Shattered Star Adventure Path
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Starfox
Adventurer
4 out of 5 rating for Shattered Star Adventure Path
First, I've only read this adventure path, not actually played it. Actually, I used the second part as a side trek in my Crimson Throne campaign, to great success, but I've not played it as a continuous series. The theme of the adventures are constructs, aberrations, and madness, and the scenarios doe a reasonably good job of introducing an escalating level of other-worldliness over the course of the campaign. This all builds up to a cataclysmic event towards the end. Players with a sense of genre might avert this event and thus end the story prematurely. Players with even more sense of genre might cause the cataclysm anyway as an "I know this sucks, but my character doesn't" moment. Overall, the individual adventures of this series impresses me less than many other adventure paths. The parts are somewhat loosely bound together, and some of the situations feel a little contrived. Still, this can all be said to be a part of the kind of horror it aims for - a horror of madness and confusion rather than the macabre.
First, I've only read this adventure path, not actually played it. Actually, I used the second part as a side trek in my Crimson Throne campaign, to great success, but I've not played it as a continuous series. The theme of the adventures are constructs, aberrations, and madness, and the scenarios doe a reasonably good job of introducing an escalating level of other-worldliness over the course of the campaign. This all builds up to a cataclysmic event towards the end. Players with a sense of genre might avert this event and thus end the story prematurely. Players with even more sense of genre might cause the cataclysm anyway as an "I know this sucks, but my character doesn't" moment. Overall, the individual adventures of this series impresses me less than many other adventure paths. The parts are somewhat loosely bound together, and some of the situations feel a little contrived. Still, this can all be said to be a part of the kind of horror it aims for - a horror of madness and confusion rather than the macabre.
Kinak
First Post
5 out of 5 rating for Shattered Star Adventure Path
Shattered Star is really interesting in that it's not a Superdungeon, but is basically all dungeon crawling anyway. You just change location once or twice a volume. The dungeon crawling itself is top notch. There are good encounters, lots of opportunities for roleplaying, and a few really great traps and puzzles. If you like dungeons, I'd suggest it highly. That said, it's definitely not going to be for everyone's tastes. My rating assumes you're interested in some heavy dungeon crawling. If you're not, I'd suggest looking at other APs.
Shattered Star is really interesting in that it's not a Superdungeon, but is basically all dungeon crawling anyway. You just change location once or twice a volume. The dungeon crawling itself is top notch. There are good encounters, lots of opportunities for roleplaying, and a few really great traps and puzzles. If you like dungeons, I'd suggest it highly. That said, it's definitely not going to be for everyone's tastes. My rating assumes you're interested in some heavy dungeon crawling. If you're not, I'd suggest looking at other APs.
Enrico Poli1
Adventurer
5 out of 5 rating for Shattered Star Adventure Path
I really appreciate this AP.
There are TWO must-play adventures: the second one, and the fourth. The latter one is an incredibly good high-level dungeon, but the former has a plot twist so unique you have to experience it.
Adventures one, five and six are good. Number three is unfortunately C-.
So, why this AP is an -almost- must-play? There is a special Indiana-Jones feel about it. The overarching plot is solid. And there is a number of thematic elements that is present in each adventure. Dungeons (good, old Dungeons). Golems. Magical Monuments. Quests (as in Kingmaker, but only three or four per book). Unique metals. Runelords. Capital sins.
There are also nolstalgic elements from the first APs, such as Varisia, Magnimar, the Gray Maidens (and Lovecraftian elements that create a link with RotRL); Shattered Star is the spiritual successor of Rise of the Runelords, both in theory and in practice, and the Midway AP for Pathfinder 1e (Return of the Runelords, once published, will complete the trilogy). I think that SS is even better than RotRL. The art alone can sell the books. One other strong aspects is the number of compelling NPCs. Also, this AP can be enjoyed (the most?) by morally gray PCs.
In the end, A- (4.75/5). It deserves to be experienced.
I really appreciate this AP.
There are TWO must-play adventures: the second one, and the fourth. The latter one is an incredibly good high-level dungeon, but the former has a plot twist so unique you have to experience it.
Adventures one, five and six are good. Number three is unfortunately C-.
So, why this AP is an -almost- must-play? There is a special Indiana-Jones feel about it. The overarching plot is solid. And there is a number of thematic elements that is present in each adventure. Dungeons (good, old Dungeons). Golems. Magical Monuments. Quests (as in Kingmaker, but only three or four per book). Unique metals. Runelords. Capital sins.
There are also nolstalgic elements from the first APs, such as Varisia, Magnimar, the Gray Maidens (and Lovecraftian elements that create a link with RotRL); Shattered Star is the spiritual successor of Rise of the Runelords, both in theory and in practice, and the Midway AP for Pathfinder 1e (Return of the Runelords, once published, will complete the trilogy). I think that SS is even better than RotRL. The art alone can sell the books. One other strong aspects is the number of compelling NPCs. Also, this AP can be enjoyed (the most?) by morally gray PCs.
In the end, A- (4.75/5). It deserves to be experienced.
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