in the valley. I don't get how their is an issue with the maps scale. As for the two Cult locations. The entire reason Feathergale Spire was built was to serve as an outpost for the entrance one of the Temple's entrances. The Aarakocra are here because their main thing is fighting Elemental Evil and they are spying on the Feathergale Knights.[/sblock]
Point 3
[sblock][*]It's unclear (so far) why, given a cult so evil and potentially powerful, the PCs can't just head to one of the "nearby" major cities (week away) and ask for help. I mean it sounds like they might be going there at some point. Does no one in Waterdeep care enough even if presented with significant evidence of what's going on? Now I'm hopeful there is a good answer somewhere in the module that I've not read, but it ain't obvious.
No one has idea the cult is so evil and powerful, There is no significant evidence that a huge threat to the region is happening just a cult of fanatics. It does not matter to Lords of Waterdeep anyway this is not their land and they have their own problems. The fractions later on are willing to help but it's by giving the players resources they have other things to focus on. [/sblock]
point 4
[sblock][*]Descriptions are sometimes sparse to the point I find it hard to follow what is going on.
Make sure you actually read the flavor text and don't just skim. [/sblock]
Point 5
[sblock][*]What the heck is "the Eagle" on page 47? A self-reseting (non-magical?) battering ram? I'd really appreciate some better idea what's going on here.
It's brought up in the favor text and the normal text. It's a Battering ram it swings forward when the level is pulled and when it swings back a mechanism locks it back into place. [/sblock]
Point 6 and 7
[sblock][*]How many people (total) are there at RiverGard Keep?
[*]also at RiverGard, what are the commoners doing here? Where do they stay? It sounds like they know about the cultists and don't like them. So are they slaves? Do they know the those occupying the keep are cultists? I've no idea. It feels like they just got tacked into a wandering monster table.
It does not matter too much how many people there are total at Rivergard. You can always read through the rooms and count them all if you want to.
As for the commoners the book says what they are doing here and why. On the random encounter chart it even says what room you should read to learn about them.[/sblock]
Honestly most of your issues could be fixed by paying a little more attention to what the book says and reading a bit farther.