I'm definitely thinking about this harder now with current events.
Has anyone played Abomination Vaults? Is it a good dungeon crawl? Does PF2 work for dungeon exploration?
I've run the first book of Abomination Vaults (and several other first books of APs in Pathfinder 2e).
First, here's a link to my group's experience in Abomination Vaults... Pathfinder 2E - PF2: Second Attempt Post Mortem
My post-mortem and complaints about the system are more nuanced now that I've run two more campaigns in PF2. I'll try to put some quick views about each.
Abomination Vaults
I don't think it's a "good" dungeon crawl compared to others I've played:
- The maps are small (-)
- There aren't many opportunities for roleplay or exploration (-)
- Encounters are very close together (-)
- Like all APs I've tried, too many fights too challenging, and players get discouraged. You might want to adjust for your group (-)
- There's little motivation for the group to continue to explore (-)
- However, the enemies are varied (+)
- The dungeon is flavorful (+)
Dungeons in Pathfinder 2
I think the system has its pros and cons for dungeon exploration:
- Limitless healing outside of combat is very effective, so resource management isn't as much of a thing (-)
- The math is so tight that dynamic battles (guards coming in to reinforce allies, etc.) can quickly become a TPK (-)
- And woe to the party that attempts to face a challenge above their level (-)
- The fights are exciting, dynamic, varied, and well-balanced in a way that I haven't seen outside of 4E D&D (+)
- There are good rules for exploration activities (even if they're not used to a great extent in Abomination Vaults) (+)