Pathfinder 1E Pathfinder #4 - I have it!

[Angel Tarragon]

And it looks great. Cam with a llittle Christmas card with a little ditty inside:

(Sung to the tune of Jingle Bells)

Sneaking through your yard,
Going through your stuff,
Hope you didn't like your dog; we got a little rough!
Tied him to a stump.
Lit the stump on fire.
Maybe you'll wake up in time to put out the puppy's pyre!

Now we're in your house,
It's fancied up so nice!
With shiny things set all about, there's lots to break and slice!
Here's a stocking full,
And there's a gift-wrapped toy,
For a bit we stand agog, there's so much to destroy!

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

In a pile, Goblin style!
What could be more fun?
Breaking toys for girls and boys
Until we're finally done!

When you wake, hearts will break;
Because we've had our way!
This is great! Lets celebrate!
A Goblin Holiday!

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Scanned image copied from grodog's post at CM.

I wasn't expecting it when I opened my copy -- it was a delightful little surprise.

 

[Shroomy]

So what are the highlights? I'm hoping that my FLGS gets the printstand copies this week (as well as the new Gamemastery module) as I have to fly to California this weekend.

 

[Rechan]

Can you tell us what's in the beastiary?

Also, any cool cultural aspects of the monsters or anything of note?

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Can you tell us what's in the beastiary?

Lets see...

Deathweb
Redcap (Britih folklore; powries, dunters)
Hound of Tindalos
Taiga Giant
Scanderig
Shining child of thassilon
The Runeslave (template)

 

[Dark Psion]

Deathweb: Remember the giant spiders in Resident Evil that when you killed them, you were attacked by a swarm of little spiders? These undead husks full of swarms are worse!

Redcap: More dark Fey to make you avoid mushroom circles. They wear big metal boots and wield large weapons.

Hound of Tindalos: Straight from the Cthulhu mythos to the corner of the room next to you.

Taiga Giant: Tribal, rune covered giants with Shaman abilities.

Scanderig (Forgefiend): This is what dwarves think of when you say Devil.

Shinning Child of Thassilon: An Outsider from the fartherest reaches of the Far Planes.

Ruleslave: A template for giants still influenced and controled by the Runelords.

In addition to the adventure, you get Ecology of Stone Giants, Dragons of Golarion and a new Pathfinder Journal.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Next Month in Pathfinder

Sins of the Saviors
by Stephen S. Greer
The plot of the resurrected Runelord of Greed has been revealed, but what weapon holds the power to combat his murderous return? Only by delving into the depths of a seven-dungeon labyrinth of sin can the PCs discover the ancient magic capable of defeating their deathless foe-though doing so might mean embracing the very vices they mean to defeat.

Lamashtu
by Sean K. Reynolds
The howls of monsters and gibbering of abominations rise in blashemos chorus to Lamashtu, the goddess of madness, monsters and nightmares. Witness the blasphemous rites of the Mother of Monsters’ twisted clergy and learn the bloody ways of horrors as zealous as they are cruel.

Magic of Thassilon
by Owen K. C. Stephens, Brian Cortijo, Nicolas Logue, et al.
The secrets of the runelords revealed! Learn the rune magic that gave rise to a millennia-old empire of sin, claim artifacts of vice and ruin, and wield the arcane might of ancient Thassilon!

Pathfinder's Journal
Eando Kline’s reckless tour of Korvosa gets even worse when he goes head to head against the spies and assassins of the Red Mantis, one of the most feared criminal organizations in Golarion!

Bestiary
Many-eyed monstrosities, flammable witches, giants who would feel right at home along the Manuxet River, and more!

 

[Rechan]

Deathweb: Remember the giant spiders in Resident Evil that when you killed them, you were attacked by a swarm of little spiders?

Actually, no. Was that in the Gamecube version or something?

The only game I can think of where "Monster dies, little things come out and hit you" was "The Suffering".

 

[GlassJaw]

I've had the pdf for a week or so now and got the print copy at the end of last week. Honestly, I was disappointed with this module. Parts 1-3 have been AWESOME but this one was very "meh". That's not to say it's a bad module per se - just that the Pathfinder bar is very high.

Here are the comments I posted on the Paizo forum:

Of the four RotRL modules so far, this one has been my least favorite. It's interesting because Hook Mountain was one of the best modules I've read in a LONG time. FotSG just left me kind of "meh".

Spoiler:

The attack on Sandpoint was a nice start. Definitely lots of potential for action.

The design of the fortress and dungeons beneath just seemed kind of random. Lots of seemingly-unrelated encounters thrown together, one after another.

For example, there is a high-level kobold barbarian hanging out in one room, 2 red dragons in another room, 2 lamia clerics right next to them, and then 2 troll fighters. And they don't really seem to be doing anything. I mean they are just kind of there. I know there are explanations but they seem thin at best.

The lower level is similar. Lots of square rooms connected by corridors with a different creature in each - a giant, golem, nasty undead ogre thing, weird furnace demon, and then a couple of evil demon dogs. *shrugs*

I haven't run it yet but it strikes me as a serious meat-grinder. Once the players get inside the dungeon, the baddies are continuous and there is almost no place for the characters to rest.

Dunno, I just the overall dungeon ecology of this module seriously lacking. There was no interaction between the occupants or good explanations as to why they were there or what they did before the adventurers showed up to slaughter them.

I think this would be the first module in the series that I significantly change, especially the library dungeon level. Apart from having a lot of random encounters, I felt it lacked flavor. It didn't feel like an ancient library at all. Compare this dungeon design to the assault on the Fort in Hook Mountain, Foxglove Manor in Skinsaw, or Thistletop in Burnt Offerings. Those locations are AWESOME. They are great locations because they have unique features, are written in a way that oozes flavor (Foxglove feels haunted), and the occupants make sense.

On an final note, I'd like to emphasize this "criticism" is from a customer that has been immensely impressed with the Pathfinder series so far. The writing and design has been great, which is why I was surprised feeling the way I did after reading this module.

 

[Jubilee]

First I thought: Damn, didn't I only just get issue 3? I want my Christmas Card!

Then I read the summary of monsters, which I had read through on the current issue - that sounded familiar!

I raced upstairs to find it, and thank goodness, the envelop was still on the table with it, and low and behold - a christmas card inside!

Now I wonder: What the heck did I do with Issue 3? Did I ever get it? It's not on my book shelf with 1 & 2!

/ali

ps. The christmas card is adorable.

pps. Horray! Issue 3 is found! All is well =)